Fire and Brimstone

This past 48 hours has made me lose faith in humanity more than any other incident in my two decades of existence. Here, I saw the worst in people, the monstrous and the downright despicable. Their ugly heads craning in glee in the despair of others. Animated tales of half-truths and speculations disguised as intelligent conversation float the streets like the smoke still stubbornly lingering in the air. 

They say "Love thy neighbor" but I really cannot imagine being able to right now. Not when I have seen and heard with my own eyes and ears the heartlessness and callousness of the people around us.

As a believer of the beauty of human nature, I cannot fathom how these people can still point fingers when the only ones who have lost almost everything are the ones they are pointing at. What is with these people that compels them to spread hysteria and take center stage as they narrate how shocked and panicked they felt at the height of the incident then brag to anyone who would listen how accurate they were when they said before they have seen this coming and thus act like pompous omnipotent Gods who were "right" all along?

These are the same people who would stomp on you when you're down, taking advantage of the momentary showcase of weakness of the successful entity they secretly want to be. 

Middle-aged women in multi-colored dusters look harmless enough but beware, these are the ones that you should be wary of. Those who have no life of their own and have nothing else to do with their dull and pointless existence so they feed off the tasty tales of others so that their lives will seem to have more meaning, more excitement to freshen up the day's mundane routines of sweeping the front of their houses while keeping an ear out for juicy gossip. 

Let's not forget the holier-than-thou Followers of Christ, the ones in all white uniform asking for your money during masses, reading bible verses and preaching the word of the Lord. The same ones who would judge without proof and concoct (and spread) their own version of the truth as they deem fit to their pre-conceived impression of others.

And lastly...

What kind of people are these who have already seen smoke coming out of a window and failed to notify those who may still be inside the building? Yes, thank you for calling the fire department, but it is still a mystery to me how your conscience could exist when you knew that there were living, breathing people inside a burning building still unaware of the mortal threat they were facing and yet you have done nothing to make sure that they make it out safely.

-

Humanity, I am disappointed. I know there exist murderers, rapists and thieves that do much worse, but I always regard them as those who have chosen a different path and thus separated from the people I see and interact with everyday. But this foul, selfish disregard to the welfare of others is unheard of before this moment. It made me see the evil inside everyday harmless citizens, most of whom you think are respectable and honest do-gooders incapable of those kinds of thoughts and (lack of) actions. 

So, to our neighbors who epitomizes the paragraphs above, I remind you one powerful word: Karma.