The intolerance of the liberal

Some months ago, a blogger who is apparently extremely popular with the hip and happening liberal social media community was seen prowling with a camera at a book launch. This was the kind of book event that was guaranteed to attract the liberal chatterati, out in full force that day, exquisite Fab India outfits, air kisses and all. The next day the blogger’s report of the occasion appeared, featuring, among others, a photo of the wife of a prominent right-wing intellectual. The angle from which the photo was taken suggested she was sitting alone, and a rather catty caption implied that she was being ignored on account of her husband’s political views.

Forget the sexism here for a sec, the caption was an example of the kind of angled news that undermines the credibility of the media on a regular basis. Of as much concern is the fact that the photo caption unwittingly reflected a disturbing trend in the public discourse: The creeping intolerance that is afflicting so-called liberal opinion.

First, the facts. The person in question was not sitting alone but next to me. We had been chatting (I appear in the shot but the perspective suggests I am some distance from her). Second, she was not sitting in a corner, which the caption stated, but at a table in the centre of proceedings. Third, several people had walked up and talked to her throughout the event, so she hadn’t been ignored. Fourth, her husband’s political views have been known for yonks without impacting his wife’s (or his) social status.

But it was the inference of the caption that was striking and disturbing: That she was being ostracised by the fellow Page 3 regulars because her spouse was seen as a Hindutva apologist. Apart from being dead wrong, the caption writer didn’t appear to see anything amiss in his malicious interpretation. This is a mild example of a serious problem. Polarisation is the catchall term for it, as evident with wearying regularity in the nightly TV shout shows. But here’s thing: Intractability is an accepted leitmotif of the believers in extremist ideology, whether on the left or the right. When liberal opinion congeals in a similar way, the arguments are lost.

Admittedly, the policy application of hard-right ideology these past four years offers anyone with a conscience many opportunities for valid criticism. India has faced the ignominy of attracting headlines for communal and caste violence, the aggressive silencing of critics and media and outright murders of the regime’s detractors with rising frequency. All this demands strong condemnation, and it is fair to say Indian liberal opinion remains admirably courageous in continuing to call out right-wing violence in the face of much intimidation.

But the line between robust and reasoned criticism and a rant can often be a fine one, and it is fair to say that liberal opinion is increasingly erring on the side of the latter. This has the impact of diminishing the liberal pushback against extremism. Today, as a result, it is quite possible to ignore a whole raft of liberal commentators, bloggers and columnists on account of the shrill tone of their arguments, which are as predictable and tiresome as the ravings of the saffron wingnuts. By behaving like their opponents, liberals are damaging their credibility in lasting ways. They leave themselves open to charges of bias — “sickular” being the popular cliche employed by those on the other side of the divide — and end up fostering a climate in which amorality hardens into a moral choice.

In doing so, the liberal commentariat is emulating one of the less attractive facets of the US politicosocial discourse, which was on display earlier this week. Rapper Kanye West was castigated by the liberal media and talk shows hosts for professing his support for Donald Trump in a tweet (the context is unclear). Now, Mr West may be the world’s most famous rapper but he’s a well-known loose cannon with a predilection for controversy matched only by his wife Kim Kardarshian’s appetite for publicity. In the past, he has panned George Bush and alternately praised and criticised Barack Obama. Why single him out for his incoherent pro-Trump tweet? In the same week, country singer Shania Twain had to walk back a comment, in the face of the disapproval of her fans, that she voted for Mr Trump because she thought he was honest. The liberal commentariat approved; no one pointed out that the link between Ms Twain’s musical talent and her right to vote for whoever she wants is unclear. Strange, but when a raft of artistes excoriate Mr Trump using intemperate language, the same media approves.

Liberalism is on the retreat in large parts of the world, and no less in multicultural India. In the tenor of their opposition, the liberals must bear some of the responsibility for this as well.