Funny statements

Yesterday, on two separate occasions, I heard the same funny phrase, "I am not a sexist, I am just old fashioned!" One was from a close associate and the other from a character on TV. (Two identical nonsensical comments on the same day! What are the odds? Its almost as if the universe was telling me to get back to my much neglected blog!!) The associate was expressing his disapproval of women who visit bars and the character on TV was waxing eloquent about his sexist, I mean "old fashioned", ideas about all the tasks that women shouldn't be allowed to do like earning money, driving a car or even opening a door!

The first thing that came into my head when I heard the first comment was, "That's like saying, 'I think people of other races are inferior. Don't get me wrong! I am not a racist, I am just old fashioned!". You see, my first exposure to serious feminist writing happened when I was writing my masters thesis and of course was trying to do everything BUT write it! That was in the US. Most of the bloggers and columnists whose pieces I read were from places where racism is a recognized evil. Most of these countries experienced racism in some of its worst forms and then actively fought against it. Hence racists in general are looked down upon and racist beliefs are shunned by most educated people. Hence, western feminists very often tend to draw parallels between racism and sexism to sometimes show people how ridiculous their arguments are. Misogynists may be hard to convince, but for a lot of people on the fence, it gives them something to consider and contemplate.

But then, this argument doesn't really work in India, does it? There is no paucity of "isms" in India. Casteism, regionalism, ageism, religious fundamentalism and of course, the big monster, sexism; you name it, we have it. They don't just exist, but in a country of a billion people half of whom have no proper education to speak of, they thrive unhindered, feasting on our rich tradition of glorified ignorance. Interestingly enough, the moral zeitgeist, at least among the urban middle class has evolved towards liberalism when it comes to religion and caste, but regionalism is still considered not just acceptable, but encouraged! Regional cliques are rather common in one's social circle, but it came as an unpleasant surprise to me that this kind of behaviour is perfectly normal even in a professional environment. And apparently, it is also perfectly acceptable to talk in a regional language in a project meeting where half the participants are unfamiliar with that language!

I digress! All of this brings me back to the first thought that struck me when I heard the "old fashioned" statements. If I can't draw a parallel with racism, how do I point out the absolute inaneness of my associate's assertion? And since when did being "old fashioned" become a virtue?? While we are on it, since when did any kind of "fashioned" become a virtue?? Since when has borrowing someone else's opinion become praiseworthy? Because that's what one means when one claims to be old or new fashioned to justify a statement. What it means is that one merely happened to pick up an idea prevailing at some point of time, and without applying even an iota of reasoning, decided to adopt it. Don't we have the responsibility as rational human beings to ensure that we are constantly striving to remove irrationality and ignorance wherever we see it? Tall order you say? Too utopian you opine? Ok, let us then strive for something easier perhaps. Can we just stop being darned sexists and regionalists and casteists and try and behave like decent human beings? No? Sigh!