Recently, I encountered some more anti-countryfolk sentiments from another fellow urban dweller. This was about how their colleagues from out-of-town seem to be more willing to work overtime, longer hours, harder than the rest of the people in their office, and to the sick twisted upper management, that's always a good thing. That's what I'd call spoiling the market.
Of course countryfolk have a lot of anti-city folk sentiments as well, things such as 'you won't survive a day in the country', or 'why you gotta be so lazy'. It is true, we are lazy and probably won't survive in the country, but at least we think an average of 12x faster. We are less susceptible to frauds selling us magic potions, or attending secret Amway meetings.
We city folk have always been chided for driving everywhere. Even if its 5 minutes down to the store we gotta drive. It has become a habit, and of course people from other countries or, out of town...in this example would wonder why we are so lazy. Why can't we just walk to the store, get some exercise instead. I thought about that before, and to tell you the truth, I like walking. I walked all the way from Segambut Dalam to the main highway outside before and I would've reached home if I wasn't decked in my office wear which wasn't the first choice for that sort of activity. I enjoyed walking the streets of Sydney, so fellas, no, I'm not lazy.
Then, what is it that makes us drive short distances? Sometimes I feel like I'm lazy, I look for justifications. Things like its more convenient, or its already here, or I'm driving to the petrol station anyway (even though you never do). But something happened today that made me realize why us city folk do not walk. Fear. Open up the newspapers these days, robberies, abduction, rape. These are events that happen right at our doorstep, and it can happen to anyone who has the 'it won't happen to me' mentality.
Yesterday I heard that my neighbour got robbed just outside my house at the field as he and his friends were walking to the 'mamak' for food. That was the 5-minute walk that I'd drive my car 25 seconds to get there. I always drive. The reality is that walking here is not the same anymore, we can't pretend to be ignorant and that these things won't happen to us. It can, and it will, and we just won't know it. I think a lot of things that city folk do are more inclined towards self-preservation, while country-folk take a more practical approach to life, concentrating on self-promotion. As far as I'm concerned, its better to be alive, than to be glorious.
