Gossip, the scariest of all flaws

Gossip, we all do it every day. Even self-righteous people who claim they have never talked about anyone behind their backs, have done the exact same; they just refuse to deny it. It’s a norm, now. Everyone does it, you, me, our neighbors, our friends, everyone.

I wouldn’t call gossip a sin, but I would call it a major flaw, something I’m trying to get rid of these days, so I thought maybe I should talk about it.

Gossip is the same as backbiting, no matter which way you put it, no matter how much you deny it. It will always be a synonym to backbiting, it always has been. The worst thing about gossiping, in my opinion, is not hurting people, horrible as it may be. The worst part is spreading rumors about someone, without getting your facts straight, throwing another person’s reputation down the drain, forgetting that they are also human. Even if you THINK you have your facts straight, what if you don’t know their side of the story, just the side you THINK you know? And even you do know some delicious, juicy secret, why spread it? The person who told you must have entrusted you with it, thinking you would keep your lips sealed, but you ended up blabbering out the whole thing as if you were talking about the weather. Why? Don’t people have feelings?

What people, addicted to gossiping, don’t realise is what they would do if they were put in the same situation. What if one day, they were being gossiped about, ridiculed and mocked, what if they were the hot topic of discussion every day for people? It’s the worst possible thing to be talked about, especially if it’s in a negative way. Most people don’t realise it until they’ve been put in that position, but now and again, everyone experiences it. And it’s only when they experience it do they realise the horrible, sinking feeling of people judging your every move.

I do not meant to point out anyone’s flaws here, we’re all human and we’re all flawed in one way or the other. But we can’t possibly justify our flaws by saying that we’re only humans. Being Ashraf-ul-Makhlooqat, we have been given the intelligence to realise and rectify our wrongs, and bring a positive change in ourselves. We should try to rectify ourselves in every way, because there is ALWAYS room for improvement in all of us.

It is true what they say – you don’t realize something until you actually experience it. Gossip is similar. You won’t understand atrocity of gossip until you get talked about. Don’t worry! Everyone gets talked about. You will only be spared if you sit in your home, being anti-social, with no technologies whatsoever. But even then people will wonder where you have disappeared off to. See? It never ends.

So next time, when you decide to talk about someone’s personal life with juicy bits and pieces which may or may not be true, think about how you would feel if someone did the same about you. Because karma has a way of coming right back at you. Always remember that. 

TTP website granted access?

On Saturday, the banned militant group, Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan launched its website, hosting videos, a magazine, and its leaders’ interviews and statements. It would serve as the central information portal.

The website contains the TTP flag, verses from the Quran, videos containing hate especially against the security forces. There is also a message of TTP deputy Shaikh Khalid Haqqani for the people of Balochistan, and pictures of slain TTP chief Hakimullah Mehsud and his successor and current chief, Maulvi Fazlullah. Also posted on the website are pictures of houses allegedly bombed by the army, details of the TTP position on the current peace process and information about the recent assassination of TTP leader Asmatullah Shaheen in North Waziristan Agency.

My question is this – Why is a terrorist site allowed access, a site which will bring terror and violence, but sites relating to Ahmadis, Shias or Balochis are blocked? Moreover, Youtube, which was used an educational site and an entertainment has been blocked for over a year but the TTP site is given approval?  Why the discrimination? Either PTA should block contradictory sites completely, or it should allow access to all sites. Furthermore, there is no point of granting access to a terrorist site. Is the government so under pressure by TTP that they are willing to agree on everything they ask? Makes me wonder how the negotiations are going to end up. Kind of scares me more.

The website contains videos spreading hate and propaganda material, especially against the security forces. Why is the government still not taking action on it? Which way are these negotiations going? Or are they only negotiating for their own lives and not the whole country’s?

Youtube, which was used to educational and entertainment purposes, has been blocked for over a year because of a blasphemous video. Time and again, the issue has gone to court, but without any result. The maulvis and religious extremists just won’t allow that website to be unbanned. But a TTP website? It’s such an innocent site, it can never be banned.
The second question that comes to mind is this – TTP are completely against the idea of the West and adoption of any practices of the West. How then did they decide to make a website, or use computers, something which signifies the West in every single way? Or their a rule that everything western that is practiced by the TTP is Halal and everything else is Haraam? How discriminatory is that?

Regardless of how much the government wants to show that these negotiations are going to work, terrorist sites need to be shut down by the PTA. They have already shut down hundreds of harmless religious sites, one terrorist site wouldn’t hurt them. PTA seriously needs to set their priorities right over what sites they believe should and shouldn’t be blocked.