He met me again today. Nose held high, tail swaying gently, there was a spring in his step.
Wassup? I asked.
Can’t you breathe the fresh air? he said.
I can only smell fear, I replied.
Yaar, you humans are such idiots. You’re scared of anything new. Fresh air for you is something not experienced in ages.
I was getting sick of his taunts.
Change of subject was called for.
Hey, do you know we have started social distancing. Not to talk of quarantine, testing, washing hands, work from home. The way we collectively respond to emergencies is something you guys can never understand. You dogs always keep fighting, I taunted.
He looked at me with pity.
Emergencies? Paah! You and your human arrogance.
So an earthquake would be an emergency for you, yes?
Of course, I replied.
Ok so you start rebuilding, yes?
Yes indeed. We join hands to build houses.
Aah! So whose houses do you build as your human social commitment, my friend?
For those whose houses have been destroyed, I said.
Did everyone have a house before the quake?
He asked looking at me intently.
Of course not. I replied.
So there were some who were houseless before the quake and some who became houseless after the quake.
Of course you oaf. Can’t you understand?
I was getting impatient.
So my dear great, evolved, developed human, who was first in queue?
Obviously the one who was houseless before the quake!
And yet your great, noble, generous, philanthropic, social work ignores them, and looks after the ones who joined the houseless queue, later.
You call that fair?
And yes one more thing, he said slowly.
What now? I was squirming now.
Just some 5000 guys die over a couple of months and you call it an emergency.
In the same two months almost 100,000 children died of malnutrition related causes in India alone. And you call 5000 deaths an emergency? Give me a break boss!
Your priorities are zany, your actions and response most unfair. You guys are the most selfish species on earth.
Ah to be a dog! At least I don’t carry the ignominy of being unfair and a cheat.
And yes please change the idiom from ‘dog eat dog’ to ‘human eat human’. You guys do it on a daily basis.
Grinding my toes on the ground, unable to face him, I wanted the earth to swallow me.
Wassup? I asked.
Can’t you breathe the fresh air? he said.
I can only smell fear, I replied.
Yaar, you humans are such idiots. You’re scared of anything new. Fresh air for you is something not experienced in ages.
I was getting sick of his taunts.
Change of subject was called for.
Hey, do you know we have started social distancing. Not to talk of quarantine, testing, washing hands, work from home. The way we collectively respond to emergencies is something you guys can never understand. You dogs always keep fighting, I taunted.
He looked at me with pity.
Emergencies? Paah! You and your human arrogance.
So an earthquake would be an emergency for you, yes?
Of course, I replied.
Ok so you start rebuilding, yes?
Yes indeed. We join hands to build houses.
Aah! So whose houses do you build as your human social commitment, my friend?
For those whose houses have been destroyed, I said.
Did everyone have a house before the quake?
He asked looking at me intently.
Of course not. I replied.
So there were some who were houseless before the quake and some who became houseless after the quake.
Of course you oaf. Can’t you understand?
I was getting impatient.
So my dear great, evolved, developed human, who was first in queue?
Obviously the one who was houseless before the quake!
And yet your great, noble, generous, philanthropic, social work ignores them, and looks after the ones who joined the houseless queue, later.
You call that fair?
And yes one more thing, he said slowly.
What now? I was squirming now.
Just some 5000 guys die over a couple of months and you call it an emergency.
In the same two months almost 100,000 children died of malnutrition related causes in India alone. And you call 5000 deaths an emergency? Give me a break boss!
Your priorities are zany, your actions and response most unfair. You guys are the most selfish species on earth.
Ah to be a dog! At least I don’t carry the ignominy of being unfair and a cheat.
And yes please change the idiom from ‘dog eat dog’ to ‘human eat human’. You guys do it on a daily basis.
Grinding my toes on the ground, unable to face him, I wanted the earth to swallow me.
Super!!
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