outrage

Outrage is a favourite emotion with the middle class. Its an easy emotion that lends beautifully as an excuse to all the violence that our position and privilege necessitates. Its an easy veil we wear to hide all our insecurities. And its an easy weapon to annihilate any opposition to our moral hegemony.
So, an Indian colonist in Andaman would be outraged with the nakedness of the jarawa tribal and feel within his rights to annihilate their land, their culture, their person.
So, an Indian citizen would be outraged at Kalmadi's deeds that put the 'nation to shame', while feeling proud of the 70KCrore tamasha on the screen.Like a commentor on facebook commented, 'The CWG games have made India proud. the 70K Crore bill is worth it'. how screwed up is the sense of their worth? he probably earns 70K in two months. It will take many lifetimes worth of his earning to earn that money. then how did he arrive at its worth, which is clearly not within his grasp of imagination even.
He knows much of that money could have gone to feed a million people. that a people had to be displaced due to this pride. who's pride is it anyway?
why is an identity statement of a section of the society more important than the survival of the larger, but under privileged section of the society? why is the outrage of the underprivileged, seen as mere nuisance?
Why are there marches seeking justice for jessica lal when the middle class themselves still see woman as no more than an object?
why do we uphold a few abstract faces in stead of confronting and living our ideals?
why do mumbaikars aim to 'meter down' the taxi-wallahs, when all that this 'struggle' suggests is an attempt at enforcing the class difference. showing someone's 'aukaad', if u will. (what encapsulates the idea of 'aukat' in english? let me know, if u do.)

how can we stop being outraged at the drop of a hat, and be ready for uncomfortable confrontation of the truth?

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