#38

Webposting commenters say the darndest things in this life, the Universe, and everything. Here is a story that offers perspective on the human condition in and of itself in one culture with the perspective of readers' comments who belong to a completely different culture.


This princess can relate to the story in terms of taking action. Several beloved flowering plants were stolen and her family garden was raided of vegetables on two separate occasions. Though she knew no perpetrator would be caught she still enlisted the police for help so that she felt some sense of power in the situation. She views the following story in this light:


On July 15th, 2009 CNN reported that "A family in Saudi Arabia has taken a genie to court, alleging theft and harassment, according to local media.

The lawsuit filed in Shariah court accuses the genie of leaving them threatening voicemails, stealing their cell phones and hurling rocks at them when they leave their house at night, said Al-Watan newspaper....

"We have to verify the truthfulness of this case despite the difficulty of doing so," Sheikh Amr Al Salmi, the head of the court, told Al-Watan. "What makes this case and complaint more interesting is that it wasn't filed by just one person. Every member of the family is part of this case."

...In Islamic cultures, a belief in genies, or jinns, is common. Genies not only appear in pre-Islamic fiction such as "Arabian Nights," but are also mentioned in the Quran. Many Saudis believe invisible genies live among them and are capable of demonic possession and revenge."


Here are the comments:

• This gave me the idea of suing the tooth fairy. I don't feel she gave me enough money for my teeth when I was younger.
• I understand where they're coming from.....i tried suing Santa Claus for slander and failure to fulfill a contract when i was good all year but he brought me coal anyway....turns out, we dont have an extradition agreement with the North Pole....for me to have any shot at winning they have to catch him the breaking the law here in the states and hold him for trial....well....wtf is sliding down people's chimneys if not breaking and entering?....tell me he's not speeding when he's making his rounds......must have SOME radar detector to avoid all the speed traps....and what about cruelty to the reindeer?....think he's not taking a little nip of the eggnogg every now and then to keep warm?.....one simple DUI arrest and i'm golden. Just more proof.....the rich get more "equal" justice than the rest of us.
• Wish Number One: I wish you'd stop throwing stones at us.
• Why would they want to sue Jeannie? She is such a lovable genie. Sure, she gets Major Nelson into trouble every now and then, but she does her best to bail him out, too.
• Well they should sue! I hope they win and get MILLIONS in invisible money from that good for nothing Genie! Get it for everything it has.
• Dont tell me?.....They must have rubbed the Genie the wrong way!
• What I'd like to know is how they're going to collect from a jinn when I can't even collect child support.

Just goes to show that everyone's a comic, intentional and otherwise. As is evident, commenters say the darndest things!