It Happens Not Even In India
Several arguments have been put forth against my stand that USA as a society has been degenerating, that it doesn't hold a candle to the Western European, Scandinavian and Japanese societies. I have heard that I was wrong to blame the people of USA for the doings of its government, I have heard that any superpower in its place would do the same. Now, I think I need say no more, for the Americans have made a spectacle of themselves on all the news channels across the world.
Looting, murder, rape, official apathy on such a grand scale were not witnessed even during the Tsunami and the floods in Bihar! One can no longer claim that dislike for America is a result of the foreign policy of its government or that Bush alone is resposible for all the shenanigans perpetrated in Iraq, Afghanistan and the rest of the world. The problem is that a rot has set deep in the core of the american society.
Looting, murder, rape, official apathy on such a grand scale were not witnessed even during the Tsunami and the floods in Bihar! One can no longer claim that dislike for America is a result of the foreign policy of its government or that Bush alone is resposible for all the shenanigans perpetrated in Iraq, Afghanistan and the rest of the world. The problem is that a rot has set deep in the core of the american society.
posted by Anon | 6:09 AM
20 Comments:
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The apathy was shown by the (Bush) govt. Most people who saw the lack of care were outraged. If what u say were true of the general american public, then i don't see why they would have been outraged. - they all shouldn't have cared a damn, by your logic.
It seems to me, that this is just another case showing a huge difference between the american govt. and the american public.
I repeat an old statement, don't judge the general population by what the govt does. It just isn't fair!
Hey Kar,
Looks like you've put up an argument just for the sake of it...
Come on, looting and raping are not due to 'govt. (Bush)apathy'. That was due to the degeneracy... take for instance Mumbai, the govt. disappeared during the flood, but ordinary people stood up to help where they could. OK a few guys were rather enthusiastic while rescuing young women :), but that was the worst, if you can call it that.
And frankly, I didn't see too many Americans outraged... in fact there was this guy (a victim) who went on about the kindness in Bush's eyes and how things were going to get better after Bush's visit :-0. He sounded a lot like the guy who said that he was traumatised for life after 9/11.
I think a majority of them are nincompoops, flocks of sheep that will believe just about anything!!!
People here ARE worried; they are irritated by the govt.'s lethargy.
and for once, the american media criticised the american govt.'s handling.
As i see it, all ur comments need to be reserved for the govt., and not be directed at everyone.
about theft, do u really think there were fewer thefts during the floods in bombay?
you also have to remember that the floods in bombay were nowhere as devastating as the ones in New Orleans. people (and police) in bombay could still walk on the streets. of course abundant availability of guns in the US could also have contributed.
YES there were fewer thefts in Bombay.
Kumar, in this case, anything short of numerical proof is an assumption.
yes, fewer were reported on TV - but, that doesn't mean a thing. cos our media also doesn't sensationalise everything the way the US media does.
karthik u are tagged. PS u too. Maynak...come on man, you are the only guy who leaves sensible comments on my blog ;).
I still side with PS. There were kids lost during Tsunami...there were orphaned parents running away with someone else's kids to fill the void in their lives BUT there were not rapes of kids on their way to the bathroom inside a dark superdome. Sorry, if a section of the society can stoop to satisfy its carnal pleasures during a catastrophe it does talk of Degeneration.
I don't think anyone disagrees with saying that a certain section of the american society is degenerate (or for that matter any society).
the question at hand is, is it fair to generalise the degeneracy to the whole population?
and, i think it isn't.
Karthik, half the arguments that we, no not we, that you seem to have with everyone is because generalization is something that you cannot digest.
But not many can view issues as isolated events and analyze them with cold and clinical precision. At some point in time the rape of a 6 year old tends to blur the line between cold logic and humanity. I wish everyone could view things from your perspective but sadly most of us are weak hearted.
I am in no way saying that you are cold hearted. The world needs people like you in making objective decisions but people of your kind will be a minority and are usually least understood and most misinterpreted.
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Karthik, I see you repeating that Americans care, but don't see anything in support, you have also not made any other point... some insights into why you have taken your stand might help...
Also, American public outrage sounds a lot like the opinions expressed by women at a kitty party... They hold certain views because it is fashionable... It reminds me of an expression coined by Richard Feynman - 'Cocktail Party Philosohphers'
Kumari, Thanks for going through my post and leaving your comment. It feels really nice to have someone from outside my immediate circle of friends reading my post.
Mayank, I was looking forward to having Karthik post his view on this, not just leave a comment.
Kumar, what do you mean by tagged?
Karthik, Indian media senationalises events just as much, if not more than the American media does. You will know if you watch NDTV, try to follow the gyrations of the news reader's head and you will wake up the next morning with a pain in your neck :) ... what I am trying to say is, they are more worried about how they they look and present news rather than the content of the news!!! You get to hear their opinions more than you get to hear the news!!!
check my blog out...you will know what getting tagged means.
’…the rape of a 6 year old tends to blur the line between cold logic and humanity…’’-Kumar
Guys, are you telling me that u have never read about such incidents in India? I suggest you people start reading ur news more carefully. So, how are they more degenerated than us?-Mayank
The reason why I mentioned the rape of the 6 year old was to not point out the degeneracy in American society or compare it with our own societal set-up. I mentioned that because I cannot read a news item in a very detached manner coldly consuming the facts. I can't enter the numbers in a database as soon as I read about the rapes, murders and lootings. I seriously don't think we should debate the fact that India had lesser number of rapes than America (I have done it in the previous comment pertaining to the mumbai thefts). At some point in time the nationalities don't matter.A 6 year old being raped in India is as horrific to me as the rape of an American 6 year old.
I completely agree with Maynak on all other counts.
@ PS:'Cocktail Party Philosohphers' - aren't we all? the fact that we are discussing all this stuff without ever intending to do anything about it makes us no different. what u said is not true of only the americans - it is true of most people on earth - i really don't see why you should isolate the americans for it.
btw, good comment mayank. there there was one thing that i would dissatisfying - we went too far afield from the initial post (all of us).
kumar rightly pointed out that this chain (at least my contribution) was about separating the baddies from the goodies. and, to blame the whole of america for the mistakes of a few (maybe many) rotten individuals would be a sad thing to do.
Good response Mayank. It does make me view it differently but then like Kumar says, my heart rules my life and most times i am too overwhelmed to stop judging anyone or anything.
That said...this kind of reminded me of all those huge fiery discussions we used to have in the hostel rooms late in the night :)
Karthik, fashionablitiy is not the only aspect on which we bases our opinions. That, I believe is the difference between us and Cocktail Party Philosophers.
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