We all have
boundaries. We construct them ourselves and they are built for us. Our own
boundaries emerge from experiences and lessons that are blended with senses of
morality, ethics, rules, laws and expectations. Our parents introduce them to
us when we are very young.
The
adventurous or restless amongst us cross these boundaries. We all do at times
actually - even some Singaporeans. We explore and we push and we reach out to
feel the heat of burning fires and we regularly get burned.
Sometimes we
are scarred.
I had a great
conversation about boundaries last night. There was a gathering for a wedding
that is occurring today. It was a per-nuptial event. The Groom is my Irish mate
and the Bride is also a mate but she is Australian. The Groom is a wild boy as
many of the Irish are. The Groom has crossed many a boundary. He has flattened
them and charged out into the beyond. I like this about him. He is an
adventurer and a questioner. He is often brash and fearless and his life is
rich with experiences.
The
conversation that was had about boundaries last night was initiated by me. I
was possibly the only sober person in the conversation at the stage of the
evening that the discussion was had. No one was too drunk though. I was sober
because it was my responsibility to look after the groom. As mentioned he is a
wild boy and my task was a difficult challenge but one which I took seriously.
I asked the
collective group at the pre-nuptial event whether anyone had watched the
British Series “Black Mirror”. No-one had. Black Mirror is a dark satirical
series created by a chap by the name of Charlie Brooker. He is an English
journalist and the series is all fictitious. I recommended to the group with
whom I was conversing that they should try and watch it. I told them that it
was thought provoking. I then described the first episode in the series and
asked them, "What would you have done?"
Then off we
went.
The first
episode of Black Mirror is called "The National Anthem". The
story line is that the Prime Minister of England is awakened in the middle of
the night and informed that a video has been received of a Princess of the
Royal Family tied to a chair and reading a ransom note. Think a Tony Blair type
of character for the Prime Minister and a Kate Middleton as the Princess. The
Princess is a darling of the UK and the world. She is loved for her beauty and
her charitable works. The Prime Minister is popular and young with a beautiful
wife and a little baby.
The British
Security personnel informed the Prime Minister that the video is authentic and
the Princess is missing.
In the video
an obviously terrified princess reads a ransom note advising that at 4.00pm
that day the Prime Minister must - on live Television – and on every channel -
fuck a pig. The act must also be streamed live on the Internet. The
instructions are very clear and specific and no other demands are made. A
failure to fuck the pig will result in the execution of the Princess.
This is less
than twelve hours away.
The ransom
video is also released on YouTube and FaceBook through anonymous and
untraceable servers and it goes viral. Within a few hours the whole world
knows.
Armies of
Security and government super geeks are launched to try and find the Princess
and her kidnappers but time and technology is against them. The Security and PR
people for the Prime Minister look at desperate options such as getting a
special effects team to see if someone else can do the act with the PM's head
superimposed on his body. The kidnappers somehow discover this investigation
and they send the severed finger of the princess to a television studio to
reinforce the seriousness of their intent. Then the demand is repeated. The
Prime Minister must fuck a pig live on TV or the princess will be executed.
The Prime
Minister and his wife are naturally distraught. Political advisors are in a
frenzy trying to ascertain the impact and potential political damage of both
scenarios which are fucking the pig - or not fucking it. The princess is a
darling of the public and the advisers and spin-doctors inform the PM that if
he chooses not to undertake the act the fallout will likely be horrific. They
state that his political career will be over and his own and his family's
safety could not be guaranteed.
It is an
unthinkable quandary.
I asked the
group who I was with what would they do? I didn't yet tell them what actually
happened. The discussion and debate was interesting and it was at times quite
emotive. It was a beauty.
I loved it.
The crowd
involved in this discussion was mixed. There were Americans and English and
Singaporeans and there were quite a few Australians. Many of the Australians were
bogans. About half of the participants were men. To my surprise the majority of
women who were involved in the discussion thought that the Prime Minister
should not do it. They said it was disgusting.
When I
suggested that this was sacrificing a life for an agreeably but one-off
disgusting act - they said it was of no consequence. They were adamant
that fucking a pig was unacceptable. When I further suggested that the advisors
said not doing the act would put the life of the PM and his wife and little
baby in peril - they simply scoffed. They suggested that they could be
protected.
Quite a few of
the blokes said they would fuck the pig. Unsurprisingly the bogans were all for
it. They have likely done worse. Discussions got a bit heated between some
couples on the subject.
I was loving
every minute of it.
After half an
hour or so of "What ifs" and "What would you do?" someone
asked me what happened next.
I told them
that the efforts to track the kidnappers failed and the PM opted to fuck the
pig. He felt he had no other choice. The film showed scenes of rowdy people in
pubs around Great Britain drinking beers and waiting for the live coverage. The
PM was given some sort of Viagra type drug before the act in the studio and he was
weeping and distraught as he did the deed. There were shots of the pub crowds
falling into shocked and shamed silence as they witnessed the debauchery.
The Princess
was released before the event actually occurred. No one knew because they were
all at home or in pubs watching the telecast. There was a shot in the film of
the kidnapper hanging himself as he watched the Prime Minister fuck the pig.
One of his fingers had been severed.
The end of the
film was a flash forward six months later showing the Princess playing with
children at a charity event. She was smiling and happy. There was another scene
of the Prime Minister and his wife at some sort of building opening - both were
chatting away to the media and they were smiling and holding hands. Then there
was a further scene back at the Prime Minister's residence where the wife
indicates that she hates her husband and she will never forgive him.
Me personally?
I would have felt very sorry for the beast - but to save the life of the
Princess - and any human being for that matter - I most definitely would have
done the pig.
Irrespective
of the boundary crossed.
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