Common courtesy

I've known Ian Barbosa for a long time. Ever since those days when he worked at the British Council in Green Hall, George Town. I would walk there from my office at Ban Hin Lee Bank during lunch time. Not that I wanted to see him specifically, of course, but to read the British newspapers and magazines there. I got to know Ian from those days, together with Irene, Sharifah, Rahim (or Rahman, whatever the name was) and Nawawi. Then of course, there were the library books. I used to borrow them. Fodder for my bored mind whilst on the ferries from Mondays to Saturdays. Always was able to put in at least an hour's reading time while the ferries plied between the mainland and the island.

Just today, I opened up my facebook account and there was this posting that Ian had made. Observing common courtesy is nothing new and should be practiced by everyone. But the way that he put it was rather....thought-provoking, can I say? Anyway, this was what he wrote. Thought that I'd just reproduce it for everyone to read.

"The most important lesson that will benefit us all is common farking courtesy. At home, at work, on the phone, with friends, while having sex, while taking a dump...common courtesy should be part of our psyche and not a job that must be done only when called for. Its far easier to be nice than to be a real dick head with a caustic tongue. I've been called a bastard in my day and in all honesty... i don't deny it. But there are also many who know me and have seen the side that i keep only for my special friends..and you know who you are. So here is the moral of my story...treat others like you would like to be treated yourself. If you show hate...then get ready to be hated as well....don't farking complain because it all starts with you...Get it!!!"