Damned if you do, Damned if you don’t

Few incidents reveal malaise plaguing the society. The responses generated on social media and alike after a child actress was allegedly molested in an airplane indicate how deeper misogyny, distrust, chauvinism etc. are entrenched in the aspiring superpower of the world. The reports on the incident were straightforward. A middle-aged man on the seat right behind the actress had allegedly molested her. The actor had documented the incident and posted it on her Instagram account. The alleged offender has been taken custody and investigation into the incident has begun.

There was expected support for the actor from personalities from different domains condemning the incident. But it was something else altogether which indicates the nature of beings which populate our society. Trolls were hurled at the actor on various accounts. Mean tweets are nothing new to actors. Comedy shows even has heads of states sharing mean tweets. Nevertheless, the timing and the nature of tweets are fodder for discussion as they open a portal to a section of society’s minds.

Trolls were focused on everything except ‘what has happened to the actor’. Few talked about lack of documentary ‘evidence’, one saying that the video has a shot of only the alleged offender’s foot. Some others were busy ‘advising’ on what the actor should’ve done, ‘Why didn’t she inform the authorities instantly?’, ‘Why didn’t she slap him?’. The brilliant ones had discovered that the actor has performed a publicity stunt. Literature offers insight into the activity performed by people who tweeted quite irrationally, which translates to normal in our society.

George Orwell’s  1984 ^[1] is a marvel of modern English literature which narrates an apocalyptic modern society where the government controls everything including the Press. It is hindsight meant it controls what the people read and think. The protagonist who works in the Newspaper department (titled Ministry of Truth in the novel) is entrusted the job of altering the news as the government (alias Big Brother) desires. When he performs the activity, he does something called as doublethink – where he knows the reality and also the fiction he needs to author, yet he chooses to report fiction because that is what is desired, acceptable, sweet and expected.

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Online media is only an extension of a minuscule yet a powerful section of the society as they can shape opinions and discussions. It is a reflection of what the elite^[2] thinks. When the individuals receive all the facts of the incident they know what has decidedly happened. A teenage girl has been molested is the most important of all. Rather than focusing on what has happened, the individuals doublethink, where they focus on different aspects of the incident and pass judgments diluting the actual topic of discussion ^[3].

Most incidents of molestation go unreported because women believe that narrating them will not make any change primarily because they feel society will doubt them ^[4]. When the #MeToo campaign became predominant on social media, which eventually lead to TIME magazine to declare ‘Silence Breakers’ who reported on harassment in Hollywood as Person of the year, it was seen as a welcome sign, that reports of harassment would be accepted by the society. It created an atmosphere that women can without hesitation come out in public. It reposed faith that society will lend ears to what they are to say. 

It is true that it has happened today but disappointment arises from the fact that there was resentment, hatred, and misogyny in equal measure. It could very well push women back into shells instead of giving them the courage to expose the truth. The incident only reveals that there will be condemnation whether you report or remain silent.
The case is in hearing and judgment will be ascertained in the court of law after the investigation. Despite the verdict, such incidents will continue to occur in future. The problem is it will apply to such trolls too. After all, no level of sophistication, money, education, power, etc can change few person’s true nature.

The President of the world’s superpower is a living example.

P.S. Kindly check out the TED Talk in the Notes below. You could watch it with subtitles as the speech is not in English.

Notes:

[1] It is widely debatable whether the apocalyptic society which George Orwell envisions is an original idea. Dissenters argue that a similar plan was authored by Russian novelist Yevgeny Zaymatin in We. Nevertheless, 1984 is an epitome of modern literature.

[2] The elite classification stems from the fact that less than 15% of Indian population use online social media.

[3][4] Narrated academically in the TED talk below.

 Why women stay silent after sexual assault (with English subtitles) | Inés Hercovich

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