BLAME... OUR DEFAULT SETTING



















“Many think that assigning blame settles matters.”

Mason Cooley

As a human race, we have been preloaded with this one unique trait: We all want, desperately, someone to place our blame on! I mean, the moment we face a problem, we instantaneously look for someone who is responsible for that problem… and, once we find one - there we go after him/her/them – all hammer and tongs!

Whether we accept it or not, we strangely believe, that when we find who is responsible for our problems, our problems go…

Like this Corona! Who is responsible for it, by the way? China… Muslims… Meat-eaters… Fake News, Godi Media… Presstitutes… Government… Opposition… Foreign nationals… Migrating labourers…  Nehru… Gandhi Family… Vadras… Dharavi… Yogi… Modi… Trump… Doctors, Nurses, Delivery Boys… Currency Notes ... Who?

Just imagine this: how relieved the mind feels the moment we place the blame on one of these… and, vehemently remain convinced about it… Yes, when we conclude, saying, “It came from ‘there’… and, he/she/it/they is/are responsible!”

With that, mysteriously, Corona goes… That’s what we think!

The default setting… We all are preloaded with this programme! This is human race… The Master-blaster in the Blame Game!


When the Lockdown was announced, my wife and I moved in to stay with her parents, who are elderly and sick. It seems, we also brought along, here, the problems we had in our own building … “Someone is pouring buckets of water,” an annoyed resident posted on the WhatsApp group, mentioning the side from which water was gushing down… “Immediately, the flat-owners from the particular side went on a defensive mode – “Not from our flat”… “It’s from above 10th floor” … “It’s from above 11th “… “Above 12th” … 13th, 14th 15th and, finally 16th! Yes, 16th was the last floor, and when they said, “It’s from above” … It meant, that it’s from the terrace… So, the Society was responsible! Meanwhile, almost a week passed by passing the buck… Now, due to lockdown, the Society’s plumber was unable to come to fix the problem… So, we all blamed Corona or whoever, we thought was responsible for Corona – China, Tablighi Jamaat or Tabela, whoever…

Blaming doesn’t solve the problem… We all know that. But, then, who wants a solution, anyway?

We are a human race… and, we are unique… We come here, preloaded with this programme – with a default setting!

Meanwhile, let’s join these kids and enjoy – Corona or no Corona!






GERALD D’CUNHA

Pic.: Sabastian Voortman

Video: Masaka Kids Africana

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