Have We Really Lost It?

Here's something I really want to talk about. I've realised that the Malaysian Censorship Board (that's what I'm calling it but I'm not too sure) has been on overdrive lately. I understand their purpose (thanks to Pengajian Am when we learn about all kinds of Governmental Boards in this country), but I don't think they do. Yes, this is Malaysia and we are definitely a more sheltered country compared to others but their idea of censor-worthy words is becoming ridiculous. You do want to sieve out obscenity and vulgarity, I'm all for that. I realise that they're just being protective of our young minds. However, once you start censoring words that are not in itself obscene or vulgar, you lose whatever hold you have left. Here are some examples of words that have been censored (as far as I've realised):

SONGS

1. I Need You Now by Lady Antebellum - whiskey
2. If I Were A Boy by Beyonce - beer
3. Unfaithful by Rihanna - gun
4. I Kissed A Girl by Katy Perry - the word 'girl'

TV SHOWS

1. The word 'beach'
2. The word 'virginia'

I'm sure there are more, but I'm just too riled up to remember.

Come on lah! (sometimes adding the 'Lah' at the end gives a sentence more weight. Haha :P ) Do you really think that censoring the words 'beer' and 'whiskey' is going to stop us from drinking? Those words aren't just in songs. In fact, they're everywhere. Supermarkets, hypermarket catalogs, big banners in front of bars. Also, we are not dumb. I'm sure almost all of us found out about beer and whiskey, not from songs, but from somewhere else (family? friends? refrigerators in 7-Eleven? drunk relatives who surely didn't get it from songs?). It's everywhere, and we young ones know about it so what's the point of ruining the flow of a nice song by censoring words that won't make much of a difference?

On top of that, there's the whole 'gun' thing. That particular song is about a girl who is unfaithful to her significant other and she knows that he knows, but he's too much of a gentleman to ask her straight up. She feels that she's killing him slowly with her unfaithfulness, so she sings this; 'I might as well take a gun and put it to his head, get it over with, I don't want to to this anymore.... I don't want to be a murderer'. That's it. So why do you think we won't guess what the word is? And why is it you feel the need to censor the word 'gun' but not 'murderer'? With all that's out there in the world, do you think we won't be able to find other ways to kill someone rather than shooting them? (I'm not saying we're all murderers. I'm just giving an example). Also, a lot of the shows on TV nowadays have guns (Gerak Khas & Cops, anyone?). What do you want us to call them? A weapon? Yeah, that sounds loads better. It doesn't bring up an image of a killing spree at all. (Sorry for the heavy sarcasm, but I feel it's needed here).

Moving on to the word 'girl' (Yes, you can expect a comment about each word I have mentioned above). Yes, I understand that the singer is a woman so when she sings that she kissed a girl, she's implying lesbianism and we don't want that for our children, but isn't this where parenting comes in? My mother raised me to be a good person. I'm not always good but I try my best. I was born into and raised by a Catholic family (not a very prayerful one, granted) and I was taught that homosexuality is unacceptable. However, I was also brought up to understand and adapt to the modern world where homosexuality is starting to be accepted. No, I, personally, do not accept homosexuality but neither do I shun it. They are people too and whatever issues they have, they're going to have to take it up with their maker, not me. So yeah, I disagree with that lifestyle choice but who are we to judge them? If you want to protect your children from it, teach them at home, bring them up to be what you want them to be but do not, do not, shelter them from the world. If anything, take them by the hand, show them the world in all it's glory and darkness and impart you wisdom on them so that they know what is right and what is wrong and how they can choose their own paths. If they go the way you do not like, try your best to bring them home, but it's ultimately up to them. Gone are the days when you can blame a child's choices solely on their parent. We have minds of our own and we do what we want, mostly according to what our parents brought us up to do, but sometimes, those decisions have no connection whatsoever to the ways of our parents. It's what we were taught, but also how that small idea, planted in us by our parents, grow thanks to our own individuality. *Phew* In a nutshell, I don't think that censoring that word is very smart step.

Next, we have 'beach' and 'virginia'. For the first, I think the Censorship Board confused itself with another word of striking resemblance when said aloud (I'm sure you all know the word. If you do not then that's a testimony to all the work put in by the Board). As for the second, I'm quite sure they felt that the first two syllables were dangerous. Before I go any further, I'd like to draw your attention to the MUET (Malaysian University English Test) that all us 6th Formers and University graduates have to pass. It states in the course aims that 'all candidates should be able to derive the meaning of words from context'. Now, let's get back to the censored word 'beach'. When someone says, "Let's go the the beach. The sand and sun will be good for you", I'm sure we all know that what they mean is the 'beach'. Alas, I am mistaken. The censorship board thinks that it's the otherword. So much for deriving the meaning from context. And then there's the word 'virginia' which is obviously a proper noun (kata nama khas, in BM), and is most probably a name of a person or place. But no, the censorship board feels that this noun is too dangerous to be displayed in full no matter how proper it is. Therefore, they decided to silence the first two syllables and leave us only with the 'nia' sound. Oh well, I guess we'll all be wondering what she meant when she said, "Let's go visit mother at *****nia *****".

Gosh! This is so enraging. How can the people who work in the Malaysian Censorship Board be so clueless?? Aren't they all qualified? Aren't the senior authorities qualified? Where is their common sense?

Go ahead and censor words like the F and B and whatever other alphabet they start with for being vulgar, obscene, rude and for ruining the flow of good, mature conversations but please do your research first because censoring a word like 'virginia' just because you don't want you child to hear the word 'virgin' or the word 'beach' because it sounds too similar to the other variety is just plain dumb.

Maybe we should all retake our MUET.

A Dog's Night of Fun

'Why are you late?'
'I'm not late, I was downst...'
'And why aren't you wearing your uniform?'
'It's a long story. Let's just say it's in no condition to be worn'
'You can't come to school like this. We can send you back, you know'
'But, my dog got to my unifrom. I had no choice'
'That's not the point. You can't do this. Don't you at least have a school t-shirt?'
'No (duh!)'

***

That's what went on as soon as I sat down in class (unfortunately, my table is right next to the teachers desk). Honestly, it's near impossible to talk to her. She never listens. She never wants to listen because she's always right. It can't be any other way. (What? You mean her being wrong? Yeah right!)

No, I don't have a school tracksuit or t-shirt. I don't need or want to spend RM50 on something I'll probably only wear once or twice. In fact, once I'm done with it, I'll probably never see it again.

Furthermore, what's wrong with what I was wearing? A black tracksuit and plain black shirt is what you told us to wear if we didn't have the school t-shirt. So that's what I wore. Yeah, today was not a sports day or anything like that, but I had no choice. It's not like I asked my dog to wreck the uniforms. (I hear her voice in my head again, saying, 'But you can't wear this!') Well, then what do you expect me to wear? The school uniform that smells like dog and accessorised with fur or the one that smells like dog and accessorised with dirt? Frankly, I wouldn't mind wearing either one of those uniforms if it weren't for the fact that I didn't want to be ignored even more than I already am.

One girl actually came up to me and asked me if I wore the tracksuit and t-shirt on purpose. Come on lah! Who do you think I am? The school rebel? The little rascal? An out of control misfit? You don't know me at all, so please don't judge me. You don't know me because you don't take the time to find out. You do, however, see fit to make conclusions about the kind of person I am based on some vague details you've managed to glean about me from your observations in school? Basically, that I'm an emo teen, ready to lash out at everyone just because I don't talk or smile much, I come to school looking glum almost everyday and I exude an i-don't-care-about-exams attitude. Well, that's not really me. So please, don't get you knickers in a bunch and run the opposite direction when you see me just because you think you know me. If you want to ignore me go ahead. I have no problem with that. I'm not a loner, but I have no problems with solitary confinement.

I know I sound mean, but there's only so much nonsense I can take. Almost all of them look at me like you would a hard core criminal who got released early on good behaviour. Fear & anxiety (that you might be next), awe (that anyone could be capable of such acts) and indifference (because no one cares about ex-convicts). HELLO! Human being here! We come with feeling, just in case you forgot.

Alright, before I continue on with my whining and ramblings, let me tell you what happened this morning. My lovely ex-dog, RaRa, decided to have some fun on his last night here. 'Twas raining, so we tied him nearer the inside area for shade but being the intelligent dog that he is, he bit through his leash and broke free. All hell broke loose, as you can imagine. There were clothes lying everywhere and shoes ripped to pieces. By the time we realised what had happened (it was really early in the morning, when everyone was still as sleep), RaRa had had all his fun and was lying down peacefully at his spot. My mum and I counted the damage and we found that the clothes needed another round in the washer, her work shoes were gone and my slipper was half eaten. Even my school shoe laces are falling apart. My head was spinning. On one hand, I was furious at him for behaving so terribly and on the other, I was panicking about my school uniform which got pulled around by the dog along with some other clothes.

My exam only started at 12 so ma suggested that i go to school late. Yes? No, not an option. So I went to school in the P.E outfit. Not a bad idea, but not a very helpful one either (as you've already discovered).

I'm just so mad at my teacher now. Where's you're flexibility? So, this is the best school in the area? I beg to differ. The canteen sells food that's barely edible, the koperasi, which has sales persons who can't subtract RM1.50 form RM5.00 without a calculator, sells virtually nothing, most teachers are so caught up in trying to get promotions that they're not teaching so much as drilling knowledge into us and most students have no manners at all. I can't wait for this period of my life to be over with. I'll be glad to put it behind me (At least that's how I feel now, but don't be surprised if I end up liking it later on. I don't see how that can happen, but anything is possible).

I was really hungry after reaching school but I didn't dare open the packet of oatmeal cookies I had in my bag. My teahcer might have just sent me to jail. I'm not afraid of the gaol, though. It's the paperwork that terrifies me :)

*Ma told me to look at things from another angle when I told her about what teacher said in school regarding the uniform situation. She said that as a teacher (and not just any teacher, a discipline teacher no less), what I did was indeed wrong. I should not have worn what I did to school because it was just wrong. I should have been more careful and planned my laundry schedule better. I see her point. Although, I still think she could have afforded some flexibility.

One more thing, during the Micro Economy exams, I had nothing better to do but this:

More to come tomorrow, if I'm in the mood. Macro Economy is up :)

Oh well, till we meet again!

Parking Maniacs!

So this is the topic of the day.....

Have you ever been in a parking area trying to look for a free space for almost 30mins? :: I have
Have you ever been in a parking area trying to look for a free space for almost 30mins, then have it stolen from you by some rude, don't-know-where-you-got-your-licence-from driver?? :: I have

I went to MidValley today with my Mom for lunch. I spent like half an hour (maybe more, maybe less. I didn't actually check the time) just driving around in the parking bay looking for a spot. We went round and round... and round and round and round... without finding one single spot. No one was leaving. Or maybe they were, but just not somewhere we could see. Anyway, after a few rounds, we thought of sending the car for a wash so that the car-wash guys could park it for us (also, the car needed a wash(:). BAD IDEA! It costs RM28.50 just to wash your car in MidValley (as the Malaysians say "Cekik Duit Man!"). So we decided to try again. Round and round we went, once more. Here's the good part though; just as we were about to give up, one lady (who was heading towards the lift, having just parked her own car), pointed out to us a car that was leaving. ALLELUIA! Eventually, we parked and finally entered the mall. Once there, we spent about the same amount of time (once again, I'm not sure because I didn't check the time) in the mall because it was late and we had to get back.

That was just crammed parking bays and good people. Now I move on to terribly rude, don't-know-where-you-got-your-licence-from drivers. When we got back to the office (UMMC/PPUM) I dropped my mother off and went to look for parking. This was probably the worst part of the day. I went all the way up (there's about 9 levels in the parking building) and found not one space. So I made my way back down. On the 7th level, while waiting in line for the cars to move (there's usually a jam because people park, pay their tickets, then leave), a man walked to a parked car on my right. It was perfect. He could easily reverse out, and I could easily move in. Or so I thought. The driver in front of me immediately took that spot. Apparently, he didn't see me SIGNAL! I was mad of course, but I calmed down and continued searching. Then on the 3rd level, the same thing happened again. This time it was slightly worse. I was already moving into the lot, and another driver just sped in. UNBELIEVEABLE!

Talk about utter rudeness. I did find a place eventually but I just can't get past how rude people can be in parking lots. It so frustrating and irritating and maddening! I mean really, didn't they teach you common courtesy in driving class? Or maybe at home?? Where are your manners??? Seriously, everyone should enrol in etiquette classes. It might do them some good.

p.s: I wish I had taken a picture of these cars. I could post it, embarrass them, and they wouldn't even know it! :)