[IMC Bombay] Aw right

[Mukumbe]

Vickram, I don't think too many people make the
distinction between the nation and the people. I see
too much wholesale sneering among self-professed
lefties in India, too much self-righteousness and
sanctimoniousness as if the mere fact of being born
into and living in a 'third world' nation gives them
some kind of moral superiority. Too much finger
pointing at people who people who choose to live in
America - as if the very landmass is tainted or
something. 

What America is today, every power hungry conclave
would be, if they could. Powerlust isn't restricted to
America. Greed and hypocrisy exist in every nation.
America's just perfected the art. When the RSS
condemns the war - you know that everyone against the
war isn't against it for the right reasons. Don't
forget it was these saffron mofos who first started
making a noise about MNCs.

Sneering at all Americans or at people who may prefer
to live there is really ugly. I've been called an
'imperialist' and a Coke-craver by some bearded
Malayali fucker who probably beats his wife - just for
mentioning I live in the US. Less crude people have
simply sneered, even if they have never done anything
meaningful with their lives except be brown. These are
also the people who simply do not know how to work
collectively - and always set up a hierarchy whatever
they do - even if its 'activism' - where they talk
mystifyingly about Marx and play out their Che
fantasies while plebs do the hard sweaty work and
remain anonymous.

This is just one out of many many similar incidents -
sanctimonious Indian lefties could maybe learn
something from America - where - through the struggles
of so many people - daily interactions and small,
everyday practices (at least among progressives) are
far more egalitarian and cognizant of the notion of
individual dignity than I've ever seen in India, among
groups of any political persuasion. Kancha Ilaiah has
said something very similar. But I'm sure such views
are swiftly dismissed because how can a woman and a
Dalit possibly know what's good for them? 

If these people don't know how to manifest the notion
of equality and collectivity in daily life - the
difference betwen them and the power hungry corporate
elites they condemn is only one of quantity/intensity
and not of quality. 

Maybe all these sanctimonious sneerers at the US
should take a good hard look at their own bigotry as
well and do something about it. 

Now I'll step off my soapbox.






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