Into the Bandwagon

Looking into the social media posts about Dilshova Shrestha, I am both amazed and annoyed at how quick we are at jumping into bandwagons. It is great to see that so many of us are able to access information so quickly, and are open to participating in ongoing social issues that matter. But for some of us, its more than just participating in the dialogue. The annoying part is that we are not only jumping into one bandwagon but frequently changing into whichever side seems to be winning at  the moment. Is it our childhood insecurity of being ignored or left out, that we are so intent in belonging to a certain group, and a group which has the power for that matter? The word "opportunist", and rats leaving sinking ships come to mind when I see the same people questioning Dilshova's integrity an hour ago, praise her like she is the Angel incarnate herself in another post.

Timeline I : When the news about Dilshova broke at first, the majority of people were busy cursing Dilshova, hating her, spitting their vehemance about the whole charity approach. One even went so far as to proclaim that Dilshova Shrestha brought shame to the whole nation. Excuse me? Isn't that just a bit too far fetched given that all the news sources clearly stated that she was "alleged". Alleged still means that she is far from guilty. All other news sources which had remained mum in the morning started publishing their critical view one by one-onlinekhabar, setopati, ratopati(all the patis perhaps but I stopped myself after these two), ekantipur...All by mid-noon.

Timeline II : Now it was time for hardcore Dilshova fans also to start fighting back. Their support and fierce spitting specially against the journos got fuel from the hastily called press conference by the loved and hated "Ama"-Dilshova. Deification of Dilshova went viral. Although it was evident that the children were in dire situation, nobody gave that prime importance. Deification, glorification of Dilshova continued. All the major news portal once again updated their stories to feature this conference, and also to bash the previously published news.

Timeline III: Now it was time for mushrooming of opinion pieces. The first one to break this news, mysansar's site kept getting updated, only to be down in a few minutes. Setopati topped the list in publishing opinion stories that would serve them either way - whether Dilshova was found to be guilty of all charges, or whether she would come clean. This was true for many other portals, as well as most people who were vocal on social media. Everybody wanted to be right, and on the winning side. The only problem was, there was no winning side, and till now there hasn't been any.

So people are still changing sides, still trying to be in the bandwagon. It does feel like one has lost all ability to think independently, be a little more reflective of things, be patient, and overall be neutral. Why is it so important for so many of us to take sides? Why is it the question of either "for" or "against". Is everything in black and white? This is not an issue of morality in which we can stand up for her, or against her. This is an issue which has its root in finding fact, or truth. I'm annoyed by our ability to completely forget this simple thing.

KONY 2012 when at first everyone circulated this video, but later everyone was so ready to be "cool" and diss this.

Rohit Chand's infamous penalty tragedy, when everyone was at first cursing at him, but later changed sides to appreciate his efforts.