When the guilty is not guilty

The society we live in has adjusted to a lot of norms based on how people react “generally” to certain situations. Once a common reaction is repeated by more people, it becomes a trend. A trend may be right or wrong. Example of a right trend could be resisting from littering around supporting our government’s initiative on cleanliness. Example of a wrong trend could be to bypass a red traffic signal. Once the quantum of following a trend increases, it becomes a cult. A cult eventually becomes a generally accepted behavior a human is expected to showcase in certain situations. In some cases, a certain behavior type becomes so normal and universally accepted that questioning / abusing / ill-treating people with those behavior (who are now in the majority) will result in punishment through some legal discourse.

But have we ever wondered if the other side of the coin feels the same way? In other words, what if you actually stop in front of a red signal for a whole minute despite knowing that it’s early in the morning and there’s no one who’s crossing from the other side?

Our society expects us to follow a list of rules / laws that is enacted to protect us. Once we move in the different direction than expected by law, we are liable for punishment. Our society also enlists the severity of the punishment based on the severity of the crime. A petty crime like parking on a no parking zone can perhaps result in a monetary fine of Rs. 100. A serious crime like murder / rape can result in life imprisonment or in rarest-of-rare case, even death.

Assume someone has committed a murder. Our legal system punished him by imposing life imprisonment. A punishment as severe as Life imprisonment ensures justice to the family of the deceased. We expect the murderer to feel guilty of the crime, repent while being in prison and possibly come out a better man. The whole “guilt factor” involved in punishment of the murderer is possibly the best possible outcome the family of the deceased can expect, that the murderer should suffer in jail, should realize the gravity of the crime and lose his most productive years in jail. 

Here’s the twist – assume the murderer is actually enjoying his stay in prison. Not that the police are supporting him. He is going through everything that a criminal needs to go through in jail. He needs to toil hard for in-house work, gets simple staple food almost every-time, has a small cell to live in, gets beaten up occasionally. But instead of the “guilt factor”, he is actually enjoying all this!

How will the family of the deceased feel now? Is this actually justice? Who decided that a jailed person should feel guilty and repent for his crime? Our society, of course! And for all the reasons I mentioned in the beginning of this post. Society probably thought that once a person is isolated, deprived of his living style and made to experience a tough life will make him repent. We are also conditioned to think that way and there’s no one to blame here.

What I am trying to drive here is a thought process involved in enforcing a punishment to the culprit who doesn’t feel punished. In my example, one person died, his family has to live with the pain and the murderer shows no remorse in jail. Probably, that’s the loss we have to take for all the goods that society gives us. But then, probably not!

PS: Murder as a crime and life imprisonment as a punishment are cited as examples here. It could be any crime and any punishment.

Impact of an alternate decision

The story is abstract and fictional.

Homeless. Jobless. No one for support. No one to guide. Alone in the streets of a city that never sleeps. Even the gardener in the nearby society feels that the garden is more important than a stray individual just outside of his society. I cannot blame him though, that's what humanity has turned into. Gone are the days of the Good Samaritan, I thought.

I saw many robbers roaming for their daily bread. What they were doing was ethically wrong. However, who will even listen to someone like me? I saw them stealing and living each day as if its a daily-wage job. I have an easy way out to get out of this rut. And this city promises to make me self sufficient if I follow this route. There are even people in power who will support your activity as long as you support them by parting with a section of your daily wage. Somewhat like taxes for the elite class. The other option the city provided me with is to struggle my way up the ranks. In other words, learn how to do something and work and improve on it. Here, the wage will be monthly and you might have to end up paying tax.

Three years later:

I live in a chawl (small one room house - even considered as luxury in this city). I am working in a small garage with minimum possible wage. No taxes however! I know my work. Some people know me. I have some people I call friends. They are also struggling to grow, yet they all know how to survive one day at a time. No illegal activity. Struggle, survive and enjoy life the way its meant to be.

One day, as I was working in the garage, I heard a lady scream and pointing towards a man who was running away. It didn't take me long to realize that she was robbed. Now, this is normal in our city. People on the same street, who witness this incident on a day-to-day basis, hardly care. You see, if they never cared for a hapless life on the street few years ago, why will they care for a purse? Something forced me to help the lady. I immediately started chasing the guy. He seemed to be a new guy in the area as he didn't know any shortcuts. I somehow managed to catch him and snatch the purse from him. He immediately hid his face using his hands. Though I got what I ran for, I felt the urge to see his face. Maybe he has seen me running and knows me. He didn't want to be recognized. Since I was dominating the scene, I pushed his hands away from his face. I recognized him immediately.

That's when reality and science defied me. I actually saw myself. He was my mirror image - a guy who could have taken an easy way out three years ago! Thoughts started randomly appearing in my mind with no clear understanding. How can this be happening? Meanwhile, he saw my shocked expressing, smiled at my adversity, pushed me aside and ran away. I was left alone with no explanation of the incident whatsoever.


Image: Google Images

Had I taken the robbery route, I would still be alive and kicking in the city and would have earned more in one month than slogging for three full years! I would still have had a place to live, like-minded people as my friends, no taxes, not only know how to survive for the day but also know how to sustain myself during 'slack' period. Win-win situation at one end and a struggle at the other. I chose the other end. Why? Because I thought (and I still think) it's the right decision to make. I still have my dignity, though it hardly matters here, and I don't have any need to fear anyone in the city.

It taught me that I can also survive with ethics in this city. The city where dreams are fulfilled - sooner or later.

PS: I know the story is totally abstract. Thought of writing something different this time. I intended to show the impact of making a right decision even though it hurts in the short run.

Its a mad race out there..

Everyone wants to be popular. There's no denying this fact!

Some aspire to be the richest businessman in the world. Some try their level best to be the best sportsperson in the sport they are in. Some in art, some in movies. Hell, there are some who wants to have maximum number of followers in Twitter, subscribers in Facebook. Its a mad world out there, and most of the inhabitants are in a race. Some who don't race are left behind trying to carve their own niche. Niche because rest of them are so engrossed in racing that they seldom have time to look behind and appreciate your work! After all, 'numero uno' is not just a number!

But races are more confusing than convincing.

Sometimes you don't know when one race ends and when the other begins. Every individual runs multiple races at different time intervals in their lifespan. He / she will be in the corporate race to be the best. Once the day's work is completed, he / she will then enter a personal race to keep his / her family happy and content - personally, socially and financially. They will be in the race to buy a match ticket, and after completing this race, will compete for the best possible seat in the stands.

Sometimes you don't know whom you are racing against. You are in a race and eventually you win it. Just one question, who all were there in the race? Was there anyone worth defeating, or you just made up a race so that you can win it. Personal satisfaction, maybe. Lets use traveling as an analogy. You drive, overtake vehicles, some vehicles overtake you. You don't know who they are, don't care either. Unless, of course, its a Ferrari, Mercedes, BMW or {enter your favorite car brand}. Most of the time, you just race along. Sometimes you overtake simply to avoid the traffic signal turning yellow and then red. A race without knowing your opponents seems to be a hollow race to me! 

Sometimes you don't know why you are in the race. It happens. Remember the monster.com ad? Caught in the wrong job? The same applies here. Why are you even in the race? And how will it affect you, even if you win it? And this happens not only on the job, but everywhere. You are given a responsibility from a group where you will have to slog and in the end, there's only one thing you are left with - personal satisfaction and no materialistic gains. The old adage - no pain, no gain - has changed. Its now - if there's no gain, then why pain?.

The optimist in you will say, races are important to survive and be competitive. The pessimist in you will say, races destroy the mere essence of living in harmony and appreciating the beauty around. The tactician in you will ask you to select some races and concentrate on winning them.

The aspirations are different, the race tracks are different, the level of competition is different - the underlying rule, however, remains the same. You don't win the silver, you lose the gold! Either you are the best, or you are among the rest.

In conclusion, well.. I'll leave that to the reader's interpretation.

PS: Trying my hand at writing abstract posts. This one doesn't have any conclusion. You are free to interpret your way. I am trying different things now-a-days. Will fail sometimes. No issues. You know how they relate failure to stepping stones, right?