Social. Anti-Social. Happy 2015

About a few years back, I loved social media and the possibilities it created. It gave people a chance to say that they care about issues that were otherwise not getting picked up by mainstream media. There were the great crowdsourced help groups that were helping people during floods and terrorist attacks and tsunamis. There were candlelight vigils against blatant miscarriages of justice. There were hashtags that organized the chaotic voice of the masses.

Today, I get worried. We live in a very angry world. For every voice of reason, there are many many more that are just angry, intolerant, venomous and vicious.

The world that we live in is not a black and white world. There are few issues out there that are just perfectly black and white. Like rape. Or murder. Everything else, is a matter of opinion and perspective and vantage points. One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter or victim. The terror in the valley had two sides.. Iraq war – a few. Islamophobia has a few ore. Hitler does as well.

Yet, every day, my social media feed is increasingly becoming an assault on the senses. The opinions are absolute. Debate is not possible. Insults and slurs (that seemed to be a popular feature on rediff discussion boards in the earlier years) have become all pervasive. Patience is no longer a virtue. Not for the masses, it would seem.

Yet, every now and then, like a whiff of freshly brewed coffee, you come across a deep-web link or a near-perfectly researched piece that sparks off a debate amongst the people who still have the patience to understand and analyse and not react to the “headlines”.

The headlines are increasingly sensational. The reactions increasingly alarmist. But its not all lost. You can grab that cup of coffee a little tighter, press it against your face, feel its warmth.

So, here’s to an year gone by. And to a momentous year coming up ahead. That the anger around me doesn’t take me over. And that the cup of coffee stays warm. That there be more debates and less altercations that are worthy of a life so short. That there be learning that stay with me on this long journey.

थी गर्म हवाएं, तूफाँ का था अंदेशा
ये वक़्त गुज़र जाए, दे सब्र मुझे ऐसा