Everyday my decision of* (edited from ‘about) not being present on any social media platform is proving to be the best decision I ever took (after the decision to subscribe to this fab substack).
That said, hiding my rather weird head in sand and pretending all is well wouldn’t stop the meanies from being meaner and meaner. I wasn't aware of this incident. Until now. There are moments where I get enraged so bad that if I tell you what I feel in those moments, you will probably call animal helpline and human helpline together and rat me out.
The slap and the place of self confidence from where it is coming is just way too evident now. What I am worried is that there are limits to everything and mere silence should not be viewed as being silent. One of these days, someone innocent (from the privileged and ‘in power’ section of the society) will be made an example of. I hope it doesn’t happen but one cannot be sure of anything these days.
Thank you for writing this. Also, I was beaten (yes beaten) a lot by the educator who was my ‘tuition bhaiyya’ growing up. He is now a staunch anti muslim RSS BJP man. Filled with rage and filth.
There are moments where I get enraged so bad that if I tell you what I feel in those moments, you will probably call animal helpline and human helpline together and rat me out. This is one such moment.
I hear you. And it is a good thing that you're away from social media, honestly. On most days, it is a gutter.
This incident is getting flagged as a religion-based hate act, which it undoubtedly is, and I just hope there is enough conversation about the act itself.
Incidents like these are heartbreaking. The ragging incident at Jadavpur University is also symptomatic of the warped notion of being deferential to "seniors". And how even a smidgeon of power can corrupt people.
The news was so disturbing that i couldn't even watch the video. Thank you for writing this. You've done well to separate the layers.
Kudos for starting with the home. This is where it got normalised.
One of my workplaces had a terror of a boss. A colleague got fed up and shared with some of us that she is quitting. We all felt it was too soon as she had only just joined. Her reasoning was - 'i didn't grow up with an abusive father. Why should i put up with this shit?'
The rest of us couldn't look at each for a while after that.
And indeed, it starts at home. And gets wings at schools and tuition centres. I hear you about the colleague. We get so used to stuff that sometimes we don't even register some really terrible behaviour.
The culture of subservience to elders, no questions asked, runs deeper than we think . It takes active contribution by the current generation of young parents like me to grow a generation of children with inquisitiveness and willingness to disagree with elders. It will take a generation and more to change the culture
Everyday my decision of* (edited from ‘about) not being present on any social media platform is proving to be the best decision I ever took (after the decision to subscribe to this fab substack).
That said, hiding my rather weird head in sand and pretending all is well wouldn’t stop the meanies from being meaner and meaner. I wasn't aware of this incident. Until now. There are moments where I get enraged so bad that if I tell you what I feel in those moments, you will probably call animal helpline and human helpline together and rat me out.
The slap and the place of self confidence from where it is coming is just way too evident now. What I am worried is that there are limits to everything and mere silence should not be viewed as being silent. One of these days, someone innocent (from the privileged and ‘in power’ section of the society) will be made an example of. I hope it doesn’t happen but one cannot be sure of anything these days.
Thank you for writing this. Also, I was beaten (yes beaten) a lot by the educator who was my ‘tuition bhaiyya’ growing up. He is now a staunch anti muslim RSS BJP man. Filled with rage and filth.
There are moments where I get enraged so bad that if I tell you what I feel in those moments, you will probably call animal helpline and human helpline together and rat me out. This is one such moment.
I hear you. And it is a good thing that you're away from social media, honestly. On most days, it is a gutter.
This incident is getting flagged as a religion-based hate act, which it undoubtedly is, and I just hope there is enough conversation about the act itself.
Incidents like these are heartbreaking. The ragging incident at Jadavpur University is also symptomatic of the warped notion of being deferential to "seniors". And how even a smidgeon of power can corrupt people.
Absolutely. That ragging is a thing is in itself a symbol of how bad the power dynamic is.
Hi Sarthak,
The news was so disturbing that i couldn't even watch the video. Thank you for writing this. You've done well to separate the layers.
Kudos for starting with the home. This is where it got normalised.
One of my workplaces had a terror of a boss. A colleague got fed up and shared with some of us that she is quitting. We all felt it was too soon as she had only just joined. Her reasoning was - 'i didn't grow up with an abusive father. Why should i put up with this shit?'
The rest of us couldn't look at each for a while after that.
Thank you for the kind words, Karthik. :)
And indeed, it starts at home. And gets wings at schools and tuition centres. I hear you about the colleague. We get so used to stuff that sometimes we don't even register some really terrible behaviour.
Wonderfully written Sarthak..
The culture of subservience to elders, no questions asked, runs deeper than we think . It takes active contribution by the current generation of young parents like me to grow a generation of children with inquisitiveness and willingness to disagree with elders. It will take a generation and more to change the culture
Thank you, Pradeep :)
Couldn't agree more. Needs a deep-cleaning