A prison for your mind

Since I will not pay even a single cent for an online subscription to a 146th-ranked newspaper, I guess I can only quote from the free (money-wise, that is) Chinese newspaper :)

I am not him, and he is not me. In fact, he may not even be writing about what I think he is writing about. But well, it's up to me to interpret whatever I read in whatever way I want. Ha!

联合早报, 副刊, 2007-01-04
河童－熊的对话

这是在热带岛国动物园里，一对北极熊母子的一段对白。

熊妈：妈老了，趁妈还有口气，不得不告诉你，你可要记住，你的祖籍在北极。

熊子：北极在什么地方？没听您提过。

熊妈：跟你讲你也不懂，北极在地球的北部，那里常年冰天雪地，非常寒冷，老实说，我也忘了那里的气候更说不上具体的感觉了。

熊子：那我是谁？我要回去北极可以吗？

熊妈：乖孩子，你是这里土生土长的，你是赤道上的婴孩，嗨！说个笑话给你听，当年你出世时还被冠上一个名堂说是世界第一只在热带地区出世的北极熊，嗨！宝贝，那又如何？妈对不起你，不应该把你带到这人间地方，当下万一妈真的走了，丢下你孤苦伶仃，你又无一技之长，叫人担心。


Hmm, didn't I already say: Animals in captivity do not breed?!?


熊子：妈，什么是一技之长？

熊妈：儿啊！我们熊类能在寒冷的冰天，恶劣的环境之下追杀海狮海豹，那才痛快，那才是熊性，那才不会辜负历代祖先的传承。

　　这就是一技之长。再说，熊就是熊，看到猎物就捕杀，站起来张牙舞爪大拍胸膛哦依哦才是我们的本能，你能吗？


Of course 你不能 lah! Don't say 拍胸膛哦依哦, even if all you want is to exercise your 熊性, to roam around freely, also must see if the guards will let you exercise your bear's rights or not leh!


熊子：这里有得吃有得穿，餐餐定时，又有掌声，不好么？


Typical ignorant bred-in-captivity bear cub's response. How else does one expect him to respond?. How does one tell such a cub which does not regard his little luke warm swimming pool as a constraint, that it is his rights to be roaming FREE among freezing cold polar ice? How?

The cute naive little cub supports the very people who imprisioned him!!! He is contented with just the basics, for it is only the basics that he knows: 有得吃有得穿, 不好么? Freedom to 拍胸膛哦依哦? What's that, mummy?


熊妈：孩子，你不懂，待在这里我们熊性的尊严全失，最痛心的是我们失去了自由，说实在，我们的的确确被软禁了。现在又要把你送出去，说要把这里转换成热带雨林，又说北极冰块开始融解，又要拯救地球拯救咱们，嗨！诸多理由。


Oh? 送去 where? Batam Retirement Village? Batam Zoological Park? Hmmm.


熊子：妈，我听不明白，他们把我送去别的动物园也许会更好。

熊母：嗨！说来说去，人类又要满足欲望，又要弥补过失，自圆其说往往就是他们拿手的本能，我们只不过是他们手中的傀儡罢了。

Yalor. After sending you to Batam, we can import some 热带雨林 and transfrom the zoo beyond recognition. Thank you, both mother and son, you have helped bring lots of profit to our zoo. Now that you are old and useless, off you go! Xie Xie. Bu ke Qi. Haha!

Morpheus: The Matrix is everywhere. It is all around us. Even now, in this very room. You can see it when you look out your window or when you turn on your television. You can feel it when you go to work... when you go to church... when you pay your taxes. It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth.
Neo: What truth?
Morpheus: That you are a slave, Neo. Like everyone else you were born into bondage. Into a prison that you cannot taste or see or touch. A prison for your mind.