Domesticated
Call me Timmy. Tommy. Rocky, or any other name you would choose for me. I am your property. You have spent money to own me. I am your pet.
Domesticated.
Because you have domesticated me.
Thrown me your tripe, the scraps off your table.
Domesticated.
Chained by you. Because you need to know where I am and exactly what I am up to.
You would not want that I find out for myself how good your food tastes. God forbid I did; I might want more. I might not accept your scraps. I might, instead, demand that you spend more time and effort in feeding me. And you must feed me, for you have domesticated me.
Were I still the wild animal I was born, or the wild beast my ancestors were, I might have been able to fend for myself. Hunting for my own food, depending on myself alone for my survival.
But I am not.
I am, instead,
domesticated.
I live a life of domestication at your hands.
So then, I implore you, treat me with respect. I still am a living being. I am as much in need of nourishment as a wild beast. I do not complain that my ability to fend for myself has been pried from my hands. But I resent that you have ignored your responsibility to compensate me for my loss.
Knowledge is my food. And you, media, my irresponsible master.
About Me
A note just in case something here is worth something somewhere else.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.
5 comments:
the last line made all the difference. Read the post in a new light after that thoughtful punchline. Media, on the large has become an irresponsible master, yes. But few good writings do keep coming each day, in whatever minority these may be. I have been thinking since a long time now to start clipping some really nice stories (and also some really good examples of bad writing- headlines, etc). This post reminds me I should start that exercise soon.
And I have tagged you. Please see if you can do the tag and pass it on..
You were hitting a humongous soft spot all the way through. Respect for all sentient beings, I say, I pray, I whatever it takes... Good analogy with the media.
hmm....and then there are those like my cats, who literally rule the house.
'Tis true. cats can never be domesticated in the true sen\se of the word.
Gauri,
You should! And you know, you should give us examples, or post scans. I'm sure you'll find a whole bunch of them. The media is really quite the irresponsible master, and it's something I've thought of for a while. This was just a slightly altered perspective on it all. I will do the tag, and pass it on.
missA,
Oh, I'm with you there too. I love animals. Dogs, cats, well, anything furry, but not restricted to. Case in point: My favourite comic strip's Pearls Before Swine. And favourite character's Pig!
Mystique,
Well, I had a couple of stray cats who used to rule over my house when I was a kid. Once, while we were renovating the upper floor before moving in there, one little kitty cat brought this dead mouse and placed it at my dad's feet...like an offering. Cute little bugger, though we didn't take well to the dead rat. (I don't hate rats, don't want to see them killed either, natural thing or not). But yea, that cat decided from that day that our house was really his. We didn't have the heart to tell him WE were actually the ones who lived there, and HE was the guest.
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