How Kathua Rape Case Inspired Me To Write A Positive Poem

With so much negativity and bitterness surrounding the Kathua rape case, I have not been using Facebook much. You may think that I suffer from the ostrich syndrome but as you know, I, being the bad guy, really won’t give a shit about what you or others think of me. From my point of view I believe that being negative and bitter only hurts rather than helps; so sometimes you should shield yourself from negativity in order to protect yourself from mental hemorrhage (not a professional opinion, by the way). So while others have been busy pointing fingers at one or the other political party, participating in candle marches or posting memes and forwards like ‘all men are bastards; let them know our worth; let all of us women change our social media profile picture into the picture of a black hole so that men keep looking for us’ I decided to turn it into something positive: I wrote a poem, which may not be technically a ‘poem’ but nonetheless expresses my take on this and similar incidents.

You can read below or on my poetry website, comment here, there or not comment at all; it does not matter to me. I am of the opinion that if you don’t have anything (nice) to say, why say it at all? But of course since I am a bad guy I will tolerate bad behavior to a degree, otherwise I will be a hypocrite right?

 

What Would Make The World a Better Place

If only we stop getting so violent and defensive;
If only we stop pointing fingers at each other;
If only we stop generalizing by gender, religion or caste;
Then the world would be a better place.

If we start looking at the solution and not the problem;
If we start looking at people as people and not their gender or religion;
If we start being more practical and less foolish when judging others;
Then the world would be a better place.

If we stop using people as scapegoats for political propaganda;
If we stop taking the media and politicians so seriously;
If we stop getting blinded by candle marches of extremists;
Then the world would be a better place.

Let the crime of a girl being violated be treated as heinous;
And that of a boy being assaulted be treated as equally serious;
Let not religious leaders, social media or politicians tell us what to do;
Then the world would be a better place.

What do you think?

Arindam