strangers

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as the popular clothing line says, a world without strangers. this would probably be one of the most powerful and moving statement any commercial line had come up. it is nice to hear that such fashion statement have transgresses from the typical promotion of low self esteem in the facade of boosting our egos through being "fashion conscious" individuals.

nonetheless, the statement is just a statement. it doesn't provide any concrete means and goals on how to materialize it. we could never know each other by simply wearing the same tee or pants, couldn't we? for all of us have our own and different life stories underneath our clothes (did i sound shakira on that line?).

but is a world without strangers really possible? or is it just another utopia that most of us still dream of?

most of us find and employ ways to widen our circle: to meet acquiantances, friends, potential lovers and even lifetime partners. but if you'll come and think of it, we'll also realize that this is also a mean of reducing strangers around us. and through the break of modernity, the internet have become one of the most popular and effective venue in doing this.

who here have not used the mIRC or messenger once in their life? probably for some they even learned how to chat first before they knew how to use an email or browse a website. internet chat has become one of the most popular activity among internet users. some would even say that it is addictive. porbably because the thing with chatting is that it is able to meet two or more people in one venue wherever they may be, and above all is its characteristic to provide its users the ability to create and personify a different identity, thus, it creates an ideal image of one self, and from this the game makes its either exciting or risky.

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but in a world full of superficiality, the idea of uncertainty should never be miss out. most especially, in meeting these people we knew and met over cyberspace.
for most of us, our imagination has the tendency to create a virtually-ideal-near-impossible image of one another, depending on how creative you are in drafting your own prince or princess charming. we tend to romanticize things too much. sometimes we even base everything especially the physique of a person through stereotypes: his origin, economic class, school s/he attended, educational attainment, profession and even his alias. but all we have here is just a biased virtual image and not the actual picture of that person. so the end result is frustration and a broken ego to the other person.

probably the point that i am just trying to stress out is that in meeting someone over the internet, never expect that you'll meet someone that looks like jake cuenca or amanda page (i just thought of her, sorry), never anticipate that you'll end up as lovers or in bed, and don't await that you'll always have the same person that you thought about in the other line. everything changes in actual reality, you know.

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although i am not an expert to such things, for the number of people i have personally met because of the internet is still less than the number of my fingers in my hand (and no, i don't have seven fingers in one hand), for me, the rule of the thumb is expect the worst and be your best. what matters are the things that made the both of you keep the line and not the things that was just revealed by that single moment.

then i just realize that a world without strangers is not just about meeting someone, seeing their physique or smelling their scent. it is actually more of knowing the person, unravelling the story behind their clothes (here comes the malicious part...not!hahaha) and feeling the battle their taking. then from that launching point we will be able to understand that there is indeed no strangers in this world, it is just us who keeps on putting the stigma. it is just us who makes them one.

i believe that the major reason why there is conflict, war and discrimination is because of men's lack of inniative and skill to know the other person. men keeps on living within the shadow of strangers and not what is beyond. thus, we don't and still don't understand.

if we will only take a part of our time to hear and feel their story. then probably we'll know that that person is not really a stranger rather s/he is just like you (or us) being treated as one as well.

and to sum it all, no, i didn't meet anyone or planning to meet someone anytime soon.