WhatsApp King ?

I was meaning to write on the "whatsapp admin" for a long while and today provided me the opportunity.

Just like almost everyone here, we all belong to one or many WhatsApp "group".... of all nature - from just "Sembang2 motor" to serious ones like "World Intelligence" (no kidding!). Again, many of us are just "added" in by friends with good intentions. Some of us will immediately exit, while some will stay on for a while, then exit. Or never.

I'm narrowing down to the "Admin" of these sites. More later.

In most sites, the conversations are pretty mild/fun/jovial until someone voices an opinion that is either illogical/rude or sometimes - logical/correct/rational but the group in general, is unable to fathom. You see, there's a saying, "geniuses are only discovered after they are dead" - you get the drift. And many a time, when such a person voices that contrarion opinion, while (s)he gets "whacked" by fellow members, there will be a few who will "pm" him/her with messages like "I agree with you bro but I dare not say it publicly cos I also will get hantam like you....".

Now, on the "admin" of such groups - have you noticed, often the most capable/smart/rational/witty/wise person does NOT become the admin? Either because (s)he is the most capable/smart/witty/wise one (and so, sensibly, stepped aside...) person, or, usually, the most repressed person is "elected" as the admin. In many of my personal groups, the least capable (saving the adjectives) person is the "admin". I've noticed (and so have you), this person suddenly gets a chance to live his(her) dream - yes, you've guessed it - being "da boss". Ironically, they suddenly become the doyen of logic and propriety. They now "wield" power. In most groups, the admin is someone who is fair and logical and cherishes the trust given by his peers. But I'm talking about those admins who, for want of a better word, real "nutters" who suddenly wield power - because they can "kick" you out if you disagree with them. It's the POWER baby ! It's almost like when we were in school and the "last boy" in class then, now being given the "monitor's" role. I recall when I was a teenager in KKB, I was always "late" coming to school (even then, waking up at 7.10am to be in class by 7.20am was a nightmare - my poor Amma, she had to drag me out of bed literally by my ears.....my other 2 brothers would have already had their brekky and left for school by then) - and there you are, some "C" class boy/girl would be waiting ( I suspect, just for me) at the school gate to issue me a ticket. Just to see me washing the toilet for the day, sigh. I think this is what is meant by "syiok sendiri" ?

But, I've digressed. My peeve is with some admins of groups who, think that their "standard" should apply to others. (I think they will make great Malaysian MPs?). Their newly begotten power(s) allow them to behave like that. (Often they form the group?). I rarely ever "question" these admins because, I feel, let them have their day in the sun - afterall, you must have been the "stick in the mud" some 30 years ago and now, it's your time to bloom. I'm usually very forgiving even when I know the admin is a jackass. I've learnt that voicing your opinion in trivial matters is just gonna aggravate yourself.

But, when it's important, we need to speak up: I noticed a fraud going on in one "Bitcoin" group that I was in. When I voiced my concerns, first I got "hammered" by the admin, then by the other members for being a spoilsport. Then I was "kicked" out. Well, after about a week of being kicked out, I was besieged by the "victims" of that site - all begging me to help them recover their loss. This is often the outcome of the duck that raises it's head while the rest are pecking the ground?

Anyway, I just wanted to tickle your funny bone in being part of a whatapp community where new "rules" are being dictated daily. Of course, what frustrates me most is that, when there's a deviation, the admin (and sometimes the others) will try to "justify" the deviation. I especially hate the "good morning/evening/b'day" greetings if the group was set up for a specific/technical purpose. We all have many other "sembang-sembang" groups (sometimes we have 2 groups, one serious and one for "just kidding") to share our humour/greetings. Of course, a one-a-year event, in my opinion, is ok-lah. But not a daily inundation....that's regretful.

What frustrates me is the deviation from rule aka "path of least resistance" approach taken by some admins. I'm guided by Thoreau's very wise dictum: The path of least resistance is what makes both rivers and men crooked.

Or in simpler term, "how long is the piece of string".

Que sera sera