Debaters

Yesterday, as I was waiting for the train back home after a long day at work, I noticed a group of four to five young lads standing merely 10 meters away from me.

Inferencing from my personal experience, I assumed these guys participated in the debating tournament currently held in PWTC based on the way they carried themselves.

These guys were wearing their complete debating attire - shirt, blazer, neck tie, holding files, saddling backpack and complete with a ballpen (not fountain) in their pocket.

I mean, who would wear neck ties with blazers while waiting for the train at 5.30pm in a crowded train station? Obviously these guys did. Just looking at them made me sweat even more profusely.

Then I quickly gathered all of my previous observations about debaters that make them stand out in a crowd - but not in a good way.

They have this air around them with 'better-than-thou' attitude which makes you love to hate them. They are posers, self-centered and cocky bitches who, in real life, know very well how to spark an argument but just hate of losing it.

Bahasa Melayu debaters are worse. The girls would be equivalent to those you watch in sorority-theme movies while the guys, well, they are just like the girls (literally) but with worse attitude.

Again based on my previous encounters, male debaters in the Bahasa category usually have greater tendency at making you want to bitch-slap them.

True, they are some who could differentiate between their act on and off stage. They could be very well intimidating and annoying on stage but once the tournament's over, off comes the mask. They are back to being wonderful human beings - like my fellow debaters Ann Jie and Li Lian.

Back to the group of those blazer-clad young guys giggling while waiting for their train, they are no exception and fit perfectly into this stereotype of debaters. Airs, attitude, bitch-slap and all.

As for me, I don't know if I carry around that disgusting debater air with me but I did get remarks saying that I looked rather, err, unapproachable at times (especially from my blunt mom). Maybe because I was both an English & Bahasa debater so I must have got the 'best' of both worlds. Ha!

Until the time I boarded the train, they were still in their suits and ties, each with a too-good-to-smile-to-you face (despite pimples and bad acnes on them). As much as they annoyed me, I am really amused at how lost people can be and so full of themselves.

As Kurt Cobain once said, 'Thanks for the tragedy. I really need it for my entertainment'.