22 July, 2009

So what if they friskerd Kalam?! Did he complain? - WHY ARE YOU?

A sudden outrage of emotions flowing through the country because an ex-president was frisked at the airport. Yes, he is exempt from frisking anywhere - but what's wrong? what's humiliating? Ain't he just another human being like anyone else?

What are possibilities a VVIP could be carrying something dangerous on a flight like a normal person? - 100% If I could carry a pen knife on a flight and if I were checked - the pen knife will be confiscated. If a VVIP was carrying one and wasn't frisked - it stays with him. There! Who's got a higher probability now of carrying something dangerous? Me or the VVIP?

I appreciate Kalam's reaction to this - as usual - calm and quiet. When I met him at the Coimbatore conference, he refused to accept any gift from the Lions club. He refused to take the suite at Residency - he asked for a room though the club was paying for it. He refused to take the 'special chair' and in his speech, he mentioned 'I'm just like any one of you!' Well, he is. at the airport, he apparently went through the whole frisking without complaining. Gentleman!

When Jayalalitha & Sasikala exchanged garlands at the Guruvayoor temple - there was an outrage claiming that this act does not adhere with out culture. Garlanding a cow or a calf before a puja is OK then? If garlanding an animal is fine, garlanding another human being is JUST fine.

Why make an issue of it JUST because they are VVIPs? Will all VVIP's act this way?

Continental airlines of course had no idea what they were doing - they asked an ex-president to remove his shoe. Do they do this everytime? Does this happen to every VVIP on board? Has this happened before? Aren't we all not allowed one mistake? Or cam it not be the one incident that brought them back to light? I'm sure they knew who he was when they frisked him. What's the 'behind the scenes' story?

What do you wanna call it - PR or PRoblem?

I would say good PR - also, do it to Karunanidhi, Jayalaitha, Lalloo. Not Kalam.

Choose your victims - and your audience. You're dealing with the simplest President India had ever seen - You're dealing with the student crowd that loved this politician no matter what - You're dealing with a sentimental nation.


So when you do something - do it right. And also, treat a VVIP like a VVIP. DO not idolize. Treat role models like role models. DO not idolize.

Hidden Thoughts on a white board - What if this had happened to Rajini Kanth!?

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