This was a meme I saw on Facebook today. It apparently says that a top police official in Keralam named Rishi Raj who is from a northern Indian state is asking the following ...
"(He) obeys the traffic laws in the gulf
but when (he) comes to his homeland (he) gives it zero value..
When the law is made strict and/or enforced strictly,
why are they protesting ?"
I am not very familiar with Mr.RR personally but I know him to be a very popular and controversial figure in Keralam. To me it seems unlikely that RR would say something like this. I feel that this is a work of fiction where someone has put words in his mouth. But let us assume that he did say the words. In that case my reply is as follows ...
Because ...
1. Generic Reason : Foreigners / Expats almost always behave better than the locals as they can be deported if they behave in an unacceptable fashion.
2. Specific Reason : The roads in the "gelf" are far superior to and wider than those in Keralam ! In Kerala we have rivers when it rains where there are supposed to be roads. There is no value for the road tax we pay here in Keralam.
Conveniently ignored is the fact that almost ALL Indians and I dare say MOST South Asians ignore the restrictions on their activities - especially driving - when they can. At least in Keralam, they don't turn as violent as in other places and law enforcement is relatively easier than in most places.
Keralites get bullied by their government for exceeding the speed limit in roads - especially the MC (Main Central) - in spots where it is perfectly safe to do so just to increase the revenue through fines. There are very few or no speed cameras where they are needed like in crowded areas or accident prone areas. This is because the amount of "fine based revenue" from such spots is negligible. The cops are thus not safety caretakers but extortion agents of a parasitical political structure. Why else would the authorities force people to drive slower in places where the conditions are excellent for faster driving ? This reminds me of the speed limit on trains in Atlas Shrugged where the Union of Locomotive Engineers demanded that the maximum speed for all trains on the Rio Norte Line be reduced to 60 miles per hour, and the Union of Railway Conductors and Brakemen demanded that the length of all trains on the line be reduced to 60 cars.
A large section of the Keralite population are vicarious dictators who enjoy sadistically watching others suffer, imagining themselves as the ones who are exercising the power. The state bureaucracy is their 'political party' agnostic means of doing this.
"Did you really think that we want those laws to be observed?" said Dr. Ferris. "We want them broken. You'd better get it straight that it's not a bunch of boy scouts you're up against—then you'll know that this is not the age for beautiful gestures. We're after power and we mean it.
You fellows were pikers, but we know the real trick, and you'd better get wise to it. There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws. Who wants a nation of law-abiding citizens? What's there in that for anyone? But just pass the kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced nor objectively interpreted—and you create a nation of law-breakers—and then you cash in on guilt. Now that's the system, Mr. Rearden, that's the game, and once you understand it, you'll be much easier to deal with." - Atlas Shrugged
Keralites get bullied by their government for exceeding the speed limit in roads - especially the MC (Main Central) - in spots where it is perfectly safe to do so just to increase the revenue through fines. There are very few or no speed cameras where they are needed like in crowded areas or accident prone areas. This is because the amount of "fine based revenue" from such spots is negligible. The cops are thus not safety caretakers but extortion agents of a parasitical political structure. Why else would the authorities force people to drive slower in places where the conditions are excellent for faster driving ? This reminds me of the speed limit on trains in Atlas Shrugged where the Union of Locomotive Engineers demanded that the maximum speed for all trains on the Rio Norte Line be reduced to 60 miles per hour, and the Union of Railway Conductors and Brakemen demanded that the length of all trains on the line be reduced to 60 cars.
A large section of the Keralite population are vicarious dictators who enjoy sadistically watching others suffer, imagining themselves as the ones who are exercising the power. The state bureaucracy is their 'political party' agnostic means of doing this.
“The state is that great fiction by which everyone tries to live at the expense of everyone else.”
― Frédéric Bastiat
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