Subculture

The Kimveer Gill story is grim and not uncommon at all. It also doesn’t make the best breakfast reading on a thursday morning. The Dawson College shooting is old news now, septemer 13th is long gone. It is important though to dwell on Kimveer’s story for a wee bit longer.

Kimveer lived off the net, his blog here has pictures of him with arms. ‘The angel of Death’ as Kimveer liked calling himself, had found a safe place to talk, be anonymous and brag too at the same time. A sort of dark exhibitionism– a violent subculture growing unbidden and fast.

Way back in school, a teacher of mine had told us about subcultures. He said subcultures were a manifestation of human insecurity, a sort of herding– a coming together of a group that follows distinctively different patterns of social behavior and personal beliefs. True enough. Subcultures of course are not necessarily counter-productive or dark. Cult music through the ages is a form of subculture for example, as is Demoscene and Otaku for that matter.

Sometimes though it is necessary to define what kind of subculture you wish to be a part of, are you a rebel for a cause or a rebel because being a rebel makes you fit in with a particular subculture you or I consider cool. In Kimveer’s case, subcultures are confusing. While every age in history arguably has had niche subcultures– 2000 wards the Internet seems to have replaced the need for subculture as something that fulfilled the need for company. It is peculiar in that it provides viewership without compromising on anonymity. And unlike other subcultures– in its darkest and murkiest corners it is without rules. There is no one to watch out for you.

Interestingly the potential willingness to resort to violence in a variety of situations emphasizes this sort of chaos. But then, as Wolfgang said there is hope as long as the degree and extent to which an individual resorts to violence in response to provocation is dependent upon the degree to which he has adopted the cultural values associated with violence. The real challenge then is how does one embark upon a culture of peace? How does one pass on the idea that arms are not necessarily symbols of power, manhood or strength?

Laboured Children

Another day, another law. The UPA government has just passed legislation on child labour- banning it, as expected. There are several things to be said about this; the first being that this legislation is a huge victory for human rights. Secondly, much of its success depends upon implementation– which has in the past been far from perfect. The third and perhaps the most important aspect is that this bit of legislation is incomplete.

The new legislation creates lots of problems. To begin with– who or what will fill the domestic help gap for the middle class? What could be as efficient and yes as cheap as young domestic help? In India, banning is as good as offering the police the opportunity to slip in bribes and turn a blind eye yet again. The reason the legislation is incomplete is precisely this. Assume for a moment that implementation takes place. Scared middle class households and small shops throw out their young domestic labour, where do these children go? Where do they earn alternate employment? Who is to make them go to school? In effect, where Mr. Prime Minister is the back up plan?

The government estimates that, overall, India has 12.6 million child workers (unofficial estimates place the figures closer to 40 million), of whom somewhere around a million may be employed in homes and restaurants. It seems rather absurd to believe that India will manage to implement its new law for such large numbers when it is still struggling with the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) in about two-hundred districts.

As Harjot Kaur, director of child labour within the Ministry of Labor and Employment said, “Child labour is not a problem that you can resolve overnight. It is not that today you come up with an act and tomorrow it is eradicated. This is a gradual process.”. So now, child labour is illegal, but what about the roof and the bit of food that has been taken away too?

Green Whiz Machines

Take a look at the Independent’s list of the world’s greatest green inventions.

‘Smazing ain’t it?! Who said Green Technology isn’t as cool as what we use everyday…. forget about energy efficiency and all the other benefits we know exist. Aren’t these just awesome anyway? Desirable. Very desirable.