Economics @ Home © Volume 2 Issue 7

Blindness

What can I say about physical blindness? I am no particular expert when it comes to biology. But then again, who said that we have to be an expert on something before we can talk about it.

What I hope to talk about today is the blindness that is caused by ignorance, intentional or otherwise. Let us first start with a simple example. More often than not, in Malaysia, we see a sign that says "Jangan membuang sampah. Denda RM500" (Please do not litter. RM500 fine). Then below the sign, we see a whole pile of rubbish. Now, that is the kind of idiocy that we have to deal with in Malaysia. But of course, issues on such inconsiderate behavior have already been beaten to death by many a writer and hence, I will not venture into something as unproductive as beating a dead horse. 

Today, I would like to share a story with you, and perhaps exhibit some of the self-righteousness that I am ever so proud of. 

While Timmy and Lily have been dating for close to five years, they have spent most of their time apart. It was one of those modern long distance relationships. They kept in touch regularly through chat programs. With both of them apart, they are most certain to have their own group of friends. Without the intention to spoil the story, I will go ahead and say that Timmy will only play a small role in this story. The story pretty much revolves around Lily and her little group of friends. Without her beloved boyfriend at her side, Lily has grown accustomed to hanging out with another couple, Jessica and Isaac who have been dating for about a year. They appear to be like any other couple who recently fell in love. Jessica and Isaac publicly show their affections towards each other. They feed each other ice-cream, rub each others' nose with their own in restaurants, etc. For those of you who are already nauseous, don't worry, there will be more to come. Just kidding. For those of you who are jealous, oh please, get a life. 

Now, the three of them (Lily, Jessica and Isaac) frequently spend Saturday evenings together, so naturally, Lily would become close to the both of them. In fact, they are so comfortable with each other that Jessica has no issues with Lily and Isaac going out alone together. Friendships between two people of opposing genders are always beautiful things until one falls for the other. Then all hell breaks loose. In the Economics @ Home Volume 2 Issue 5 (Wanting What We Can't Have), I talked about how men (and women) always want what they can't have. It was no different with Isaac. There was no doubt that Jessica was a great girlfriend to him, but Lily just seemed like a more exciting catch because first of all, she was not his girlfriend, and more importantly, she belonged to someone else (remember Timmy?). 

One fine day, while having coffee together, Isaac  leaned over and kissed Lily on the lips. Being the faithful person that she was, Lily resisted and pulled away. Lily never saw it coming (or did she?). Isaac, having realized his "mistake", pulled away, but never apologized. One only wonders what led him to do what he did. Could it be the "signs" that Lily was throwing at him? Of course, there was no way Lily was going to admit she was flirting with him. Perhaps she is telling the truth. In fact, women pride themselves in reading guys and knowing when they have feelings for a particular girl. Could Lily not have realized that Isaac was becoming more attracted to her? Maybe she knew, but she thought he would never act on it because he was dating Jessica. Or maybe she thought that nothing would ever happen between the both of them because of the nauseous things that Isaac does for Jessica. In short, could Lily have succumbed to unintentional blindness? 

Regardless, that was not the end of the matter. If you thought that I wrote such a long story just to ask a simple question like that, then I assure you that you will be disappointed. 

To continue the story, Lily decided she would forget the matter and let Isaac deal with it with Jessica. How Lily and Timmy dealt with the issue is irrelevant in this case because it was supposedly not Lily's fault and Timmy is a very understanding person. Nonetheless, Isaac has chosen not to say a word to Jessica about kissing Lily to keep his relationship with Jessica intact. While Timmy believes that Lily should let Jessica know about this, especially since Lily considers Jessica a good friend, Lily strongly believes otherwise. She believes that what Jessica does not know cannot hurt her. Lily believes that if her boyfriend were to have an affair with someone else, she would rather not know about it. What she does not know cannot hurt her. Now, is Lily guilty of being intentionally blind? 

Since Isaac has decided not to expose himself with regards to his wrongdoings, and with Lily's cooperation, Isaac has got away scot free and everything in his relationship is apparently hunky dory. While I am an advocate of Lily exposing Isaac's disgusting behavior, I shall pose this question to my readers. Put yourself in Jessica's shoes. Would you prefer to know about Isaac's indiscretions? Or are you one of Lily's acolytes who believe that whatever misfortunes that we are not aware of cannot hurt us. One simply cannot help but imagine the ostrich that digs its head underground in the face of danger. 

How this story plays out eventually, I am not clear. However, all of you know where my stand is. Now, it is your turn to pick a side. Would you prefer to be blind?