[THREAD]


After some thought, I'd like to double down on what I said here.
Frankly, i tried to put it mildly so as not be to perceived as defending the bigotry.
But then I realised that I'm conforming my thoughts to what strangers on this app might think.
I realised.. https://twitter.com/adityadjfb/status/1390964216803123203

..that getting followers & ppl to like me on Twitter wasn't my objective.
It was essentially to rant & to put forward my thought to anyone who'd listen. Most importantly, even if it is perceived wrongly, my small reach won't really make a difference in the larger scheme of..

..things.
So here's what I think.
Putting everyone who's doesn't think or feel almost EXACTLY like you, in a one dimensional bracket of a label(sanghis/nazis), essentially reducing a complex society to a binary, isn't really the best way to catalyze change in our society.

What I'm saying is, when you label the ENTIRE section of society who, for eg voted for BJP, by a single term, you are clubbing the victims of propaganda, fence sitters, ignorant, or just ppl who hv entirely different reason for voting for whom they did than just bigotry or..

.. or hatred, with the worst of the worst of humankind, the genocide advocates and the lynch mobs.
NOW, to be clear, I'm not saying that the former are innocent, no.
All I'm saying is, factors like privilege, of wealth or belonging to the majority, can sometimes blind people..

..to the things that don't affect them as much or as hard as those who aren't.
There's other factors like the environment one grew up in, the kind of family values they get etc, may make them want to subscribe to an idea which they might not be very attached to in their..

..otherwise.
Then there is a factor of subjective conditions for an individual. For eg, a person whose family is harassed by a certain political gang, might see a party as the lesser evil.
And then finally, the biggest factor affecting a huge chuck of our society..

..rn, is the victims of propaganda.
Like I've said before, most ppl(of all sects) are biased to some extent, which doesn't always translate to outright genocidal hatred & bigotry.
I'm sure we all know many such ppl(even those who were genuinely good) who switched..

..personalities in the last decade because they fell for the massive propaganda on fb & WA, on the palm of our hands, day in and day out, aided by a technology which almost appeared out of nowhere & one that many didn't really understood.
NOW, I understand the anger & tbh..

..I can only imagine the pain when you are the one's being targeted by such a hateful machinery.
I mean, myself, being a privileged middle class Hindu, often get so frustrated & enraged with the absurdity of it all, then I can only imagine what the oppressed may feel.

And so I'd understand if they won't subscribe to my thoughts here, BUT,
I submit to you this:
All those ppl that I talked about,
THEY'RE NOT ALL INHERNTLY EVIL.

I've often given the example of my parents, who used to hold Modi in high regard, unlike most people, they..

.. had their biases. After almost 2 years of arguing and fighting, they now see the reality for what it is.
They hate Modi now and even tell others about it. They were among those who were swayed by the propaganda. Do they still have their biases? Probably yes.
Would they..

.. have ever cheered for a boy being beaten for drinking water in a temple, even before I changed their minds about BJP?
NO FUCKING WAYYYY!!
And I say this with all my conviction.

In another instance I remember a video I saw from the farmers protest, where one of the..

.. Sikh farmer was reprimanding a journalist and telling them how how they got them to hate their Muslim brothers, but now they see it for what it is.

That is exactly what I wanted to point out.
That a lot of these BJP voters aren't inherently hateful people.

Now one might..

.. say that bad or not, it doesn't really make a difference for the oppressed, since BJP is still in power.
I agree.
But isn't this the very same thing that we are trying to change?
So what I'm trying to say is, except for a civil war which I don't think would fare well for..

.. either of the side, then I'm sure that most of us realise that the only way forward is through dialogue.
And establishing a dialogue isn't the most easiest thing when we're labelling people into binaries of good & evil.
In fact, I would naturally avoid to even try to have..

..a dialogue with someone I call a Nazi.
But the truth is that the world Is not split into binaries, but rather it is a complex system with a lot of grey.
It's a clusterfuck really.

And while reducing complex systems into a handful of labels may seem to make it easier for..

..us to try to make sense of it, it rarely is able to provide any solutions to our problems.
It is somewhat like scientists trying to study chickens by assuming them to be identical spheres of meat.

Likewise, only when we try to address the complexity of the social problem..

..in our hands, rather than trying to simplify it, can we begin to find a solution.
And that solution here, like I said, is dialogue.
And that is why I'm against such all encompassing labels.
Only when we think of a problem as solvable do we begin to solve it & for that we..

..need to accept the grey nature of the world we live in.
That's all I had to say.
I know that not many would see this, but still....just putting my opinions in the open.
:)

[END]

Wrote this thread at 5 am in a sleep deprived state, so please excuse the grammatical errors and the shabby sentence construction at places.