Causes and Effects

Swami Gulagulaananda said:

"Sometimes people's struggles for causes have unwanted effects"

People are really interesting. One very interesting thing that I notice among people is how they get all excited when it comes to supporting causes. Many people want to do something - And I am sure, that most of the times, they don't know why they are doing what they are doing, and some know why they are doing but that's not the cause, for sure! Today I saw a dumbass techie standing on the median at the heavily crowded Bellandur junction, holding a cardboard that read "Honk if you support Anna Hazare" and the guy next to him holding both hands up giving the thumbs up symbol like he was a football fan... That's it, four guys were standing amidst thousands of vehicles. Does this serve any purpose? Is this how you support causes? Do you feel that "Hey, they are at least doing SOMETHING, and that my friend, is better than nothing...." or do you feel they are seeking attention? Here's a list that I find peculiar, among others, that has ways in which people support causes.

Slut Walk

Indians often ape the West, and I feel that most Indians don't really get the import of what the Westerners are doing, ending up being as dumb as they are. Slut Walk, is an interesting response by women. Apparently a policeman said that women must not wear skimpy clothes, because that will attract unnecessary attention of sexual predators. While this seemed to be sane advice to me, many women disagreed, and decided to parade themselves (In broad daylight, btw) wearing skimpy clothes, negligees, lingerie writing SLUT all over their bodies...

Now analyse this - In Karnataka, there was a law that said that women bartenders shouldn't be serving drinks beyond a certain (unearthly) hour. People actually campaigned, saying that equality of women is needed. Now tell me, honestly, don't you think that asking women to not wear skimpy clothes is sane advice? And asking women to not be in areas frequented by drunk (obnoxious people who are in the stupour of liquor, who have a tendency to do things that they would regret after they sobered) men and when other sober people aren't around is sane? It's advice given to you for your own good - It's advice given, because the police can't be everywhere, and because humans can't be trusted to not let lust overpower their sense of judgement. Prevention is better than cure. It's not about fighting for freedom of expression, or something like that... for it makes no sense if you are raped. You can't correct the system so easily, so follow directives, that are for your own safety after all.

It's common sense, basically. But NO! Defiant women in Delhi are all set to fight for THIS cause, by using THIS ridiculous way - I am still wondering what purpose it would serve. I mean, if you want to defy them, wear slutty clothes at nights (around drunkard frequented areas) and then say "Oh yeah, I did it. Now STFU"

Nude pose

Another funny way of supporting causes - Going nude. Oh no no no, it's definitely not a publicity stunt. Yeah, they are all done by struggling upcoming models but heyy, it's definitely not to grab eyeballs or unwanted attention. And worst part is, they don't even get fully nude (or show themselves to anyone). Classic example of this is Poonam Pandey. She took the media by storm. And then disappeared. The number one search suggestion in Google search for query "where is" was "Where is Poonam Pandey". Similarly, today's paper had some DJ or model who said that she posed nude for women empowerment. Ok, what the... Oh sorry, she was not nude, she covered her privates with the Tricolour. And then while most sane people said that she could have supported her cause in a better way, Mr. Rohit Barker barked (Why am I not surprised here?) that we are from the land of Kama Sutra and that people should do more of these things to grab eye balls. Seriously? Pashmeena, are you listening?

Hunger Strike

Sure, Anna Hazare is doing a great job for the country. Corruption has been a great issue and it's really difficult to screw over such a large and powerful govt. But still, hunger strikes are reminiscent of children threatening to not eat (Most Indian kids do that) or hold their breath (most kids in the US apparently do that) that would quickly make parents take corrective steps... I am really wondering if the hunger strike is really efficient, or it is the number of people who are on the roads and shouting slogans that makes the difference. I am still going to support Hazare for his cause, but yeah, hunger strikes somehow don't gel well with me. But heck, thousand times better than slut walking and nude poses

Candles

One of the most popular accessories for protests - God knows why people light candles... You want to protest against something, hold up placards and banners. Want to be noisy? Shout slogans as well... What does a candle represent? If it was symbolic even, it would make sense. But yeah, people in the West light candles, so Indians aped again. It's time we think and do something either plain, original or creative - Don't do it just because someone else did it.

Running for cause

People choose to run marathons to show support for a cause. But I am not going to discuss it here, because there is a dedicated blog post for that one.

Facebook Causes and more

People just hit the 'Like' button on some cause... There, they have done their part for the cause. They don't do a thing beyond that. That's not fighting for a cause. Fighting for a cause is a real fight, only if you do some actual work.

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Comments from Facebook

Chiranth Ashok: I agree with you, the "event" is completely useless... But the intention/message behind the event is actually quite real and I am surprised to know that opposition came from women's organisations... I would have expected something SRS or RSS to oppose it....


Nikhil Baliga: What is the intention/message behind the event? And why do you think that RSS would oppose it?

Chiranth Ashok: according to wikipedia, its a protest against explaining or excusing rape by referring to any aspect of a woman's appearance... I did not specifically accuse that the RSS would oppose it- i missed the word "like" in my last comment.. I meant to say that the moral policing brigade would oppose it...

I am not saying that slutwalk should be held... Its a completely useless activity.. All I am saying is its surprising that a women's group has opposed it and said that participants will beaten up with brooms.. If people are not interested in the event, they can choose not to attend it... big deal...

Akshata: All the hullabaloo is because the name is "Slutwalk". If it was "Anti-Rape walk" instead, it'd have been supported. There is nothing wrong in the Slutwalk - Look at the original Slutwalk, not the copied Indian ones, to get an idea about what it really means.

Please read this link before jumping to more conclusions: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SlutWalk

Anand Bhatia: A thought: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8K1KHqi9bXc

Poornima Rao: Everybody has opinions. Doesn make a different one necessarily wrong or stupid. If some people think its stupid you always have a choice to boycott it or make fun of it on FB even, But no one has the right to say i am going to beat up people who go there and participate. Its their wish how they choose to express . What we really have to think about is the fact that the police - the authority to uphold the rights of a citizen cancelled the walk not because of its reasons but because it was under pressure from some group or expected trouble!! ridiculous.... People always focus on the wrong part of issue and forget the repercussions and message such things send out... I might not believe in slutwalk doesn mean i am gonne go pelt stones at the walk

It's a freakin' dumb concept organised and participated by people with no originality and no common sense - so are political rally's nik...which actually deserve to be pelted with stones. convicts and criminals running the country. thats ridiculous...

Akshata: another common misconception about slutwalk: Kids, adults, older men and women, all participate in Slutwalk. Noone dressed up like a "slut".. It's just called Slutwalk, because of the message it carries. Watch this to get a clear idea about what this actually is.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vw2wUf9WvGI

Chiranth Ashok: Guess Juliet was not completely right when she said "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."
I think we can be quite sure that there was a certain hierarchy to this opposition which may have actually originated from the "Moral Police" and actually came out through the places it came...
When the organisers say that some of them had come down to the starting point to send participants back if they turned up in spite of the latest update, what was the idea behind taking them in to custody??? Won't allow more than 5 ppl to assemble in one place it seems...
The police department in Karnataka seems to have no say in anything that happens here and they certainly have no teeth.. Everything is run from behind the screens..

Nikhil Baliga: Ah, I log into FB now and see a host of comments... :P

Akshata - Thanks for the links, it is a pity you didn't read it yourself. You said 'Noone dressed up like a "slut"' and in the Wikipedia link that you posted, you can see - 'mainly by young women, where some dress in ordinary clothing and others dress provocatively, like "sluts." '

You need to do some more research before you randomly post posts and videos. :P And besides, what I am not getting is the message that is carried by walking around like a slut (or not even a slut) - You are hardly addressing comments that I have made in the post. All you did was post a host of links

‎Poornima Rao - Fortunately, you make sense in your comments. One doesn't need to believe in what someone else is doing - Again, this brings us back to the same point of Freedom of Expression. One can do whatever one wants on the road, but let's look at a couple of random arguments, just for the heck of it.

If a guy wants to walk nude on the road, or make out in public, or maybe do a host of other things in public, will you say - "That's his life, his freedom of expression, he feels nature was meant to be this way. Screw the society, dogs do stuff in public, dogs are nude. Man is a social animal, so why not do whatever one pleases?" Again, you may think of this argument as completely insane, but what I am saying is that expression always has limitations - this is just an outset.

Akshata: ‎Nikhil Baliga read properly.. I said see the video..noone dressed up like a slut.. stop twisting words to prove ur point..

Nikhil Baliga: Now, the fact that it was not permitted to be done - Whatever threats may be, this maybe debated - This is like Gangajal. I agree on that. However, it still doesn't change the fact, that the protest in itself makes absolutely no sense

Akshata: Second point: Who are you to decide if someone is dressed up like a slut or not.. Wikipedia is not God.. See the video and decide for yourself..

Nikhil Baliga: ‎Akshata - Who's twisting words? You posted wiki link :P Not me... And one video doesn't prove anything. Do a research before talking next time

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDDZSQWAla4IeexcW-J85AFsg1nhCmEryCdvqghVCFdgEEsgpJnuCE8SrNU0Wq47_Fr3Dct1pcwJrT1YGeGqNl9tJfLGgEer8Y1c-Zn5uQpXfUtvMl69EDQSwKZuRJqglrXyGLuKdzCBc/s1600/Slut_Walk_Boston.sff-853f9e88-679e-4334-baa4-ebd20476cbb0.jpg

Akshata: Also, if you don't understand why the protest is being done, it doesn't make the protest senseless..

Nikhil Baliga: So since you have understood, enlighten me

Akshata: Firstly, stop pulling out random links.. Talk about Slutwalk Canada.. Thats the original campaign.. The rest in USA and India were just copied senselessly.. Also, if 4 people in a crowd of 40,000 are dressed that way, it doesn't change the meaning of the campaign.. It just gives you a message that people dress for themselves, and its not an invitation for you guys to rape them.. There are men walking in this protest in support of the cause.. Do you think they are also dressed like sluts?

Nikhil Baliga: I am talking about the Indian one :P Du'h! That's what I said - they are copying senselessly. So I guess you agree with me... So stop posting long things to garner attention :P Now you get it, right?

Akshata: It's a pity that in a country like India where so many millions of rapes (most unreported) occur, people will never support anything against such a big issue.. You'll instead blog about all the negative points about the way the campaign is being carried out..

Nikhil Baliga: ‎Poornima Rao - Gangajal is a movie where you see that evil is diminished at its earliest stages by a violent attack. While this may seem to be correct, as also in the case of Deathnote Prajwal M Sudarshan listen) the argument is that - Who are YOU to decide what is good and what's not? And that you may destroy evil (or what you perceive as evil, but someone else may not) - However, the point I am making here, is about the nature of the protest, and not what the protest signifies. All people protesting in the ways in which they are protesting in all the protests in the post are all good causes - the question I was asking is - do these protests really make sense?

Akshata: People are copying senselessly or not, is not the point.. People are driving a point across.. As long as you make an effort to understand that, it won't bother you..

Nikhil Baliga: ‎Akshata - You want to protest against rape? Then yes... You want to protest against sane advice, then no. What's wrong in the advice given by the cop? You address the question, don't beat around the bush

Akshata: You don't seem to understand why people started protesting.. you consider the cop's words as "sane advice".. So, it'll take a long time to make you understand the whole issue..

Nikhil Baliga: Doing a slut walk - What is it going to achieve? Ok, fine, you will walk around saying "It is ok to wear skimpy clothes, you shouldn't rape me" It is not like rapists and potential rapists will say - "Yes, I agree. You are entitled to wear skimpy clothes which are by no means intended to pop eyeballs of guys, no sir, it was meant to tastefully exude one's sexuality" and say "I won't rape again, thanks for opening my eyes". Au contraire, this may instead make other people feel that "Yes, skimpy clothes are my janma siddha hakku" and then end up being victims of the very crime they were protesting against.

What one needs to do primarily is take precautionary steps to prevent crimes. First, avoid being a lure. This is also the same reason why people are asked not to wear a lot of jewellery and walk on lonely roads - I agree it s your freedom, but that's meaningless. If you don't wear lots of jewellery, you have a lower chance of being mugged - that's common sense

Akshata: I pity that you think this way.. This was not the point of my argument in the first place.. Going by your advice, all girls should sit at home and not go out.. because that would drastically reduce the percentage of women getting raped.. What a solution to all problems in this world!

Nikhil Baliga: ‎:P That's definitely a potential solution...

Akshata: Or may be, lock up all guys inside.. That would prevent all atrocious acts including rape..

Nikhil Baliga: ‎Chiranth Ashok - Branding an organisation like RSS as a right winged moral policing organisation is nothing beyond toeing the lines of TOI. I suggest you do a lot more research on the RSS before making allegations :-) And besides, I am guessing that your arguments are along the lines of Poornima's and they have been responded to...

Akshata - See? Now you are thinking :P These two are way better than slut walk in my opinion

How about a tougher punishment against convicted rapists? That should scare people right?

Akshata: How many are REPORTED in the first place? Conviction hardly ever happens..

Prajwal M Sudarshan: ‎Nikhil Baliga: This is useless and frankly a waste of time according to me, but that doesnt mean that i will condemn the people who are doing it and try to degrade them to prove my point :P.I understand that there is a debate going on about this and i agree with you when you say that this accomplishes nothing.But at the same time,so does fasting and morchas and the other crap that goes on all the time.(you had a blog about his :P) but yet, it is not for us to decide how others lead their lives. the ppl who can decide whether they believe that doing this is going to make a point would not have taken such a step without thinking what it can possibly achieve. Ii cannot, in any way support the other side which say that if this is done, they will be beaten by broomsticks. there is a law against PDA and if it makes someone uncomfortable then the guilty will be persecuted. this does not fall into that category. when ppl can burn statues and can make a racket about political issues on the streets, why cant a few women, who feel that they need to make a point do this??and i do NOT believe that all of them will be skimpily dressed.If a girl is wearing skimpy clothes to a movie,you do not have a problem. but when they pre emptively inform you that they will be taking a walk(SLUT walk is a wrong name according to me.It defeats the purpose of whatever they are trying to do) and ppl come to hit them with broomsticks??The point is, it is not for us to tell what they are doing is right or wrong. but it is definitely wrong for anyone to threaten them unless they are causing a problem to the public in general(and that does not include the male libido,mind you :P)

Nikhil Baliga: Btw, the hunger strike thing is the same post. :P Well, let me summarise it for all of you who have missed the point I am making

A protest is a protest only if you gain something at the end of it - If you are fighting to make laws a lot more stringent for rapists, or if you are going to take an initiative to prevent rapes by probably having a community oriented security setup, neighbourhood watch whatever, or if you are going to teach self defense, etc. then, it will make some sense.

You can go ahead and vent your ire against the setup as well, but then again, you could have done that in the way we have done it for years together, with big banners and marches. The fact that you are protesting in this fashion is basically not a protest - it has become more of a fashion statement. Yeah, I participated in slut walk, rather than having a strong opinion, you merely protest without thought.

According to research (which I have been reading :P), women are raped not chiefly because of clothing, but because of vulnerability - maybe that guy wanted to exhibit control, or because the woman was drunk and was provocatively showing off and tempting (not intending to have sex ultimately) and also because the guy was drunk - Now this means that people should be protesting against these - and if you notice, none of these have much to do with clothes.

I guess we will find a similar statistics on doing research on rapes in India as well - that being the case, why Slut Walk? Should you not be protesting against these kind of attacks?

(Poornima and Prajwal needn't concern yourselves with this post, since your argument is against the protest against the protest)
21 hours ago · Like

Akshata: Why are you stealing my points from our chat and putting it here?.. Secondly, like you said, women are not raped solely because of their clothing.. Yet they are branded as sluts when they report the crime.. HENCE THIS PROTEST!.. Do you get it now?

Nikhil Baliga: ‎:P Your points? I did a full research on it. Thoo! So, give me a couple of minutes, I am writing a full post (which will be dedicated to you, go spit on that one and leave this one alone)
http://lifeasiknowit-nik.blogspot.com/2011/12/slut-walk.html

Chiranth Ashok: ‎Nikhil: How about we change the name and go for an antirape-walk?
The point we are trying to make, I think is this- (protesting against a (protest against a heinous crime) is so wrong)... If you are not interested then don't bother with it, just like you wouldn't bother about any other political rally.. End of story...
In western countries dressing like a slut would probably mean a tube top and a mini skirt.. But here in our country, a pair of jeans and a sleeveless top is slutty according to the "moral police".. Every time there is a rape or any sexual assault, the victim is further accused of being slutty and provocating some "man".. You have already covered that clothing is not a factor.. Why does the society blame the woman for getting raped? Slutwalk may have a narrow vision but the bigger picture is that women should not be blamed (there may be exceptions) for getting raped..
Men are animals.. I know I am a man and I still say this with shame.. If you wanna have sex go find a real slut or something.. why rape an innocent passer-by?
(about RSS, i have seen it long enough around me that its a moral policing brigade, they have several wings to do specific activities without getting "RSS" involved.. The same people with some different name.)
And pardon me if any of my research is wrong, I haven't done any research.. Just posting my own opinions along with one sentence from wikipedia cos i couldn't put it into the right words..

Telling women not to dress like sluts is just a superficial solution.. Why don't we all men gang up and decide that rape is wrong and should not be done irrespective of whether a woman is draped in n layers of clothes or running around naked? Maybe if our generation can change for the better and instil the right morals in our future generations, in a few years it will all be better.. till then lets just not buy slutty clothes..

Nikhil Baliga: ‎Chiranth Ashok - The way you are talking, it seems like you have some first hand experience that "moral police" doing these things and that women are accused and blamed all the time. Really, have you done some research on this? I am genuinely asking. or are you basing your thoughts on what is shown in the media?

Arvind S Murthy: ‎@All: Most Rapists are mentally disturbed people.Clear evidence in both ICD-10 and DSM-IV codes.

There are no sophisticated diagnostic techniques to identify these disorders before the rape actually happens.So it is highly impossible to prevent it.

This makes whatever awareness campaigns any one wants to do redundant.Instead they should spread awareness about the silent killer that is mental illness.Better awareness leads to better preparedness.Women should take up self defence classes instead of saying we will walk on the roads how ever we want.

There is no question of equality of rights when it comes to subtle things like mental illness.

It is also a proven fact that most sociopaths are not overtly anti social.Infact in some cases they can be most charming.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Bundy
Case in point.Most women went willingly to Ted Bundy only to end up in garbage bins later on.

So you cant look at a person and say he is a rapist..It is always better to be prepared and to be aware.

Anand Bhatia: ‎@Arvind So boys win? :P

Chiranth Ashok: I have based my comments on my own interactions with ppl- old and young - and the ways they think... its sad that i can't share a link to whatever I've learnt Over the years as a member of this society..