YSR Reddy in my Inbox

A FWD landed in my inbox this morning. The subject line said FWD: YSR Crash. I had a fair idea of what it would contain even before I opened it. The images attached were graphic and disturbingly clear. The hi-res pictures had obviously been taken by the news photographers who had access to the crash site of YSR Reddy's chopper on Rudrakonda hill. The broken, bloated and burnt bodies were clearly visible strewn amidst the wreckage. You could make out the pilot from the stripes on his uniform. I didnt venture to guess which one of the bodies was the Chief Minister's. Thankfully, the creator of this FWD (good Lord, how morbid!) had not identified YSR in his/her 'comments' (Yes, the pics were captioned!!). Having scrolled down once, I hit Delete.

Soon afterwards, a colleague of mine, who was also marked on the FWD, sent a Reply All. Her point was that its quite reprehensible the way we are making a spectacle of someone's gruesome death. Please dont forward this mail any further, she requested. The dead deserve some dignity.

I agree. I was glad I had already deleted it, lest the inclination should ever strike to share such a macabre visual. Its enough that the news channels had covered the tragedy live. When they broke the news that the chopper had been spotted on the hilltop and it would take about 20 mins for a ground patrol to reach the peak and see if there were survivors, one of the channels even started a countdown in its ticker. If that wasnt pathetic, trivializing a disaster by making it a FWD is the absolute pits!

Later, another colleague drew a comparison with 9/11. We didnt see FWDs with gory images of the dead and destroyed after 9/11, did we? She opined that was because the Westerners are more particular about how they treat their dead.

I am not too sure about her point. Firstly, I get the feeling we DID see enough gory stuff after 9/11. And for years afterwards. Correct me if I am wrong. Secondly, we didnt see as many 9/11 FWDs because FWDs per se were not as prolific back then. There was no social media. Internet penetration in India was still limited. A few other reasons too.

Perhaps, the relevant point here is we live in a closely connected world and information flows as swiftly as water but we really must adopt a little more discretion in our communication. What we talk and how we talk, especially about the dead, ought to be with some deference. Is that too much to ask for?

Photo Credit: The pic above is from here.