India was under foreign rule for over 450 years. While most of the country was under British Rule, my state of Goa was under Portuguese Rule since 1510.
Much like patriots all over India, the people of Goa had an organized movement to demand home-rule, an end to the religious persecution and exploitation of their people, and the plundering
of their resources.
These patriots were the first band of activists in modern India.
My grandfather was one such activist, he was a lawyer by
profession, but dedicated a significant part of his life to the freedom struggle
in addition to working pro-bono to defend freedom activists in the courts.
There were thousands of activists from all professions who
sacrificed all they had to participate in the freedom struggle.
After centuries of blood, sweat, and tears, Goa was liberated from
foreign rule on December 19, 1961.
For the activists their mission was accomplished and hence
activism had concluded.
They received a token pension from the government for their service
to the nation but apart from that, there were no pecuniary gains. They also were
mindful not to exploit the goodwill of the freedom movement for their personal benefit
or for any other movement.
They were also clear that the movement was on principle and not
personal. There was no vilification of the Portuguese people or Portugal as a
nation and no demand for reparations. In fact, the Goa of today still retains and
celebrates a lot of Portuguese culture.
What has happened to the new-age activist?
When courses in ‘Humanities’, ‘Peace Studies’. ‘Minority Studies’,
‘Environmental Studies’ etc. were introduced in major universities, it was fertile
ground for the professional activists.
Most old school activism emanated solely from concern for a cause, there were no expectations of any gains
But professional activist views activism as a source of income,
hence there is a need for an organization, staffs, and most importantly a source
of revenue generation.
Most activist organization are funded by ‘various other global
charitable organizations and other charitable individuals.
How are these funds raised?
It works as follows:
Consider an activist group ‘advocates’ for minority Group Z. They learn
of an attack on members of Group Z.
They pass this through a series of tests regarding the
perpetrators.
If the perpetrators are members of the same minority Group Z, then
the activists remain silent. If the perpetrators are from another historically
discriminated Group W, once again then there is silence.
But if the perpetrators are from the demographic majority Group A, then
the hysterical drum beating and ululating begins.
It helps if, Group A has been responsible for crimes against Group
Z centuries ago. The narrative of Group A supremacy and ‘nothing has changed’
can be pushed with ease.
Statistics may show that crimes such as these seldom occur in contemporary times. All members of demographic majority Group A unequivocally and universally condemn the attack. This specific incident could have emanated from a financial dispute or an argument over drinks about their favorite sports team or some other triviality.
But nothing will ever stop the cacophony. If there isn’t much meat to the story, details will be invented.
There are manufactured hashtags on social media that gullible people join. There are protest marches. There is a search for the soul of <fill in the blank nation>. They demand a groveling apology from the ‘right-wing’ leader. If none of this creates a ripple, the sleeper cell of rioters is activated.
The pliant liberal media is always on their side to push their narratives.
If a citizen expresses reservations about the manner of protest he is termed a bigot. His employers are contacted and asked, “Do want a bigot such as this working at your place?”. The cowardly employer usually capitulates and terminations could occur. To avoid all most citizens reluctantly submit to the hysteria, endorses ‘their cause’ and perhaps even attend a ‘march’.
Somewhere among this will be the reason for the hysteria emerges – a naked request for funds.
Quite soon everybody from celebrities to corporate houses donates ‘generously’ and broadcast this act of charity from rooftops. The donors think that this act of ‘charity’ places them on the morally right side and perhaps it will prevent the mob from burning down their home.
The funds raised are usually used for hotel and travel expenses, conferences, handsome salaries, and further fund-raisers.
They are no different from vultures who owe their lives to carcasses of victims, at least for vultures scavenging is their only source of nutrition.
Never ever will the activists concede that there was even an iota of improvement for the cause or the demographic group, they are ‘advocating’ for. Because conceding even an inch means that the activist may be diminishing their importance which means the funds may stop pouring in. They need a permanent underclass to survive.
If however, there is an undeniable improvement, they merely broaden
their cause or expand the demographic group they are advocating for and things
continue.
Activism is the only profession in the world where relentless
failure enables them to raise funds that ensure personal and organizational
prosperity.
It has to be understood that this is not a principled struggle to bring people together. There is focused vilification and hate for the group whom they think are the perpetrators, usually the demographic majority. Conversely, demographic minority groups receive all the venerations and their transgressions are overlooked.
They claim to want diversity but are intolerant to opposing ideas
or thoughts.
Do
they really stand up for regular people?
I remember meeting one such activist at a dinner party.
“All they (a group she was advocating for) are asking for is
dignity. If we fail we do not deserve to be called human beings.” she said
sounding sincere and passionate. In minutes she viciously scolded the waiter
for getting her meal ‘order’ wrong, even threatening to get him fired. There
was a similar attitude toward the hotel valet service and her chauffer ‘for
making her interminably wait for her car. “These people never learn do they”
she lamented as she was driven away.
The
activist of today rises up every morning looking for instances of racism,
sexism, homophobia, and other forms of perceived bigotry which presents them
with opportunities to light fires to bake their bread.
They
spend the first phase of their lives whining about income inequality and capitalism.
The second phase of their life is spent enjoying the fruits of free-market
capitalism, making millions writing books and making speeches about their
‘victims’ i.e. those they claim to be dedicating their lives to. To sum it up,
they are the biggest beneficiaries of this activism
The
lives of the victims they claim to campaign for remains unchanged. These
victims are passed down to the next generation of self-serving activists as if
they were commodities.
Can we afford to ignore these individuals as a few self-serving
people?
Emphatically not!
While they may be few in numbers the influences they have has
caused people, especially the young to actually believe their narrative of doom
and glum.
These groups have infiltrated every walk of life, from the AOCs in
politics to the Alyssa Milanos in Hollywood. They are now both literally and
metaphorically at our doorstep.
If there ever was a time to stand up to them and for what is
right. It is NOW!
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