Thomas Hobbes & India's Supreme Court

I’ve spent the first 2 days of my winter break reading for an essay titled “Why, according to Hobbes, should subjects obey the sovereign?” A quick run-down for those of you who haven’t got the chance to read Hobbes’s stuff- he had some rad ideas about how essentially man was perpetually in the state of nature and how it was the ultimate need for self-preservation that led them to kill one another, and how in order to escape this state of nature every man had to transfer their complete will and authority to make decisions to a sovereign who took the decision as to what constituted a threat to society and how to deal with it. This is literally the basis of modern politics.

Hella rad guy

The reading was going great till the Indian government, as it does from time to time, decided to mess with it (not with my reading specifically, but life in general).

Section 377 of Chapter 16 in the Indian Penal Code (dated 1861) criminalized sexual acts that were “against the order of nature”, apparently any sex that wasn’t penile-vaginal penetration, effectively outlawing inter alia oral and anal sex. In 2009, the Delhi High Court had decriminalized homosexuality on the basis of human rights in a country that has 30 million (declared) homosexuals. 4 years later, the Supreme Court reversed this decision and outlawed “unnatural sex”. People who practice this unnatural sex (read: homosexuals) can face up to a maximum of life sentence. The people who raped Damini are probably going to serve the same sentence as those practicing consensual oral sex in their bedrooms (let’s face it- India hangs people once in a blue moon, and there are 476 convicts on death row as of February).

Hobbes claimed that the sovereign’s decision took precedence over all- if we want order and self-preservation we listen to the sovereign. However, he also stated that the sovereign couldn’t dictate every aspect of our lives. Now, if the sovereign were to decide that homosexuality was illegal, there was nothing the subjects could do. Technically the sovereign could make decisions about anything that didn’t result directly in inflicting harm or death upon oneself and the subject would have to obey. Hobbes didn’t think that the sovereign should do this, only that he could. The states that we live in today have more power than Hobbes imagined his Leviathan could ever have, and yesterday the Indian Supreme Court demonstrated this by effectively forcing their way into the bedrooms of millions and placing their hand over their genitals and saying “Private parts? We beg to differ”.

Section 377 criminalizes consensual, non-procreative sexual relations. Overnight, every sexually active Indian having intercourse without the intention of reproducing has been turned into a criminal. Obviously this has been ignored- nobody’s going to target heterosexual couples having sex! If I’m being absolutely honest, chances are this, like every other legal matter in India, is probably not going to be enforced even remotely strictly and that life will continue in the bedroom as normal. But the fact that the SC has declared that private parts are no longer private parts is a symbolic setback for the entire country. It claims that the High Court’s decision in relied extensively on other countries’ decisions regarding homosexuality but that it cannot be applied “blindly” to India. This is in regard to a law that is dated over 150 years ago and was put into effect when the British ruled the country. If the SC is such a big fan of ancient manuscripts, why don’t they look at the Rigveda (one of the four sacred texts of Hinduism)- “what seems unnatural, is also natural”. The SC claims that this law affects everyone who practices non-procreative sexual relations with “man, woman and animal” and yet it doesn’t take much to figure out that this gives people the reason to target homosexuals and makes it especially difficult for them to seek help for HIV/AIDS related issues.

For a country that condemns China, Saudi Arabia and Russia for being oppressing its minorities regarding ethnicity/gender/political opposition, India’s doing a bang-up job of going back on its word to protect human rights. The good news is that this is rallying supporters the way sexual harassment rallied supporters in the last few years. Furthermore, as mentioned earlier, this probably wont have much effect on what goes on anyway. However, the very act of re-criminalizing this sets India back a couple of centuries. Hobbes said the sovereign holds all will and authority to prevent summum malum- in the strictest Hobbesian sense the Indian SC is clearly failing to grasp the concept that homosexual sex has little to do with societal order and the protection from death.

-Lassie 

P.S. Apologies for not writing for 9 months, further apologies for probably not writing for another 9 months- like the Indian judiciary system, I plan on being useful only once in a blue moon. In other news, university is treating me gr8

Images:

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http://globalvoicesonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/3476618-800x600.jpg

Why PIGS won't fly

A popular acronym used in publications like the 'The Economist' and 'Harvard Business Review', granting some form of financial authenticity - it refers to the economies of Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain. Widely considered to be derogatory since as true as it is, no Communist likes to be called 'Red commie' and no Eastern European wants to be known as 'Polack'. But why is it that the West is involuntarily falling to its demise and Asia isn't capitalizing on it?

The West has had its 15 decades of fame, the British Empire colonized a few hundred states, the US was able to coax most of South America and miscellaneous Far East nations into doing its bidding and generally the imperialists of the past and present generation have had their fun in the sun, but that's being slowly overshadowed by the rise of Asian Economies. 'Chindia' is set to become the next global superpower by 2020 if only they had more cooperative governments and a slightly more ideal bureaucratic situation. The unemployment rate in Greece is ~50% (official figures may say around 28 but we know the truth).  The average age of Europe is increasing, mortality rate is falling (who knew it could be a downside), lifespans are disproportionately increasing and as a result the economies of former superpowers and G-8/EU nations are falling massively in productivity. As Asia's youth becomes more educated and people are beginning (albeit slowly) to realize their true potential, it's no wonder that international schools in Thailand and Malaysia are no longer craving Caucasian teachers to educate their youth about international politics and business.

The only problem is, the world as a whole is awful at globalizing effectively. If the entire world had the youth and workforce of Asia and the political systems of a successful Western nation (an amalgamation of any and all successes would be best since no single nation is an ideal example as of now) , the global industry would be at its productive peak, with literally no room to improve. But alas, what nations focus on is how impressive they look in comparison to other (competitive) nations. How Pakistan has more black money than India in Swiss banks and how the Cayman Islands is releasing confidential bank information to the IRS in order to support their deeply rooted causes. And to fund Obamacare of course.

Another problem is that, with the severe inefficiency of many Asian governments (with most leaders being products of top western universities , imagine that), we are still trying to match the west in terms of Human Development Indexes and GDP's instead of focusing on how we can concentrate the youth into being intellectual powerhouses that overshadow their western counterparts in any and all aspects. The quintessential example of what is falling in the west is Harvard University's course on Economics and Philosophy, which is taught by a Bengali Nobel Prize Laureate - Amartya Sen. If that doesn't represent the fall of the Allied Powers then i don't know what does.

- Introducing Mec, our new contributor.

India isn't the only rotten apple

One India-related term which I have never liked much is NRI. The three letters stink of arrogant, upper-class attitudes and this really sickens me. Living in Singapore makes me a member of this "exclusive" club and means that I get to interact with many other NRI children who think Hyderabad is a district in Bangalore and Visakhapatnam is in North India. The tricolour flies high during the farcical Diwali celebrations and disappears otherwise. The NRI youth thinks of Indian politics as being a shoddy affair, and then proceeds to praise American politics for being much more effective and people-oriented. On a side note, three weeks ago, the approval rating of the US Congress fell to 9%.

Most of the content of the above paragraph is in no way relevant to what this article is actually about. To get started on that, I will paraphrase someone I know who said "I don't want to go to Indian university because you can just buy your way in." Even many parents support the above line of thought. This though, is not an entirely unimaginable conversation in a typical upper-class NRI household.

Mummy-Papa: Beta Rahul, we don't want you to study in India, because we are apprehensive about sending you to a school where people buy places.

Rahul: But mummy-papa, I failed my exam. Where can I go?

Mummy-Papa: Don't worry Rahul beta, we have made a donation of $100,000 to a college in America. We even bought you their official hoodie, a plushie of their mascot, and a coffee mug with their crest and motto on it!

One thing that puzzles me and irritates me in equal measure is the ridiculous attitude that many Indians - NRI or otherwise - have towards India. Sensing a whiff of political discussion? Enter the stale, recycled monologue on how a desk clerk once asked for a ₹100 bribe to transfer a file quickly. Raise the topic of how the second and third highest-ranked officers in the US Navy are being investigated for bribery that allegedly allowed an Asian defence company to secure contracts worth $200 million, and prepare to be greeted by a stale silence. Oh, bribery happens outside India too? Let's just sit around and take shots at a country where, let's be honest, stark inequalities exist across city streets. I am not denying that corruption and bribery are a problem in India, but I have a serious bone to pick with people who say "India is corrupt so I have given up on it". To me, the implied extension of that sentence is "I am in a sufficiently good position in life to not need anything from India so I don't really care what happens."

Today, patriotism is celebrating Virat Kohli square-cut a Pakistani fast bowler to the fence at deep point, or going to a Diwali function sporting expensive ethnic clothes and an artificial American accent. Patriotism is also going through a phase of national self-reflection twice a year, and appearing blissfully oblivious for the remaining 363 days. Patriotism is ignorance that recognises one rape incident every eight months*. Patriotism is, oddly enough, pointing out faults that exist in many countries but only seem to be a problem in India. Patriotism is, in short, as predictable as an enraged bull elephant. 

The point here is this. People who complain that Indian university places can be bought are possibly correct, but they are also hypocrites. The debate about whether legacy students buy their way into the Ivy League is just as well supported by evidence as the above argument. In the UK, the debate about whether expensive private schools are unfairly favoured during university applications rages on. Therefore, complaining about India alone is really quite ridiculous, especially if it is followed by an application to a private university in the US supported by a five-figure "donation". Education, much though we hate to admit it, has become a business; given increased demand, one could argue it is among the most lucrative industries. It is not just Indian institutions that are cashing in on this. Certainly our lopsided sense of patriotism should tell us that other countries are much better at sniffing out money than we are.

- Chap

* In August, when a photojournalist was raped in Mumbai, a popular page that occupies itself with posting memes about Bangalore posted something along the lines of "from #Delhigangrape to #Mumbaigangrape. Hope to never have to put another city's name in this."

Children in Africa need the internet

The English – rather arrogantly – like to claim that they invented everything useful that exists today, including the internet. One is reminded of a scene from the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics where Tim Berners-Lee sat at an old computer, inventing the internet. Though the internet was invented by Mr. Lee and a few other people at CERN, let’s just assume Mr. Lee was the mastermind. Okay so. What am I trying to say? Well, it seems that someone has decided that it is time that the internet is reinvented – a group of highly skilled professionals in California, who call themselves Google.

So what is Google’s plan to reinvent the internet? Well, Google has trialled wireless broadband networks in Cape Town, using three masts as broadcast centres to create a network. Their plan is to launch this technology in developing countries, using masts, blimps and satellites. One pictures a little boy in Burundi spotting a big balloon floating in the sky, running home, and looking at a picture of the blimp on a computer. Google are aiming to do just this – they want to bring the internet to the most remote rural areas – they want to spread the digital revolution to all corners of the world.

Unfortunately for Google, an old man who lives in their backyard feels that this is a bad idea. He says that there are more pressing concerns in the regions of the world where Google is looking to implement this technology. This old man, Mr. Bill Gates, said of the plan to implement this technology in sub-Saharan Africa;

“When a kid gets diarrhea, no, there’s no website that relieves that.”

There are some people that have suggested that Mr. Gates’ comments are motivated mostly out of jealousy because he didn’t think of the idea himself. These people are probably the same people who believe that what under-nourished children really want is a blue iPod for their next birthday. Even if we ignore the misinformed stereotype that Americans are stupid, I’m sure Google understands that malaria, cholera, illiteracy and discrimination require more investment that flying internet balloons. Furthermore, I am amazed that Google didn’t consider the following flowchart.

Internet <-- Computer <-- Keyboard <-- English/Other language <-- School

Basically what this flowchart conveys is that to use the internet, one has to go to/have gone to school. Considering that this is a qualification absent from the CVs of most people who live in these regions, Google really should have thought about buying some paint before painting the wall.

Bill Gates, of course, is an individual who has worked tirelessly towards the improvement of living standards in the chronically impoverished regions of the world. An outstanding example of philanthropy, there is no doubt that he is more likely to know what it’s like in these regions that the boffins at Google who usually spend their day designing doodles that commemorate the birth of a 19th century physicist. I can’t help but wonder why Google is doing this. It is understandable that they may try to be to computing what Henry Ford was to cars, but unfortunately the majority of their target audience probably doesn’t care.  

In conclusion, more people using Google equals more money for Google equals cake and wine. Unfortunately, however, if you are one of the people that walks four kilometres every day to obtain a pot of drinking water, a floating balloon isn’t going to help you at all. You might as well just gaze at it for hours, wondering if it will drop something for your family – a container of potable water, for example. If you’re Google and this idea isn’t taking off, I have an alternative. I own a phone which has LTE connectivity, a dual-core processor, a super AMOLED screen and a Carl Zeiss camera lens. I have seen advertisements for phones that are supposed to work underwater and phones that are supposed to be everything resistant. Mobile phones have even been used on Mount Everest. If, however, you have a clue as to how to make any of these contraptions work in the ultimate proving ground – an elevator – do what is necessary – invent something, build something, or put a blimp in the elevator shaft. Just make it work.


- Chap.

5 Rupees, Sahib

While Sanjay Jha attempted a faux pas behind a veil of well-articulated English, Arnab Goswami (Times Now news anchor) had only one question for him, which he asked over and over again – “What can you buy for five rupees?”

A bit of background, for those of you that remain blissfully oblivious to the affairs of the proletariat. The current poverty line in urban India – as set by the government – is ₹33 per head per day. Mortified that the government thinks that US$0.50 is enough for a person to survive, the outraged public BJP has voiced its concerns, suggesting that the figure is ridiculously low in an age where apples cost ₹180 a kilogram. In what can only be described, I think, as a feeble attempt at a humorous retort, Congress member Raj Babbar claimed that it was possible to have a nutritious meal for ₹12.

Ignore, for a second, that said comment was callous, offensive, misinformed and highly condemnable. Just think for a second. What can you actually buy for ₹5? Five strips of Boomer chewing gum? One egg? A pencil? A ruler? A glass of water? Lok Sabha seat? Whatever it may be, I highly doubt it is remotely as nutritious as the traditional Indian meal – rotis, dal, rice and some vegetable. Some of you may be exploding in your seats at this juncture, romanticising about the wonderful meal you had for ₹8 on the roadside once upon a long time ago. I would just like to remind you all of the baritone rumble of your digestive system two hours after your meal. Also, while you’re at it, try remembering the next morning which you must have spent entirely in the bathroom.

Last year, I wrote an article about the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), an initiative which failed spectacularly owing to an appalling lack of foresight. To summarise the policy, the EU allocated strict quotas of fish to each country, and the obligation to adhere to these quotas meant that fishermen threw away tonnes of fish simply because they weren’t supposed to catch that kind of fish. Like the CFP, the current fiasco is just another example of the red tape that has the lives of the starving all tied up. In his famous 1984, George Orwell speaks of the Party’s deceptive propaganda by using an example of boots. The protagonist Winston Smith remarks that on paper, astronomical numbers of boots were being produced annually, while on the other had half the population went barefoot. The boardroom politics that govern this sort of thing are a cause for major concern.

The counter-argument offered by the Congress is that they have lifted millions of people out of poverty since they came to power back in 2004. Of course, if you set the poverty line so ridiculously low, people are lifted out of poverty almost instantly. But I don’t think that’s the main problem here. The problem here is that I highly doubt that the BJP – or any other one of India’s 40+ regional parties – cares what the poverty line actually is: ₹3, ₹34 or ₹340. All they want is a reason to make some noise and blame the Congress for everything that’s wrong with the country. Very likely, if this benevolent BJP came to power next year, their generosity might just manifest itself in a revised poverty line of ₹33.50. Still better than the Congress, right?

- Chap

(I may have said this before, but just to remind you, this blog is not reputed for its factual accuracy)

Aditi Restaurant (Pure Veg)

Most of you will not have been to Aditi Restaurant (Pure Veg) in Parel, Mumbai – after all, it isn’t owned by Sachin Tendulkar, it doesn’t serve a famous platter and it isn’t run by a legendary local chef. Yet Aditi has succeeded where high-profile others – such as child rape, acute poverty, political vitriol and a struggling economy have not – it has actually moved the government into action! After printing on its bills comments that were regarded by some to be libellous, workers of the Indian Youth Congress forced the owner to shut the restaurant and lodged an official police complaint. The owner subsequently apologised, of course – he wanted his livelihood more than he wanted change, which is understandable, considering what happens to Indians who want sweeping change. Think Anna Hazare (and Rakhi Sawant).

"As per UPA government, eating money (2G, Coal, CWG scam) is a necessity and eating food in an AC restaurant is a luxury."

The issue has turned into what I can safely describe as a fiasco. On one hand, many people have jumped at the chance to be heard, commenting strongly on the libellous and disgraceful nature of the alleged insult. Yet this has resulted in some rather embarrassing conflicts of interest that so inimitably personify the aromatic concoction that is Indian politics. Narendra Modi – Gujarat CM and the man most certain to be the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate next year – said on twitter, “Height of Intolerance.” Embarassingly, however, the Wall Street Journal reports that some grassroots BJP representatives vociferously expressed their dissent with the actions of the Congress by shouting slogans outside the restaurant. I can hardly imagine the press brief being prepared in some secret corner of the country right now, which probably reads thus: “Owing to an unfortunate concatenation of circumstances, grassroots BJP personnel protested outside Aditi restaurant. We find the Congress responsible for this as it is the congress-led government’s responsibility to inform all citizens, regardless of whether or not they are BJP members, of the thoughts of Shri. Narendra Modi. Their failure to do so further underlines their failure as a government. As a well-structured, organised party with many supportive allies, the BJP is the best choice to govern the country today.”

Of course, it would be a crime for me not to discuss whether what the restaurant did was actually wrong – a contentious claim. On one hand, the restaurant owner would argue that the congress harshly taxed him and he lost money as a result. On the other hand, the congress representatives will submit that the claims in the first part of the statement are false and baseless and that the restaurant operator is subject to strict proof of the same (picked up thanks to a legal internship). Hard to decide, on the face of it, who holds the aces. Very likely, neither side holds the aces. The BJP may say they hold the aces. Anna Hazare may say the Lokpal Bill holds the aces. Jayalalithaa may demand more Cauvery water from Karnataka contend that the Dravidian population holds the aces. The only thing that is certain is that the person that actually holds the aces has never seen the letter A in his life.

In conclusion though, I would like to make up for my BJP bashing earlier in this post raise a serious issue. Admittedly, it isn’t in anybody’s best interests to allow something that is considered defamatory. However, present-day India is plagued with much more serious issues – it is, for example, inconceivable that a person who earns ₹34 a day can be considered to be above the poverty line. It is also highly unacceptable that MBBS seats in Andhra Pradesh have recently gone on sale to the highest bidder. It is India’s – and my – hope that priorities will be set. Otherwise we will have to resort to desperate measures. Such as tattooing “I hate UPA/NDA/DMK/BSP/TMC/NCP/JDU/BJD” onto the arm of every rapist out there to attract some administrative attention. 


- Chap

(We're back)

Tamil-Tamil Bhai-Bhai

I do not doubt that a vast majority of you readers know who Rajiv Gandhi is. The 6^th prime minister of India, he was assassinated on 21^st May 1991 by a member of the LTTE. Naturally, such an event sent shockwaves through the country. Naturally you would expect that the LTTE would be consequentially antagonised forever and denounced as a terrorist organisation working to disrupt peace.

But, you would be wrong. A couple of days back, MPs from two of Tamil Nadu’s largest political parties – the DMK and the AIADMK – stormed the Rajya Sabha, caused chaos and broke a microphone while waving frantically pictures of the son of the man who founded the LTTE, who was killed in Sri Lanka. Now obviously it is tragic that the young boy was killed and I do not condone his killing. But the elected leaders of the world’s largest democracy are not expected, under any circumstances, to storm the upper house and shout slogans. That is expected only of the protester. That is not expected of the administration.

At this point, I should think some of you might have no idea what all this is about so I will tell you. Tamils in Sri Lanka have been the victims of numerous human rights abuses for many years. It was with the aim of eradicating this issue that the LTTE was originally formed. The LTTE has generally gained the support of Tamil extremists, who view it as an independence movement. Recently, the issue of ill-treatment of Tamils in Sri Lanka has surfaced yet again. Amid tensions and an alleged lack of concrete action by the Indian government, there has been considerable anger in Tamil Nadu over the issue, with student bodies raising vociferous disapproval of the same.

The interesting and rather ridiculous part of this whole debate is that the chief of the Dravida Munnetra Kazagham (DMK), M. Karunanidhi has withdrawn his party’s support from the UPA – the coalition that forms the government. He said that the government would have to take serious action regarding this issue for the party to perform one of those famous political U-turns. What I do not understand is how Mr. Karunanidhi expects the Indian government to willingly undermine the sovereign rights of Sri Lanka as a country and interfere in its internal matters. But then again, what would you expect from a B-grade film producer turned politician? (He even named his son Stalin, for crying out loud!)

I heard a very good name for this phenomenon. It is what we can call “Tamil-Tamil Bhai-Bhai.” Basically what it means is that Tamils in Tamil Nadu seem to feel obliged to take an interest in the affairs of Tamils in Sri Lanka. Admitted, what is happening in Sri Lanka is not correct and admitted, action must be taken. But the fact of the matter remains that an issue of Sri Lankan importance must not be considered to be an excuse for Indian politics to yet again demonstrate just how deep a hole it has dug for itself. As I read somewhere, whenever you think you’ve hit rock bottom, someone gives you a shovel.

- Chap.

Rape Across Borders

Rape and rapists have been in the headlines thrice in the last one week, and here’s why. Ram Singh, one of the main accused in the Damini rape case, (allegedly) hung himself in Tihar Jail, despite having been put on suicide watch. Suicide watch? More like watch him commit suicide. A couple from Switzerland was assaulted in Madhya Pradesh and the woman beaten and raped in front of the man by a gang of 6 farmers. Finally, the judge announced that those charged with the Steubenville rape were guilty. A rapist dead, yet another rape and two rapists condemned. It’s been a solid week.

A Rapist Dead is a Rapist Less

Ram Singh used his clothes and a rod in his jail to hang himself from the ceiling. Apparently, his three inmates were present in the cell while this happened and a guard had been posted, yet nobody was aware of what transpired.

"There is some foulplay. He cannot commit suicide. He is not such a person that he can commit suicide. He was very happy with the way the trial was going on," advocate VK Anand, who represents Singh, alleged.

Well, VK Anand, we’re glad your client was a happy guy but honestly the system is burdened enough without having the added load of trying to track down the person who supposedly killed your client. I understand that because of his death, Damini has been denied complete justice because he clearly got the easy way out while she had struggled for her life, but the point remains that our justice system is complicated and isn't the most efficient, and it is highly possible that it would have sentenced Ram Singh to death, but he would have died on death row. Either way, he would have died, which isn’t such a bad thing. 

The Home Minister said it it would have been better if the law of the country had punished him. "He has done one more crime as committing suicide is also a crime”

Honestly what is the point of comments like these- we’re clearly not even capable of trying people for rape – robbing someone else of their identity, but apparently his committing suicide is to be frowned upon as well. What would the punishment be for attempted suicide? The death penalty?

While we’re on ridiculing things that people have said, I’ve discovered my new favorite man! Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Manohar Lal Sharma.

"Yes, I do have my brains in my ass", he was overheard saying

Speaking to The Independent, Manohar said: “I have not seen a single incident or example of rape with a respected lady. Even an underworld don would not like to touch a girl with respect.”

Blaming the victim's friend, “This all happened because of the lust of the boy. This is the boy who should be hanged. He's responsible for everything. He should be punished.”

I’m going to leave that there because nothing that I can say about his statements has not been pointed out before. ML Sharma is Mukesh Singh’s lawyer. I hope that Mukesh joins his bumchum brother up there, soon. He claims his inmates have urinated in his defendant’s mouth, and that he’s been brutally tortured by the Indian police. My heart bleeds.

On a side-note, I don’t condone torture by policemen. However, I couldn’t be less bothered about callous rapists being given a taste of their own medicine.

Indian Tourism & Other Tales

On Friday, a Swiss tourist couple was beaten, and the woman was raped. A gang of farmers in Madhya Pradesh robbed the couple, while they had been on a biking tour of the area. The police have arrested 5-6 men in relation to the crime, although there are conflicting reports. The reason this has caught the media’s attention is because of the woman’s nationality, and the entire world watches now more than ever as Indian officials attempt to navigate this situation and attempt to prevent it from blowing up into a diplomatic fiasco. Less known is the fact that on the same day this Swiss woman was raped, another woman was raped aboard a moving bus in Madhya Pradesh’s capital (sounds familiar?) but this time it was in broad daylight.

The Swiss government have demanded a swift probe into what took place, and local authorities are under pressure to respond more quickly to this than other low-profile cases that take place on a day-to-day basis. That isn’t the issue. The issue is that despite candlelight marches and protests and waves of uproar calling for reform (not to mention the very damning and forceful Facebook shares of photos of “SHARE THIS FOR JUSTICE FOR WOMAN” with the underlying tone being “IF U DON’T SHARE U DON’T HV HEART”) not much has changed. Some officials have obviously blamed the couple for lodging in an area where the women:men ratio is off (85:100 apparently) and that they should have known better.

Trying the rapists is still the easy part. Changing this deeply entrenched, scarily backward thinking is the bigger challenge.

 Rape Isn’t a Cultural Thing

• American media on the India gang rape: Omg those barbarians are out of control! Look at us, we're so ahead of the times!
• American media on the Steubenville rape: Omg look at the lives we're ruining by convicting these 16 year old rapists!

As much as I slander the lack of respect we seem to have for women in India, the Steubenville rape case that closed a couple of hours ago was a reminder that rape isn’t India, or even Asia- specific. It happens everywhere.

Two members of a high-school football team were found guilty of raping a 16-year old girl, and interestingly enough, text messages, videos and the much-loved Instagram contributed as evidence to prosecuting the two boys. We’ve all heard the familiar story before- high school heroes take advantage of a situation as if normal rules don’t apply to them. The problem is that often a lot of people forget that normal rules do apply to them- the community has been accused of sheltering these two boys and covering up what actually happened.

The thing is, if there’s an Instagram photo of the two boys holding the unconscious girl by her hands and legs and a 12 minute video from the night of the assault of a classmate mocking the victim and joking about sexual assault, it leaves little room for imagination. Furthermore, there are text messages from the rapists to other friends talking about what happened.

The debate was between whether the girl was too drunk to have been a willing participant, and whether the girl, despite being drunk, knew what she was doing. The girl had testified in court claiming she didn’t remember a thing but that there was no way she agreed to do anything.

The irony here is that because we are dealing with a first-world superpower, we expect the response to be slightly more civilized, right? Wrong. The girl was drunk, it was obviously her fault. She was wearing provocative clothes, how could she not have been raped? Alcohol is not a woman’s best friend. These are the basic gists of the responses to the case. When Indians or other Asians bring forward such thoughts, it is backward and orthodox. When Americans do the same, everybody scoffs and dismisses them as a one-off thing. It’s a good thing the two boys were caught, tried and persecuted. Whether they cried when the verdict was announced is irrelevant. If you behave like an animal, you will be treated like one, and this is something that applies to everyone.

Being drunk is not illegal. Wearing skirts is not illegal. Rape most definitely is. Apparently this is as difficult a concept to grasp in the West as it is in the East.

-Lassie