Dog Chow

I don’t even know where or how to begin. No matter how politically pungent or extreme some commentators are in this great country, as “opinion leaders,” they still have to submit to the marketplace of opinions. They either risk being sidelined and thus recede into total oblivion, or they lose all credibility and influence in the democratic political process. Hong Kong, unfortunately, affords no such check and balance. One big-time ass kisser, Robert Chow 周融, wants to pass himself off as the majority opinion leader and defender of public interests by attacking fragile democratic institutions and hijacking the wretched of the society, only to be rebuffed by a deluge of concerned citizens. His vitriol is toxic and nonsense.

A friend of mine summed it up in a word, “dog.” While potentially insulting to the canine species, I understand how she feels. As a fellow cat lover, we know cats, in contradistinction to dogs, do not have an owner; they have staff. Dogs, in the worst scenario, such as the pre-apartheid South Africa for instance, are no more than the vehicle and extension of state violence. Robert Chow is one such crass embodiment of the state’s attack dog. In a dysfunctional political system whose executive branch and half of the legislative branch are unelected, in a radio talk show on the public radio, Chow accuses those legislators elected by the people of dereliction of duty, as it were, because they have opted for political comedy. The evidence, Chow amasses, is a mere “No” vote to the budget. A “No” vote will put the lives of senior citizens in jeopardy, he “reasons,” because they will not promptly receive their public assistance checks.

In 2008, Chow accused (yes, this dude likes to accuse, but he is no Emile Zola) the hostile media and public opinion of “academic discrimination,” because of a public outcry over custom-tailoring the lowered qualification for the position of the Director of Broadcasting that he sought, quite probably a deal under the table to favor the ass kisser. I have known many instances of discrimination but this was the first time I heard about lacking a Bachelor’s degree for a certain job constitutes a discriminatory practice. The reader may already be impressed with his intelligence, but there is more! His faculty for reasoning is so brilliant that he claims to have evidence that unelected legislator are just as, if not more, capable of the elected ones. Since Ronald Acculli, who has never stood in a real election, happened to have a good legislative record, then we should not even bother about democracy. And, let’s not forget, according to him, the elected legislators only care about good drama! Nevermind Hong Kong’s government is undemocratic and unresponsive to our needs. They also hate grandpa and grannies by delaying their checks. If you love grannies, you should agree with Chow, self-appointed grannies’ advocate.

I suddenly feel cheap and rather stupid by merely trying to argue against him. First, I am too educated, which may be unfair to Chow. Second, his arrogant air and paternalistic tone on Hong Kong’s public radio every morning depress those listeners in possession of a brain. I do not like venting too much or giving too much negative vibes here, now I wrote three consecutive posts categorized under “Shit” on my blog. What will dog chow eventually turn into? Dog poop.