Comment

To go by the cries of horror and outrage that followed the spectacle of men waving currency notes in Parliament alleging bribery and corruption, one would imagine that the last frontier of Public Morality has been breached.

But who are we kidding? In a day, a week, a month, we know — just as we know prices will rise and the Sensex will fall — that there will be another bigger, better scandal -- a more pungent example of indignation, that will bring back the protests of dismay and revulsion.

And it will be business as usual. The newspaper headline writers will dust out their banners of ‘Shame!’, the party spokesmen will arrange their features to expressions of piety and revulsion on the talk shows (Ravi Prasad’s moustache will positively quiver with outrage) and the keepers of our conscience will find even better ways to express their disproval — and we will all get to feel pious and holier than thou once again. What fun!

The thing about public outrage is that it gives everybody such a rich opportunity to feel good about themselves.

A father accused of killing his daughter, whispers of orgies and perversion, fault lines in middle class morality and we outdo ourselves with the condemnations and ersatz pop psychology, all the while congratulating ourselves that though we may lead pretty dodgy lives ourselves, we occupy a higher perch on the greasy pole of morality.

Ditto crimes of passion, and public instances of deviant behaviour. A couple who bludgeons an irritant ex-lover and then cuts up the body into little bits and stuffs it in garbage bags makes our own shabby treatment of our exes come out smelling of roses.
Rumours of stratospheric sums of money being used to buy MPS before a trust vote and we are consumed with righteous anger undoubtedly, but also a tiny sense of envy, when we compare the amounts with our tawdry lives and our struggle to meet our next EMI.

What would we do without poor old Narendra Modi? If he didn’t exist who would we be able to distinguish ourselves by loathing? What other way would we be able to prove our pillars of good society secular credentials? Fall guys like him who give us an opportunity to air out our smug liberal positions, play a very crucial role in defining who we think we are.

And is there any one who will not agree that men like Amar Singh, who represent the abiding embrace of big business and politics are soft targets against whom it is easy to feel superior, even as we cut corners and duck scrutiny in our own lives? Who do we appoint to carry our darkness? Which stereotypes do we assign so that we measure ourselves to look good against? Who are the coolies who bear our shadows?

And when we make such a hue and cry about a public scandal which part of our own lives are we avoiding looking at?

The part that downloads pirated movies, breaks a red light, wastes office resources, fudges expense accounts, revels in water cooler gossip, and buys tickets in black? Or the part that covets your neighbour’s wife, watches debasing porn, indulges in minority bashing, is snide about those that are different from ourselves and is ruthless in its ambition?

Our politicians and criminals may unfailingly afford us opportunities to air out our outrage — but let us never forget that the hand that held the currency notes or the carving knife or the khukri was not some one out there — alien and unknown —it was you and I.

And when we heap waves of outrage and condemnation on People Out There, it would do no harm if we saved a tiny bit for ourselves too.
Email: s_malavika@dnaindia.net