How much to be involved?
Circa: Aug 19, 2024. The nation is raging with anger for the heinous act that happened to a 31-year doctor, which removed her from the face of the earth. Would I be wrong if I say, it's not the nation that is raging, but the woman who feels the pain and who goes through a small version of such treatments/abuse on an everyday basis? Whomever expressing, found ways to show her anger or helplessness. Hope men are feeling the same and that's why there are fewer expressions from them, maybe they are still assimilating it and we can hope for some reaction.
Say some examples, where someone expressed it with poems, write-ups, and social media posts are here
Interestingly some brands did lap up the opportunity to use it for independence campaigns. So it was a double whammy for them, social cause/awareness campaign with it of course. Otherwise, plain Independence Day wish got spicier with feminism infused. Suddenly India Media became woman-promoting and men-bashing. Just to revert back to whatever they were doing two days in a jiffy.
Here are some of the examples, as a marketer I found it very opportunistic, and as a human found it very insensitive. They should have not celebrated Independence Day and boycotted the celebration because the real independence of all sections of society/or your audience isn't honored. That would have given me an assurance that brands look at customers as humans and just not as targets. My problem always arises from me search for the human factor in professional pursuits. This I am yet to conclude from being a working professional for 25 years, whether that element does exist or not.
To add to all these divergent thoughts in my mind, an uninvited guest just entered the scene through WhatsApp. Let me call him Softy. He had been an acquaintance post a professional engagement almost 3 years ago.
Circa: Some month in 2021, Advertised on the LinkedIn network for a job requirement for the startup with which I was associated with then. Got a lot of responses, few of them were quite a match after sifting. Had virtual video meetings with most of them, selected some, and moved on. One of them connected on Linkedin, and he also wanted to intern for the same post. But we couldn't find a match at that point with his timing as he was finishing his studies. I didn't think much when the LinkedIn request came from Softy. Now some professional notes are exchanged, an intern trying to find ground in the industry, being a nice professional for over 2 decades, you would like to help. But at that point, Softy started getting fascinated by my aura, as he said. He claims he can detect energies, and mine seems the best among what he found in his 2-decade life. Ofcourse attention coming your way, you might slip a bit. Wanted to understand a bit more of that trick of aura detecting. But understood, he just didn't use Joey's “Whatya doing?”, but “Whatya Aura, I like it” instead. Politely confronted and told the disinterest in this.
Now starts the sojourn of his persuasion for the coming times, which ended me blocking him on all social channels and phone numbers too. So we humans do not understand rejection and don't process it well.
Circa some later months of 2021, I get a ping from an unknown number, saying a plain Hi. Ofcourse would respond to discover it's the Softy in a new avatar. Now you block that number.
Circa months of 2022 and 2023, every 6 -7 months, I would be reminded how my energies have affected him even without meeting him and without having a phone call. How wonderful could that be… I can influence a human to that extent. Totally creepy. The blocking continues of as many weird-looking numbers, which didn't look like provider numbers but computer-generated numbers. Are they really possible, didn't do research on them, as I didn't find a career as a stalker, not something which I would pursue.
Now to the present once more
Circa Aug 18 2024: I am reminded of my beautiful Aura once more. Now I am riled up by all that is happening in the Nation as such. Wanted to put a stop to this continuous stalking. I thought let me ask my friends what is best to be done.
The tactful Logical friend1: Pointed me to gov helpline numbers and website — https://cybercrime.gov.in/
The Bubble resident, friend 2: Wanted to know how he looked. I ain't sure what would change if he looked like Tom Cruise, I have made a choice of not interacting.
The utopian believer friend 3: Why don't you just block once more?
Or may be meet him in a public setting?
what is his day job?
Do a post on LinkedIn by tagging his profile and these screenshots from the conversation.
Of all the above, i am not sure which one is the most relevant and most actionable. Ofcourse blocking him once more is the most actionable. Can do that, but wouldn't he come up once more in some months?
Now the last suggestion can be done, but it's extreme, it's like taking the law in hand. Not sure how it would affect the brand with which I am associated to make such a post.
Other two suggestions I love to dismiss for now, as I wasn't able to appreciate them.
The most actionable is, calling the helpline number 1, it directs me to a cybercrime website. Now the treacherous process of filling in all the details of me, my perpetrator, and my family details. Then comes when they ask for evidence and an upload button with some specific formats. I tried with all my skills to abide by the specifics, but it never allowed me to upload. This might be the way the system is weaning out the less needed, who would cross this biggest hurdle and lodge a complaint deserve the service. So I am not the chosen one.
The two helpline numbers, none of them were sympathetic or emphatic and directed me to other places for help.
A weird thought crossed my mind to ask my friends to just spam this number of his with multiple messages with connection requests and thus miff him. But none of my friends are that kind of sport, they don't like some fun! But they all had suggestions on how to improve the whole picture of society by bringing education to young men. I am just a bit miffed by “The society is like that! so you forgive and forget and move on“ cry! I had done that for abuse which Happened to me at 12 years of age when none supported and this statement was shoved in front of me. Now after almost 3 decades, we are still saying this. So what had changed?
So would be the case with the Young Doctor who lost her life, fighting how many men, we won't ever know. Everybody would have many suggestions on how it could be avoided by her and by me and what can be done with the accused/perpetrator.
Atrocious! I would do my best to stop this in my circle. Thus bring my small change into the bigger picture. No idea “what to do”, But would do it.
Ackowledgement : Navia for her poetry, pasted above.
