The ‘Compassion’ Insufficiency
“Words are unique — they can plant gardens or burn whole forests down.”
There aren’t many topics that I feel strongly about. I usually have similar opinions to the majority, so I don’t have to present them publicly. But this is one such topic that is highly prevalent in today’s generation, but nobody is trying to stop it. And even if they are… it hasn’t got anywhere.
Whenever we were small, our parents used to tell us not to use the word ‘hate’ because it was too strong. Unfortunately, this word is perfectly appropriate to define what happens routinely on social media these days — hate speech and trolling.
This is one topic that makes me want to talk about it. It’s such a redundant aspect of life, and yet it is a global problem.
It’s good to express one’s feelings about an issue, but not at the cost of hurting someone else. It has become so easy to tap the keyboard on our phones and press enter that the impulsiveness of humans has been glorified and compassion has been reduced. We don’t stop to think about how one phrase can affect a person. When people say that the pen is mightier than the sword, it’s because words have a way of leaving a scar that even a sword can’t manage to.
It’s often celebrities that face this backlash on a larger scale. One bad performance and their comment sections are flooded with lakhs of abuses at their parents, spouses, and children. First of all, there is no way anybody can have a 100% success rate. We all do fail, and instead of further putting them down, we should try helping them soar to new heights. And secondly, none of them are indebted to us. They aren’t paying us back by entertaining us. Movie stars, sports personalities, artists are just doing their job in the spotlight, and they in no way promised returns to us. We should be grateful that they are talented enough to be in that spotlight and entertain us during our hard times.
The Indian Premier League got over this week. In the semi-finals, one bowler bowled an expensive over that cost his team the match. Indian fans flooded Instagram with hate. The bowler’s comments were off, so they started commenting on his pregnant wife’s posts. Abuses were hurled, divorce claims were made… it’s just so wrong how a span of six balls changed how much he had achieved in his whole career. In the second semi-finals, the winning team got over the line after experiencing one of the worst batting collapses. They lost six batsmen in the last couple of overs and yet managed to shuffle to victory. If the team had lost, they would have been eaten up by the public. But just because the result was in their favour, the errors their side made were overlooked. When people troll, they say it is critiquing celebrities so they can do better. But that’s not what happens. Criticism does not rely on the outcome. It depends on the process. And that’s the line between hate speech and criticism.
If I start talking about Bollywood, I’ll probably go on and on. But the amount of hate that artists in Bollywood have received over the last year is inhumane. The other day I read a comment on an actress’s post abusing the fact that she looked old (I would in no way be able to quote it without censoring it). How is growing old a bad thing in any way? The worst part is that these trolls are the same people who applaud and ask for autographs if they come across celebrities, and that hypocrisy is somewhat overbearing. When people call them out, they say it’s their opinion, and what others think doesn’t matter. If that is what the right to freedom of speech means… I don’t want it. I’m all for respecting opinions, but not at the cost of hurting somebody else. That’s just wrong.
It’s so easy to say that we should not care what others think. ‘Just lock the noise in a box in your head and don’t open it.’ That’s easier said than done. As much as we think it doesn’t affect them, our words go a long way. The wrong mindset is that ‘they don’t read comments’ or are ‘inactive on social media,’ so it’s easier for them. If we want to help them, it has got to be a two-way street. We must consciously think before speaking our mind, see how the other person will receive it. This not only applies to large scale hate speech but also us on a daily basis. With friends, family, anyone we interact with. Taking a moment to empathise, weigh the repercussions of your words would make a world of difference.
Don’t let your emotions get the better of you. Saying something impulsively takes five seconds, but sometimes rectifying that can take five lifetimes.
Words are magical. They can bring the greatest of happiness or deepest despair.
It’s up to us to choose which path we take.
