Outrage solves no problem. Protest does.

Disclaimer: Personal view, you need not subscribe; but if you find merit — spread the message.

As often, I do not subscribe with the social media outrage over the death of the elephant. In fact, I disagree with it wholly.

I categorically condemn such inhuman acts and in no way encourage it.

Then, why do I disagree?

The outrage and petitions to penalize and get justice for “the elephant” does not solve the problem at all. Because the problem is not an isolated incident. It is rather a system-wide problem. In simplest terms, it is “economic growth.” It is GDP. So, instead of seeing the murder of “one elephant” as an isolated one, we need to zoom out and look at it from a big-picture perspective. More elephants are now suspected by forest officials to have met a similar fate.

We cut trees for timber, to build dams for energy needs to feed our industries and then mourn the death of animals. When habitats are destroyed, humans or animals die in conflict or due to loss of resources. It is as simple as that. Wildlife-human conflicts are ever-increasing. Every hour, in some corner of India, you will find one incident of conflict. Only the large conflicts, involving death or severe damage to property, reach our ears. Because such news increases engagement and is good for business.

So, if you really want to solve the problem, which you can, in reality, you need to make your voice heard.

Protest deforestation. Urge the government to make laws to penalize deforestation severely. Growth and development with deforestation are not advancing humanity but rather pushing mankind backwards. Forests form in over centuries. Clearing them takes less than a year. Side effects are felt in many years and myopic political leaders will never understand that. So it’s you and me and us who must find better sources of energy and be efficient so that our energy does not surge rapidly.

The technologies — YouTube and 4G — and industries do no good if we kill animals this way and honestly, I don’t expect much. Because marketers conveniently sell their deodorant by sexually objectifying women, when we worship women too. Such adverts are most viewed and have a good ROI.

In conclusion, just understand: while a system-wide problem of wildlife deaths is deforestation or unsustainable economic growth, the other system-wide problem of mankind is a rising lack of empathy, or making ourselves mechanical for higher productivity.

PS: Humankind is slowing becoming a bunch of technology slaves, and good for nothing, social media experts, observers and protestors.