khajidont | MoM IC Contact

Jaime's cell phone is more or less plugged riiiight into his brain, so he tends to pick up like 99% of the time! If not, however...

"Hey, Jaime here! Leave a message, and I'll get back to you ASAP."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

khajidont

Yep. Sometimes elementary schools will have little graduations too for the kids and a kid I know was graduating so we all went to cheer him on. It was pretty cute

From:

rathercommon

[ She was more unclear on what elementary school entailed (but a quick run to Google after he answers tells her all she needs to know). ]

That's sweet. And really weird. They're just doing more school after that, right? But it's still really sweet. And I bet the speech was less unbearable. Less of 'diligent work will serve the glory of your nation' and more of 'well done, all of you.'

From:

khajidont

Yeah they're doing a lot more school. It's kind of a congratulations on getting this far and to say good bye once they go to a new school? The speech is all about opportunities and how great they're gonna do. They read from some picture book too.

Plus there was cake

From:

rathercommon

Oh, that's REALLY sweet. What a completely lovely thing to do. The kids must have been awfully excited.

From:

khajidont

It takes a little more than that to excite the kid I know but I think he had fun anyway. The rest of them were pretty excited too. Where I'm from they always read a poem to the kids on the graduation. It's kinda cheesy but it's sweet too. Hold on I think I remember the part I had to memorize when I was in school

From:

khajidont

"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And you are the one who'll decide where to go."

Not a bad one for little kids right?

[it's so cheesy, and read constantly, but whatever. There's certainly worse out there.]

From:

rathercommon

Aw, I'm applauding! And no, that's BRILLIANT for little kids. And for some adults, for that matter. Everyone can use reminding now and again that they're in charge of their own lives.

From:

khajidont

Had a funny feeling you'd like that one. I think that's probably what my graduation ceremony back home would be more about. We're a little less patriotic than this world is I guess?

From:

rathercommon

Oh, but you all still have to do that creepy pledging your loyalty to the flag thing, right?

From:

khajidont

Yeah actually you're right.

[He never thought much about it. He just sort of sleepily mumbled his way through it and got one with his day.]

From:

rathercommon

Eugh. There's something wrong with the world when even the SANER countries try to program their subjects into blind unquestioning obedience.

From:

khajidont

I don't think it really works that way

From:

rathercommon

No?

From:

khajidont

Well if it worked we really would be robots. As it is, half of the country is usually busy yelling at the other half cause they don't like the government

From:

rathercommon

I don't know. I've heard a LOT of people going on about the greatness of America. Never mind their feelings about their government, but their loyalty to the country itself is rather mindless.

From:

khajidont

[Jaime actually doesn't answer for about a minute, minute and a half, which is different from his usual texts. Is he working up a big, rousing speech about why Kitty's wrong? About why she's right?

Not so much. Instead, he just winds up typing:]

I've never thought about it like that.

From:

rathercommon

Yeah...I don't know. A country is just an idea, right? Even more than a government is just an idea. But people love it so fiercely...'I love my country, but I don't like my government' people say, and that first part is ALWAYS there if the second part is. Sometimes I wonder why. It's true for me too, for what it's worth.

From:

khajidont

I guess it makes sense. I mean when people talk about the country they're talking about the people right? Not just the government. And the land. And what the land stands for. I know with America there's always people talking about getting second chances

[His Dad talks about that a lot. He's gotten the speeches about America, land of opportunity since he was a little kid.]

From:

rathercommon

I guess...though, I don't know. How often do you actually see second chances? I mean, you've got the ability to declare bankruptcy here instead of going to debtors prison, so that's something. But...Otherwise, how much of it is just rhetoric?

From:

khajidont

I don't know about here but at least some of it is true back home. I mean not all of it obviously but it was true for my family? There was no work or food in the village my grandparents grew up in so they had to cross the border. It worked out pretty good for them and if they'd stayed in Mexico

Well from the sounds of it I wouldn't be here

From:

rathercommon

They were allowed to do that? Cross over to find work?

From:

khajidont

You can if you get a work visa. Or if you cross illegally.

[He's not saying which his family did.]

I live on the border so I see a lot of that. Even know a bunch of guys whose whole thing is helping smuggle people across, just between me and you

[...and then his best friend's Mom lets them stay in her house, if they're kids. That's how it always seemed to go.]

From:

rathercommon

Really? How brave! Assuming they don't take horrible advantage. Which...Since you're not cursing them, I assume they don't.

From:

khajidont

They do it for money so it's not like they do it out of the goodness of their hearts or anything. But it's not like a crazy amount of money? Or the type where if they don't get the money they'll go around shooting people? It's just sort of the way things are back home

Don't you have things kinda like that where you're from?

From:

rathercommon

Yeah, of course. My best friend's parents - they were bookbinders, primarily, the best in London (though they were treated WRETCHEDLY, because they were Czech), but they also had a side business forging documents. Which was REALLY good news for me. They were able to smuggle Jakob (my friend) out of the country and build two new identities for me after I had to go underground. I've got a lot of respect for the sorts of people who do things like that. Even if there is money involved. It takes courage.