Feel The Hate

One More Tragedy

by Hamm Madrigal

Minister of Angst


Lernata Pli Unu la Alian

or,
Getting to Know One Another

Nu! Laste, mi estas en Toronto. Mi havis nun unu problemon kun cxi tiu sinuacio. Mi logxis kun grupon de extremaj esperantistaj separanoj. Mi ne estas nun certa, ke se mi deportigxus, ke estus por mi pli malbona.

Se vi ne logxis kun extremanoj, do vi ne povas scii, kion mi volas diri. Mi ne volas sugesti, ke ili ne estis bela. Iom, ili estis al mi tro grava.

Ekzemple, Cxiu fartis gravan taskon en la domejo. Pli malbone, cxiu donigxis titolon, kiu estis tro longa. Evidente, peno speciala bezonis, por ke la proletaro sentus sin grava.

La cxefo vokigxas nur Al.

Mi konfusis ilin. La cirkonstancoj de mia alveno devigis al mi objeckton de domagxio. Memoru. Ili trovis min post fiakristo kaj liaj komplicoj rabis min. Mi estis senkonscia.

Post multaj semanjoj, la grupanoj sin demandis pri mia manko de entuziasmo. Defendi min, mi ne estis honeste certa, ke mi komprenis, kion ili deziris.

Mi estas senscia. Mi sciis nenion pri ilia grupo.

La grupanoj trompigxis sin. Ili opiniis, ke ilia organizo estis bone konanta, kaj sxokigxis, kiam ili lernis, ke amerikanaj jurnalistoj neniam mencias ilin.

La fackto, ke kanadana jurnalistoj neniam mencias ilin, ne gxenigxis ilin. La grupanoj opiniis, ke cenzuro toria estis la kialo.


For the nonEsperanto speakers, here's the English version:

So! Finally, I was in Toronto. The only problem was that I was living with a group of radical-Esperanto seperatists. I'm not sure, now, that it would have been all bad to be deported.

Unless you've lived with revolutionaries, you can't know what I mean. They're nice folk, now don't get me wrong. It's just that, well, they're a little serious for my taste.

Everyone had an important function in the household. Even the god-damned janitor had a title that might take your brain several weeks to decipher. Everyone made a special effort to make the lowest, stupidest members feel important.

Everyone just called the leader "Al," though.

I was an enigma to them. The circumstances of my arrival (beaten up and robbed by a cabbie and his femininely clad accomplices) made me an object of pity for the first several weeks of my stay.

Later, though, people expressed puzzlement about my lack of enthusiasm towards their movement. To be honest, I wasn't entirely sure that I understood what they wanted.

Even more confusing was the fact that they felt that theirs was a popular movement. Imagine their shock when they discovered that the American press never discussed them in the same breath as Sendaro Luminoso, the IRA, or the PLO.

They didn't seem to mind the fact that the Canadian press never mentioned them, though. They blamed it on Tory censorship.


If you missed it, last issue's tragedy is still available.
Sponsored in part by the Order of Benevolent Madmen.
[33687] people have come by since our June 2, 1997 debut.
A Glider Enterprises designMike's Rant/Mike's News - The Human Condition - Is It Just Me, Or...? - The Token Woman - Convention Photos - Back to the front page - Configuration - Write to the editor - Write to this article's author - Go to the Archives - Check It Out!