Keep calm and drink tea - um, carry on

When people say it's difficult to be kind, I can't help but feel for them. Some have been driven to the point of no return ; some still want to make the effort to be good, kind and compassionate. As much as I want to be good, kind and compassionate, there are a number of things I don't tolerate.

• The abuse of freedom of speech.
• The abuse of the right to life.
• The abuse of anything for that matter.
• Rudeness.
• Indecency.
• Swearing.

If you are speaking to me, you might not care, or you might pretend not to care, but know this : I'd rather see a chivalrous (fellow ?) Briton than a disgraceful one.

My heart is broken as I write this : I try to love others, I try to smile to others even when it's difficult. Throughout my term in the University of Hertforshire from September to December 2010, I've seen people who genuinely make an effort to be chivalrous, and people who just turn a blind eye to what's going on. What every human truly needs and desires is objective : we all want to be cherished by others. If we want love, we must show love. So we've gotta do accordingly.

I came across a case where someone - a particular Londoner - was being rude towards a friend of mine on an art site - and I felt that I needed to do something. So I did. I told her to stop making these rude remarks ; she said I was intrusive and decided not to reply me anymore. Fine, so be it. I doubt she'd be reading this thing right now, but what I saw from her before she made that comment had broken my heart from the very start. For starters, she was proud. Her language wasn't the kind I'd use unto others. And finally, there was that rude comment. If she dared make the assumption that I was standing up for my friend, I must honestly confess that she was no better.

Whilst I'm here I'm not gonna expect anything.

I don't want to turn into a bitter person because of experiences like this.

If the British government of the day just before the start of World War I had it in their minds to say "Keep Calm and Carry On", they were absolutely right. There needs to be more calmness. I, for one, find it hard to be calm with the amount of times people have grieved me, in Malaysia and in here. But I've come to realies that oftentimes, when we come across people like these, we'd need to smile, breathe a prayer, tip our hat and bid goodday, and move on.