I Don't like Rita
Period: Late Seventies, Media: Paperbacks.
Scene: London bombed by German planes in World War II. Just as people come out of bunkers, sirens sound yet another wave of bombers. People scurry back for cover in a darkened city.
I wondered in my tender mind what it felt like to be homeless and yet be bombed again!
Period: Late Eighties, Media: Television.
Scene: Mike Tyson vs. some forgotten fighter (Anon) in a floodlit boxing ring. Anon tries to hide his bleeding face behind gloved hands as Tyson sneers and moves in for yet another flurry of thunderous punches. The result of the fight is already obvious, but Anon clings to the last shreds of dignity by staying on his feet, while Tyson tries to enhance his career with a ‘KO’ from a beaten and battered opponent.
I winced in imaginary pain, imagining myself in Anon’s shoes, feeling the pain and the humiliation, wishing the misery to end.
Period: Late Nineties, Media: Cinema / Movies.
Scene: “Bandit Queen” Phoolan Devi being gang raped. One rapist walks out of the cattle shed tying the cord of his pajamas while the silhouette of the next appears at the door. An evil grin is vaguely visible against the harsh sunny background, seen through the bruised, battered swollen eyes of the victim.
I grimaced. “When will it all end?” an anguished voice moaned inside my head.
Period: Present (2005), Media: Internet.
Scene: Weather forecast websites showing satellite pictures of Florida Keys. Rita slips into the Gulf of Mexico spinning in a wild orgy, gleefully eyeing the shattered and stunned New Orleans city which has not even begun to recover from the stinging blow of Hurricane Katrina.
I think about the hapless evacuees. The same old feeling washes through me. When will this end? Why beat the beaten? Tinglings of fear might crawl down their spines as they hear updates of Rita’s approach. Or maybe they will be too numb to notice!
Scene: London bombed by German planes in World War II. Just as people come out of bunkers, sirens sound yet another wave of bombers. People scurry back for cover in a darkened city.
I wondered in my tender mind what it felt like to be homeless and yet be bombed again!
Period: Late Eighties, Media: Television.
Scene: Mike Tyson vs. some forgotten fighter (Anon) in a floodlit boxing ring. Anon tries to hide his bleeding face behind gloved hands as Tyson sneers and moves in for yet another flurry of thunderous punches. The result of the fight is already obvious, but Anon clings to the last shreds of dignity by staying on his feet, while Tyson tries to enhance his career with a ‘KO’ from a beaten and battered opponent.
I winced in imaginary pain, imagining myself in Anon’s shoes, feeling the pain and the humiliation, wishing the misery to end.
Period: Late Nineties, Media: Cinema / Movies.
Scene: “Bandit Queen” Phoolan Devi being gang raped. One rapist walks out of the cattle shed tying the cord of his pajamas while the silhouette of the next appears at the door. An evil grin is vaguely visible against the harsh sunny background, seen through the bruised, battered swollen eyes of the victim.
I grimaced. “When will it all end?” an anguished voice moaned inside my head.
Period: Present (2005), Media: Internet.
Scene: Weather forecast websites showing satellite pictures of Florida Keys. Rita slips into the Gulf of Mexico spinning in a wild orgy, gleefully eyeing the shattered and stunned New Orleans city which has not even begun to recover from the stinging blow of Hurricane Katrina.
I think about the hapless evacuees. The same old feeling washes through me. When will this end? Why beat the beaten? Tinglings of fear might crawl down their spines as they hear updates of Rita’s approach. Or maybe they will be too numb to notice!
I sit at the toe of the mighty Himalayas at the opposite end of the globe and think. I think and imagine and cringe. Restless, I recheck the weather websites, wishing away the winds. I wish I could …
posted by ShaanCho at
9/21/2005 06:45:00 PM
2 Comments:
Excellent post.
By
Anonymous, at 26/9/05 07:19
Brilliant post.. To feel is human but what bothers me is we do became more accepting as time goes by.. finding that fewer things shock us the way they once did.
I saw Bandit queen many years ago the impact was severe but I forgot the title tks for reminding me..
By
Misreflection, at 28/9/05 21:18
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