There is a saying that those who put up with oppression are just as guilty as those who oppress them. I find this truly diabolical. This is the the equivalent of saying that if an enraged elephant crushes a tiny animal, the crushed animal is just as guilty as the elephant!! Oppressors are always in a position of power. On the other other hand the oppressed are helpless and have little option but to silently suffer at the hand of the oppressors.
The absurdity of the saying must have been obvious to everyone include the originator. And it can be said with near certainty that the saying must have come from an oppressor. It is so because declaring an oppressed man as guilty is the ultimate act of oppression indeed. This is embodied in another saying in Hindi which goes like this - जबरा मारे भी और रोने भी ना दे! This roughly translates to this - A heavy-handed person not only beats you up but also yells at you not to cry.
What probably was originally meant by the saying mentioned at the beginning was this - An oppressed person who stands up to an oppressor is far braver than him indeed. But then some clever person turned it on its head and propagated the current version. All right thinking people must boycott this diabolical saying in its current form.
What brought this saying to my mind is the current law that holds a bribe giver too as guilty and a clause in the LokPal Act that says that a complainant who is not able to prove the charges is liable to be punished with imprisonment. So you are damned if you put up with demands of the corrupt - that is the saying (and also the law), isn't it? - and double-damned if you resist it and fail. And the way system is rigged, you are more likely to fail than not. The question surfaces again - can perpetrator of a crime and its victim be treated alike?
Similarly, equality before law, though a noble concept, is definitely unattainable for the simple reason that those in power can always manipulate things to fool the law which is constrained to go by available evidences alone. Thus for true equality there ought to be a much harsher and speedier law for those in power and all punishments awarded to them must be exemplary. Will the supreme and powerful legislative bodies ever agree to this?
The absurdity of the saying must have been obvious to everyone include the originator. And it can be said with near certainty that the saying must have come from an oppressor. It is so because declaring an oppressed man as guilty is the ultimate act of oppression indeed. This is embodied in another saying in Hindi which goes like this - जबरा मारे भी और रोने भी ना दे! This roughly translates to this - A heavy-handed person not only beats you up but also yells at you not to cry.
What probably was originally meant by the saying mentioned at the beginning was this - An oppressed person who stands up to an oppressor is far braver than him indeed. But then some clever person turned it on its head and propagated the current version. All right thinking people must boycott this diabolical saying in its current form.
What brought this saying to my mind is the current law that holds a bribe giver too as guilty and a clause in the LokPal Act that says that a complainant who is not able to prove the charges is liable to be punished with imprisonment. So you are damned if you put up with demands of the corrupt - that is the saying (and also the law), isn't it? - and double-damned if you resist it and fail. And the way system is rigged, you are more likely to fail than not. The question surfaces again - can perpetrator of a crime and its victim be treated alike?
Similarly, equality before law, though a noble concept, is definitely unattainable for the simple reason that those in power can always manipulate things to fool the law which is constrained to go by available evidences alone. Thus for true equality there ought to be a much harsher and speedier law for those in power and all punishments awarded to them must be exemplary. Will the supreme and powerful legislative bodies ever agree to this?
