This morning, I was on MSN India (msn.co.in), and while I know it is important to be aware of current events, sometimes I wish I could just glean awareness without knowing. Strange, I know. Impossible...I know. It's been a LONG time since we were half-human half-apes walking the earth, and yet we behave even more like animals than we ever did. This is not restricted to India of course, but today, I want to talk about some of the things I read about.
Two eunuchs (hermaphrodites) were brutally murdered in their home by their own adopted son. The only motive seems to be money; the safe was raided. But was there more to it? Does it matter if there was or wasn't more to it? In the outskirts of Delhi, a pregnant woman was gang raped by a dozen men in front of other men, women and children. The men responsible came in to steal, and just happen to ravage a poor Dalit (let's not beat around the bush- Dalit is whitewash for untouchable) woman who was doing her job. What I think is disgusting, is that the same people who create these invisible barriers between groups of people, break those barriers and invade at their convenience. In Delhi, again, two more rapes in the news. An 28 year old interviewee raped by her interviewer!! A 20 year old girl who was a computer teacher to children was gang raped by 6 men and mercilessly beaten. I'm not even going into the man/woman control debate right now. This is about humanity.
So where the hell is it???
Is humanity a myth? Are opposable thumbs the only things that separate us from a pack of rabid hyenas?
This is all about power. People, organizations, nations. In individuals it manifests itself in rape and murder, in organizations and goverment, it expresses itself through money and politics. In groups of people it is wielded as a self-righteous sword....leading to things like genocide.
It seems almost as if we are hard wired for this stuff. The people who don't perpetrate violence stand around and watch it happen. Everybody tries to shut their eyes and pretend it's not happening. Until you're a victim and can't pretend any more.
A girl on the streets of Mumbai a couple of weeks ago sat naked for 5 hours on a busy street during peak hours before someone came to her aid. It took five hours for someone to notice her enough to cover her up. She ended up being a mentally ill, abandoned girl and was sent to a shelter. While she sat there, a procession of people celebrating Durga Puja, the great goddess, walked RIGHT by her.
Must we all be victims to look in the mirror? A little humanity from human beings doesn't seem too much to ask for. Look, people....think....act.
Picture courtesy: mavaindia.org
