A lot of people assume that I'm generally an undisputed asshole based on the lies that I fabricate on this blog. What they don't know, is that what I write are only lies if it doesn't make your life any better. You think what I say doesn't make sense? Then by all possible means, treat them as lies. If these penned words somehow do seem rational, then treat it as the truth. It's always consoling knowing that people share the same views and principles as you, no? Human nature hard at work here, making us group with people that we can relate to while ousting ones who differ from us. I don't blame you, I do that too. Tribalism is working its magic all around us everyday.
The above may sound a little bit unrelated to the title but please let me rationalize. I've been asked a question and amazingly, I didn't know how to answer. Maybe it's because the answer is not thoroughly defined and that it's just a concept established by different perceptions. I'm quite sure that the answer to the question I'm about to present will vary greatly depending on the point where you are looking at this from. I'm really trying to find who agrees with my views so please help me out?
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Paul lives in America. He's a man's man. If Bruce Lee is still alive today he will be polishing Paul's shoes cause he's even manlier than Bruce without the trademark,"watahhhh~~wochooo~" howls. Paul is not afraid to uphold his views and principles. He isn't very calculated and at times, impulsive. Moreover, he is not threatened by the word Fear and is not afraid to go one on one with Fear in Street Fighter 4. People bully him but he makes sure they walk away with at least an extra hole to defecate from. In other words, he's manly.
Marty lives in an Asian country. He's a man's.... woman. People look down on this poor soul cause he's been subjected to various social norms and thus labelled as a coward. He doesn't stand up for his views if any physical harm is present. Maybe he's just lazy to get into trouble and wasting precious time arguing over feeble matters that rewards him with nothing other than "face". But he is precise, he thinks ahead. He knows what he should do to save his cowardly ass.
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As you can see, Paul and Marty lives on two different part of the planet's big face. Also, their personalities are evidently a far cry from each other's. Today, they're put in this similar stage where the scripts and lines of the antagonists are basically the same.
One fine night, the protagonist had a squabble with 5 guys just outside the bar. These drunkards accused the protagonist of something that he did not do. Things got out of hand cause when you're high on alcohol, men prefer to think (and also walk) sideways. And to make things interesting, the protagonist has his girlfriend by his side when God decided to make a blockbuster movie (not forgetting a blog update) out of his life tonight.
Below is how each man responded to the situation:
Paul unquestionably stood up for himself. You know what's worse about getting into an argument with drunkards? It's not realizing that drunkards usually comprehend "NO" as an invitation to land their fists on the opposing team. Immediately, the 5 men sprung on Paul similar to how a lion invited himself to partake in an sexual intercourse with a lioness. Only that this one involves no genitals, only clenched fists. Paul refused to back down and apologize for what he didn't do, and resumed getting beaten into a pulp. To cut all the action short, he ended up in a hospital suffering injuries. His life is in danger, this guy might actually die. But his girlfriend saw the manliness in him and her love and devotion for him increases. He is forever recognized as the guy who sacrificed for his belief and died a true man.
Marty on the other hand, cowardly apologized and tried to settle the restless drunkards. He reasoned with them briefly but everyone knows you don't reason with 5 gorillas out to make your life a living hell. To make matters worse, he even said, "Sorry for all the troubles I've caused." to these men. He walked away unscathed but his pride was smashed into oblivion. His girlfriend saw him as a coward. He lives on only to see his girlfriend leaving in another man's car. What she didn't see, is that he somehow protected his girlfriend from being potentially harmed by these drunkards. Or is he thinking too much? Thinking too far ahead? Maybe these drunkards didn't even think about hurting the girlfriend.
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Which path will you tread on? Paul's or Marty's? It's true that I'm definitely not sitting on a fence with this one, and I'm veering towards Marty's side. All of you who've seen me in real life before might know that I might even lose in a fight with a cat. Remember, most of the time.. even when you win, you lose too.
Oh, did you realize that I didn't curse at all in this post?!?!??!!
3 comments:
well , everything has its own season , sometimes in life , you have to be a marty ..
sometimes , you have to be paul ..
the interesting thing about this two face is ..
you can even view it as a process ..
such as if paul survived , he will slowly change to be more like marty..
and one day , marty said "I HAD ENOUGH" and starts standing up for himself..
gapnap: yeah. it's really hard though, for me. i think it's hard to change unless something drastic happened in your life.
well written, chun kiat. now i see things differently =)
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