I HATE MONDAYS

 

Close your eyes and picture this. I know you did not close them since you are reading this, so go ahead and betray me but do keep imagining. It's early Monday morning, a little before 8am and parents are dropping off their kids at a certain elementary school. The kids line up at the gate as they wait for the principal to let them in.  Suddenly there is a loud bang, followed by another then another. Pandemonium ensues with children screaming and bullets flying. The principal is killed as  he tries to help the children. It does not stop and in no time a custodian also dies as he tries to pull one student to safety. The police arrive and parents are being shouted at to quickly drive off as they arrive to drop off more kids. The police manage to barricade the line of shooting with a garbage truck and twenty minutes later there is silence. The damage is far done as two adults lay lifeless with eight children and a police officer wounded.

You could stop imagining and crawl out of that rock you live in. It's 29th January 1979 in Grover Cleaveland Elementary School. Across the street, from her house is 16 year old Brenda Spencer who is behind the crime armed with a .22 Semi- automatic rifle and telescopic sight. She fired 30 rounds after which she locked herself in the house and declined to surrender to the police. Negotiations went on for about 6 hours and eventually she surrendered to authorities reportedly after being promised a Burger King meal.

During the time when Brenda had barricaded herself in the house, she spoke on telephone to a reporter from the San Diego Union -Tribune. When asked why she did it, this is what she said, "I don't like Mondays. I did this because it's a way to cheer up the day. Nobody likes Mondays."  In case you don't believe me, do look up her story or better yet listen to the song by the Boomtown Rats. 

I do not wish to delve into deep philosophical arguments after that tragic story. Humanism, simply explained, refers to a focus on human well being  and advocates for human freedom and progress. It holds humanity to be responsible for development of individuals, upholds inherent dignity of all human beings and emphasizes a concern for humans in relation to the world. Without looking at how it has evolved over time and the different schools of thought around it, the description above embodies for me the essence of humanism for me. It is self- realization through reason coupled with your duty to promote human welfare.

The year is now 2021, heading to 2022 even. We have been through a real pandemic and a much worse one of watching the revolution of dance on TikTok. The rest of the world off TikTok were either making banana bread or starting a fitness journey the probably already backslid from. America has had  a black president and another one who made the world cringe so often, that for a minute there we were convinced our situation down here is better. Christiano Ronaldo, the GOAT I hear ( wasn't this Messi last year?) has already been born, played for Manchester, left for a little over ten years and made his surprise comeback.  The long and short of it being everything has changed.

Everything apart from the fact that we still hate Mondays. Much more today when the weekend is much anticipated only to disappear between laundry, sleep and a few drinks. This is definitely not a post to attack you for how you feel about Monday, rather my emphasis is on what you choose to do with those feelings. Individualism has been branded and rebranded over time and as of now the epitome of self awareness is recognizing that you are the main character in your life. The show literally starts and ends with you. We do everything for us and are not bothered by what anyone else thinks or how our actions affect them. We are all about romanticizing our lives at whatever cost. I am convinced most people now will not hesitate to burn down the world to warm themselves up. This main character energy we proclaim could quickly turn into narcissism. 

Humanism for me today is all about finding that delicate balance. Acknowledging that this show we envision our lives to be has so many other characters in it and that at some point we play the side characters or even extras. The greatest act of humanity today is to take care of yourself and prioritize your well being without being self-centered and borderline narcissistic. Loving yourself as the good book asks of us and just as importantly, loving your neighbor in equal measure. Having perfected the former, I believe the world could become easily perfect if we did the latter with the same enthusiasm and commitment. Humanism is recognizing that Monday is indeed terrible, probably not just for you, but taking a Burger King meal would lighten it for you without making it a tragic day for everybody else.

By all means, start with you. You cannot pour from an empty cup so please go ahead and fill your own first. Then now step out into the world and extend some grace. I know it might be impossible to pull off a Mother Teresa but kindly refrain from pulling a Brenda Spencer as well. Endeavour to love and accommodate even that which you do not understand. I know human beings can be weird to deal with. Some wear sock-shoe sock- shoe when dressing up, others chill in jeans in their houses and others support Arsenal. Others like Brenda Spencer's father give their 16 year old daughters guns for Christmas when they in fact asked for a radio. 

Love them regardless.

(at least try)