April 30, 2008

Let’s be humane first...

We aspire to become doctors, scientists, lawyers and what not. We desire to become millionaires, billionaires, and may be more. I am amazed when I think how many hours I spend to think of my dreams and things I want to achieve in this life time. I guess it’s the case with most of us. Yet, we forget that there is a set hierarchy of evolution, growth, development – not just for buildings and countries, but more importantly for human beings also. A building will last for eternity if and only if its foundations are robust. Surely, the same must hold good for us.

I remember a dialogue from the popular Bollywood movie Lage Raho Munnabhai. There is this scene where a girl calls up the Gandhigiri helpline wondering how she would be able to judge the guy she is about to meet for the first time. Sanjay Dutt tells her that the true character of a person is known by the way he/she behaves with people below him in the ‘social cadre’ (something we create to suit our egos).

How true indeed! Who does not behave well with people they know? Every sane person does. Also, we behave well even with people we do not know, but that is mostly in cases where the other person is either above or almost in our ‘level’. But how many of us behave well with people who are supposedly below us - the rickshaw drivers, the waiters, the servants? How about the behavior with the call centre/customer care people who call us up and most of the times we bang the phone down abruptly. Do we not lose our cool sometimes and give them a piece of our mind? For what? Do they enjoy calling us up? They think it’s some kind of a cool job? The fact is (and we all now this) they have to do it to make a living for themselves and their families. Can you imagine how frustrating calling 200-250 people each day and hearing rude replies/abuses in most cases could be! One of my psychologist friends happened to tell me that these people inevitably end up losing their self-confidence in many cases and some of them get suicidal tendencies too. All because we choose to behave rudely, let’s face it.

This blog-piece got triggered earlier today when I was filling my tummy at the Pizza Hut. 3 middle-aged guys were seated in a table and had placed some order. I thought there was some shortage of staff and as a result, the two people who were serving were extremely tied up with many orders. Obviously, there was bound to be some delay. One of the 3 guys called for something and nobody attended to him for some time. He took an offence in it and started shouting, yes real yelling, at the waitress. Things like ‘kya mera paise ka bhaav nahi hai?’ It went on for about 5 long minutes, with all illogical points being raised about the service. Fine, he had a point, but is that a way of making it? The waitress was in tears by the time it was over. She was still supposed to keep saying ‘sorry sir’ to this ‘man’. This is not a one-off incident. It happens each day with many. In most cases, this ‘looking down’ happens in a more subtle manner.

Aren’t these people who serve us emotional human beings? They have emotions and do expect some respect for whatever they are doing. If not anything else, respect as a human being. When is it that we will stop profiling people based on their jobs and social status? What right did the guy have to shout like that on someone? Just because he is earning more than her! That too, not necessarily because of his extra special skills in something, but just because he had better opportunities in life.

People do not become cabbies, waiters, milkmen, delivery boys, salesmen by choice. In most cases, it is the only choice that they are left with after spending a childhood and youth with minimal or no education at all. They are not a result of lack of their skills, but only a lack of opportunities. If we got these opportunities, we should only be feeling lucky and not bossy & rude. If we cannot give them the proper chance to exploit their skills and aptitudes, let us not at least make them feel more humiliated.

Let’s be humane please. That’s the least we can do...

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

a really nice thought sir....cheers....!!!!!!!

A Girl........... said...

Well i do agree with u U no hoo . Even i use to behave with personal loan/insurance callers in a very rude or u can say harsh way. i will definetly try to change d way and will spread ur msg to d people around me....

nb.. said...

grt thoughts put in a real commendable manner ... way to go sir :)

U No Hoo said...

Thanks. As I said, that's the least we could do.

By the way, I would love to know who you guys are.. Pls drop your names/reference atleast. Thanks.

Diviya said...

I agree with the being humane part, but not with "They are not a result of lack of their skills, but only a lack of opportunities". If that were the case, some of the billionaire tycoons would have remained paupers. what drives people to progress is a deep rooted desire and the courage to overcome obstacles.

U No Hoo said...

Well, the rags-to-riches kinds are always exceptional. Not everyone are. Similarly, those who could get proper education and still end up in the less-prefered jobs are exceptions.

In most cases, and I still stick to it based on people I have met, it's only the opportunities that they lack.

nb.. said...

Well I agree to the context of this blog...

Everyone has the desire but only a few get the oppurtunity ...

You might be brillant, yet not fortunate enough to get the kind of break which your not so brilliant contemprary gets..!!

Once you get the oppurtunity then its upto you as to how well you utilise it.. Then your desire, will,courage comes into picture..

Vaidehi said...

Gr8 thoughts...Nd really clean, commendable writing! Way to go...

U No Hoo said...

Dhanyawaad :)

Joamoo said...

being humane is gr8...but i dont agree wit "They are not a result of lack of their skills, but only a lack of opportunities"....even after considering that ppl may nt hv had opportunities of edu, i strongly feel....if u have skills, opportunities come to u , some or the other way...i dont nop whether what m talking is reality or not...but frm whatever observations i hav ....got this feeling...there r VERY FEW such ppl who dont get opprtnts although they r having skills...so it cant be said in general!

The Smile Trooper said...

I agree that one needs to be humane..but i also feel that the other person, who is behaving in an anti-social manner or being rude, has issues with his own self esteem. One can raise their voice only if they have a low self esteem. You will try to dominate, only when u think u r in power and the other person cannot hurt you or harm you. The waitress probably caved in and cried, bcoz she was helpless, but wud she have acted in the same way had she been in place of this guy??..what goes around comes around. Situations like this, help us to be better humans or cud make u worse..choice is ours!!

Trishala said...

This post reminded me of an incident I witnessed just after IPCC exams at Dominos. There were 3 men seated on the table next to mine,one of them was Jain who had just got married the day before. He ordered some veg pizza with mushroom in it. The pizza he was served was non-veg, with chicken instead of mushroom. The jain guy ate it and felt it was chicken. He asked the waiter if hat was surely veg, he affirmed it was. This guy was not convinced. His friend ate another bite and again asked if it was pure veg. The guy this time checked the pizza box and there was a red mark there. Fearing these guys,the waiter somehow said it was non-veg. After that, the scene that got created was pathetic. The guy who had taken the order was out for delivery, the girl who served it was terribly scared. The jain guy was waiting for te delivery guy to come back so that he & his friends could beat him up. As soon as the guy came, he was attacked. He was hit hard on his head,stomach, was lying on the floor apologizing when he had actually placed the correct order to the waitress. The waitress was at fault. No, she wasn't spared either. She was apologizing too but all in vain. These guys were taking full fayda of the situation. They pulled the mangalsutra from her neck and flushed it down the commode. Did the chicken from his stomach come out of his throat after doing all this?No. So God alone knows why he did that! There was still more to happen that night with the guy and the girl. I couldn't stand it further so I left the place. The next time I went there I coudnt find both those people there. Asked one of the waiter's abt them, they completely denied the incident. Disgusted I felt of myself having done nothing and getting out of there. But those guys were big time perverts. I acted selfish and was concerned of my own security first!