dunk-the-lunk-blog

[dunk-the-lunk-blog]

A day in my life: Welcome!

           At first light at dawn I woke up scared, fearing that I had woken up late to class, or worse, waking up early. I can’t rely on my phone since it can’t charge, so I opened up my laptop to check the time and found that it was 4:38. Feeling surreal happiness, I kept calculating how much time have I slept and adding it up to seven, which made me more happy as I heeded a WSJ article on best sleep for adults.

Got outta bed, took my tooth brush and paste and went to the restroom to brush-- no unusual thing happened, but I saw the sun was shining and noticing how the crappy microphones of the mosque are still working, I got back to my room. 

I poured water in the heater and stood closely, waiting anxiously until it gets to hissing then unplugging it so I won’t wake my roommate up. Made me usual coffee with no sugar or cream. After that I opened the NYT page through my laptop and saw the front page full of stories about Jewish massacre and thought to myself “ Naah, not today. Today i am happy”. and went straight to the magazine section to continue reading The Candy issue(which is total happiness). After that, I decided to look for my Bank card so I can check whether or not the uni has distributed the stipend-- they did but it was 3 days ago !-- I couldn’ t find it and decided not to make too much noise as it’s still early and my roommate is asleep.

I went outside to breath the heavenly breeze, it poured heavy rain last night unbeknownst to me because I was asleep, and I thought, GOOD. I really liked sleeping early and not wasting time. (the students documented the rainfall and made quiet the commotion, which you can find through Twitter by searching KFUPM). When I was walking, I couldn’t feel anything but blessed. Not in a theological sense(which is not to say in heath-ish way either!), I felt blessed that I can enjoy little moments despite how miserable life is, and how miserable it might become. In a transitory moment, I just shut down all the domains of grievances and lived a dream. A dream about how things turned out well for me, how I gave up my cynical attitude and as a result it made love possible. How I truly loved and felt for members of family and those who surround me. Of course, it was just a passing moment, and breaking out of the stupor state, I realized that I am still cynical:)

Broke out of fantasy I decided to plan my day, and as usual solve some new problems I totally could have avoided if it wasn’t for my blithely attitude. After that I went to classes one by one, Math teacher was absent so that’s a plus, and my English teacher told me to advise higher level students about how to write and told them “He is 101 student but his english is very very advanced level” which brought a smile on my face:) My physics teacher called me “my friend” as a result of an email I had sent him earlier apologizing for my bad behavior, and he was very happy about its content, as you can attest, I can be very persuasive with words:)

I can not detail you what happened to me on the trip to reissue a bank account, as this blog is long as it is, but I will take snippets and share them with you. Due to unfortunate, unforeseen events, I started walking at 12:50PM on the streets of Al Khobar looking for a Taxi or a super market so I can charge my phone with credit. I did not find either of those, however, and continued walking. AsI was walking along manor houses and palaces, I could not thing but “wow, these people MUST BE REALLY HAPPY”, across the circle street a woman driving a Range Rover came towards me and passed me. It’s the type of a vehicle where one would imagine himself driving in if he were living The Good Life. its seats appear to be comfy, it’s colored with white chrome- the type that makes it sparkly and tells people that you are rich. At that moment, I could not have felt more petty for myself in my life. Here she is, a woman, who is oppressed by a patriarchy, who probably got her car by an approval from a guardian, living at the pinnacle of the social hierarchy, unlike me, a man, who probably worth very little if not nothing at all. She looked beautiful, smart and confident. The type of women who exchange flattery within the real of etiquette and ruling class vernacular in a tea party with her rich aunts and fellow rich friends. I have known these types of people my whole life, after all, I am not a serf:)

Of course this is not the whole story of this woman, and of course she must have something to say better than me to say. But, despite my progressiveness and secular way of living, I still have more Testosterone and Vasopressin than Estrogen and Oxytocin. Being male wires me to compare myself to everything, from a resin to God himself. And my brain does that, I think, just to spite me:)

Synchronicity is a concept introduced by Jung, it is explained very efficiently by the two words ”meaningful coincidence”. Later that day, I ordered an Uber driver to end this day which is filled with strenuous events(albeit it has its glamour). The Uber driver and I started talking about topics ranging from male guardianship to Khashoggi’s killing, stating to me in a submissive, almost saddened tone”What you are saying is wrong, women getting responsibility is a European concept that is not shared by us, we who have tradition and Islam”  The conversation ended abruptly as I got out to the bank to deposit some money, and came back to speak of another topic. We spoke about how profitable Uber is to its Captains and how it is a good money resource. I mentioned a Warren Buffet quote which goes along the lines “If you can’t find a way to earn money while you are asleep, you will work until your death” Which seems to have triggered something in him, a melancholic cry against God and the world. He started explaining to me how hard he works to provide to his family, by only having a high school diploma, the quality of jobs he submitted to get were not in the least satisfactory. He spoke about getting rejected from every institution he applied to, be it college or university. He told me he works at a hospital as a security guard and an uber driver, mounting the working hours per day to 14. He told me that he finds solace in God, making his children happy when they visit the park and giving to those who are in dire need when I asked what things cause him joy the most. Explaining all the sad things in his life, he told me at all started as he was a highschool freshman when he had an accident which caused him to go through procedure and a three month long comma, after that, he says his brain can not process things as he wishes, and that he only understands few and passes many. 

 Thinking to myself, I could not have let this cynical thought escape me, which is whether or not he wished he never woke up from that coma. I don’t know. But contrasting my reaction to the woman who drove a Range Rover, and to this poor fellow, Jung’s idea could have never been more appropriate to consider. It is not scientifically proven, but it is something that you take as a human truth, something that you know it’s just true and can not be falsified. I decided to feel content for a while, and focus on climbing the ladder, and be a little less harsh on myself.

 The End

[dunk-the-lunk-blog]

A Rift of Light

      Ever since Khashoggi entered the Saudi Consulate in October the second; many of my follower will have noticed that I have been intensely reading; retweeting and tweeting every credible source I can lay my hands on. But some might mistake this verve as a form of support for Jamal’s ideas and political leanings. In here; I will try to explain how this is simply not the case.

As many of you know, I have been quite critical of Islam in its many forms. I simply do not believe that a government which adopts Islam as a constitution can thrive and compete in the modern world, and simply believe never such a country ever existed, in each respective era without having to resort to conquest. In addition to that, I don’t believe that an Islamic democracy ever was able to contain itself, not in the prophet’s time nor in other time, and that is due to Islam’s incompatibility with these western nourished ideas. So why would I defend Jamal?

I believe myself to be a staunch supporter of basic liberal values. One of the most basic ones is to believe that human beings are agents for themselves, and have the right to believe and express their agency. If I were to believe that anyone who holds a belief similar to bad people makes him a bad person; I would have betrayed my value and cheated myself to an easier life. Expressed elegantly In the words of John Mill “The only freedom which deserves the name is that of pursuing our own good in our own way, so long as we do not attempt to deprive others of theirs, or impede their efforts to obtain it.”

Also, my country sadly has proved itself a poor source of information, which makes me more credulous towards their reports. Seeing my own country launch a propaganda machine of bots through the infamous Saud Al Qahtani. Seeing my country imprison a prime minister of another country to force him to enact its will. Seeing my own country tighten the knot on free speech and threaten dissidents gave me ample reasons to believe they can’t be trusted. Therefore, I believe the Turkish reports that state that Jamal Khashoggi was brutally murdered to be more credible, and I believe CNN got it right when they reported the US is looking for a way to avoid condemning MbS.

Since I hold these things as beliefs, it is necessary for me to speak on behalf of the free souls of the Arab world and condemn the brutality committed against Jamal, which credible reports of made me shake and cry, within the realms of reason and logic. Jamal and I shared the belief that the individual must think for his own self to improve his society and government, and that it was necessary to instantiate free press protected by the rule of law.

If the Arab world refuses to think for its own, if the Arab world isn’t willing to defend basic civil liberties, especially for those with whom they have multiple disagreements, then perhaps the Arab world isn’t deserving of democracy that preserve their basic human dignity.

[dunk-the-lunk-blog]

What we do to believe

      The fall out of the Khashoggi ordeal(where Khashoggi was interrogated, tortured, beheaded, dismembered and had his body disposed of by using chemicals and cleaners to wipe any form of vestige, according to Turkish officials) brought about the USA’s, administration and senators, anger, international condemnation, businesses pulling the plug on investing in Saudi Arabia, and, most importantly, Saudi Arabia’s own citizens willingness to omit factual and credible reporting, and resort to conspiracy theories and online harassment of reporters and most horrifyingly, bullying Khashoggi’s Turkish fiancé, in events that almost exactly mimicked what a mob of Alex Jones enthusiasts would do.

 The citizens response came as a surprise to many Westerners; Why would ever the oppressed so fervently defend the oppressors? Why would people who don’t get to vote, voice their opinions, who get imprisoned for the wrong choice of words or even the wrong choice of clothes, defend a brutal dictatorship? What these Westerns don’t understand, what those of us Arabs who believe in democracy and freedom of expression understood, is that to Saudis government dictatorship is not a distortion of life, but an essence to its prosperity. But they also believe that monarchy can lead to bad things and have led them to bad things.

 Which brings me to MbS, to my country men(men) and women, MbS represents a new rift of light that emits all the hues they have longed for, they don’t want to be shamed about having a backward culture, they don’t want to be shamed about their national identity, they don’t want to be shamed about their vile creed and they don’t to be shamed about their gruesome practices on women and children. What they want is pride.  Pride about their identity. Pride in a government that adopts realpolitik. Pride in a Saudi that is for Saudi, and no one else. MbS used this feeling, albeit forcefully, to commence an era that appears anew, yet everything about it seems just the same, or even worst. A war on Yemeni rebels, much like the one before But with a more destructive force. A crackdown on businessmen and people from the royal family because of dubious “corruption” charges. And most shockingly, tightening the knot on speech and media outlets, and the killing of the most famous Saudi dissident, Jamal Khashoggi.

 Faced with grim realities, Saudi citizens chose to believe. And today, amid Khashoggi’s murder news reports, we see Saudis ever loyal and ever standing behind their country. The citizens have established that country comes first. first against truth and first against justice. But it won’t take much long, though, faith always has a way to disprove itself. And only time will tell when these Saudis experience similar destiny to that of Jamal.

[dunk-the-lunk-blog]

Rome, spoilers.

Sunday, September the 23rd, 2018.. 

As I write this blog, I have just finish watching a tv show called Rome. The show is about two characters living in The Republic of Rome in the time of Gaius Julius Caesar, one of the smartest characters ever depicted, and one whom I am eager to read more about. Luicius Vorenus, Prefect and ex commander of the 13th legion of Caesar’s army who fought The Gaelic rebellion north of Rome, and his friend Titus Pullo, fellow comrade of the 13th. 

The overall narrative of the show is historically correct, Marcous Antonious did sadly commit suicide alone at the throne of Egypt, but whether or not Vorenus killed him is unknown. as a matter of fact, it isn’t known what he has done or didn’t in his life, it is only a scribble of Caesar’s journals that we know of him, same can be said of Pullo. 

The show was glorious in every front, but, it might have been better if they finished the story with a better ending, since it is fiction. If Dis(a god) wanted more of Vorenus, is it plausibe that it merely wanted Vorenus to honor Antony by killing him, and watch another leader he was supposed to protect fall in his sights? I’d have loved if he had atoned, and had a Gladiator-esque ending where he sees the lovely Niobe once again, in his dream, apologizing, sobbing to her, telling her he killed her by his wicked temper and weak heart. She the gently touch his face with her bear hands and brush his hair gently, telling him with a soft but affirmative tone, that he must atone for his sins, “You killed me .... Luicius Vorenus... I thought you were dead...” Vorenus, weeps, shouted a cry of sorrow” I am sorry Niobe. I am sorry. Niobe don’t. Niobe don’t leave.” .... then he wakes up and must start his redemption path.Titus Pullo might have had a bigger role, exploding in a fist of melancholic burst at Vorenus for his treatment of the children, telling him of how he never knew his family, and that he worked at a slave camp.. and so on and so forth. a pity what the show runners decided to go with...