Circus

I believe whatever doesn't kill you, simply makes you... stranger. – The Joker



The job fair I went to yesterday could only be described as a circus. The interview rooms reminded me of game booths, the organizers circus masters and unlike other carnivals, the freaks mingled so freely with the marks they virtually became one homogeneous crowd.

Even without a tie, I was easily the best dressed in the pathetic crowd. Most of the guys dressed either in casual attire (shirt and jeans) or downright casual (T-shirt and jeans). The overage ragamuffins notwithstanding, some seemed stuck in the 60s and 70s. With their unshaven face, unkempt hair, they looked just like hippies. Someone should tell them that the Beatles are no more, Fallout Boys are in, thanks for the memories, wake up and have a nice day. The ladies were not as daring in their attire as the men were, but they looked old and tired. Same for most of the people that thronged the place. A parade of dolls that have seen better days but are now tattered, forgotten and unwanted.

The more I looked at my dear countrymen and women, the more depressed I felt. There is no dignity. What is the use of being so loyal to a company, of working so hard and dedicating the best years of your life to your job, only to be discarded when you are old and deemed surplus to requirements?

In a way we are all toys. No matter how pretty and fun we might have been, when the novelty wears off, we are nothing. To the rag-and-bone man for some. To the charities for others. A few end up in the streets and trash collection, bound for the incinerator and there’s nothing anybody can do about it, or wants to. There are no fairy tale endings, no white knights riding to the rescue. We are just commodities. Having abolished feudalism, we have unwittingly cast away the dignity and liberty that we have fought so hard for, and snared ourselves to the yoke of capitalism and become less than humans. We are nothing beyond our perceived value in monetary terms. Say what you want about the purity of the human spirit, the ineffable joy of transcending your base mortality, of spiritually elevating yourself, go on with your wretched rhetoric and delude yourself! Ultimately the world cares nothing for us. We are not special. There is no sanctity of life. No universal morals and justice. Nothing, save self-deception and hypocrisy, opiums essential in a society that takes back from you tenfold of what it gives.

If you attribute my cynicism to my current straits then you err in your assessment. Bitterness and jealousy are not requisite for discerning the truth of the world. If I were rich and powerful, I would most likely have echoed the same sentiments. I would probably be more boastful in my vehemence, for it is I who will exploit and profit from my understanding. After all, the meek might have inherited the earth, but the strong owns the mineral rights.

Here are some interesting characters whom I met:


ENERGIZER BUNNY
A perky bloke accosted me, asked which position I was applying for.

‘Admin assistant’, I said.

His eyes lit up. ‘Oh really! Admin assistant. I also,’ His expression grew perkier.

Then he glanced away, turned back to me and asked me the same question.

I stared at him and repeated myself.

Apparently satisfied, the bloke turned, grinned like a village idiot and proceeded to harass the unfortunate soul standing behind him.


LOST
Some time after Energizer Bunny left, another bloke asked me about the position I was applying for.

After I answered him, he took on a strange expression and mumbled in a confused voice, ‘They didn’t tell us to wear long sleeved shirt.’

‘I thought it’s understood.’ I said.

He continued to look at me blankly. He struck a pitiful sight, with his old T-shirt, faded jeans and worn New Balance shoes. I hope he didn’t have aspirations of becoming an administrative assistant. Meanwhile, someone please remind him to breathe.