A Discourse in Shitology. Part II- The Golden Rule

Do not use shit to fight shit, for you only create more shit

Over the years, as I was collecting ideas to form what would become my philosophy of Shitology, I developed a gloomy and sobering perspective: All shit can be created and destroyed, but it is more often created than destroyed. It is also transferred from one form to another, and very often is in the process thus augmented.

The rapid and exponential augmentation of shit arises because we simply don't know what to do with it. As we have discussed in the prelude, neither submission, nor vengeance, nor self pity, nor arrogance can serve as long term viable solutions to shit. This is the Great Paradox of Shitology, as a result of which shit is not just a nuisance but also a ticking time bomb.

Human beings have, throughout their history, tried to fight back, but in many pitiful ways which ensure that the shit returns to smack them hard in the face.

I bring to you this case which serves as a negative example of the Golden Rule of Shitology. This man, a compatriot of mine, was fed up with all the shit that Life gave him: bad public transport, rising cost of living, scarce housing and of course the influx of all those foreigners. The bald patch on his head presumably didn't do much to help.

In response, he decided to create some shit of his own and fling it back at the government, whom he viewed as the shitstirrers. Unfortunately, this came in the form of violent political cartoons which the authorities didn't find at all humorous and long story short, he is in very very deep shit now.

Do you need any more examples of how people have used shit to fight shit, only for more shit to be created? Sure. Read also the case of the teacher who used the f-word on his student in retaliation. I hope by then you'd get an idea of the golden rule.

Have you had the experience of having so much shit on your hands, so much shit that Life throws you, that you don't know what to do with it? I have. It happens often in my life, and I am sure Gary felt the same way too. But, the handling of shit is a sophisticated art and it is highly unwise for angst or impulse to turn things haywire.

Naturally, we would thus want to know the highest form of the art of shit handling. We want to know how to deflect that shit and reduce its disastrous effects. Regrettably, I'll do it another time and by then, I'd be invoking the name of a certain Sir William Osler.