Comedians, taking offence and protectors.

I’m sure all of you know enough about what happened when Agrima Joshua, a comedian joked ‘about’ Shivaji Maharaj. She received some cheap, inhuman threats and the retarded man was arrested.

What can we do?

1. When we choose to laugh at their jokes, we are stakeholders in their comedy. We are part of the act and our role doesn’t end there. Continue showing support to all these souls who are spreading a laugh and making our lives, especially during the pandemic, less miserable. Tell them you’ve got their back. Spread the word. It can make all the difference when one is scared for their life.

2. If you’re offended, don’t be. Take things in the right spirit and context. Don’t take yourselves too seriously. Don’t look for controversies. If you really care about a cause, an issue or individual, do something to propogate that. Resorting to abuse isn’t helping your cause.

3. Life is too short to follow those who spread hate. @hindustanibhau and his tribe are selling us hate. If a small % of their content is ‘funny’, the remaining is toxic. It is ruining our society as a whole. And your subscription is an endorsement for their views. Curate your sources of entertainment in a way that doesn’t spread hatred. UNFOLLOW.

4. The people who are infuriated by these incidents are not the ones that protect us, our values, our culture or our country. They are what destroy us. They trade in all of this. Don’t fall for it. Call people out for pretending to care for a cause that they don’t know shit about. Do not let anyone use your beliefs to drive a sick narrative.

5. Think about the language you sue in your daily life. Stuff like ‘Teri maa/behen chod dunga’ may sound harmless in the moment, but incidents like these should force us to rethink how these words shape minds, propagate rape-culture and make things worse for our society.

Take care. Peace!