Shouting Before Thinking

I recently attended a protest. Not the kind of thing I would typically be at, but there’s always a first time, right? Now, I’m not going to tell you where the protest was or what it was against, because if I do I won’t be able to keep my personal opinion out of it and that’s not what this post is all about. But I can describe what it was like. When I was walking to the venue, I was expecting to see mild vandalism and some breakage of glass. To my surprise, what I saw was a lot of singing and people…smiling. Yes, there were people shouting slogans and yes, there was media around and yes, people were having debates. But I vouch for the fact that the excitement wasn’t purely political. It was something that gave rise to the James Dean in all of us.

A few months ago, our president’s son was caught in the middle of a controversy when he said that the beautiful women involved in protests following the Delhi rape case were just following fad by protesting. They didn’t really mean their slogans. They just said them. I don’t know if he was right or wrong, but I did learn something from the reaction his comments garnered- that it is extremely hard to protest against protest.

Sometimes, it’s very easy to get carried away. It’s exciting to be part of something, it’s exhilarating to be against something. Admit it. There’s an adrenaline rush associated with protests, mobs and riots. Stand amidst a crowd during any campus protest and you’ll know why normal citizens turn violent during riots. You’ll see how everyone’s so high-strung and willing to shout. But I wonder if everybody really understands what they’re fighting against. It’s kind of like what happened during the whole Lokpal bill episode- a lot of the protestors didn’t know what Lokpal was.

I am a firm believer of fighting for what is right, for standing up for what you believe is correct. But sometimes, our emotions can get the better of us and we could get swayed to one side of an argument without thinking it through.  All I’m saying is that never let any slogan or any protest shape your thoughts. Instead, treat them as a source of information to better understand a situation and try to listen to both sides instead of focusing on one. Don’t just go and hold up banners supporting a cause you’ve just heard of. Take a minute to decide what you feel about an issue and then join the movement. As for the protest I became part of, all I can say is that I am with what is right and the people concerned with making a final decision will hopefully see what’s right too.