Jang newspaper briefly put out a news of PU students blocking Lahore’s canal road and protesting against the national cricket team and its captain. “They registered their protest with media teams and retreated to their campus later.” I couldn’t find the news after a while as it was taken offline shortly.
Nevertheless, the news left me wondering as to how intolerant we have grown as a society. Students from one of the finest educational institute could not put up with a defeat in a sport and had to block road to vent their anger. I wonder nobody told them that graceful acceptance of defeat is a dignified act. They are supposed to be educated people, head and shoulder above of those who never passed by a school or a college building. Thanksfully they did not burn tyres or set vehicles afire, but what really was the justification of such a protest over a sport defeat? No player has been contracted to win every single game. They are supposed to play to the best of their abilities and we should set aside a fair amount of concession for them as we do for our own failures.
Despite being emotionally married to cricket — truly, deeply and madly — why it does not sink into our minds that it is still a game that has 99% chances of ending either in a win or a defeat. Which sport has only one resulting dimension? Why we must make gods out of those 11 when they win and why we must ask for their heads whenever they lose? Who said extremism is a purely religious phenomena?
I am not worried about this particular protest or about the T20 defeat. I am worried about the trend of intolerence which has pervaded the society I come from. The supposedly brightest minds of our society seem to be carrying the same stigmas as those camped on the other side of the educational divide. Isn’t it strange that while we unanimously protest against 11 individuals for playing bad for a few days, we remain divided against those who have been playing with the destiny of this nation and have no plan to quit?
Totally agree with you.. just a few months ago I witnessed a horrible incident:
A group of 6/7 school going students with ages around 10/11 tried to stop a bus to go home after school on one of the outskirt road around Lahore. The bus was probably already full and the bus drives did not stop. These young students threw stones with full force on the bus.. broke all the windows.. I am sure some people inside the bus also go injured. After doing this heroic act these children just ran away.
We are witnessing angry mobs stoping traffic, burning tyres, stoning traffic on every small incident on daily baisis. Police usually turn their back to look around when they see these violent demonstrations of uncivilized behavior to save their own skins..
Yesterday's demonstration of loot-mar at food stock by the players on Punjab Sports Festival inauguration was another shameful incident.
We are indeed becoming a violent/uncivilized nation with no tolerance at all..
It is not about tolerance. I think the culture of being proud of breaking law or taking law into our own hands has been exhibited in different forms in our society for a long time already.
There is hardly an issue based protest in Pakistan:
When Wajid Sham sul Hassan was caught red handed trying to obtain the evidence against Zardari there was no protest on the roads. In any democratic society it would have created a storm.
When corruption scandals like NICL/Haj/RPPs came and the government was openly trying to protect the criminals.. nobody came to streets.
Unprecedented 12-18 hours load sheddings have also failed to start any significant protests in spite of the fact that millions lost jobs due to that.
We are not talking about issue based protest.. we are talking about violence and intolerance like throwing stones on a bus if it doesn’t stop. We are talking about mob attacks of factories to kill people on false allegations of blasphemy. We are talking about loot-mar by students who came to participate in a scarce sporting event in Lahore. People start burning tyres/buses and stop the traffic when un authorized constructions are removed from the roads.. We are talking about killing of 18 people on sectarian basis..
Now this is funny, our economy has been ruined, our national honor is lost to Americans and Terrorists but we protest because Pakistan lost last T20!!! tells alot about the youth of Pakistan!!!
If Blasphemy occurs in Denmark and they burn shops in Shadra.. that’s intolerance..!!!
Mob crimes against totally unconcerned people.. or public at large is intolerance. If they had peaceful demonstration to mark displeasure on any issue.. that’s not intolerance..
It is not about tolerance. I think the culture of being proud of breaking law or taking law into our own hands has been exhibited in different forms in our society for a long time already.
It's frustration which finds it's way out in the most comical and at times most unfortunate fashion
But then this Phenomena isn't restricted to Pakistan ..... it's all over the world .... we burn effegies of Cricket Players, American Presidents, flags of US, israel etc. ..... In India they also burn player effegies (WC 2007) and on TV they ask PPL who is match ka "Mujrim".... It's like in the middle ages PPL were beheaded on the market square to please or stun the mob only now it's the character assassinationvia Media ..... in Europe it's Football Hooligans which is a huge concern for the professional clubs and the list goes on
Protests in Greece and Occupy Wall Street Movement have not originated from a defeat in a cricket match. And that was the main point of argument. Is a sport defeat big enough an issue to come out on roads for protest? In fact, is a sport defeat at all a matter of protest?
Protests in Greece and Occupy Wall Street Movement have not originated from a defeat in a cricket match. And that was the main point of argument. Is a sport defeat big enough an issue to come out on roads for protest? In fact, is a sport defeat at all a matter of protest?
Bhai what source of entertainment we have have? What makes us proud is only our team doing well thats why our nation is so emotional
Would you call Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen and Syria cases of intolerant societies? Or rather the protests showed that the people were intolerant? Remember all these pro-democracy protests have been tainted with ethnic strife and sectarian violence.
Protests in Greece and Occupy Wall Street Movement have not originated from a defeat in a cricket match. And that was the main point of argument. Is a sport defeat big enough an issue to come out on roads for protest? In fact, is a sport defeat at all a matter of protest?
Did you see Misbah play? I had a ***** fit over that match.
Jang newspaper briefly put out a news of PU students blocking Lahore's canal road and protesting against the national cricket team and its captain. "They registered their protest with media teams and retreated to their campus later." I couldn't find the news after a while as it was taken offline shortly.
Nevertheless, the news left me wondering as to how intolerant we have grown as a society. Students from one of the finest educational institute could not put up with a defeat in a sport and had to block road to vent their anger. I wonder nobody told them that graceful acceptance of defeat is a dignified act. They are supposed to be educated people, head and shoulder above of those who never passed by a school or a college building. Thanksfully they did not burn tyres or set vehicles afire, but what really was the justification of such a protest over a sport defeat? No player has been contracted to win every single game. They are supposed to play to the best of their abilities and we should set aside a fair amount of concession for them as we do for our own failures.
Despite being emotionally married to cricket — truly, deeply and madly — why it does not sink into our minds that it is still a game that has 99% chances of ending either in a win or a defeat. Which sport has only one resulting dimension? Why we must make gods out of those 11 when they win and why we must ask for their heads whenever they lose? Who said extremism is a purely religious phenomena?
I am not worried about this particular protest or about the T20 defeat. I am worried about the trend of intolerence which has pervaded the society I come from. The supposedly brightest minds of our society seem to be carrying the same stigmas as those camped on the other side of the educational divide. Isn't it strange that while we unanimously protest against 11 individuals for playing bad for a few days, we remain divided against those who have been playing with the destiny of this nation and have no plan to quit?
18 shias were pulled off a bus and executed yesterday. did it really take a protest against the cricket team to spark this realization about intolerance?
