Lyon |
There is no
right or wrong. But can anyone be so unassuming that anything goes? Everyone
operates and approaches a task from his or her point of view and the role he or
she assumes whether by choice or due to his or her job specifications or the
circumstances that he or she is in. More often than not we respond or execute a
task in a pragmatic manner. When it feels right and things work, we will
continue to operate in that manner. A mother usually cooks something
wholesome for the family but a cook who does it as a living may not think about
cooking something healthy as he or she just wants to serve something that is
delicious and enticing to the customers. Is it his or her moral duty to see
that the food he or she is serving is healthy for human consumption? The
restaurateur’s objective is to make money and ensure that his or her restaurant
is sustainable and not about sustainable living for the world. It is up to the
individual to decide for himself or herself what he or she wants to consume.
Milan |
When I first
started practising law and doing civil litigation , I loved the challenge in
getting a point across to the judge particularly when I found that my client
had been wronged or there has been clearly misapplication of the laws regardless of whether my
client is an individual, a
landowner , a bank or a company. No matter how technical or tedious the legal
points may be , it has always been interesting to find the cases and authorities to support my clients’ contentions. After years of practice, I see that there
are always doubts about what the clients tell us and it is a matter of
perspective and perceptions but as a lawyer it is a matter of interpretation of
the laws to suit our clients’ needs. Throughout the years I see that the
banking documents run into voluminous pages as the banks and financial
institutions have relentlessly and constantly worked on their clauses so as to
make it impossible for the borrowers and consumers to succeed in court should a dispute arises. It is a
lawyer’s role to see that a particular client’s interest is well represented
and safeguarded. The lawyer’s job is to act on client’s instructions within the legal parameters and we
must not think about the interest of the other contracting party. It is also
our job to uphold our client’s rights and defend our client’s interest in court
and winning the case is what
matters most.
In ‘It’s a Man’s World’
the novel written by Polly
Courtney , Alexa Harris
is asked to head up lads’ magazine , Banter. Alexa is brainy and ambitious and always loves a challenge.
She is subjected misogyny in the testosterone- fuelled office. When she
introduces the My Girfriend mobile app for the lads’ magazine where one can
upload nude pictures , she finds herself the target for the women’s rights activists
who has found the app to be
pornographic and must be banned as it
perpetuates the notion that women are objects and one particular
feminist persistently tracks her down to bring across the message that the
lads’ magazines promote violence against women. Georgie , the antagonist in the story tells Alexa that what the magazine has done is brought sexual images and language into the mainstream and
Alexa tries to argue that sex is everywhere and it is not the fault of the
magazine. Alexa is so bent on achieving the sales target so that the magazine
will stay afloat that she refuses to see the social harm the lads magazine may
cause due to lack of control and the mobile uploads.
Shanghai 2011 |
At the work
place, there are also women who
will dress and behave in a way to please the male bosses
to get ahead. The personal
assistant in Banter , Sienna is
such a girl though she has writing talents.
‘Alexa continued to drink her
beer, feeling it mix with the tequila inside her and thinking about Riz’s words
. He was right . There wasn’t a single move that the PA made that didn’t have a
motive. She kept Derek sweet because she wanted to work her way into an
editorial post. She played the dumb blonde because she wanted the team to see
her as compliant and sexy – the perfect Banter girl. An outsider might say that
she was the victim of sexual harassment at work, but in fact, it was the other
way round. It was her male colleagues who were being played.
Tokyo Dec'06 |
‘She’s just biding her time,’
Riz said quietly.
‘What d’you mean?”
‘ She wants to do more
editorial – not just the shitty problems letters she does for Neil. She’s
looking around, I bet.’
Alexa looked at him. ‘Do you
think?’
He nodded.
Tokyo Dec' 06 |
Alexa’s mother
and good friend, Leonie would never approve of what she is doing at Banters. Alexa is forced to
look at who she has become and the price she has to pay to get ahead. There are interesting insights in the
novel ‘ It’s a Man’s World’
.
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