I give my opinion on a dozen different issues every day. On my wall/stream/page. Based on my study and analysis. And coloured by my biases. Like literally every single person on Earth with the rare exception (if at all) of a hardcore research scholar who is offering raw data without any interpretation at all. For all these posts and commentaries, I get my share of bouquets and brickbats, pats on the back and kicks up the rear, compliments and abuses. I take everything with a pinch of salt and carry on. After all, I write for my own reasons, and while engagement and interaction on the post are nice, that is not my objective. Most comments are, however, while not being exactly civil, at least not wishing murder or disability upon myself or my loved ones. So, I live. And I learn. Or to paraphrase Douglas Adams, at any rate, I live.
But it is only when I give my opinion on the so-called noble professions (and there are only two that have come to my notice as of date: doctors and soldiers) that people seem to rise up in arms against me, and some of them in language that can best be described as unparliamentary. I wonder why?
What makes your specific profession untouchable? Why do you think that if you are a medical or a military professional, somehow you are above every other human and automatically excluded and immune from all criticism, however fair or reasonable?
My post on soldiers who have quit voluntarily (not the ones who retired at the end of their service) to join civvy street turning around and claiming that the only glory to be had in life is in uniform and that every other profession pales in comparison attracted personal attacks here, and on other social media. I mean, I did not respond to any of them because I had had my say, but almost everyone, down to the last person, who abused me and called me names, did not read the post I had put up and was constructing strawmen and vanquishing them, claiming I am not worthy of a response, even as they slid into my DMs to tell me that if it were not illegal, they’d shoot me (yes, one of them said that!).
Recently, my post on Indian doctors having little concern for patient privacy or doctor-patient confidentiality has caused similar reactions on social media.
Do you know a funny thing: less than half of those respondents who are threatening me bodily harm and calling into question my lineage are actually soldiers (in the former case) or doctors (in the latter). Most of them are those ‘Abdullahs’ in the ‘begani shaadi’ who have taken it upon themselves to defend these ‘noble’ professions.
I wonder what it is about doctors and soldiers that we, and this may be a very specific subcontinental phenomenon, I am not sure) revere and deify them to a point that it is embarrassing to any sane onlooker?
P.S: What prompted this particular post? Well, I got a DM from a lady who works with doctors (she isn’t one) saying that she will pray that the day I or my daughter find ourselves on the operating table, that doctor remembers what I said about them. Like, seriously? Itnaa hate kahaan rakhte ho, behen? It will poison you from inside someday.
