I happened to see a post from a lady online about how she was going to write about her struggles in life and how she chose to confront them and move forward after seeing news items about people dying because they got a transfer and such reasons. While her post made me admire her strength, I didn’t understand the context under which she said she was writing this. A day later, I came across the news that apparently triggered that post. It was about a 51-year-old woman who collapsed and died after getting a transfer order. Of course, newspapers and online media, being the vultures that they are, had highlighted how she died right after she got the transfer order. Because that would definitely be rage bait. The comments were flooded with people who mocked her or chastised her for such an “overreaction” to something as common as a transfer.
I couldn’t fathom the level of stupidity of these people, honestly. I mean, I have seen tonnes of such comments under news about someone committing suicide, talking about how it was a wrong decision and how they should have fought bravely against whatever was the problem – some well-meaning, some not at all. There would also be the obligatory “What is happening to this generation?” comments generalizing anyone who takes such a drastic step as a drama king/queen. I have never glorified suicide, but I have never condoned such comments either bashing a dead person (link below).
But news of a person dying a natural death being used as a mockery? I just couldn’t understand these people. Anyone, even the happiest person for that matter, can die in a matter of seconds because of a major heart attack or a cerebral haemorrhage, even when they are in the middle of a happy conversation. Here, just because the woman got a transfer order, why are these people jumping to the conclusion that it was the shock of that that killed her? What kind of preposterous assumption is that?
Not only are they making such assumptions and posting that on social media, they are also making it sound like she played an active part in her death. Almost as if she killed herself by overreacting about a transfer order. It is not just stupid, but also highly callous. Think of the family of this poor woman who have to see their dead beloved being mocked by scores of people on social media only because she died! And then someone has to write a whole story about the struggles of her life owing to not being given a transfer, flexing her courage as an answer to someone’s death that is, in all probability, not even related to her transfer. Sure, she must have got a lot of comments applauding her courage in life. But did that have to come at the cost of downgrading someone else’s death and making fun of a lady who just happened to die?
Like I have written about before too (link below), you may die whichever way God has intended you to, the most natural or peaceful way for that matter, but these idiots on social media will still make sure that you are made a laughing stock. What do we do about a world where even the dead, that too, even those who die a natural death, are not exempt from cyberbullying? I truly do not see any redemption for mankind anytime in the near future.
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Also published on Medium.
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