Mowed by Machines

There are many people around us, who are used to taking others for granted. The situation may be worse if these people are holding some leadership roles. One of my friends had been taken for such royal ride by one of her superiors that there was very little that my friend could do; when the friend had gathered some courage to talk to the superior about how she felt being taken for a royal ride, the superior tried to pour out a bag full of reasons why she had to do that. Justifications, rationalizations and explanations, these are the tools of the trade with the people who wish to take people for granted, in order to impose their own authority felt among the subordinates.

There is a limit for everything, and the hoi poloi would not mind being taken for granted to a certain extent, but if they are to be considered the non-existent, then there is bound to be a revolt and unhappiness. Such a situation is sure to create uneasy feelings among friends, among superiors and their subordinates, between family members. Generally it is observed that it is only the people who feel they enjoy certain special privileges, that make sure they have to show off their powers which flow from the privileges. In a group, if there is one who exercises leadership role and does not take into consideration the sentiments and opinion of other members and makes a decision for others, it is sure to backfire at sometime or other.

A friend complained about a certain Principal of a school who had been notorious for autocracy. Very seldom had he consulted the other members of his team before he arrived at a vital decision affecting the interests of the students, staff, and the guardians of students. The decisions were most often unilateral, though luckily many of his decisions were based on sound judgment, and so there was no major disaster or confrontation. However, the other members of the staff and his own friends and companions began to avoid him, and treat him as an outcast because of his tendency to take people for granted.

Now behind this simple attitude of taking people for granted, or taking people for a ride, there is an unsaid declaration these people make for themselves: it is only these people who have the brains at right proportions so that they could decide for others, and even help people find answers to all the problems they face. There is also an implicit paternalistic attitude in them, which makes them treat all others as children. This is exactly what Transactional Analysis points to us as an unhealthy syndrome in some which can really create havoc to personal relationships. Many are the victims of such paternalistic attitude, and invariably everyone goes through such experiences.

It is a good thing to assert one’s due rights and privileges, and not allow others treat us as if we are the door-mat; but that demands a good amount of guts and courage. I know some big bosses, who cannot tolerate anyone question their decisions, and if the subordinates ever open their lips against their unilateral decisions, the bosses would make sure to ruin the future of these hapless victims. But I have seen some of my good friends dare to do exactly that and face the consequences, even if they are very harsh and unreasonable. This, I feel, is a wonderful thing to do, to be on the guard so that people are treated with due honor and dignity they are born, and not be treated as a paperweight!

Branding

One of the secrets of success is business and commerce is branding the product or merchandise. If the branding is done with great care, then one can be sure of success, even if the product or merchandise itself may not be worth that much hype. For those who are uninitiated into the world of business, branding is related to a projection of the product as it is and affecting the customer to a large extent, highlighting the great value for money that the product can give to the buyer. Branding basically targets human psyche, whereby the customer is brain-washed by the company. Take for instance, vesting a particular brand of vests is a ‘andar ki baat’! That is branding.

I feel terrible when people begin to brand their neighbors, friends, family members, and citizens of a particular nation. This is one of the greatest injustice we can do to humanity. First of all, human beings are a commodity that can be branded, for purchase. Branding persons basically points to an accumulation of prejudices and pre-judgements. When we say, so and so is such a kind of person, we are already branding the person, as if a person is a solidified matter, which cannot change over time. We need to look at people as they are and not as we would wish them to be.

Some of us are ace human branders, who even without seeing or hearing, can brand people, just on the basis of hear-say. History will tell us how mistaken these people are. It is only human beings who are capable of changing, and sometimes these changes can occur even over night; and we may not be in a position to explain how the change took place, but that precisely are human beings. Branding a person is equivalent to condemning a person to a state of immaterial being, who is incapable of change. We cannot have a healthy social living, until we begin to look at one another as people susceptible of change and transformation.

We all of us suffer at sometime or other from social stigma, and that is one of the consequences of immortalizing these human brands. The stigma is often imposed from out, without verifying the validity of the offence. Generalization is a cousin to this social stigma. But is it possible for us to ever overcome the propensity to brand people? We may have to begin our journey to cure, from the understanding that all are vulnerable, and weak human beings, and there is no one who can truly claim to be free from human frailties. Once I know that others are as weak as I am, I would not begin to label them for all eternity, but look at the silver lining in the midst of their dark gloomy nature. It is then that we will realize the danger of branding people.

Every time I brand people, I should realize that there are others prepared to brand me too. In fact, the very people I brand may be the people who may do the same thing for me. If I am in the chair of power and authority and begin to judge everyone on earth as I see them to be, then it may be good for me to remember that the day to be on the receiving end is not very far off. I may also need to realize that if others had branded me the way I do to them, then probably my life would be very different today. It is because many people had been generous enough to spare me from the humiliation of being branded, that I am able to keep my head erect and judge others. If I feel I have all the qualities to brand others, then it is time that I prepare myself to be branded too!