A thread on the Savarnisation of Twitter and Insgram.
For the past 3 months or so, I have been trying to use Twitter and Instagram a little more frequently than I generally do.
For the past 3 months or so, I have been trying to use Twitter and Instagram a little more frequently than I generally do.
Particularly because Twitter connects you to a variety of fiction writers and Instagram to film technicians and actors. And I was hoping that it could come handy for work purposes.
But I must confess that even though both these apps are pretty cool in terms of their interface and functions, the discussions that happen in these spaces are dull as fuck.
On the other hand, Facebook in spite of its clunky app and a terrible web interface, seems so much better for having engaging conversations.
I suppose the primary reason for this difference lies in how most Bahujans are populated in Facebook than any other platform.
I suppose the primary reason for this difference lies in how most Bahujans are populated in Facebook than any other platform.
Which makes it a great place for Bahujans to converse with each other. On the other hand, Twitter, Instagram or the new Clubhouse are all primarily filled with Savarnas.
In fact, even the Savarnas who were once in Facebook have quietly moved to these platforms over the past few years. And I must say, they have made these places unimaginably tedious.
Am sorry to say this, but if there is something that can dull your mind worse than a brain fog, then it must be having regular conversations with Savarnas. When you are in Twitter, Instagram or Clubhouse, it almost seems impossible to escape these Savarnas or their narratives.
So before you realize, you are busy defending reservations, explaining what they could do to become a good ally, 'unpacking' how reverse casteism doesn't exist and similar such 16th century circus stunts.
These specific performances are repeatedly extracted out of Bahujans and are actively acknowledged and encouraged too. But at no point, the conversations are allowed to go beyond these 'safe Savarna boundaries'.
On the other hand, conversing with Bahujans on Facebook has been so much more enriching and rewarding. To cite an example, I remember this time when RTI Kannada was launched. Some of us were conversing and if I remember it right, ಶ್ರೀಧರ ಅಘಲಯ quoted a poem of Kuvempu.
And I was struck by how similar it was to the popular poem of Kanniyan Poogundranar. And another friend added by quoting similar poems of Sarvajna. It was such an exhilarating and pleasurable moment.
To realize how poetry and philosophy have been so similar at different points in Kannada and Tamil literature. And the underlying anti-caste politics in both of them. Of course, a conversation like this can only happen among Bahujans.
In the Savarna populated platforms, there is no space for such discussions. There, one would have to go on and on about how a well-meaning Savarna can become an Academy Award winning ally. Or just volunteer to 'unpack' some suitcase or the other for them.😕
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