With this, I'm off the issue already...

I've been reading comments from SRK fans who're calling out to other fans to do something tweetily nasty to a journalist over his/her comments on SRK's detainment issue.

I don't do tweet so I didn't get the lingo he/she was using. But thing is, that's as bad as an anti-SRK person calling out to people who don't like him to write nasty comments in every article in the news on the incident.

You gals/guys just missed the point, didn't you?

I know everyone feels like he/she has to do something about it.. but don't go over the top with this just on Shah Rukh. What happened to him had probably happened to your next door muslim neighbours, see. Do you care to find out more about what has happened if they had told you about it? Do you care enough to spread the awareness about those injustices .. not just about what happened to your muslim neighbours, but also to other members of minority communities that have been treated unjustly by the authorities or by the society you're living in?

It's easier to fight for Shah Rukh's cause since he's so far away and we're not personally responsible for his well being. Our anger over his incident can flare up so magnificently in a month and die a quick and painless death the moment another controversial issue pops up. Our violent reaction towards the issue allows us the illusion of doing something useful while leaving us a way out in order to not be held accountable for our actions.

Look at the muslim groups who burnt Shah Rukh's effigies and were so ready to pronounce him an apostate just how many months back. Last Sunday, some of them were probably there during the burning of President Obama's effigy as a protest towards SRK's detainment (link). And they were probably there too during the staging of that demo outside Salman Khan's house protesting over his flippant comment published last Monday (link).

I hate mob mentality as much as I hate sweeping generalization. I don't remember in what movie where a character says, "A person thinks, people don't!", which I found was a bizarre statement at the time, but now I'm getting it.

A mob is like a fickle stream. It goes meandering every which way it feels like going. It has no scruple, principle, conscience, empathy or compassion. In the disguise of struggling for righteousness, it gives itself absolute justification and complete absolution over whatever atrocities it wants to commit during the fight for its cause. Most of the time, by the end of it, it's forgotten what's the cause it's fighting for in the first place. I doubt there's any way to stop a mob. You simply can't argue with it. It's created without an organ for hearing or thinking or seeing.

I tell you frankly one thing. I'm a person who's scared of authorities too, just like SRK, and I'm very law-abiding. To be pulled up for extra questioning while knowing that you haven't consciously done anything wrong as your papers have all checked out and to be told it's because your name pops up on their computer... lemme tell you, that kind of horror will haunt you everytime you want to enter the gates of that country in the future. What if his family were with him? Would they have been taken to a different room for 'questioning' too? It's a good thing he has friends in the consulate whom he could call for help. What if he doesn't? How many hours would he have languished there?

For those who are certain that they'll never be prejudiced against, you have no idea what Shah Rukh's incident has made us, the muslims, feel personally... inside our hearts. We know that a lot of other muslims have gone through the same experience, just like Salman Khan said. What is not a big deal to Salman may be a big deal to somebody else, I mean come on.. this is a guy who has gone to jail several times and once publicly stated that he doesn't mind going to jail again in the future, okay. So what's a little secondary inspection at an airport to him? I've been to America post 9/11, and I'm saying here that it's an experience I'm sooo not eager to go through again. The difference is, the media is willing to give SRK a platform for which he could tell the world in detail what had happened. Most of us will never be given that kind of a chance.

We re-lived our past experiences through his report and we remember our fears at the time. Can anyone of you who've never been through the same ordeal truly tell us that you understand the situation? If you don't understand it, then please shut up and just empathize. That's all we need from you, an awareness of what's happening around you to one part of the minority communities who have been subjected to humiliating treatments at the hands of the authorities you have elected. Where's the need to be sarcastic or cynical about it?

And to those who're angry about the incident, react only in a way that is honest and true to the feelings in your heart. Don't react just coz you think you're expected to react since you're an SRK fan. You're not a mindless slave to those irresponsible instigators. You're not simply a number in the crowd. You're a thinking person. Act accordingly.

I dunno what else to say about this incident, and I think I've said too much for a usually silent person when amongst strangers, which is essentially what the visitors to this blog are to me. We are strangers to each other, you and I. I wish the world could be a perfect place where everyone just loves one another and strife doesn't butt into anyone's life. However...

The Matrix says that people thrive on conflict and they're absolutely miserable in a utopian setting. Maybe that's true, I mean.. look at us now as opposed to us in history. We haven't changed one bit when it comes to our grumpy, warring ways. We don't want to learn the lessons from the past coz we're so adamant on re-inventing the wheel and learning it the hard way. We're hopelessly hell-bent on destroying this planet with nuclear weapons trained at every other country to prevent the other guy from firing first.

Maybe because I'm a cynic and a nihilist that it prompts me to see things from every angle I can, even from the most depressing one. I can go on and on but what's the point. This is the last post I'll be writing about this issue. Nabil, a popular comedian in our country, has this tagline for one of his shows that goes, "Lu pikir la sendiri!" (the pronunciation is as it's spelt), which means 'You gotta think for yerself, bro' ...and I really like that tagline. It's quite deep despite it being so abrupt.

Anyway, I found this video and I thought it's uproariously funny. Those who don't have a sense of humor, you'd better not watch this though. Don't say I didn't warn you. And with that, I'm off...

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Shah Rukh Khan Detained at Newark
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Healthcare Protests

Shiny happy people holding hands

A follow-up from my previous post due to new incoming articles on the net.

I think we can safely divide the people who cared enough to comment to articles on SRK's detainment into three main groups: (1) Members of minority communities who have seen/heard/experienced/had family members or friends went through the same thing in the western countries or specifically in America... whether they're aliens (that's what non-US citizens are called in America and Japan) or US nationals, (2) Empathic and sympathetic people... usually those who travel/read a lot, or meet up with foreign visitors occasionally/regularly in the course of their work or daily lives, (3) Those who don't care a whit but feel that others should know what their thoughts about it are, most of which are made up of much crap and has no necessity to be dispersed about in public in the first place.

See, I want to make one thing very clear to anyone who bothers to read this post. When you say SRK has blown things out of proportion, step back and evaluate the incident. Who actually picked up the issue and made a big ruckus out of it? The journalists, of course. From the so-called respected TV channels/newspapers/etc.

Then who made a 180 degree turn and eagerly documented comments from those who accused SRK of making a big fuss out of nothing? Yep, the same journalists who had a field day stepping over each others' toes to be the first to report the incident on the day it happened. Welcome to real-time reporting courtesy of the 24-7 internet mechanism.

Times like this when I, an engineering student, hate technology. It has a tendency to disrobe us of our humanity, transform us into these cold and calculating creatures. I think it's this 'faceless' edge the net gives us that makes us think we can write whatever about whomever in whichever site we want. See, it's already succeeded in transforming the untalkative me into this blabbermouth who can't stop talking, or rather.. typing, in comment sections of other people's posts and my own blog.

I dunno where I'm going with the content of this post, just feel like ranting. I doubt whatever I, or anyone else, write about it will change any part of the world, especially not the US superpower. What.. do you think the immigration/custom officials and their higher ups are having secret meetings right now to discuss what the rest of the world thinks of this incident? They don't give a frell's arse what we think about it. That's the way they're running the country, for friggin sakes. Who are we... Third World occupants, and me muslim and female to boot... to question them and tell them they're running it wrong.

Tell you what... let's follow the examples set by Salman Khan, VGS from Bangalore, yasmin from abu dhabi, Jit from the ol' US of A and Jay from India. Let's treat all injustices meted out on us by Uncle Sam as a no big deal. Let's all just sweep everything under the carpet, shall we? And the next time, if our next door muslim neighbour went missing during his vacation to America, we should just shut up and mind our own business. I mean, come on.. the guy must have been planning to nuke the US and got caught while entering the country. But hey, if he's planning to carry out terrorism, why did he bring his family along? Oh! Must be coz the entire family are suicide bombers in disguise. Right. Well, that's that then.

I got the comments (blue font) I pasted below from here.

Calig, Los Angeles, CA, says: SRK is HUGE, to not know him is to not know what's going on outside your own country. Maybe if the USA would pull its collective head out, you'd realize this. But besides that, here is a guy who is being hassled for no reason other than having the "wrong" name and the "wrong" color skin. This is prejudice pure and simple. He did nothing suspicious or illegal. And it most certainly doesn't happen to white Americans when we travel abroad.
[19 Aug, 2009 0008hrs IST]

Jim Prince, New York, says: Looks like most people have completely missed the point. Of course, no movie star or politician deserves any special treatment. However, in United States and other Western Countries like U.K. there is a huge undercurrent of racism/profiling. It is done under the guise of law and order and security. Most people, most of the time are not discriminated. However, when you who do get discriminated, you recognize it right away. For minorities, be it black, hispanics or Muslims, these incidents are extremely humiliating and the person tends to remember it for life time. Which in turn feeds the hatred and resenment. With the weapon of law and order, often innocents are arrested, jailed and their lives completely destroyed. Blacks, hispanics and other minorities who are often pulled over for minor or no traffic violations are well aware of these facts. No one is encouraging special treatment for VIPs but under the guise of haulting terrorism, in Mr. Khan's case What you see now is the humiliating, arrogant actions, which affect the minorities psyche at a very deep level. No one, including the President of India, is safe from it.
[18 Aug, 2009 1935hrs IST]

VGS, Bangalore, says: I think in all stupidity of ours a whole - we are blowing this issue out-of-proportions. As a country they have complete rights to check someone's antecedents and precedents. Just because Shahrukh has been a Megastar in India, he would mean nothing to an American security agent at airport, he was nothing more than a rich traveller going thro' gates to his First class seat. At an individual level I agree and empathize with Sharukh for the ordeal he might have gone thro' and I am sure with his maturity he should accept that these are part and parcel in life. Also a way the God brings in some humility in us.
[18 Aug, 2009 1651hrs IST]

yasmin, abu dhabi, says: The writer has well scriped the events and well the episode was blown out of proposition. Shahrukh Khan should have shown self-restraint as it is obvious that Muslims community is maligned therefore, always be ready for events like this. We, as a nation treat our luminaries as demi-gods and take their lives as an integral part of our living. This atttitude needs to be changed. Every nation has a law and nobody is above the law of the land. Having said that, in parallel lines, US is paranoid after September 11 and many innocent people are victimised to the non-chalant and ruthless attitude of the immigration authorities. Life goes on and events occur at distinct stages in the world. They have to move on and so does Shahrukh khan. He needs to behave more maturely as every individual brings their own share.
[18 Aug, 2009 1528hrs IST]

Jit, USA, says: It was awesome.. Indians should understand that there is no one greater than the security of the soil. We should frisk their celebrities like they did, but not only the celebrities, every person who enters the country should be given the same treatment. Give them a huge welcome when they pass the security checks, not before that.
[18 Aug, 2009 0453hrs IST]

Jay, India, says: Excellent Article,, everyone should understand this and SRK is no exceptional.. out of 100, if 10 are facing the same detention then why SRK is an exception ?? why people are taking this issue so seriously because he is a superstar in India ???? There is a moral lesson behind this which everyone should learn that rules apply to 'everyone' in US and the same steps should be taken in India to stop the terror entering from outside,, I am not against SRK or any other superstar but we should treat all human equal,,Everyday we see many people gets detained for 2-3 hours for the same questions and why there is a big deal when the same queries are asked to SRK >>>>
[18 Aug, 2009 0426hrs IST]

Reddy, USA, says: Be a bit more rational and mindful of human rights. I am just another common man but i am very unhappy that I need to go through nonhuman and disrespectful procedures at airports. Sure, airport security personnel are professional, and I do not have any objections with them doing their duty. However, I do want them to make their procedures proficient and more respectful. If they took 66 minutes and a phone call from Indian Diplomat to verify Mr. Khan's identity, you can imagine how frivolous, mindless, and utterly useless the procedures they currently follow. I am not asking for VIP treatments, but efficient procedures. In your Zeal to ape US, don't follow mindlessly.
[17 Aug, 2009 2243hrs IST]

Reel imitating real imitating reel

There's an 'explosion' in the media over what happened to Shah Rukh at the Newark International Airport (link).

Some said it's not a big deal (Salman Khan: link) prompting me to wonder whether the supposedly hot-tempered actor has mellowed with age or because the incident happened to someone he doesn't care about, in which case I suggest he should just shut up and stop giving unnecessary comments on the matter. Some went overboard by giving irresponsible statements (Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni: link), which makes me go... huh, don't the airports in India frisk people at all?

Some American officials gave examples of how their high-ranking politicians submit to extra security measures without a fuss (link)... but see, those US politicians have nothing to worry about, do they? Since it's just routine checking to them and they know they'll never be detained for days or months or years in one of their own top-secret facilities without any justified reasons, the way us foreigners may be subjected to.

We can be flippant or overly serious about this issue since we're all still free to roam around in our respective countries, but even as we're saying all the above things, there are people who are currently unjustly detained on American soil who have no way to argue their cases and whose countries gave them up to the US authority without so much as a beep. Shah Rukh's case is being looked into because due to his global popularity he represents India whenever he's abroad. But there are thousands (millions?) of us who would be ignored just because we're nobodies.

Malaysia doesn't have too many Khans, but we do have 'bin' in our names for muslim men, which is also a cause of paranoia due to the US (and their allies e.g. Singapore, our next door neighbour) associating it with Ben Laden. Every time this sort of stupid generalization happens, it's almost always made and propagated by Americans, prompting me to mutter "Americans are so stupid" under my breath whenever I read about it on the net or newspapers.

I think this idiotic generalization comes about coz Americans don't get out of their country much. Probably they think their country is the center of the earth and all the evil little green muslim people are out to get them, much like scientists of yore think the earth was the center of the universe and all the evil little green aliens want to eradicate us earthlings.

I just want to point out to them that they've pretty much obliterated parts of some countries to oblivion (Vietnam, Japan, Iraq... to name a few) but American tourists can still happily go in and out of those countries as they please without a shred of prejudice manifested by extra frisking activities or secondary inspections from the local officials. Admit it... years of brainwashing from countless Hollywood movies have conditioned us to accept that Americans are the good guys, superheroes, world saviours, yada yada yada.. and anyone who goes against them are the bad guys, villains, terrorists, et cetera et cetera et cetera.

Needless to say, ol' US of A is the only country that's not on my visiting list.

How are we supposed to eliminate this prejudice? What a question to ask. I mean seriously... what can we do? We're the ones who're prejudiced against. Americans are the ones who should figure this one out instead of sitting there twiddling their thumbs, thinking, "We're so superior to these Third World occupants.. and oh look, they're also Islamic fundamentalists for frigging sakes.. what do they know?" and in the end, nothing gets done... as is usually the case.

I want to ask these people... what does 'fundamentalist' mean? The US is saying it as if it stands for 'terrorist' nowadays and anyone who opposes such a preposterous definition must be a 'fundamentalist' i.e. 'terrorist' too. Such a mind-numbing conclusion comes from a country that's supposedly the most advanced developed nation in the world. Go figure.

I also would like to suggest that the US authority encourage their people to get out of the country more, learn other languages beside US English, get to know other people's cultures, etc. so that the next time some passengers next to you are speaking excitedly about how beautiful your country is in Hindi you won't arrest them under suspicion of terrorism.

On the other hand, when you read comments like the ones here, you can understand what K means when he tells J that human thought is so primitive it's looked upon as an infectious disease by some 'better' galaxy dwellers.