Thread by @DearthOfSid

In solidarity with Bhagyalakshmi, Diya Sana & Sreelakshmi ✊🏽

It takes courage to do what they did and then accept the accountability for it. Here's hoping that this glorious effort will serve as a lesson to every misogynist hiding behind their computers and spewing venom online.

There are many who see nothing wrong in what that vile man did. To hell with them. But a lot of men (and a few women) who otherwise stand against patriarchy have refused to support their act citing few concerns.

Let's address their arguments one by one.

"They shouldn't have taken law into their hands"

Like in the case of #MeToo movement, it is precisely because there is no proper process in place to address the problem that these activists had to take law into their hands. Active resistance arises out of a failed system.

Uncritical romanticism of man-made laws is dangerous. Those who are concerned about these women taking law into their hands probably would have been concerned about Gandhi breaking the salt laws and would have called for fighting Nazis in the marketplace of ideas.

"This is similar to mob-lynching or encounter killing"

Mob-lynching crimes are committed from a position of power to persecute the powerless, and encounter killing is a state going rogue and subverting its own laws. Both are ridiculous comparisons.

"The expletives used were anti-women"

Yes, they were, but in general the expletives are anti-women & casteist, in most languages. They cannot be justified but it's important to realise the larger societal problem here. We must not look for "perfect victims" to offer solidarity.

"Disagree with Bhagyalakshmi's past views, she's doing this for attention"

The personal politics of these activists are irrelevant. Those who are offering solidarity aren't endorsing any of their past actions or views. Again, this is a form of searching for "the perfect victim".

If this were a bus and someone touched a woman inappropriately, ask yourself if you would have complained about breaking laws. If you don't find these cases similar, it points to how lightly you are taking cyber crimes and how you underestimate their impacts on women.

That these women were perfectly aware of the legal consequences of their act and are ready to face them is what makes them courageous. If you find yourself being more angry at their "imperfect" feminism than systemic misogyny, you need to introspect.

It was not just that one man who got assaulted yesterday. It was an entire community of misogynist men who felt the heat. Next time one of them thinks to spew venom on internet in the name of "freedom of expression", they'll remember these glorious slaps.

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