Insensitive much?

I was sitting with my parents listening to the news about the Sushant Singh Rajput’s case and something about it really bothered me. Apart from the amount of insensitivity that the media continues to produce in the name of ‘exclusive and correct content’, what really bothered me was thinking about this whole incident in a bigger picture and light.

Please do not get me wrong, I completely empathise with the family of the late Sushant Singh Rajput and truly hope that his life that was meaningful and happy is met with justice. What does make me sad however is that it was not for more than 2 days after his death when the message of suicide prevention and mental health awareness had already become old news. It really bother me as to why it is always death that helps us and really makes us understand how important life is? And not just our life, but of those around us, the ones we love and care about and also just know. Why is it that the loss of one makes us look at those who are valued?

Apart from being in a pandemic, trying to stay productive, not letting lethargy settle in, the aspect of trying to keep our mental health in line has also become an added item on the list of things to do. This is from just personal experience, but the number of shitty days that I have come about can be counted as months. I know of friends and family who have also/is also going through the same slug, and yet we all try our best to keep each other up even when we are down.

The news showed a reporter following Rhea's car and giving a minute to minute update. What I don’t understand is, how is this any different from stalking someone? Yes, I know, she is a person of interest. I am not saying she should be allowed to just walk free, but damn dude, give that person some breathing space. No, I’m not saying or supporting her innocence, all that I am saying is that following her car from her house to the police station or wherever is not going to get her caught any faster, so calm your horses down.

The news channel that my parents were watching also showed the blurred images of his body, which had earlier been unfortunately leaked and circulated throughout WhatsApp and other platforms. Thankfully, I never got any or saw any of them and nor did I have an interest. Some reporters walked into the room of a grieving father and displayed it across their channels, for what? Show that his dad was sad? Show that people cry when they are grieving? I remember turning off the television and not letting my mother also watch it because that seemed so so invasive and insensitive. And I can't seem to understand how that can be branded as 'news'. 

People say ‘Hey, he was a celebrity. He knew that this would happen. What is privacy in their life anyway?’ My friend, the fact that you didn’t know that he was undergoing depression points to the fact that he did have privacy and every human deserves to have some. You’re the wrong one here, thinking it’s your business and privilege to know about everything in the life of a celebrity. The basic concept of consent can be reinforced multiple times in all of these incidents, but well, that seems to be like understanding Hercules law for some.

Another thing which really bothers me is the throwing around of every possible psychological diagnosis to explain a person’s behaviour. I am currently pursuing a post-graduate in psychology and have been collecting knowledge about the subject since the 8th grade. I remember my parents having a dinner table conversation about how he was depressed, had bipolar disorder, had claustrophobia and a couple of other things added to it. I asked them what they understand by those terms, based solely on what they heard on tv and it was just so wrong. I then went ahead and looked at the news channels myself thinking they might have paraphrased it wrong, but sadly, nope. Claustrophobia- fear of closed spaces eg. lift; agoraphobia- fear of crowded places eg: being at a concert with a lot of people around you. These 2 terms were mismatched and a new diagnosis was altogether declared. Am I the most experienced person to declare what is what? No. Have I educated myself enough about these topics to know the distinction? Yes.

The last thing that comes to my mind right now in relation to this incident, is that his death which was ruled a suicide has now gotten nationwide attention and is on a road to justice (hopefully), yet there are just so many individuals and families out there who still might not know the truth behind the loss of their loved ones. Honour killing, being an instant example, is something that is done in some regions, and the loss of those lives is just brushed under the carpet like they never existed. Some so many people do not have justice because others who are powerful enough in terms of money or position play the tale out according to them. The loss of Disha Salani is just an example of that, her death was questioned but nothing was ever done about it, until the moment it got linked to Sushant’s death. Just wonder how many such families are out there?

The only thing that I could ask of you if you do read this to the end, is to genuinely be a lot more mindful of the media that you watch. To watch out for news that also really matters, COVID count is still increasing, climate change is still an issue, mental health and depression is still a topic of concern, and we still need to look out for the people we love.

I can’t believe that this has turned into a rant almost, but I guess that most of my writeups have just been refined rants. Do let me know if this is a sort of thing you’d like to continue reading from me. Maybe then I can post more than once a year (sorry about that). 

I hope you all have been doing well. Staying in and stay safe. Take care.