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Demons On The Prowl

Discussion in 'Snippets of Life (Non-Fiction)' started by umaakumar, Jan 7, 2017.

  1. umaakumar

    umaakumar Finest Post Winner

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    IN the late 70s while I was growing up I remember that going out in the night was not allowed. We were not allowed to do many things, that we allow our children to do today. Where ever we go, we had to be home by 6 PM. It was not for the girls alone but the rule applied to boys too. When we questioned our elders they would say it was an unholy hour and the time when ghosts and demons were on the prowl. Bad things can happen. Etc etc. Sometimes we would go to our neighbours house to play. Stay there till 8.pm and then return home. The distance between our neighbours house and ours would be a few meters only. But then our parents would come and stand at our gate and our neighbours parents at their gate and see that we reached our homes safely. So also when we go to someones house it was an agreement that they would drop us back and vice versa. In other words we could go anywhere during the day time but at nights we were always escorted. Those were the days where we lived in independent houses and apartments were not there.

    During my daughters growing up the latest time she could come home was 9PM, but had to keep us informed as to where she was and had to be dropped or we use to pick her up. We did not tell her about the demons or the ghosts but frankly told her what could happen if she gets into the wrong company. We discussed many things that our parents did not dare to speak to us about.

    When she picked up a career her shift would end on most days after 10 PM and she would come home by cab. This is livelihood of most youngsters today and the necessity to travel during the nights has become a must.

    The year of 2017 has begun on a horrible note for some women in Bangalore. Most of us are shocked to hear of the horrible things they experienced at the beginning of the year. It was shocking to see a girl being molested in a residential area of Bangalore in the early hours of 1st jan. Women are shocked all over the India seeing the videos and hearing the news.

    Women mostly girls are not safe in India. Every day we hear of some rape, molestation and murder of women.

    Back then so many years back, if by chance nobody was there to escort us home and we did travel alone, we reached home safe. We never saw or heard these demons.

    Where did these perverted demons:fearscream: appear from?

    I feel extremely sad and anguished:anguished:
     
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  2. rai

    rai Platinum IL'ite

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    Of late , the situation in India is not safe for our children, especially girls. Shouting slogans or condemning the actions alone cannot help. stringent actions should be taken. Above all , prevention is better than cure. Society should become close knit and take measures to protect our children.
     
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  3. Lathasv

    Lathasv IL Hall of Fame

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    When we see change in Indian male's attitude then we won't see crimes against females in India.....
     
  4. suasin

    suasin Gold IL'ite

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    Attitude will never change, as long as everyone blames the girls for provoking the men, we are forced to restrict our daughters from doing things we didnt think twice. One thought though, the same guys come here to the ME and generally stay away for fear of having their a$$ thrown in jail without a blink.. I always felt safer here than when I visit India..
    As for the demons, back then I felt everybody knew everyone else and there was a collective shame when a boy from a family ever got into trouble.. Now parents support their sons when they get caught and there are people who talk about the guys' 'helplessness' in the face of 'extreme' provocation..
     
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  5. KashmirFlower

    KashmirFlower IL Hall of Fame

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    I was thinking the same for past few days after seeing those two Bengaluru incident videos. The guys who came in a bike they did it like they are so used to doing it. How this kind of mind set is even happening for those guys, they look like they belong to middle class, they might be working somewhere, means coming from the same kind of families and they are between us.
    What will happen if it is night? Why that kind of man changes at night? What will happen if a person drinks? Basic nature changes? no, it is in the mindset, that is the problem. telling reasons like odd hours/drunken/girls clothes/western life style is not correct.
    parents who have girls are worrying, parents who have boys should equally worry and consciously observe every situation and see what is making them to become like this?
     
  6. umaakumar

    umaakumar Finest Post Winner

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    Dear Rai,

    Thanks for your reply. Yes we need to become close knit. But how to do this is a big question as no one wants to mingle with the other person these days.

    Regards
    Uma
     
  7. umaakumar

    umaakumar Finest Post Winner

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    Dear Suasin,

    Yes you are right. For the attitude to change will take many more years. We can see how people in top profiles blame only the girls and never the boys.

    Regards
    Uma
     
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  8. umaakumar

    umaakumar Finest Post Winner

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    Dear KashmirFlower,

    The video was very disturbing. I am glad those guys are in police custody. Like you said the way they did it was like they were used to this kind of acts before. Mostly Boys / young men want to be heroes. They try to imitate the films they see. They do not realise that there is a difference in real like and celluloid. I am not blaming the movies, but it could be one of the reasons.

    Of late drinking has become a way of life. High school boys drink. When you go past a drink shop as early as 7.30 in the morning you see a lot of guys waiting outside for the shop to open. Even girls drink, being in Bangalore it is a very common sight to see girls totally drunk and some of them not even able to walk properly. It is a very sad plight. I will be very happy if India becomes a dry country.

    Regards
    Uma
     
  9. Balajee

    Balajee IL Hall of Fame

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    My daugther even when she goes out in broad daylight, carrries a chili spray and a taser. You can't predict when the demons in human form will strike. Nowadays compulsions of career often makes women stay out until late in the night or early morning. So I think self defence training must be madxe a compulsory part of girls' school curriculum. No point in trusting the law and order machinery for your safety. These guys come in only after something unfortunate happens. Also if possible, equip them with means of self defence like tasers and sprays that keep the wolves away.
     
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  10. Viswamitra

    Viswamitra IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Umakumar,

    I had a chance to look at that video with a lot of pain. Where are the values that generations of people built? Aren't we raised hearing the epics where men went to war for the atrocities performed against women? I understand the times when the parents expected their children to come home at 6 p.m. whether they are boys or girls. But now things have changed and women are working night shifts and will have to travel from one city to another, return from the airport late at night due to flight delays, catch a cab to return from work, etc.

    Frankly, there are many factors contributing to the erosion of values. Mostly, the parents take the blame for raising sons without teaching them how to behave well with women. I have no sisters but I was raised how to respect women outside of our family. I have only one child (son) and he knows how to respect women. In fact, he had discussed with me about how young women here in America live with abusive relationship in order to keep the boy friend as otherwise, they are ridiculed by her peers. Where are the men losing the humanity and undermining the well-being of women? Are women responsible for handing this power in a plate? Absolutely not. There is no point in blaming someone who is abused as opposed to the abuser.

    Unfortunately, India has become a patriarchal society over generations. Even when men and women work in the present generation, the decision making authority appear to remain with men. No matter how much we deny treating boys and girls the same way, the privileges of boys are different from girls. The children watch how the husband speaks to his spouse and learn from it. People in power openly live with another woman outside of his wedlock without any consequences. Men misbehave with close relatives and get away with such deplorable behavior because of suppression of such acts by women to avoid their name being ruined in the society. Women are taught how to conduct themselves after marriage and how to adjust themselves to live in another family as though they don't belong to their family anymore. The media that has strangulating influence in the society highlights the atrocities against women for its newsworthiness but no condemnation against such atrocities were given that kind of publicity. The film and advertising industry use women as objects to promote business. In every street corner, boys are sitting in the parapet wall and comment the appearance of girls passing by in real life as well as in movies which are accepted as life as usual. Who has given them the authority to do so? No one, but they know that they can get away with such actions.

    Mahatma Gandhi said, "India will be free when the women feel safe to walk in the streets of India in the midnight". Forget about them walking in the street and can they file a complaint in a police station without being ridiculed by the law enforcement before women police were introduced? The rules like women can't be held in custody in the night is not because women are special but the legislators know that the women won't be safe in custody around the policemen.

    The Western world is no different. Women here are subjected to such atrocities. The equal position and equal pay for women remains a demand as opposed to norm. The women's rights including her choice about her body is being questioned under the name of the religion. Who has given the authority to men to debate and legislate? The only difference is, women are much stronger in voicing their views. Even children are subjected to molestation here in the US but law enforcement agencies list those people who were punished in the past as sex offenders and make this list available on public domain. I already know there are 76 sex offenders live around the area where I live with their names and addresses known to me. When children in our neighborhood walk on the street alone, we all make sure they are safe.

    If tolerance is understood against caste, race, religion, sexual orientation, etc. in order to be a better human, why a man doesn't understand treating a woman as a human being first is normal behavior? More men and women should voice their opinion against such behavior making the few who think they can get away from such behavior think twice. The courts should accelerate such cases to punish them quickly. Touching a woman without her consent is violation of her privacy even if she is a spouse.

    The Prime Minister is talking about eliminating corruption from the country once and for all. Can he sincerely set right the civilization that was a role model for the rest of the world thousands of years ago? Let us destroy the corrupt values first.

    Viswa
     
    Last edited: Jan 11, 2017
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