The rules of sympathy

What happened yesterday in Virginia Tech was a travesty. However, I couldn't help but wonder about how society reacts to certain tragedy differently depending on who the victims are. More than a day has passed and as expected news about the deranged shooter, the lives of his victims, and, how the families are coping with the tragedy rules the media.

On the other hand... just yesterday, more than 200 innocents lost their lives in Iraq. The most number of casualties on a single day since the war over 5 years ago. More than 1400 people have died in Iraq this week. So why is it that the world's media is focusing on just the VT killings?

Let me illustrate my point:

TimesOfIndia.com (apparently one of India's most widely read new websites) has featured a picture on the most important news event in India's history... the Bachchan wedding.

CNN has few in-depth articles about the killer and the plight of the victims. NOTHING about the Iraq blasts on its front page.

The NYT has a tiny article on its front page

The Washington Post has a tiny article on its front page about the Iraq bombings (incorrect number of victims and all)

The BBC is the only news media that has actually covered this news with any apparent interest.

Everyone else seems to have a passing reference to the carnage that has occurred in Iraq over the past week.

It made me sad to think that to the world news about innocent Iraqis being slaughtered has become so commonplace, that even staggering figures such as 1400 people dying over the past one week is nothing but a statistic. There are no candlelight vigils. No speeches made to the families of the victims. No 10 hour documentaries about the suffering of the families. No articles about the heroism of strangers in trying circumstances. Nada. Nothing. Just a couple of articles stating that 1400 people died this week in Iraq in various bomb blasts.

Why do we just not care about these cursed people? Are they not worthy of candle light vigils? Did the sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers ... people who die in these bomb blasts not have the same aspirations that the kids in VT had? Did their families not love and care for them as much as the families of the kids in VT? Why is it that we the world show so much apathy towards these people who were unfortunately born in the wrong place at the wrong time?

It's not that I think it is wrong for people to care about their countrymen, but why is it that violence and tragedy in one place evokes so much sympathy from everyone, and yet others who are in desperate need of sympathy beget none? I despair when I think of the disparity in sympathy shown towards people.

They say life is unfair. Perhaps my rant will not really do anything at all towards drawing attention to the people in Iraq.

I am but a single voice in the universe... still I would like to state that I will make a daily rememberance for the innocents of the world that happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. A vigil for the innocents of the world that are sacrificed in the name of religion, greed, politics and so many other things that man uses as an excuse to kill others. A vigil that regardless of caste, creed, color, religion, and, nationality.

Perhaps my vigil does not mean much to anyone else. Maybe it is a selfish act to appease my guilty conscience for not lifting a finger to help anyone out. Still it is heartfelt... to show that I care.

For the love of the game

I really love the game of cricket. Ever since I was a little kid one of my life's ambitions was to be a cricketer. I remember spurning a budding singing career and then later in life ruining what may have been the start of an excellent tennis career for cricket. And it wasn't even for proper organized cricket.

I just used to love playing the game with my neighbourhood buddies. We played with one single bat, makeshift stumps and tennis balls poached from people's houses, or from my tennis coaching academy. At the time those two hours of fun was what I lived for. It was not that I was any good at the game. I was decent, but never destined to be able to choose it as my profession. However I was good at singing and tennis and if I had showed even a tenth of the interest that I seemed to show for the game of willow and ball, they may have actually evolved into a career choice.

However I didn't and I really regret my foolishness, but well I don't regret the fun I had playing the game. Maybe I don't love the game as much nowadays, but it still has a very special place in my heart.

I was an "Indian" cricket fan. I never thought twice about the fact that the "Indian" cricket team was actually a private enterprise belonging to the "BCCI" and not a national team. The players were actually hired as professionals by a private company, but then what difference did that make? According to me this team was "India's" team.

Until recently I had always assumed that I was always going to be a fan of the "Indian" cricket team, because I considered the Indian cricket team to be the representatives of our country in the sporting world.

Face it, we Indians are not known for our athletic prowess. Sure we've had the occasional Leander Paes, Bhupati, Prakash Padukone, etc. but I cannot remember any of our sports teams being competitive in a global game. I never followed Indian hockey till the 90s and never saw a point in following it since 94). So I followed the game religiously.

I was never really prone to worshipping the players, but I knew that I would love to be a Sachin Tendulkar or even a Robin Singh. To be given the honor of representing my country internationally and make the people back home proud to be an Indian. Above all I wanted to play the game because I loved playing it. I wish I were good enough to be able to play it as a professional, but alas not all of us are blessed enough to do something like that.

So when I see a group of players given the honor of being able to play and represent every Indian in an international arena, I always assumed that they would give it their best shot. It wasn't that they were just playing for the honor though. The financial benefits and other perks of playing for the team were quite substantial. Sure it was a high pressure job, but then who gets paid so much to do something that almost anyone could do?

However over the past two years, I have decided that being a fan of this team of impostors is not worth my time or effort. Playing for honor is not something the current team of prima donnas wants to do. No... it doesn't matter that they are really not as good as they believe, nor that they actually need to prove themselves in any way to remain in this team. They believe that everything that they have achieved during their glory days should be good enough to keep them in the team so they can continue to enjoy the benefits of being an "Indian" cricketer. Since they could not provide entertainment to the masses where they were supposed to, they feel they should do so in another medium with their whingings, and accusations.

When I see this team play I feel that they are not only insulting the game of cricket, but also every supporter of the team. What is the point in supporting a team and an enterprise (BCCI) that believes that their financial well-being and personal agendas come before the game itself?

I think I am better off remenescing about the wonderful times I have had playing this game. Sure my friends and I may not be international cricketers, but we played for the fun.... for the love of the game.