The
heading is an extract from what the US President is reported to have said in
the aftermath of the jury verdict on Trayvon Martin killing in Florida last
year. Obama was referring to the victim whose parents said, “President Obama
sees himself in Trayvon and identifies with him.” Identifying with someone is
going beyond sympathy, borders on empathy.
That
is fine, but I would extend this identification parade just a little bit and
see who else joins. The only twist is who joins on the side of the accused and
the now acquitted, Zimmerman.
Who
is honest enough to admit that he or she may have pulled the trigger in an approximately
equivalent setting? Likewise, in caste based violence in India; in religion
based violence in India; in gender based violence in India? Empathy demands
identification across the prey-predator divide.
Just
a question, just a thought.
Raghuram
Ekambaram
