Its been an opinion which is gaining quite a few takers in recent times. The opinion in question is this-"If you have never known poverty and if you are one of those sitting in an AC room, you are not supposed to voice your opinion." Yes, its an opinion about opinion. I've received some mails and comments calling me an 'arm chair critic', 'moron voicing his opinion from a locked room', 'pseudo intellectual from an AC room' etc. (There are some more which are not appropriate to type out here) Sadly for them, am not any of these. Am just a common guy voicing my thoughts on what is going on around me. And these kind of words just don't have any effect on me. All I can say is 'Keep 'em coming, I don't care'.
The basis of this 'opinion of the non-poverty group doesn't matter' philosophy is a simple one- being born without poverty is a crime. If you have a job in a company, that makes matters worse. You are supposed to seal your lips with a cellophane tape. With the above credentials(a job and absence of poverty), try voicing your opinion on some matter related to India. Chances are high that you'll be dismissed as a'pseudo patriot'.
May I ask these enlightened souls this- 'What has your social status or bank balance or the amount of food in your plate, got to do with your opinion? Don't people who are free from poverty have the freedom to voice their opinion? Is it someone's fault that they are not born poor?' Your opinion depends on the state of your mind only. A poor kid's opinion on some matter wont change much even if one day he reaches a position where he has a big belly. Please flush out that idea co-relating right to opinion with matters such as food and poverty. Imagine a country where there are no poor people. Won't that end up as a country without any opinion at all?
PS- This is not directed at any particular individual. This is just what I been observing for a long time at several places.
photo courtesy-urbandecals.com
13 comments:
Well, I am not sure if anyone asked Amartya Sen the same question before awarding him the Nobel Prize.. :-)
Imagine asking the same question to our ministers :
1. Have you ever planted atleast one tree - agri minister
2. Have you fought any war - defence minister
3. Have you gone for fishing or raised fishes atleast once in ur life - fisheries minister
:-)
Don't worry, when you are seriously worried about something, it matters, as long as it is not passing an opinion alone and you really mean it.
whoa!! im the first one to comment here...cool ya!
the first thing il mention here is that u hav the coolest blog template..well designed and well maintained..*applause*
now about the blog..post..wat think is that each one of us have the FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION..the right to speak our own mind..DEMOCRACY..eh??
so u and for that matter any of us have complete right to speak our mind..and more over if ur a rich kid..have never seen poverty around u and still feel like writing about it..i think it is a gr8 job..hats off..
well..therez another thing quite prominent here...thatz ur ATTITUDE..
'Keep 'em coming, I don't care'.
eh???? kool...
liked it..
come see my blog..
can i blogroll u??
opinions are like a** ho**s, everyone got their own ;)
:D
dun mind buddy, hindi me they say- jab haathi chalta hai to kutte bhonkte hi hain ;)
yeah i know too many proverbs :D
"Don't people who are free from poverty have the freedom to voice their opinion"
OF COURSE THEY HAVE
im glad u r taking it with a pinch of salt
keep blogging..
First of all have you thought the reason behind those mails Praveen? Its because your writings have touched some raw nerves of some lost souls with incurable tunnel vision. In plain terms, you've hit bulls eye! If you could send out the right message in the right tone to the 'right' people, you are sure to rub them the wrong way. I'm sure you're enjoying those responses of them poor desperate souls. Just exhibits how successful you are!
Keep writing...
Take this from me brother...if so many people are talking about your opinion it just means you are making an impact :)
Hmm...true! There's no relationship between the bank balance and our minds. These are just excuses from some people to hide their own inadequacies. The easiest way out is to blame the one who is blaming you!
@Nasrajan
good set of questions..hehhe///quiet funny
@Nikkita
oops..sorry..u r the 2nd one.hehehe
blog template..not my creation..downloaded from net:D
u know wat 'freedom of expression' is not there in some dictionaries:P
thnks 4 blogrolling me..have done the same here..
@richa
hahhahaa..ROTFL!!!!
@Swats
hmmm..wat to do:P
@scorpiogenius
thanks a lot for those strong encouraging words
@Twisted elegance
maybe; if that is the case, am happy:D
@Tara
xactly...xcuses!
Well then its simply means ur words are having more impact than expected, take it in a positive way, there are some who r born to criticise, just let them do their duty na :)
In the mean time u continue ur writing, after all its freedom of xpression, after some time they will lose interst and go.U dont really hav 2 care much on wt the world think, as long as u stick to ur things :))
Exactly!!!!
And I shall stop there, because, as some of the readers above have already said, you are making an impact, and so there are those "informed" and sufficiently "pseudo poor" "activists" ["supposedly" "allegedly"].. lol.. who are going hyper.. :)
Great pic.. sends out the right message, and even if they are thick headed as to not read it, it doesn't matter.
You have an opinion, and you are free to share it:)
Period. :)
good one dude...just bcos some is rich should not restrict him from speaking out...
"Imagine a country where there are no poor people. Won't that end up as a country without any opinion at all?"
....hey i dont totally agree with u on this...being voiceferous has nothing to do with ur social or financial status..i.e. u can be rich stil want to speak out...i believe ppl will and probably must keep speaking out on issues that affect them or the ppl around them...
I have been reading some of these same views in some blog posts and was aghast at some of them. I mean what exactly do they mean?? That the man of means cannot have/voice his opinion?? That poverty is the criterion to voice your concerns?? WTH!!
Hit the nail on it's head...
Dude, you know who the real "arm chair" critics are. And detractors will always be there.
Sanity is rare these days...
Keep writing.
Peace. Be well.
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