Saturday, November 29, 2008

The Post-Crisis Rage

'I'M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!' I want you to get up right now, sit up, go to your windows, open them and stick your head out and yell - 'I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!' Things have got to change. But first, you've gotta get mad!... You've got to say, 'I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!'
-Howard Beale (Network,Dir.Sidney Lumet)


There's a tidal wave of rage and disillusionment that's sweeping over the popular consciousness here in Mumbai now that the crises has been resolved. As for myself I was shocked shocked to see the city - and that too it's most iconic (and therefore presumed secure) areas reduced to scenes one would expect from a Michael Mann film. The terrible incident I'm referring to is when terrorism reared its ugly head on November 26, 2008.
Self-serving, incompetence - concealing politicians who, besides fueling petty parochial loyalties and relentlessly demonising certain communities have, like religion, emotionally hijacked a small oft-quoted phrase "The Spirit of Mumbai" and reduced it to an another word on the endless list of worn out buzzwords which are currently falling on deaf years.
In this anger I sense an awakening from years of indifference and the civic indolence of the public so that that they do not fall prey to political insensitivity in the times of personal crises again.
It's not that the people in their anger refuse to be resilient. Such a thing cannot be - Resilience is inevitable. It's in our blood as humans. Nature has proved time and again. and the netas in their ivory towers cannot hammer false hopes into the people.In this context,however, peoples resilience demands a firm base at least Unity, sensitivity trust, transparency,and reassurance on the part of the various parties if not immediate pro activeness in the time of crises. The common folk are convinced now that this does not exist outside of political promises and rhetoric. The least they need is callous marketing and pompous self promotion in their time of grief. Accountability is the keyword. A simple apology for failure of prevention and a promise for a better tomorrow in the spirit of unity would be nice for once.

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