|
|
 |
 |
 |
| Thursday, 9 May 2002 |
 |
|
 |
Features | |
| News Business Features Editorial Security Politics World Letters Sports Obituaries
|
BOB'S BANTER BY ROBERT CLEMENTS Beware of dogs..! One board that you see so often hung on the gates of bungalows and houses is the sign 'Beware Of Dog.' However the comical part of this experience is to find that behind the big board is actually no ferocious sabre toothed canine, but a mild looking, cute poodle, who seems quite apologetic about such fiendish placard depicting its false fiercesomenesss. I went to a dog show the other day and finding a board like this for sale bought one to hang outside my door. There was cause for this, as the previous day, my dog on being taken for a walk had suddenly seen a little pup and chased the little fellow. The next moment I saw my bully being chased back by the mother of the pup. She appeared quite crestfallen when I returned home and repeated the incident in vivid detail to all my family members, and I do suspect that she lost a lot of confidence in what had happened. To make up for this mildness that had set in, I decided to install the board and thus scare away any potential thieves or robbers or people with bad intent, even my creditors, who I felt would not harass me so much if such menacing placard greeted them before they entered my doors, and before they were greeted by my not so ferocious cowardly four legged mutt ..! How like our political leaders we are when we hang such boards. These leaders stand on top of public platform, threaten and berate and sow seeds of poison to the crowd sitting below. They use platform and editorial to instil hate and communal discord to their poor innocent followers. And we the public hearing their war cries and threatening, tempestuous and tigerish tantrums are lured into believing that that man or so often a woman is indeed a forceful, aggressive and courageous leader. Take away the 'Beware of Dog' board and you will find a frightened little poodle behind. Take away their soldiers and commandos and you will see them running for cover. Take away his power and position and you will see the prostrating and 'licking people's feet' posture..! The real vicious dog doesn't need a board. Its presence is felt even without being seen at the gate. There is a an aura that surrounds a really great man or woman and sadly our world has very few for us to even know what that aura is . We have many placards behind which we hide. Linguistic boards, which we use whenever we need to put down someone who dares to be different. Communal boards which are used quite frequently to try and win an argument. How easy it is to galvanise support by saying that someone is attacking the religious beliefs of a particular community? I have faced this so often, when some piece of mine that had nothing to do with religion was brought within the arena of religious conflict. I normally ignore these people and wish they would have the pluck and nerve and grit to stop hiding behind boards that have labels such as Christian or Buddhist or Muslim or Hindu. Coming back to my dog, I don't know whether she's going to become more ferocious with the back up of such a sign outside my house, I doubt she will. But I do know that one day people coming home will realise that they have nothing to fear from the 'Beware of Dog' board. My prayer is that we as a nation will also realise this one day, that there is nothing but hot air and blubber within the likes of these little poodle leaders of ours. My prayer is also that soon there will valiant and fearless men and women in our country who will brush aside these obstructing boards and placards and challenge these paper hounds. Behind those ferocious placards are frightened little people..!
|
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security
Produced by Lake House |
