Why Do Some People Resort To Abusive/Quasi-Abusive Language?

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 30 October 2024 Recently, a gentleman's quasi-abusive language in a public forum got me thinking as to why do some people abuse and use cuss words in public? A few years ago, I got an e-mail from a ' highly educated ' woman, who taught at an MBA institute in Gurgaon. The language of her mail was so execrable with the choicest Hindi imprecations of Northern India that it shocked all because she sent the same mail to my friends on the mailing list. To top it all, she had a Doctorate degree. No self-praise but in my entire life, I've never used a single intentional abuse for any individual. If ever I used a harsh word for a person, I apologised as well without any ulterior motive. Nor have I ever used words like 'tu'/ 'tum ' even for my pets, let alone human beings. And here, this woman was abusing like an inmate of a disreputable zone. This was indeed bizarre. What's the use of education and degrees if one cannot control one's anger and resorts to language that can embarrass even the most shameless and utterly unlettered people? Does education really refine an individual? Does it indeed bring a qualitative difference to a person's overall thinking? Lastly, does it help become an individual better? These are the questions that have vexed even the seasoned educationists for years. Many years ago at Delhi University, yours truly had an argument with a professor of English Literature, who happened to write poetry and his 'perceptive' columns still appear in leading dailies. That professor almost uttered, "You bloody bas....." I'm still thankful to him that he couldn't/didn't complete the word 'bastard'. The true test of a man's character and upbringing is when he/she behaves in a fit of anger. We all can sound very cultured and 'saccharine sweet' in our social interactions when things are going our way. But the moment something happens, much to our dislike, we start showing our true colours shelving all our education and degrees. I personally feel that proper education, coupled with values and a sense of decency and decorum, can make a person behave like a gentleman. We all have feral instincts deep-seated in our collective consciousness. Value-based education can somewhat diminish our intrinsic barbarism. All our degrees are actually social accessories and means to getting us some lucrative jobs. Seasoned educationists believe that above-average (or half?) education actually makes a person haughty and arrogant. He or she thinks that others cannot be compared with them. "Adhjal gagri chhalkat jaye" (Empty vessels make noise). Whether it's an MA, MSc, IIT degree or a PhD, we forget that this is nothing more than mere information. These have just ornamental value. True knowledge, let alone wisdom, cannot be attained by the so-called degrees and our school, college or even university education. If Thomas Babington Macaulay wanted the Indians to get educated to serve the English, nothing hasn't changed much since 1835. Sadly, in an independent India, we educate ourselves to serve our lowly instincts and ossify them. ----- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. ------------ URL: https://newageislam.com/current-affairs/quasi-abusive-language-people-resort/d/133583 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism