I've been disconnected from social media for a while. For mental hygiene. Not because I miss them, but because, at some point, one has to choose between real life and the digital sewers.
However, friends and acquaintances occasionally inform me about the "deeds" that are circulating there. And according to them, my weekend deed was... Luca's Dinner.
Yes, I was at the inauguration of Gjergj Luca's newest complex in Apollonia.
Let me say it again, so that professional editors don't get tired: in 24 years of knowing Luca, we have had closeness and coldness, agreement and disagreement. But one thing doesn't change: at his restaurants, I eat with my eyes closed. He has taste, cleanliness, level, service and a culture of hospitality that no one imposes.
When Luca organizes an event, it's for fun. And there's fun. Period.
Those who lived in Tirana during the Rozafa Palace years, at Brryli's, know very well what I'm talking about. Luca was among the people who built Tirana's nightlife, at a time when many of today's revolutionaries were either not yet born, or were learning the alphabet.
That's why it makes me laugh when I get lectures from people who have neither memory nor history.
Even today, after all these years, Luca is still the same. You may not like the way he speaks or behaves in public. That's your right. But it's almost impossible not to like the products he offers and the atmosphere he creates.
Meanwhile, the horde of digital slanderers, inspired or directed by the official SHQUP, have organized a crusade against Luca, his businesses, and anyone who was present at that dinner.
For the fact that I made fun of Luca, I was declared a traitor, a traitor, a scoundrel, a sellout, and deserving of a dictionary with a house book. In fact, when I return the insults to the insulters, they call it... insults.
What a philosophical discovery!
Then I'm telling you very clearly.
First.
I stand by every public statement I have made over the years. I have nothing to retract and I have no contradictions with myself.
Secondly.
I have never been sympathetic to Albanians who sell their votes for "bread and butter." I am not even today. Selling votes is a civic disgrace, regardless of the political banner the seller carries.
Thirdly.
My only disagreement with the protest was one: the culture of insults and lynching. I have never agreed with revolutions. Albanian revolutions usually start with morality and end with insults.
Fourthly.
Any montage, slander or malicious link that aims to incite hatred towards me is not a political debate. It is an attack on reputation and, when it crosses legal boundaries, it is a matter that I will pursue to the end.
But I mean, I'll continue to be in the public space for my own pleasure. I'll continue to go to Luca's for my own pleasure. Even, quite possibly, a little more often.
We will eat, sing, dance, and laugh as much as we can.
I invite those who have been lied to by montages, both paid and free abusers: come. Try real pleasure once. Maybe it will do you better than the virtual revolution.
Because no one gives me the freedom to speak and the freedom to have fun.
I don't get permission from anyone.
Come on, bye.