the corruption started with you

romania is a corupt country ... everybody sais that. but virtually no romanian stops to consider what that actually means.

What usually happens is like this: you live every day in a (more or less) little town, going out and doing whatever you go out and do everyday. Then, you encounter a little problem: say you need to fill in a little income paper.

you go to get the form to the form-management-building, but there are like five thousand four hundred and twenty three people in line (not counting those who went to the bathroom), for the same piece of paper. You know you should start waiting ... and waiting ... and getting bored, going home, then coming tomorrow morning and waiting some more; instead, you go to this little someone that you (or a friend, or a neighbour or your cat/dog/some-other-pet) knows, call him discretely to the side, ask him to get those papers, and in return, you offer this little attention thing, for helping you out.

it's ok. because everybody does it; and if they don't it's not because they don't want to: it's because they don't know a little someone.

and besides, what else should you do?! spend your whole day waiting for a damn piece of paper?! rrright! well ... back to the story:

you fixed quickly your little problem thing;

you get home in the evening, totally spent, after going out and doing what you go out and do every day ... and you open the tv (you have one, right?). you see this story about this government guy charged with getting bribed; it's a scandal!; and you want with an almost righteous fury to see this guy fall on his head as he gets out of the court-room (or get a cake in the face or something!), because it's obvious the guy is corupt; otherwise he wouldn't have gotten a position in the government; everybody knows that;

then you go with your friends for a beer and talk about how the guy on the tv got what he deserved because he accepted bribery.

what happens is that public administration posts are not occupied legally, but they are bought; and everybody knows the prices: i've heard that to get working as a pencil-pusher for the form-management-building costs you 10.000 dollars! / 10.000 dollars?!? god! that's a lot

so they are bought ... so what?

well ... actually the money from that little transaction go further up (as go the money from you little attention), to the guy who managed to buy the job of actually centralizing those money; he's usually called the prefect, mayor, minister of forms-management-buildings etc.

so STOP whining about corruption! corruption is not something related to the guy you saw on the tv! actually, in romania, you're sitting on it! actually, if you're from romania you probably participated to it ... right? right?

now, this is the part you say: well ... no because i never had to fill a little income paper" and "i don't know someone at the form-management-building"

i don't care. because it's not only that; it's going to the doctor; or getting stoped by the police for over-speeding; or getting an authorisation; or getting someone to fix your little exam problem in college.

so stop pointing fingers and face it: the corruption started with you