Digital activism: Bringing minds together

The phenomenon of change is indeed inevitable. But, what is it that brings about a change? Is it an act of God or there lies a driving force within us? In any case, it is the outcome of driving force within every human mind, which once channelised and brought together can create wonders. History has duly noted how various human minds have come together for a cause and brought about a change. Revolution, as we call it, is not possible without collective and coherent action. What is it that makes it possible?

Leaders across the world have used various tools to propagate their ideologies and bring about a revolution, both for the good and bad. Some have failed and have faded with time, but few have created history. Besides history, this is true in the case of today’s world as well. Is such a revolution possible, considering the fact that each one of us lives a completely different life? Is it possible to bring us all together and make us stand up for a cause?

It is definitely possible today but only when we can bring everyone together on a common platform. A platform where they would express themselves freely and act collectively when need arises. This common platform today is the internet. Today, the majority of us live a socially connected life through internet. We live and experience an online life where in we express our opinions and ideologies free from many barriers that other-wise exist. If one has to reach out to people, specifically from certain demography, social media is the key.

Working on similar terms and fighting for their identity, is the Tibetan community, through Students for Free Tibet (SFT). Having lived in exile for years and being scattered around the world, it is a huge task for them to have a coherent existence. But this has not deterred the Tibetans, thus their cause has gained momentum through their collective effort. They have taken up this fight to gain a right that no one can be denied of - freedom. Coming from a country that has been tormented for decades now by a superpower, Tibetans are fighting for their own identity on the world map.

In order to execute this huge task and get people conscious, not only natives but people from round the world have taken up to it, through digital activism that SFT has taken up. Running campaigns aimed at lobbying for Tibet’s cause and making the governments of various countries aware of the situation in Tibet, SFT uses social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube among others as a platform to reach out to more people and eventually garner their support. This has also helped SFT to reach out to the people in China, who can be of great help in exerting pressure on the dictatorial regime of China over Tibet. “Nothing could have served the purpose better than digital activism. Our campaigns on Twitter and YouTube have helped us generating support in huge numbers worldwide,” said Rashi Jauhri, Project Co-ordinator, SFT Bangalore.

Building public opinion and collective actions through digital activism have definitely changed the norms of revolution today. While this has been testified in SFT’s efforts, it is true in the case of many other organisations that aim at progressive reforms. Digital activism has helped them making their voices count in this world, which is otherwise dominated by oppression and capitalism.

Why can’t people just move on?

If choices make our life, relationships drive it. No matter what stage of the life we are going through, relationships always affect the way we perceive our life. Relationships of all kinds, be it with the family, friends, colleagues or with the one you love, seem to decide whether you feel happy or not, at a particular stage of your life. Expecting every relationship to be a worthy one, we try our best changing ourselves according to it and trying to adapt accordingly. We tend it give it so much of importance at times that we start pursuing our happiness in them.

What happens when it does not turn out to be the way we want it to be? Majority of us feel hurt and tend to feel that everything has gone wrong. Often it leads people into depression and a stage where they lose their self-confidence. Surprisingly, some start blaming themselves and decide to live a life of solitude. One should understand that relationships when put to the test by time and reality, come out with their real worth. Any strong relationship passes the test where as the weaker ones fail miserably. When such relationships come to a standstill, it’s a warning to end them and move on, rather than taking it as a part of your past for the rest of the life.

One needs to understand that trying to hang on to such relationships never helps in the longer run. It either ends up with a guilt or regret, as to why did not you end it before? Logically, if you can’t see a possible future in a relationship, then what’s the point in extending it to a stage where it would become more difficult for you to end it? The time when a relationship becomes nothing more than a burden, should be the time when you should end it and move on in life. In the longer run, you will realise that what you did was for your own good. Sometimes, you need to be practical in life rather than just thinking emotionally. Let it go and you’ll feel good.

Men need to be tamed

From time immemorial, the good and the bad have co-existed in the world. Across societies around the world, instances of the bad causing the ugliest of experiences have always existed. Such acts do not merely end with just their occurrence but also leave an unhealed and unbearable wound on the victim’s life. The pages of history stand testimony to the bitter fact that it is mostly men who have been the ones to orchestrate the worst of acts that are humanely possible. Some of these acts haunt us in general, while the relatively or rather stereo-typically referred to as the weaker sections of society are victims at large.

Topping the list of the heinous acts committed by this most proclaimed section of society is a rape. Technically speaking, the word means an act that forces someone to have sex against their will. Is it really so simple and naive, as an act? A rape, once committed, leaves the woman’s soul tore into pieces and she is left with a challenge to rise from it and live. What adds to her pain and agony is the way society treats her. They often accuse her of being responsible for what she had gone through. Victim-blaming is what the majority of the so-called intellectuals of the society do.

       

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Is our ethnocentrism justified? First, we are incapable of protecting our women and on top of that, we blame them for what happens to them. Isn’t victim blaming just an excuse to prevent ourselves from accepting the fact that our men need to be tamed and sensitised? This attitude of always making women conscious that they should not get raped is neither fair nor justifiable. Why not try and make our men understand that they should not rape? The ruthless, cruel and imbecile men in today’s society need to be told that you can’t take out your frustrations on women; be it through a rape or domestic violence. It should be strongly placed in their beings that frustrations caused due to their own failures in life doesn’t give them a right to spoil someone else’s life. Majority of the people who actually want a solution to this issue instead of just making false promises like the government are of the same opinion. They strongly feel that sensitisation of men is the way forward.

                                            

 Images Courtesy: Google Images

In spite of this, there would still be a section of men, high on ego and superiority who would continue to indulge in acts like these. For such men, or rather animals that are incapable of social conduct, chemical castration and capital punishment should be imposed by the law. For once, the bureaucrats and the people who apparently govern this country should state an example to the rest of the world. Men, specifically rapists, unable to control their sexual drive should be subjected to chemical castration. This would guarantee the elimination of one sexual animal from society every single time it’s conducted. More times this is implemented; more would be the number of secured women in society.

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Today’s men need to decide whether they want to be on the good side or the bad. Either they live like a true man with dignity and self-respect, guaranteeing women the same quality of life or they succumb to their evil desires and commit such heinous crimes, defeating the whole notion of humanity. Existence like that of an animal or a man - is a question that needs some serious thought.

Are we really cultured?

Talk about being ethnocentric, we are the toughest competition to face across the world. Every single Indian, at some point of his life, brags about the Indian culture and its history and so called purity. We are the ones who claim to maintain a certain level of ‘civilised’ behaviour with the people around us. All religious scriptures irrespective of the religion ordain us to follow a certain code of conduct when it comes to our social behaviour, especially towards the ‘weaker’ sections of society like women, children and the older ones. We scream out loud proclaiming about such value systems and ideologies in our culture? Do we actually follow them?

If you are at least alive and awake in this ‘civilised’ society, you would have witnessed or heard of innumerous unfortunate events that have taken place in recent times. Latest such event is the brutal, inhuman and horrendous gang rape of a 23-year-old girl in Delhi. If ours is a society that’s so cultured and civilised, then why doesn’t a girl or a woman feel secure stepping out of her house? If men from our own societal setup commit such inhuman acts, can we still proclaim about our culture? Can we be called cultured when one section of our society treats the ‘less in number’ section of society as some commodity to satisfy their lust?

This might be a really small issue for most of us, given the fact that such cases and instances taken place every now and then. One thing that we need to understand is that standing up and screaming on the top of our voice about the so called greatness of our culture wouldn’t fetch us anything, neither respect nor growth. Self proclamation cannot hide the darkest of truths that lie in open in our socio-cultural set up. So, the next time you see someone proclaiming the cultured behaviour of our society just ask them to sit in silence for two minutes and introspect. Make them ask themselves a question – are we really cultured?