Sunday, January 14, 2018

Think Before You Quote/Share

I was reading the recent post written by our blogger friend anoobhooti.  A line in that post made me think. She wrote:
 
“if i share something then it means i agree with that and like that”.
 
My thoughts went back to something that happened long time ago. I had a wonderful boss. She was a devout Catholic. I was telling her about a jovial article came in the newspaper at that time. Up until that time only Italians were elected as Pope. That was the first time the cardinals in Rome elected a non-Italian as their Pope.
 
A columnist wrote (jovially) next time they would even elect a Jewish Pope.
 
When I told her about the article, she was not happy about it. She plainly told me she was not happy to hear that from me. I said “hey, I just quoted what that guy wrote in the newspaper”. She said if you quote/share someone’s words it means you agree with what was said. I, being a Catholic, don’t like that joke.
 
This brings me to the latest controversy in Tamil Nadu. Mr. Vairamuthu, a Tamil poet (who is also an atheist) gave a speech on Aandal. Aandal was a Tamil female mystic poet who lived in the 7th century.  She is worshipped as a Goddess by Tamil speaking hindus.  Mr. Vairamuthu said Aandal was a “devadasi”. He said he was quoting from a research paper submitted by an American scholar.
 
The Devadasi system was a religious practice in parts of South India in which a girl was married to the temple deity and was expected to serve the deity for the rest of her life. It has been associated with the oppressive practice of women and young girls being regarded as temple property and sexually exploited. (Courtesy: Scroll.in)
 
Lot of people are opposing and supporting Mr. Vairamuthu’s speech.

18 comments:

  1. In my thoughts if you share a news as "Hey i read this article, whats your opinion? " is fine as opposed to " Hey this is such a funny article" As for the current topic of Andal, i have no idea why people choose controversial subjects to comment about, maybe their 15 mins of limelight or any news is good news concept .... but nevertheless interesting read SG

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    1. Thanks for your comments Dee. You are right. The intent is important.

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  2. Quotes are often inspirational,interesting,funny and sometimes critical. Forwarding of quotes or including in blog posts does not mean one subscribes to the views expressed therein.To take umbrage at quotes is in my view not fair unless the quote is offensive and sent with an intent to hurt.
    Andal episode is regrettable and forgotten after an apology..

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    1. Thanks for your comments Mr. KP. He did not apologize. He regretted.

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  3. Hi SG. So good to see you after a long time. Hope you are doing well.
    No, if you share some quote or news, it does not mean that you believe or share the same thought. But, yes we need to be careful with whom we share.

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    1. Thanks for your comments Shilpa. Also, where we share is also important. One should not go to a HIndu Temple and quote a wrong information about a HIndu God.

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  4. Thought provoking article, this is what we missed these days, SG :-) I think, it totally depands on our approach, when we talk/write if it is mentioned we like to open a discussion rather than just quoting, we are clear. If someone says they don't like the topic, it's their view. But, yes, some people like Taslima Nasrin had to leave their motherlands just because people are not tolerant. Agree or not, I think, we all can respect others' views.

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    1. Thanks for your comments Sindhu. The intent is more important/

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  5. That's what many people (sometimes me included) assume. That's why we ought to be careful in what we share on social media, etc.

    Destination Infinity

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    1. Thanks for your comments Rajesh. It is better to think twice and be careful.

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  6. Nice to see you back, SG!

    Vairamuththu, such a renowned poet, Padmabhushan awardee should not have 'quoted' some unknown person's article without researching. If this was done by an ordinary person, no one would have bothered. According to him, 'devadasi' means 'sanyasin' Hindu sanyasin, like Boudhdha and Jain sanyasins. But in common language, devadasi is first 'offered' to god and then she is free for all i.e. she becomes a prostitute. Aandaal is a famous poetess. Wrote many poems on Lord Krishna in Tamil and is the daughter of Periyaazhvaar, a Vaishnavite saint. I feel like asking Vairamuththu 'Why this kolaveri'? Now, he is under police protection. We see him often during our morning walks and respect him for his Tamil knowledge. This is not good.

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    1. Thanks for your comments Sandhya. Why this kolaveri? Hahaha.

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  7. Nice to see a post from you SG after a long time. When quoting something in social media, we should be careful to only share what we agree with. These days, people get offended for anything and everything. I feel, once this social media came into picture, people think they can say anything offensive to anyone and get away with it.

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    1. Thanks for your comments Ash. Yes, we have to be very careful.

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  8. Vairamuththu has written this in twitter: http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1sqd7s5

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  9. Whateverevent takes place, if good or bad,opinions also travel on the same line with a good or a bad shade. Some people, though they act open,will get annoyed at the silliest comment. Your boss might be of that category ,means when things are smooth she is more than smooth and vice versa also.

    So SG, your this post teaches the reader a lesson.Nice.

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  10. On Twitter, there is a common disclaimer: "Retweets are not endorsements".
    Of course, there is a common perception that you endorse, or at least, you have a leaning towards what is shared.
    But that surely need not be the case. You can share even what you don't agree with, you can share what is shocking, or infuriating.
    Similarly, people quote to back up their views. But need not necessarily be so always.

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