Unchecked limits of pacifism
I’ve been a staunch pacifist. For the record, never gotten into fights except for scuffles with younger brother during childhood. In fact, i am the guy who breaks a fight, be it at the railway platforms in Mumbai or the dusty roads of Gurgaon. That’s the closest i get to being a superhero too. However, as i’m growing older and more fed up with the world, i’m gradually realizing the true essence of our species. We are inherently violent and foolishly competitive. Which explains a major chunk of our relatively brief but bloody history on this planet. That said, in principle, i’ve always advocated non-violence but of late, i’m rather keen on loosening up a bit.
Violence is not THAT bad.
Turns out some people only understand aggression and no amount of persuasion will do the trick. Such individuals not only create havoc in a society but also tend to believe that they are the good guys. The reason propping up this behaviour is quite simple: Nobody opposes them in the language they understand. When words of wisdom fall on deaf ears, the wise person doesn’t remain very wise. You can’t sit down and talk sense with a person who has cruelty in his voice and a weapon by his side. Moreover, the person is convinced of his righteousness. Here, the questions are natural. Are you willing to wait for years for him to turn over a new leaf? If yes, good luck. Is the damage done in the meantime ever going to be addressed, let alone, compensated? Don’t think so.
When you are part of a movement—a revolution, as the dreamers like to call it — things are different because you are just a tiny cog in a larger system. In such a case, non-violence is of utmost significance. It helps you stays focused on the set goals and curtails chaos as well as unnecessary casualties. But things are drastically different when you are in situation where it’s you against a hooligan or a handful of hooligans who genuinely believe they are better than you. If they can threaten you, you have the fundamental right to defend yourself.
If you don’t do that, the moral policing is going to rise.
Oh, wait. It is rising.
Not in a medieval backwater of a country.
But in India.
The problem is not just with the attacks. What’s also lacking is the defense. We are always bombarded with clips of some morons violating minding-their-own-business friends/couples. We seldom come across videos where somebody thrashed an attacker back, thus regaining the much-needed balance. Nope, that rarely happens. Why so? Let’s think about it. There are no rules in there, first of all. Instead of feeling subdued by surprise intrusion, the attacked individuals should assume uncontrollably violent persona. Just imagine the reaction on the moral police’s face if you exhibit rage with something in your hand. After all, they expect you to act like you’ve been caught red-handed. Why give them that benefit of lout? You aren’t committing a crime. They are. You should be feeling offended by their invasion into your public privacy. But no. You cave in way too easily to societal mores. How about putting up a fight for a change? Create a scene. A bunch of hoodlums mustn’t be spelling out the screenplay of your existence.
Take control.
Grab control, to be precise.
Carry a pepper spray with you for starters. When they grab your collar, your first instinct should be to point the nozzle toward their face. They have no right to touch you.
Fight back.
Run.
Let them have a taste of their medicine. Unless you do that, they will continue to bask in their bizarre masculinity and bigoted ideology. It’s worth wondering where these thugs draw their strength from. Everybody has a source of power. Seems like they draw it from our collective weakness. They know people are timid. They know the harassed friends/couples would be too aghast to react bravely. They know nobody is going to object. What do you know? Well, you should know it by now that the bystanding public isn’t going to interfere because in India, the aam janta enjoys tamasha from a safe distance. Nobody’s got their skin in the show. Nobody is springing to your help. The police, keeping the old Bollywood tradition alive, might arrive after the damage is done. It’s completely up to you because this is about you.
OK, i got carried away.
Yes, it’s much easier to sit in front of a laptop and imagine all the possible solutions. The situation can be extremely terrifying when stuff happens to you. But it’s also obvious that stuff continues to happen mainly because nobody is doing nothing about it. Although your non-violence is a virtue, if you’d like to call it so, it’s best not spent on those who perceive it as your weakness.
PS. Baz Luhrmann once proposed the use of sunscreen while i’m slowing warming up to the idea of carrying a pepper spray.
