by Deepa BHOOKHUN

Can you imagine what it would be like to live in a society where every time we meet someone we don?t like, we think ?hum, I find this person distasteful, maybe I?ll kill him.? Or every time someone does something we don?t like, we start thinking, ?Now I don?t like what he just did, I think I?m going to threaten him.? Ridiculous, really, isn?t it? I mean, I?m sure the thought has crossed many minds but don?t we always shrug the idea off almost the minute it has started taking form in our head just because such a thing is simply not done?

This begs the question; what stops most of us from acting on our murderous instincts? Is it because we really think human life is sacred and it is not up to us to dispose of it as we think fit? Or because of a fear of the legal (or karmic) consequences of our act? Or simply because we haven?t the courage of translating our thoughts into actions?

I haven?t been able to figure out the answer to this but boy am I glad there is something that stops me from killing people I don?t like! But you see some people have decided that it would be totally reasonable and wise to act on their anger. And so they have started circulating tracts to tell the world of their ?brilliant? idea of finishing off the finance minister Sithanen? because they do not agree with the budgetary measures taken by the government. I mean, come on!

So it seems on the 28th of October (God knows why those who intellectually challenged people chose that particularly date), the saviours of the Mauritian nation will inject Mr Sithanen with a lethal injection. As a general rule, people who threaten don?t do. Those who are serious about doing a particular deed just get on with it and don?t dwell in attention seeking tactics like sending anonymous letters. The sort of things that cowards resort to, if you know what I am on about.

I wonder at those primate people who could even think that it was ok to resort to threatening letters of this sort. What, no fears of being caught by the police and facing up to their acts? No fears of legal implications like the rest of us have?

I wonder why.

Food for thought, methinks.

I hope the authors of the threatening tracts are caught and I hope they are made an example of. Not because I am a big fan of Mr Sithanen but simply because I was taught to respect the law, to respect traditions, to respect the rules without which society would simply fall apart.

And those fools that rush in where angels fear to tread are threatening the very basis on which a civilized society is built. And it must stop now.

An afterthought: have you notice the deafening silence of the opposition on the matter?