PERVERTS

I bet the title caught your attention huh? Its one of many techniques a writer uses to grab the attention of the reader. But do not fret. The following context will not be about perverts. (I hear half of my faithful readers heave a long sigh of relief right about now)

“But Why? Why should this not be about perverts” I hear the other half say. “why is it that we do not talk about perverts?” is it because of  the “OM MY GOD” factor? As in  “oh my god, how can we even discuss about such a thing? It’s a disgrace!”  

Open your eyes my dear reader. Its like the wind. it’s always there. It always has been there. Now more than ever I should say. Everyone feels it. Everyone knows that it happens. But everyone completely ignores it.

(Folks, sorry about the little misdirection at the top about this not being about perverts. It actually is about perverts. Misdirection is another technique we writers use by the way)

“The women need to wear proper cloths, If they don’t, they are bound to attract perverts” I hear some of you say.

To argue my point better, I will use an example. let me role play. I'm a woman. Say I see a shirtless handsome man on the road. He is doing some gardening, fishing or simply minding his own business. Do I run up to him and poke him and pinch him and put my hand up his shorts because he is shirtless and therefore liable to have the opposite sex grope him?  No.

It all comes down to humanity and private space. Your body is your property. No one has the right to do anything to you or your body while it is yours to govern. No one has the right to make you feel uncomfortable. Not a man, not a woman should be in any position that makes them uncomfortable because of their gender and sexual orientation.

From what I understand, there are are 3 factors in this equation. The perverts, Those who feel it, and those who don’t give a doggoned crap about it.

First let us focus on factor 1. Perverts.

Who are they ? and what do they do?

I have heard tell the following phrase “All men are not perverts. But all perverts are men” I do not know the basis on which someone would have told such a thing. Whatever it was, I assume it was with good reason.

As to what they do, it doesn’t take a rocket scientists to figure that out. Controversial to what people think, ‘perverts’ are not only those who physically manipulate the instance to their own corrupt advantages.

These are those who make you want to burn all your cloths in the hope that the filth you bought home from the bus would not pollute the rest of your body or your loved ones.

These are those who make you weep and shriek in agony in your heart for being born a woman and having to go through all this alone.

These are those who make a your every nightmare a reality and all of this, without even touching you. 

Then, there are those who feel it.

Being in Sri Lanka, every woman who reads this, would know what I mean here. The men? I'm not quite sure. They would have heard it happen to their mother, sister or daughter and shared their suffering and felt their pain as though it was their own but I can say one thing for sure, they would not have felt it first hand. And we all know what they say about “firsthand experience”  you will never forget it.

The feeling of being utterly helpless because of a woman’s true birth right – is known only by a woman. The feeling of being inferior to the seemingly stronger male domination is bad enough but the feeling of being vulnerable to it , is beyond bad.

It’s in their eyes. Every person who has gone through this atleast once in their life time will know that feeling. It’s the eyes of the pervert that makes you want to hurl your fist in their mouth. Or to run a spike through their heart.  Or to hurt them so badly , that they beg for something as sweet and as mild as pain.

And finally, those who don’t give a doggon crap about it.

Its sad. You think the perverts are bad. But those who see it happen and bat their eyelashes at it, are worse. It could be someone’s mother, sister, daughter, friend. But as long as it is not them, they do not feel the need to rise against it. They consider it “not their burden to bare” but end of the day, it could have happened to their own daughter, son, wife, girlfriend, mother. Then what? Do they bat their lashes at that too?

May it be a man or a woman, It all comes down to humanity. To you, if humanity means to be able to use your tongue to form words and speech or if it means having the advantage to use your opposable thumbs and highly evolved brain to build sky scrapers, I hope I never have the misfortune of meeting you.

If humanity is what makes you feel for the poor, the wounded and the sick, pat yourself in the back. That is what means to be human. To feel other’s pain as though it is yours. To feel compassion, kindness and love to your fellow human beings. To treat people the way you'd want to be treated and helping those in need. To be able to stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves is what being human means to me.