Drinking - driving - education - parenting

1st week Nov 2013

It is with sadness one woke up to the news of the accident near the Chennai Lighthouse. Drunk driving by student claims three lives in Chennai - was the Hindu headline above a mangled car. A policeman on duty and 2 fisher folk, a man and a woman lost their life as they were earning their livelihood. All the occupants survived, as they possibly wore seat belts. I  reflected and a piece to a reputed news paper. There were questions, many of the. But no response for more than a month! And then...

2nd week Dec 2013

Then there was one more piece of news - much bigger personality, much bigger car and the heart of business in India. But the surprising thing was that there are hardly any reports except form one daring Indian news channel, one newspaper, Al Jazeera and a French Blog that spoke about 2 Indias. The news and the circumstances, hushed down more effectively than in any totalitarian state. Hushed voices, one smells fear, fear of losing business. Truth and reporting be damned, business, holy business! 

Business goes on as usual - the most expensive car wrecked, surely covered by insurance. None arrested, none charged!

I decided to put it on my blog. 

Drunk driving by student claims three lives in Chennai - was the Hindu headline above a mangled car. All the occupants survived, as they possibly wore seat belts. A policeman on duty and 2 fisher folk, a man and a woman lost their life as they were earning their livelihood. Having been in conversations with 16 to 18 year olds for over 2 decades, this news galvanised me into writing this piece.

It is one in a series of other such accidents one reads about all over the country. Surely we are saddened, angry and have some thoughts on how such things happen! Those who were irresponsible were out enjoying themselves. Those who died were earning their livelihood. Those who were entertaining themselves had lifebelts to save them from themselves and others. Those who were earning their livelihood, walking on the road or just standing, did not have life lines, or barriers against the privileged, protected entertainment seekers. 

And soon the din will settle. The families will receive compensation for the dead members. And the violators of law will be let off by loopholes in law; much more let off by the privileges they command. The equations established for the future, precedents set, life will return to normal, 3 photographs will slowly gather dust in 3 homes. Embittered family members will slowly count their fortune at receiving the dole, and time and memory will slowly pour dust over one more accident. But was this an accident, or a business-as-usual for a society that has chosen its direction? And you and I are part of this society?

Some easy questions - 

Why was the boy driving so fast? The answer is obvious - that is what people his age do and that is how they are expected to behave. That it is dangerous to others and himself is neither mentioned in any advertisement nor is the reprimand ever strong enough to bring this to a full halt.

The police are happy if they meet their targets. The government is happy if the cars and bikes keep jamming our roads. Not only will there be revenue, jobs and a good economy, there will be political and economic power. Of course the media does not wish to stop this. What will happen if car and motorcycle advertisements start to decrease!

We are a developing nation and everyone has a right, familial or earned, to a drive and a personal vehicle. This is upward mobility, this is fun, and this is ‘in’!

Did any of his car companions try to stop him? Ralph Nader did speak about ‘Unsafe at Any Speed!’ What would he say if he saw the mayhem on our roads?

Or were they too enjoying the speed?

How will they stop him if they are in the same league? Would one of his companions asked the driver to stop and say that he / she wished to get off? That they do not wish to be part of this madness? … part of this exciting madness!

What happened to the education of these young people? Did no one tell them that when you are behind a steering wheel you can kill?

Yes they did say in school, occasionally and in a dry manner. They did speak of the dangers of crossing roads and the need to look right, left and right again. But none spoke about the time ahead, possibly. None anticipated the future and none pressed the point home to the young minds, of the dangers and the responsibility of power.

And of course the teachers could not too much. The advertisements were strong, powerful, seductive and subliminal. Children in school years were the markets of the future, part of the projection in next 3, 5 and 10 years. Getting the message across to the young was a matter of urgency for the companies that make cars and 2 wheelers. A matter of being there in the market place when the young were ready with power and money! It was very urgent to buy their minds before the students could buy the products. You had to sell and sell hard! Where is room in the hard sell to have any restraining messages? Which company can say, “ We give you a powerful vehicle that can zip, BUT PLEASE DRIVE AT 40! No one goes faster than that in any city in the world on an average. It is far more important to go safe and create safety for people around you. It is far more important to be gracious, when a pedestrian has to cross. That is the privilege and responsibility of power!” Who would say this? The car companies sell brute power, appealing to the subliminal feelings. How can they sell graciousness!

Yes, this is the market but what happened to the home and the school?

The home is the marketplace, where the voices of children are big. Research is showing that the market is winning. More and more purchase decisions are influenced by children. Ralph Nader wrote in 1997, two brief, chilling paragraphs - 

“A struggle different than any before in world history is intensifying between corporations and parents. It is a struggle over the minds, bodies, time and space of millions of children and the kind of world they are growing up in.

Year by year parents are losing con-trol over their own children to the omni- penetrating hucksterism of companies. Driven by tens of billions of dollars in sales, profits, bonuses and stock options, the men driving giant companies are in a race to the bottom with their competitors - always pushing, pushing the range of violence, sex, addiction, and low-grade sensuality through evermore manipulative delivery systems.”

Is it surprising if we are seeing “results”? 

Did the student not know that he was not to drive so fast, so late and this state?

How will he? The weak voices of parents, well wishers and teachers do not have the potency of a 30 sec ad burned into the minds of a young one. And all ads say the same thing - live life int he fast track. Shiny gadgets, late nights, bright lights, loud music and of course cars, bikes, and speed.

How will he, surrounded by people of similar age, brainwashed in a corralled enclosure of messages, loud, insistent and powerful? Where are conversations around the dining table today that communicate graciousness and culture? Where is the sharing that builds character and values?

Did the parents think it normal for young people to be out at 3, partying? And did they think that at such parties only soft drinks and lassi is served? In other words do loving parents approve of alcohol as a regular, good thing for their children to consume? If so then they surely must be consuming it at home, if not regularly, certainly infrequently. Have they never heard of alcoholism as a disease? Or do they think these tiresome problems happen only to others’ children?

Had the young driver been fined for speeding or drunken driving before? What action did the police take, or the parents? In India students do not start earning so it safe to assume that the car given to the student was a bestowal from parents and not a hard earned privilege.

I read in this tragedy the anxious message that we have a society headed towards greater irresponsibility. The amalgam of wealth and bestowal, lack of restraining influences at home and among peers, the powerful corporate message is pushing, pushing, herding the energetic youth towards reckless, lawless and irresponsible action. And we are the bystanders watching, helplessly!