AMALAYER brouhaha and all that fusssssss

My attention and curiosity was caught yesterday morning when I happened to check my twitter account and found this hashtag #Amalayer trending. Unaware of what the issue is about, I had a big question mark on my head and I told myself "What the freaking stuff is this?" Puzzled and bewildered still, I tried to shrug of the idea. However, upon browsing the yahoo news, the answer seemingly seems to slap my face as it is also trending in that site. And so, question answered. I browsed and read through the news.

Apparently, the Amalayer thingy is about an english speaking girl passenger of LRT who happens to pronounced the I'm a liar as "Amalayer." Since I had no idea before, I thought it was "I'm a lawyer" mispronounced. Laughing at my guess, I continued reading and found out that the girl was ranting and shouting at the top of her lungs as the lady guard likewise shouted at her and grabbed her (this was her side of the story). Thus, everything started there and that actuation of the poor lady guard sparked the fire of hatred and loathing from this likewise poor girl. Oh well, talking about individual differences and bouts of temper. I'll just give my big SIGHHHHHHH.

After reading the article, I was not contented. I wanted to see the video and of course it was everywhere, literally. It's trending on social media, thus it is really easy to find. Just one click and I was then watching the viral video which spread like wild fire. I felt aghast and flabbergasted. I asked myself "What the hell is happening to the world?" When confronted and our attention was called for, do we really have to call for other's attention to by literally shouting? At the end of the day though, I am not in the right position to judge. In the first place, I was not there when such drama happened. But of course, as a citizen patrol who just happened to watch the video, you can't help but make preconceived judgments out of what you saw.

I felt sorry for both of them though. First, to the lady guard because she was definitely HUMILIATED. Being shouted at while everyone was watching is indeed, AWKWARD. I can just imagine her shrinking and wishing that she may evaporate right there during that moment. But of course, she can't. And with an english speaking girl screaming at you telling her that she is  "educated," what else will you feel? But it all happened already, and even with all the apologies, the lady guard already felt inferior.

Nonetheless, I also felt sorry for Ms. Amalayer. Because of the video, her face was bannered in all forms of social media, and maybe even in the newspapers and in TV. She was the talk of the town and the subjects of debate, maybe even crucified, laughed at, criticized, mocked at, and judged. She has to admit though that there was a lapse of her part too, even if she was shouted at and being grabbed by the guard. If she was "maltreated," as she said so, it does not give her the right to do the same. What's the use of the term amicable settlement if we would talk in an uncivil manner with each other? In addition, being educated does not also give her the privilege to belittle others just so she can earn respect and stand out. The real essence of being an educated person is knowing how to respect others and to be able to think before you act such that you will not hurt other's feelings. But maybe she was humiliated too, so lesson learned, be careful with what you say or do. Now that we are living in a highly technological era, we have to be wary of our actions, for we never know if there's a camera spying on us.

The damage has been done and the debates are still ongoing. Both parties aired and shared their side of the story. Once again, the netizens are alive and kicking, ranting and commenting on the issue. I just hope that we be mindful that we are not as saintly as we think we are. We may say our piece and stand about it, but at the end of the day, we do not have the right to condemn. The internet and social media provide the avenue for us to speak our minds, but I hope the bashing would not go overboard. After all, both parties are human and commit mistake. Let's move on and learn our lesson so when confronted with the same situation we will all strive to do what's right.