There’s this guy called Keenan Sentos who was killed when he and his pals objected to some drunken mawalis teasing their lady friends. This happened in Mumbai, and crime happens every hour in the city, so this is nothing really sensational.
However, the incident set me thinking, because this sort of a thing can happen to any one of us in public places. No one knows for sure what really transpired at that paan shop in Andheri, but we know this much: The group was waiting for their paans to be prepared. A couple of drunkards teased the girls in the group. The men objected, and either abused or slapped the drunkards. The drunkards returned with a large gang which attacked and killed Keenan, apart from injuring his male friend. Thankfully, the girls got away unharmed.
Question is: What is the learning from this tragedy for the rest of us? What exactly went wrong? Should we not protect and stand up for women with us? Of course, we must. That’s a given. A chap may wimp out, out of fear, but it will torment his conscience forever. At least that’s the traditional view point. So where did Keenan & gang go wrong? Frankly, I have no answers. And hindsight is always smart, but to live in the moment is another story altogether.
Still, here’s what’s buzzing in my head: When a drunken man teases your female partner/pal, there’s really no point in attacking him. The man is not in his senses, and is capable of any sort of reaction. The idea should be to move away from the scene as quickly as possible. Is moving away a sign of cowardice, should not a man take some direct action against the offender? Not really. I think for a man, the first responsibility is to get the woman with him into a safe zone. Her safety is paramount. If this is tantamount to escaping a volatile situation, so be it. Make no mistake about this: Any man who takes panga with sozzled mawalis is compromising the safety of women with him. And there’s nothing macho about that.
Two, after having fobbed off the drunkards, Keenan and his pals continued to wait for their paans. Now, however out of the world the paan might be, doesn’t it make sense to quickly leave the area? To get away from a place of potential conflict? Isn’t continuing to hang around there a sign of recklessness?
Like I said, I don’t know the answers. If you do, you are welcome to share. I am only thinking aloud. Because while Keenan’s death is irreversible, it must serve as an example for all of us so that we don’t repeat the same mistakes.
6 comments:
I have had a similar experience at Gorai beach. We were a bunch of 20-somethings, guys and girls. The girls were in shorts.
There was this drunk local and around 10 guys with him who were laughing at his antics. The guy was passing the filthiest comments and looking to start a fight. We had had no interaction with him or his group to provoke any reaction, it was simply his sexual frustration at seeing a bunch of girls in shorts. I can easily imagine a situation like that spiralling out of control and resulting in rape and murder.
My point is: goons like these have been getting away with this kind of behavior. I'm betting neither drunk misbehaved in this manner for the first time. They've been there before and are OK repeating their actions. The cops need to come down hard on these bastards and put some fear in them, make them think twice before stepping out of line.
I met a friend at a coffee shop last nite and she shared this with me and we got talking .... It was a bit late for us girls to be out alone and thats what concerns our parents as well ... Their arguement always is ... its not about u or that we dont trust you .. but u dont know who is out there and what kind of xpces u can have... I totally respect and appreciate that but sometimes you just feel so helpless .... Given the incident u have written about .... ya in hindsight its easy to say things but at that given moment to have the presence of mind is very difficult i guess .. but these are the exact points my friend brought up and i agree with u entirely that its better to just ignore unless they really get down to some nonsense .. and the most sensible thing would certainly have been to move away ... esp after there has been an altercation of some kind .... Nothing macho about hanging around and inviting more trouble ... And its so sad for the family of this guy to live with the fact that their son went out with friends like he probably did on a regular basis and never returned ... and even fr the friends who were with him.. This wil always stay with them and haunt them in some way ....
It is better to just walk away than to confront drunk people. They are out of thier minds and are not fully in control of thier actions or aware of the consequences.
There is nothing cowardly in walking away.
Imagine if there were no guys around to help like Keenan and Reuben n just helpless women faced with drunken leches. what would have happened? There has to be better safety for women. Separate helplines for women must be provided at all hours. And any kind of sexual molestation should be met with the strictest punishment. At least then we can say these two poor guys died for some good cause.
First of all,I am surprised that they were no one around to help Keenan and his group. I would probably agree with the thought of walking away than to mess with hooligans who were simply out of their senses, had I known the gravity of the situation that prompted these guys to resort to some sort of physical or verbal violence.
Post a Comment