Monday, March 12, 2012

KLPD...

The Korps landelijke politiediensten (KLPD; National Police Services Agency) is the national police force in the Netherlands, responsible for specialist missions that benefit from a centralized approach. It is independent from the regional police forces; but like them, it is subordinate to the Dutch Ministry of the Interior and has a staff of approximately 4,500. The KLPD operates both at national and international level from its HQ in Driebergen near Utrecht.

Source: Wikipedia

Friday, March 09, 2012

What are "Friends" for????

A couple of days ago, I was scrolling my Facebook wall, when I came across a random comment made by someone as a status update, on the state of the country and how every one currently in power was to blame for it, or something like that. The contents don't matter, but the statement was devoid of any use of factual data, and seemed like it was made purely with the intention of getting a few "likes" from the writer's friends.

Since such statements bring out the debater in me, I couldn't resist. I commented something on the lines of how the entire argument didn't make sense to me, since the data which I was seeing was completely different from what my friend seemed to be implying. He commented, then I commented, then he commented again, and then he commented again..

At which point I lost it..

But I could not bring myself to write that my "friend" was being a blistering idiot..

Which is when it struck me as to why Facebook is so popular, and yet seems so shallow..

That's because everyone is so fucking nice with each other!!!

(Sorry, no other way to put it.. )

No matter what you do, you cannot bring yourself to write something bad about someone who is your "friend" on his "wall" because that will make you look like mean. If it were in person, you would have told the guy whatever was on your mind, and settled your differences. But here, everyone is just so nice. More importantly, it's my theory that it's this requirement of being nice to your friends, that makes you mean to people who are never going to be your friends (Rahul Gandhi, Sachin Tendulkar, Shah Rukh Khan, to name a few). And your friends will never tell you that you're being stupid, they'll find your comment funny, and so they'll like it for some weird reason.

Look around you.. There are people you like, and there are people you don't like. And then there will be people you like, who will do things that you don't like, and when they do things you don't like, you will make sure that you tell them so. When your friend is being an oaf, it is your moral duty to tell him / her, in no uncertain terms that he/she is being an oaf..

That's what makes you a true friend..

Tongue Tied and Twisted...

It is with great sorrow that I have to report, that I believe I am gradually turning into a cynic.

Growing up, I was brought up to believe in the goodness of other people. We are all God's children, we were told. Don't do something that you would be ashamed of when you have to face the maker..

I truly believed in this, and I truly believed that other people truly believed in this.

But I don't believe in this facade any more. I still like to take it as a guiding principle, but no longer a fundamental belief. Or as someone said in our HR class recently, "I believe in people until I have a reason not to". 

You see, fundamental beliefs are a problem these days. It just doesn't help to have fundamental beliefs.

That's what I have become.

And so I felt sad, when I read about the poor IPS officer, who was mowed down by a tractor by the illegal mining mafia in Madhya Pradesh. I wanted to feel for him. I was told he was an honest man. His wife, an IAS officer, on maternity leave. He took on the mining mafia, and had to pay with his life.

I could so relate to him.

But I didn't feel a thing. Just shrugged and moved on..

Maybe it's because of having seen enough police officers. Maybe it's because my Facebook friends, Twitter tweeps and Arvind Kejriwal, kept telling me as to how there is no protection for honest people in this country now that it is being governed by the Congress, and Digvijay Singh telling me that it's all the BJP's fault, without actually knowing what happened. Maybe there's some part of me, which thinks that he was bumped off, not because he was a thorn in someone's side, but because he now knew too much. Maybe because I feel most of the times that when the Times of India gives me some information these days, it has some agenda behind it.

So I don't know what is true, I don't know what to believe, who to believe.

So the only belief I have is a cynical one.

Anyone else notice the irony?