First, sincere apologies to Subbu for flagrantly lifting his title ( which is so far obvious ) and the possible lift of content also. It is bound to happen that way, because from the time I had known him, I don’t think I have thought any different from what he had. But there could be variations also. Mostly that happens because he has the head-start of 10 years on me and in his speed, probably that would translate to 20 years of additional thinking. Maybe when I catch up with his age, I would have realized the basis of his logic and agree to him.
But as of now, in this it looks like we would have some differences in opinion. Subbu sums up that we are made in a particular way and we don’t determine that, so we stay the way we are. Well I disagree. If traits are embedded in DNA and we act only according to that, then a killer should have a familial history of killing, isn’t it.
Way back, the British had a law that prescribed criminals on basis of ancestry and genetics. In an impoverished, drought ridden district of South Tamil Nadu, people had to resort to crime, to keep their stomach from gnawing. And many of them ended up in jails. To keep the district free of crime, the police, basis the new law, repatriated a huge bunch to North Chennai. And there are people who still claim that this is one of the reasons why more criminals come from that part of the city. While there could be some merit in the argument, I think it is too much of generalization. In fact, the terrain supports crime. It is tucked in one corner of the city, has the ocean as an escape route etc. But yet, there are many who had channelised their energies into constructive stuff. Atleast 80% of the boxers from Tamil Nadu come from North Chennai. So not all end up as criminals! If positive change can be brought upon, so could negative change be also.
My take on this, to a great extent we determine what we are and what we want to do. Some have the courage to do it, some have the foolishness to do it, some have the good fortune to do it, some have the genetic support to do it. And, stuff like killing, we don’t do, because we are afraid of getting imprisoned. As the revolutionary Periyar used to say, people tonsure their head for God, not because of their belief in God, but because of the belief in the fact that hair will grow again. I have not seen anyone sacrificing teeth or limbs to God. They are smart; they know that these items don’t grow again. Likewise, it is the fear of punishment that holds us back from heinous acts. When we were kids, we would have easily dissected a dragon fly or a butterfly. At that age, the only thing that stopped us was the grandparents telling stories about we will be tortured the same way at hell when we die. Otherwise, we would have gladly continued our killing spree and graduated to bigger living things, that’s what the psychopaths do.
We always see that during riots and calamitous situations, perfectly gentle people acting extremely funny. There are recorded events of how property was amassed by God fearing middle class Delhites during the anti-Sikh riots in 1984. And we did not have any compunction whatsoever in occupying the houses of our fellow countrymen who fled to Pakistan fearing their lives. Let us say, we are facing a severe drought and things are rationed. If my children were hungry, and I see a weakling as someone who will share the ration, I would not hesitate smashing him up and take his share also for my folks. Psychologists say that when there is extreme duress or sadness people tend to get extra-punitive or intra-punitive. They either harm others or harm themselves.
I believe that all of us are capable of doing anything and a strict diet of rules, regulations, fairness and fear is what keeps us sane. Otherwise anyone would do anything. These days in Punjab they ingeniously use washing machines for making lassi.
So you are not the way you are, you are simply what you want to be!!! Sorry Subbu.:-)
But as of now, in this it looks like we would have some differences in opinion. Subbu sums up that we are made in a particular way and we don’t determine that, so we stay the way we are. Well I disagree. If traits are embedded in DNA and we act only according to that, then a killer should have a familial history of killing, isn’t it.
Way back, the British had a law that prescribed criminals on basis of ancestry and genetics. In an impoverished, drought ridden district of South Tamil Nadu, people had to resort to crime, to keep their stomach from gnawing. And many of them ended up in jails. To keep the district free of crime, the police, basis the new law, repatriated a huge bunch to North Chennai. And there are people who still claim that this is one of the reasons why more criminals come from that part of the city. While there could be some merit in the argument, I think it is too much of generalization. In fact, the terrain supports crime. It is tucked in one corner of the city, has the ocean as an escape route etc. But yet, there are many who had channelised their energies into constructive stuff. Atleast 80% of the boxers from Tamil Nadu come from North Chennai. So not all end up as criminals! If positive change can be brought upon, so could negative change be also.
My take on this, to a great extent we determine what we are and what we want to do. Some have the courage to do it, some have the foolishness to do it, some have the good fortune to do it, some have the genetic support to do it. And, stuff like killing, we don’t do, because we are afraid of getting imprisoned. As the revolutionary Periyar used to say, people tonsure their head for God, not because of their belief in God, but because of the belief in the fact that hair will grow again. I have not seen anyone sacrificing teeth or limbs to God. They are smart; they know that these items don’t grow again. Likewise, it is the fear of punishment that holds us back from heinous acts. When we were kids, we would have easily dissected a dragon fly or a butterfly. At that age, the only thing that stopped us was the grandparents telling stories about we will be tortured the same way at hell when we die. Otherwise, we would have gladly continued our killing spree and graduated to bigger living things, that’s what the psychopaths do.
We always see that during riots and calamitous situations, perfectly gentle people acting extremely funny. There are recorded events of how property was amassed by God fearing middle class Delhites during the anti-Sikh riots in 1984. And we did not have any compunction whatsoever in occupying the houses of our fellow countrymen who fled to Pakistan fearing their lives. Let us say, we are facing a severe drought and things are rationed. If my children were hungry, and I see a weakling as someone who will share the ration, I would not hesitate smashing him up and take his share also for my folks. Psychologists say that when there is extreme duress or sadness people tend to get extra-punitive or intra-punitive. They either harm others or harm themselves.
I believe that all of us are capable of doing anything and a strict diet of rules, regulations, fairness and fear is what keeps us sane. Otherwise anyone would do anything. These days in Punjab they ingeniously use washing machines for making lassi.
So you are not the way you are, you are simply what you want to be!!! Sorry Subbu.:-)
3 comments:
TS, i fully agree that there are lots of things other than heredity which determine the way a person turns out.
Take this for an eg--- "I find my wife a pleasure to live and be with , but so is not the case with my parents-in-law" -- how else can you explain this ?? :)
whatever I write / speak are the thoughts that arise at that moment. It may be true or false or it may be in between. As you would have seen in "what the bleep do we knew" movie possibilities are endless (within a predefined limit?) when we don't look at it and it gets narrowed down when we try to locate or understand it. If nobody is watching me I wont be what I am. But the environment around me reduces the possibilities unless and otherwise I shatter them by crossing some barrier which may be pleasurable or painful. When I can treat both in equal status I will cross. I am awaiting your blog on the movie.
Post a Comment