Madrasi Chicks – Hot or Not?
But the act of blogging that entitles you to your opinion and broadcasts them to the world and gets compliments for making a positive difference in someone’s life, also leaves you open to criticism for stepping on someone else’s toes. The best feature of free speech is that you have to live with its consequences. Abashedly saying what you believe in also lets others in your private thoughts which otherwise could be subjected to the censor scissors in your head. Someone wise once advised me, think twice and then shut up.
Saket’s words may have effectively sealed his chances with any South Indian women he might have hoped to woo or for that matter, all the women who might take offense to his words. Are his words racist? That is subjective although I think they are but then as I said, Saket will bear its consequences. Mel Gibson got drunk and abused the Jews and now in an industry dominated by Jews, no one will touch him with a barge pole. At least he was drunk. Michael ‘Kramer’ Richards had to go on air and publicly apologize after his outburst at the comedy club. In both cases, the people making offensive remarks suffered the most.
I am sure Saket understands that in the age of Google, your written (or rather typed) words are almost permanent. Being an ex-recruiter, he knows that any employer worth his salt will definitely do a Google search. If the post in question pops up, then he might have to answer some tough questions or might not even get a chance to explain. If blogging liberates you to expressing your thoughts, it also binds you by making you face the consequences of your words. As a friend and fellow blogger, I hope Saket understands these perils. What he chooses to say or do is of course, his prerogative. Being a libertarian, I am sure he understands this advice redundant. There are plenty of others who will just sit back and watch the tamasha because this is a voyeuristic world. One person’s discomfort is the other’s reality TV.
Quite a few people have emailed me asking me to take a second look at Saket’s role in DesiPundit. For the umpteenth time, DesiPundit is a filter-blog comprised of loosely-connected bloggers who have personal opinions and are even encouraged to voice them while linking to posts. I am sure the contributors understand that they are responsible for their words and that it helps the readers to understand them better, positively or negatively. DesiPundit does not condone sexist or racial remarks but we also understand that Saket is completely and entirely entitled to any opinions on his personal blog. We have always been an individualistic, diverse, and opinionated bunch of bloggers and I hope we stay that way (downside is, we get criticized by everyone). So I find the question to examine his role in DesiPundit redundant.
Although I don’t agree with his opinions, I stand by his right to express them. DesiPundit does not take a united stand on personal opinions and each contributor is free to argue for and against his or her opinions. Every individual essays multiple roles in the society. You cannot expect each organization (I’m using this term loosely) that an individual associates with to monitor his or her behavior. Too much Big Brother fears there. The organization expects the individuals to personally assess the weight of their actions or words and act as they deem fit. And yup, saying yet again consequences are theirs too.
As Neha says on a post linked on DesiPundit, feel free to flame him if you strongly resent his words. He has an open comments system on his blog and I bet he welcomes comments. In fact, I encourage you to and it might even give Saket an opportunity to explain (or dig deeper). At the same time, if you are commenting on his looks, you are doing the same mistake that you are accusing him of. Just as Saket is responsible for his words, you will also be equally responsible for the reaction you choose to offer; baaki aap ki marzee. Personally, I found Hawkeye’s post on personal perceptions for the opinions you offer or your worldview on target:
It is my theory that people stereotype and do all of the above to increase their sense of self-worth. Human beings are afflicted with the self-esteem problem. They want to feel good about themselves and they would like to, more often than not, reassure themselves that they are doing much better than their peers. It could be any peer. Someone in Antarctica is as good a comparison as the guy next door. This is why Indians who migrate to western countries look down upon Indians who stayed back, Indians who stay back suddenly use patriotism to look down upon Indians who migrate…
Trust me, after a while all this would be forgotten except by those who will bear the consequences.
“Madrasi Chicks – Hot or Not?” [Short URL: http://www.ipatrix.com/?p=1868] was published Thursday, February 8th, 2007 at 2:11 pm by Patrix, filed under Media, Society Culture, Weblogs, and tagged as blogs, free speech, India, Internet, Media, prejudice, women. Both comments and linkbacks are closed.
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