Ruminations: Get used to it
A family is robbed at gunpoint. They found out later that the robber was their neighbor’s son, a well behaved and grade-A student that they have known for years.
When does a perfectly normal kid start thinking that robbing anybody at gunpoint is normal? One might say out of necessity OR because of the influence from his friends. The family was well off so the latter theory sounds plausible. Why does an “influence” alter a person’s behavior so drastically? The clear answer is that once somebody gets used to something, the perception slowly changes. Something unimaginable starts becoming a certain possibility. All of a sudden robbing and even murdering somebody becomes acceptable.
I don’t remember when in my childhood I heard about black-outs (unless you are in your teens you are with me so far). Nepal bandha was unheard of atleast in Kathmandu. Corruption was prevalent but stories of murders and assasinations weren’t. People were afraid of law enforcement who many times did violate their authorities, however. Projects would halt because of funding, not because of some group of people padlocking the main entrance and threatening to turn violent. People didn’t get threats from groups, personnel on regular basis.
If I was told that this is what Nepal is going to turn into, I would not have believed it. Why would a country go backwards? Why would all of a sudden the energy crisis, the security crisis, the identity crisis loom Nepal? If a friend joked that Nepal would be divided into peaces (a friend had told me that India would orchestrate this when I was a kid) I would have laughed, though a little scared.
And today, I have seen all those. All of us have seen this and yet…we are OK with it. Well I guess we complain but we go on with our normal life. Why? Since we became gradually used to it. Today we have “swayatta rajyas” tomorrow we will have baise and chaubise rajyas. Energy and water crisis has engulfed Kathmandu and it could get worse if the local gundas keep on impending the new startups/projects. Could you imagine Nepali not being used in a parliamentary oath taking ceremony 20 years back? We now change constitution to allow that provision. We have PM and vice PM running the country, both of whom were NOT elected by the citizens, the person pulling the thread is bed ridden.
AND YET, we go on with our life. Why? Well we got used to it. My only hope is Nepal herself will get used to it. I am used to criticizing the present state of the country from abroad. You are used to reading it and commenting it and the “they” are used to changing our perception to accept the norms that we out rightly rejected just a few years ago. Get used to it.
