The Depp Verdict and Extremist Feminism
The Depp verdict doesn’t become more important because of the contents of the case or the parties involved, it becomes important because of the publicity it garnered. Many cases like these are fought everyday in courts across the world, not many are able to capture the attention of millions like this case did. It becomes important that we understand what we learn from this case and what we do not.
The Depp Verdict is another moment in the story of the fall of extremist Feminism and its offshoot of “cancel-culture”. This verdict would go a long way in placing the legal and ethical maxim of “innocent till proven guilty” back into its proper place. Now this is very important and cannot be emphasized more. Maxims like these and many other human behaviors which have emerged after millions of years of refining make us what we are – humans. Anything that wants to challenge these basic axiomatic truths of our civilization is dangerous for the existence of humanity as we know it, yet the truth remains that what can’t sustain our survival, will itself perish. Extremist impractical Feminism wouldn’t survive too and the Depp Verdict only hurries the demise. However, we need to understand the loss that a society and civilization undergoes till it realizes and wakes up for the truth. Could we not just ignore and let it die a natural death, which it will? Yes, we could if only the cost we would pay was less.
In societies like ours where such forms of Feminism have just entered our Urban Culture we might begin to start paying our price soon. The wave would come and the wave would go, not much would have changed in the long run. But how many families would be destroyed, or even the institution of marriage, and with it would have gone the institution of family too. Next to go would be our culture and then our religion, in that order and then we are not what we were. Too much cost would have been paid! The violence against women and men, more against women, would continue, from wives to partners their status would change, from mothers to guardians their position would change. In reality nothing that we fight against would change, only the levels of of promiscuity would increase while culture and religion would have fallen proportionally, again in that order. The stats would say domestic violence has fallen. Not many would realize that the reason would not be because violence would have come down but because there would be no “domestic” at all any more. The violence would still be there, just the “domestic” would be gone. In that utopia Men and Women stay together only for that much time as the “love” lasts, if you understand what I mean. Those moments would be violent but wont be called so. Too big a price to be paid!
This is, however, not what I am writing for. I write to discuss the pitfalls that we should avoid. A particular woman who wrongly accuses a man can not become the representative of the gender she comes from. This is exactly what is wrong with the extreme Feminist movement, putting all men and all women in categories. The disagreement against the Feminist narrative is not to be shown by arguing that this is what women do or by “cancelling” all the women who choose to speak up. The disagreement is to be shown by not viewing issues like these only as a gender problem while ignoring the larger picture. The disagreement to “cancel culture” is not to be shown by cancelling the “other” but by not cancelling anyone. The opposite of cancelling a man is not cancelling women, in fact it is not cancelling at all. The response to quick judgements against men is not reverse judgements against women, but reserving judgements in every case. Every case is to be seen with its merits and courts are the best places, not the perfect places, to decide all such cases.
We have to understand that women face issues, like men do too, for which the law comes forward to protect. The conservative position has never been for equality but equity. It is a belief that many hold that men and women are different and hence the difference in outcomes in the society. It is to be understood then that the law extending protection to both the genders would also have to be different. The argument against extreme Feminist argument of equality isn’t enforcing equality everywhere but arguing for equitable treatment everywhere. The laws have to protect women more than men for the sheer vulnerable position they are in, inside a marriage and otherwise. This skew in law may be misused and is misused by a lot of women. However, this should not become a reason that a lot of women who because of this skew are able to overcome many disabilities are not able to do so anymore. Till we are able to find for ourselves and then enforce a perfect system (which we call jannah in Islam) we might just have to deal with this collateral damage. The only thing that we may do is minimizing the collateral damage and that can only be done by ensuring that such skew remains in favor of women and every case is decided on its merit, we just don’t “believe all women”, we don’t cancel any man or woman and we assume innocence till proven guilty, which can only be done by rejecting the extremist Feminist ideologies.
The extremist Feminist movement is putting a lot of women in disadvantaged positions, for the experience of masses is emerging wherein the privileges extended are seen to be misused. However in this fight against the misuse, men and women are partners and have shared responsibilities. It is a problem we all share and have stakes in. Men and women don’t live in isolation but form a whole. A whole of which if a part is not working, may itself be said to be not working at all. The fight has to be fought not against women-issues but the misuse of law, cancel culture and extremist feminism. The arguments have to be against extremist Feminism as an ideology, not at all against gender justice. Extremist Feminism is not to be rejected because the ideas are being peddled by certain women but because the ideas are wrong and have catastrophic implications not just for men but more for women, and in the long run for culture and religion and society, again in that order.
Moral of the story: Let one case not make you carry any prejudice against all women. Many women face issues for which all of us have to be supportive. While at the same time men or women are not to be trusted only because they are men or women, every case has to be judged on its merit. The maxim of “innocent till proven guilty” has to be reinforced. The cancel culture has to be cancelled. Extremist Feminism is to be understood for what it is, its implications are to be seen and such ideologies are to be rejected.
