Wokeism is the rage of the day. Overhyped. I can’t look at it in one dimension. Those who have suffered persecution for centuries/generations will know. But taking it to extremes is a reason for worry. As Rajiv Malhotra discusses in his channel, this issue of taking wokeism too far like for instance when it comes to gender identity and therefore rendering the sexual orientation irrelevant, we may be treading into very dangerous territory. In fact, we may be going right against nature and in particular biology. Chemotherapy destroys the good and the bad cells in cancer patients. Wokeism is something like that. However with the bad, we cannot afford the good to be swiped down in real world we live in. You cannot nullify all that has happened up until today. That can only take us back to square one. However the racial and religious grounds remain tense global matters. In India we have lefties with radical views. Everything must have an anti theory for them. We are looking at a ‘free for all’ scenario – dope, booze and sex without censorship. To an extent we all are for equitable social justice. But history cannot be undone. Transgenders are recognized as third sex even in India and every application form for university or employment or banking or even train/flight booking gives the third sex option for choice. But parents do have a legal hold and say on their children until they turn 21. Losing an adult child can be painful. I am not a big fan of Elon Musk but in this one case, my sympathies are with him. May be someday there will be truce. For a brief phase, estrangement between parents and kids can happen. This is not unusual, rather part of the growth process for the teens. And this is not a permanent status in one’s life. Its my reckoning that Musk takes it as a personal affront that his son should choose to become a woman. America seems to be trendsetter in every field: from silicon breast implants and egg donations to surrogacy, sex change surgeries and all, and once you go down this lane, there can be no end in sight.
Surrogacy must be reserved for those who cannot medically conceive a fetus: not for those who are physically capable. You see even the Bollywood stars like SRK, Aamir Khan etc., going for surrogacy to have not their first but third, fourth kids. Tamil actress Nayanthara in perfect physical shape and fertile age BYPASSED LAWS and had twin boys by surrogacy. Meanwhile, govt of India preferred to look else where. When values are trodden upon for material/business reasons, when a mother would not even want to carry her biological children in her womb so as to sell her body without disfigurement to make more money, then what is there left in that society to hope for? I wouldn’t say India is any better than Europe of US. My autowala used to say, ‘amma you don’t look for these things. you keep searching for any hidden temple on the way! that is why you are missing what is going on all around you!’ He pointed to me a young guy sprawled face down on footpath with drug overdose. My heart skipped a beat. We have blatant misuse of surrogacy concept in India. Drugs are available in kirana shops. Modi govt has lost total control. Is ineffective when it comes to dealing with dope issues. Under DMK, Tamil Nadu is witnessing a hitherto unseen spike in use of spurious drugs. What is the law enforcement doing. Taking commissions from ganja dealers? Laws must also be spruced up to allow surrogacy only for a first child to medically unfit couple incapable of conceiving on their own. Recently there was a case of a young man expiring on surgery table on careless administration of anesthesia for hair grafting. In productive years, why are our youth pre-occupied with frivolous superficial matters? A friend told me that a girl from Delhi or Punjab (not sure) who was attending a deemed university in the city sold her eggs to buy an I phone. I couldn’t believe this happened in Chennai.
However, there is a tendency among the Musk-Trump tent to brush everything under the carpet in the name of ‘wokeism.’ One only has to recall the suffragettes, Martin Luther King etc., to be reminded why it is at all necessary. The coinage may be new but the concept is not. We live in a fairly decent era in the present thanks to the rebellions and coups of our ancestors: bloody or bloodless.
Wokeism for just purposes in a peaceful manner must be okay. You cannot put a blanket ban on every protest, every banner, every social cause. Some of the issues may be sensitive and may warrant action. Things will work out fine in the long run. The younger generation has no patience left to wait for such a day. Injustices are balanced by nature in course of time. Time alone can bring justice. We have reservations in India to compensate for centuries of caste discriminations. Every tilt to one side will correct itself given some time gap. America too has done a lot for restoring social justice and equality among genders and races. Human rights SUPPOSEDLY matter more over there!
Sometimes I am glad and relieved I am 55, and we grew up in a nice sweet innocent and warfree world. Chennai was good old Madras then, resembling a huge village. So green, unpolluted. We never knew the meaning for the word ‘violence.’ Not even biriyani was there! Never happened to watch a street fight. Dance, music, academics, art, temples – this was what life was about. Sometimes I wish I could return to the 80s when my peers all had rosy teen years. It was the last of safe times we were seeing perhaps, little did we know then. Our world was insulated from the harsh world reality of bloodshed and material greed. Our parents led a simple but satisfying and happy life.
I always factor in the variance – the standard deviation which accounts for a small percentage of noncompliance – the nonconforming. We need these odd balls to practise our tolerance. Variety after all is the spice of life. The diversity is what is the beauty of our existence than the boring monotony/familiarity. Once upon a time, Hindu women had to throw themselves into the funeral pyres of their husbands who passed away. Burnt alive. Probably a woke mind virus afflicted Raja Ram Mohan Roy to take up the social cause and correct the situation, right Malhotra ji? WAs India’s freedom struggle wokeism? The women and the shudras of my country had to fight legal battles to enrol in schools and universities. Nobody called it ‘woke’ but it was the need of the hour. When we skip or postpone righting the wrongs, we are inviting civil wars. However we can attempt to improve the situation than call for dismantling the establishment. Therein lies the difference.
SEx change in Hindu history Mahabharatha: SHIKANDI. Fifteen to ten thousand years back, India/Hindus recognized transgenders who even changed sexes supposedly. Both Malhotraji and Musk must note.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shikhandi
Poor Vivian/Xavier. We can all speak from the lectern. Post comments in social media. But what to say to a kid who is all confused about sexual orientation. It can be baffling. If this is not suicidal then what is. Someone is born a transgender not by genetic disposition or any disease. It is just a single chromosome going freak when the sperm breaches the egg. It can happen to anyone. Any normal healthy couple can beget a transgender kid irrespective of their race or religion or caste. Nobody to blame: not the genes or the family tree, not the community. Just one of those unpredictable accidents of nature. If Musk cannot understand even now, then its better that, that child of his is lost to him. Denial will someday hopefully lead to acceptance and understanding. All of it does not boil up to wokeism. Seriously we observe that there is a lot of mind related problems in the US. People care more for dogs and cats over fellow humans. We are all for wildlife and domestic pets – and in fact our forefathers did not bring any species whether human or flora or fauna to extinction like the Brits and other Europeans did. But if you have enough love to show for humans, the mind will be free on that one monumental expansion touching so many lives. There can be fewer counselling sessions and less medication. Regrettably India is walking down the same road.
Have all the freedom on earth – subject to limits. Your freedom ends when you stamp on your neighbour’s foot. EVerthing in moderation. Never take law into your hands. Go by the law. Play by the rules. Pieces will fall into their places with time. This is my final word for wokeism.
vijiravindran's 