First Gentleman with Wilson Orhiunu
Email: babawill2000@gmail.com Twitter: @Babawilly
The earth is a place where people come to waste their time. They start by frittering hours, and graduate to sting weeks then months till the rest is history. One of those big tools for the dissipation of valuable time is fighting. It seems that everyone is involved in a dispute.
The countries are fighting, the families argue, neighbours are at it and everyone on social media is armed with rudeness and unshakeable opinions both in politics and religion and the fighting just goes on.
The first thing to notice about these endless fighting is that in most instances there is no prize for the winner. Secondly, fights take time and this is time that can never be retrieved.
There is no point in getting involved in every fight. If life and property is at risk it is well worth it to mount up a defence. However when one’s opinion is disagreed with, there is no point in fighting. A logical debate is healthy but once one of the participants proves to only be interested in ‘winning’ it is better to promptly fall to the ground, play dead and let the mandatory count to 10 start. Let them win and save you a headache.
There is the need to experience victory in all of us, hence our affiliation with sporting teams. We share the joys of triumph by proxy and punch the air in delight when our Chelsea or Real Madrid scores a goal. But sometimes we want our names on the Cup. That is why we love those certificates with our names on them. That sense of achievement does wonders for our egos.
Those without the genetic blessings to score winning goals in the football league but still desperate for the buzz of victory create their own Acrimony League where they strive to win all balls of contention security maximum points in all fixtures. These are the opponents that also double up as referees and linesmen in their aimless conflicts.
These unfortunates get their daily fix of achievement by winning debates that mean nothing. The unsuspecting potential rival might be lured into conversation and their stance on the issues at hand speedily deciphered. The malignant debater then takes the opposing view. The novice naturally starts to wax logical and build a foundation for their way of thinking while deep down they hope for a stimulating four minute debate. The crazy competitive debater suddenly goes wild with insults and begins to foam at the mouth. This is when a wise person pretends he has just been hit by a Mike Tyson at his prime and falls for the count
Those conversant with boxing know that there are many advantages to having an early knock-out. The winner’s ego is massaged and the loser receives less punishment. That is the quickest way to get out of a worthless fight.
Practice makes perfect and some people have been bickering as a way of life from birth. These ones might not display that tendency at work or in social settings but those who live with them know the real deal. The popular argument about how to squeeze the toothpaste comes to mind.
Now if it was the family Bentley that was the point of contention I would understand. No one would want a careless spouse driving an expensive car and constantly bashing its body work. A protest would be in order. However who really cares about the body work of Colgate toothpaste? This item can be bought for seventy pence and there is no reason why everyone in the home does not own their own toothpaste the way they own their toothbrushes.
The domestic arguments can be as endless as they are trivial. The washing up of dishes, the cleaning up, putting the bins out, on and on it goes.
The older I get the more I am on the look out to see if the people I am engaged in a conversation with are looking for one more argument to win. I promptly lose the fight and run away. Wisdom dictates that I will live to fight another day.
