Disappointment
Today I will not care about the accuracy of my grammar and tenses and my political correctness, today is about my disappointment in mankind.
I turn 31 today. It is a birthday filled with sadness, regret, hopelessness, and above all, disappointment.
For quite a few months I have been contemplating closing my Facebook account, but the thought of shutting the door on my batch-mates, teachers and acquaintances kept me from taking the step. What had triggered the thought in the first place were the amounts of intolerance and thoughtless comments, pieces of news in form of video and blogs that exemplify inhuman behaviour against women, children, animals.. basically the vulnerable section of the society. I had had enough.
Recently, an incident concerning my alma mater, Delhi School of Economics, Department of Geography, was in the news. A student of the final semester propagated some fake news of her having broken the record of the highest scores ever achieved. It's appalling, it's a betrayal of trust for the student's classmates and professors, not to forget her immediate family. I do not support this act, obviously. I also do not support the public shaming, that has happened over the course of this incident.
Everything playing out on Facebook, on such a public forum is quite a scandal. When a student has made a mistake, it is the responsibility of the department to take action. If there is any condemnation to happen, it has to come directly from the department and its spokespersons directly at the culprit. I did not like it when a professor revealed the real marks on the public forum, I did not like it when questions of values and responsibilities were brought to the forefront with such judgemental attitude.
I question the maturity and values of the student as much as the members of the faculty. I ask, was it necessary to humiliate the student on such a public forum. The girl has now deleted her Facebook profile. I am forced to fear for he life, I fear she will contemplate taking her own life. And I believe my fears are not baseless.
I do not know this girl, my values also tell me that what she did was wrong, but mistakes are a part of life. Mistakes demand punishment, but what punishment is this where I, who doesn't even know her, pass judgement on her actions from a few Facebook comments?
When I said that understanding and support is also important in this situation, I was told that our society is very supportive, but values are equally important. I am sorry to say that I do not believe that our society is very supportive. Which society are you talking about? The society that still thinks depression is an excuse? The society that kills her own daughter in the name of honor? The society that calls my friend 'kasai' in the name of caste? The society where you publish the marks of a student on Facebook comments?
From a small lie, we go on to bigger lies to cover the initial small lie, and that happens out of fear and vulnerability. I am asking as a recently turned 31 year old, is your maturity level commensurate with your age? How do you measure maturity and responsibility? Let's bask in someone else's mistake and feel good about how YOU never got caught!
The other news that has completely caught me off guard is the recent release of the Hindi Movie Sultan. The misogynistic message of the movie ( I confess I haven't watched it, but read several reviews and the plotline) hardly made my educated friends' and family's eyebrows twitch and that brings me to the subject of how ingrained misogyny is in our society. How we expect the woman to give up her olympic dreams to settle down with a man who thinks "no means yes" , and I do not even want to go into the subject of SALMAN KHAN! Thanks, but no thanks.
I am disappointed in you, in me, in all of us!
I turn 31 today. It is a birthday filled with sadness, regret, hopelessness, and above all, disappointment.
For quite a few months I have been contemplating closing my Facebook account, but the thought of shutting the door on my batch-mates, teachers and acquaintances kept me from taking the step. What had triggered the thought in the first place were the amounts of intolerance and thoughtless comments, pieces of news in form of video and blogs that exemplify inhuman behaviour against women, children, animals.. basically the vulnerable section of the society. I had had enough.
Recently, an incident concerning my alma mater, Delhi School of Economics, Department of Geography, was in the news. A student of the final semester propagated some fake news of her having broken the record of the highest scores ever achieved. It's appalling, it's a betrayal of trust for the student's classmates and professors, not to forget her immediate family. I do not support this act, obviously. I also do not support the public shaming, that has happened over the course of this incident.
Everything playing out on Facebook, on such a public forum is quite a scandal. When a student has made a mistake, it is the responsibility of the department to take action. If there is any condemnation to happen, it has to come directly from the department and its spokespersons directly at the culprit. I did not like it when a professor revealed the real marks on the public forum, I did not like it when questions of values and responsibilities were brought to the forefront with such judgemental attitude.
I question the maturity and values of the student as much as the members of the faculty. I ask, was it necessary to humiliate the student on such a public forum. The girl has now deleted her Facebook profile. I am forced to fear for he life, I fear she will contemplate taking her own life. And I believe my fears are not baseless.
I do not know this girl, my values also tell me that what she did was wrong, but mistakes are a part of life. Mistakes demand punishment, but what punishment is this where I, who doesn't even know her, pass judgement on her actions from a few Facebook comments?
When I said that understanding and support is also important in this situation, I was told that our society is very supportive, but values are equally important. I am sorry to say that I do not believe that our society is very supportive. Which society are you talking about? The society that still thinks depression is an excuse? The society that kills her own daughter in the name of honor? The society that calls my friend 'kasai' in the name of caste? The society where you publish the marks of a student on Facebook comments?
From a small lie, we go on to bigger lies to cover the initial small lie, and that happens out of fear and vulnerability. I am asking as a recently turned 31 year old, is your maturity level commensurate with your age? How do you measure maturity and responsibility? Let's bask in someone else's mistake and feel good about how YOU never got caught!
The other news that has completely caught me off guard is the recent release of the Hindi Movie Sultan. The misogynistic message of the movie ( I confess I haven't watched it, but read several reviews and the plotline) hardly made my educated friends' and family's eyebrows twitch and that brings me to the subject of how ingrained misogyny is in our society. How we expect the woman to give up her olympic dreams to settle down with a man who thinks "no means yes" , and I do not even want to go into the subject of SALMAN KHAN! Thanks, but no thanks.
I am disappointed in you, in me, in all of us!
Comments