Why do we get offended when someone questions our faith?
We protect the things that we love, and if someone doesn't agree with us, we are offended. For instance, tell me that Steve Jobs isn't the greatest innovator, and I won't even think twice; but if you say SRK isn't the most talented actor, I will judge you. Not that I would kill you or chant slogans against you, but I will be offended. And, if you do the same thing to a religious fanatic, the very definition of 'being offended' changes. Here, we dissect this behavior.
Backstory: The art that "hurt the religious sentiments" of people
So, this happened: Just weeks before Durga Puja, some of us are again "offended". This time Mumbai-based artist Aniket Mitra is the "culprit" who drew a bloody lotus on a sanitary napkin asking if Goddess Durga bleeds, and hinting at the ban of menstruating women participating in the puja festivities. Reportedly, a complaint has been lodged against him for "hurting religious sentiments".
But, what was Aniket thinking?
To a logical mind, Aniket was trying to normalize menstruation, it was his way of making a biological process mainstream, and he used a powerful image for the same. To a fanatic mind, he offended the religious sentiments, his art was in bad taste, and he should be punished. To them, we say: If humanity has to progress, two things have to happen: We have to stop taking ourselves seriously, and we have to let art be.
Muhammad or Durga, we can't take a word against either
Be it the backlash 'anti-national' Mitra is facing or the ghastly shooting at Hebdo office, the underlying thought remains the same - you don't agree with us, we get offended. That offense manifests in various forms - sometimes by sloganeering, at other times by actually killing. I can deal with name calling, but violence is unpardonable. But, whom are they protecting - their unreasonable beliefs or their/our God(s)? And, who told them God needs protection?
But, why are religious fanatics so easily offended?
There are many reasons to be offended, none of them logical though. Be it Muhammad or Jesus or Sita, they believe that their Gods or His messengers have suffered, and hence the onus is on them to "protect" the Gods. Or perhaps, they are scared of God's angst? Do they really think Gods' egos are so fragile? Or God has time for it? He doesn't, He has to run the goddamn world. Can someone tell them?
What should you and I do to handle their wrath?
So, what do we do to avoid their wrath? Should we stop making sketches of Muhammad or should we stop asking uncomfortable questions like why didn't Jesus die when he went through so much atrocities or rather why can't Durga bleed? There are no easy answers here, to deal with them. Perhaps, you can pray to their/your Gods for their sanity.
