Zero Sided Stories : Blog # 106

Zero Sided Stories ~ Unholy confessions

       I have often wondered as to why there are things that are deemed best left unsaid. Why do people stop themselves from saying certain things? Apparently, it is for the harmony of the society itself. This became apparent from the most unlikeliest of places – A Confessions page.

            There are many thriving confessions pages on Facebook. Of the many reasons for their flourishing popularity, the prime one is that it pulls a veil on the confessor. This gives the confessor, the ultimate security of anonymity. As a result, the reputation that he/she has to live up to is nonexistent. The only person who is watching is the almighty alone. The moderators are unaware of the identity of the person who is posting – at least that is what they are saying.

            The zero reputation leads to lack of inhibition of any sort. This can be dangerous if not moderated with tact. It will lead to character assassination of the worst form. It is of the worst kind because when a person puts up a post about someone else anonymously, the story is not even one sided but zero sided. One sided stories can be dismissed or accepted depending on the credibility of the person who is propagating it. Here, the person is anonymous which makes the story zero sided!

            It is exactly because of this, the moderator of the page need to be someone who can tell black from white. One need to know how far is acceptable and how less is boring. The intention should be to have good fun and not malign people for in due time those who enjoy doing graffiti will themselves get painted and the page will die a slow death. However, it does give a sense of omnipotence to the administrator for he/she is privy to the darkest secrets and it is up to his/her discretion to let others know or not.

            The good thing about it is the complete absence of usual societal forces. There is no fear of power of any sort – be it political, monitory or owing to numbers. There is no moral police either. Many a time, we choose to do or not do things owing to fear of judgement and subsequent ostracism.  This fear of judgement is not there. Another bright side of it is that it frees one’s mind. There are things which one doesn't want to tell friends, family or worse even oneself. These find their manifestations in a confessions page.

             It is the violation of some basic norms and the absence of certain social premises which makes it interesting. If not dealt with caution, this leads to the social fabric becoming so worn out that we begin to see the society in its rawness which might not make for a pleasant sight.

                                                                                                Arun Babu.

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