{"id":209220,"date":"2020-04-07T11:25:58","date_gmt":"2020-04-07T05:55:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=209220"},"modified":"2020-04-16T17:05:14","modified_gmt":"2020-04-16T11:35:14","slug":"the-microphone-was-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/the-microphone-was-on\/","title":{"rendered":"The Microphone Was On"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><strong>\u00a0By <a style=\"color: #ff6600;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s=Sarath+De+Alwis\">Sarath De Alwis<\/a> &#8211;<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_201439\" style=\"width: 160px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Sarath-de-Alwis.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-201439\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-201439\" src=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Sarath-de-Alwis-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Sarath-de-Alwis-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Sarath-de-Alwis-45x45.jpg 45w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-201439\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sarath de Alwis<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201c<em>The one thing &#8230; that is truly ugly is the climate of hate and intimidation, created by a noisy few, which makes the decent majority reluctant to air in public their views on anything controversial. &#8230; Where all pretend to be thinking alike, it&#8217;s likely that no one is thinking at all.<\/em>\u201d\u00a0\u2015\u00a0Edward Abbey &#8211;<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>Essayist, Iconoclast<b> \u00a0<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p>When what we think and do, lack integrity there is only one word to describe it. We become frauds. Our acts become fraudulent.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>We make feeble attempts to become comfortable with our deception. Losing the authentic self is the price of pretended integrity and mercenary stardom on the small screen.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWadapitiya\u201d is the title of the popular political talk show aired weekly by \u2018Derana\u2019<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>TV<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>network . <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u201cArgumentative Amphitheater\u201d would be the near flawless English construction. \u201cPolemical Playpen\u2019 would be a close second.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Arguably, it is the most widely watched TV talk shop that entices cock-a-hoop politicians of all persuasions.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Last week the program itself and its multitalented anchor made news. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s=Mahindananda+Aluthgamage\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">Mahindanada Aluthgamage<\/span><\/a> \u2013 A senior Minister of the current caretake cabinet appearing on the show, unleashed a fiery condemnation of a specific community that he alleged,<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>carelessly spread the COVID-19<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>virus in his hill country bailiwick.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Aluthgamage is a politician. He is not an expert on public health. It is reasonable to presume that his knowledge of the disciplines of immunology or epidemiology could be comfortably accommodated on a pin head.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>This simple truth escaped the attention of the TV anchor &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s=Chatura+Alwis\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">Chatura Alwis<\/span><\/a>. He did not bother to ask the politico why he did not leave that responsibility in the hands of state officials handling public health.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Despite this slight omission, the TV anchor was the quintessential public policy arbitrator.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Upholding the highest traditions of Journalism, he interrupted the garrulous politician.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Is it fair to target a specific community? He asked. The TV anchor\u2019s dispassionate innocence added further fuel to the Minister\u2019s mock indignation.<\/p>\n<p>He accused the ethnoreligious minority of deliberate, willful flouting of emergency health regulations, announced by the government.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Of twenty positive cases detected, 19 were from that community. Now can we possibly permit such behavior he persisted.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The TV anchor expressed alarm. Identifying a specific group as responsible for the spread of the infection would be unfair and counterproductive, he warned.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>That warning, however, came after the Minister was given full rein to wax eloquent on his indictment of the hapless community that he targeted.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>With unabashed venom he derided the behavioral norms of the community he was determined to name and shame.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>It was now time for a commercial break. The microphone was still on. The participants after their exhibition bouts quietly relaxed.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Then came the coup de th\u00e9\u00e2tre that went viral on YouTube instantly.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The TV anchor told the Minister \u2018Mata dan ganak denna oney oya tika kiyanta dunnanta\u201d [ I deserve a reward for letting you release that bit of diatribe]<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Readers will note, I have avoided naming names except that of the Minster. Subsequent to the faux pas he released another statement reiterating the substance of his earlier outburst.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/URS76wlbfuE\" width=\"900\" height=\"500\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Revisiting the psychosis of the jingoist minister or deciphering the deception of the artful TV anchor is not the purpose of this essay.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>It has a more pragmatic purpose.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Electronic media in Sri Lanka are not subject to any supervision by a regulatory agency. A free debate is good for a democratic society. But presenting personal opinions as facts on the ground needs to be condemned.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>In the lonely drift in lockdown land, I cannot dismiss this incident lightly. The politician with his diatribe fingered one of the foulest of wounds. It cannot be left unattended either. The Russian poet Anna Akhmatova tugs at my weary conscience. \u201cAs the future ripens in the past, so the past rots in the future &#8211;a terrible festival of dead leaves.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In lockdown land, the terrible festival of dead leaves allows us no respite. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>A fawning media electronic and print makes politicians callous and unaccountable.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The TV show is aired by the TV channel that is named after<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>\u2018Terra\u2019 \u2013 the roman goddess of earth. The cognoscenti of this troubled land know that its brilliant owner creators indeed now parade as they own \u2018Terra\u2019 the earth goddess.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The episode of the Microphone that wasn\u2019t switched off and the subsequent uproar that failed to takeoff has a lesson. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>When an implacable crisis hits a society, the fundamental reality of that society is exposed. The exposure, if you care to look will show the ghastly, gruesome state of nature of that rotten society.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>It is that actuality that surfaced when the TV anchor, the minster and at least one<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>other participant forgot that the microphone was on permitting the world<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>to be privy to their professional<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>perfidy- the profession of politics and the profession of manufacturing<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>political opinion. .<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The Pandemic crisis will define the times we live in.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>It will shape the future that awaits us.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>We are now discovering, in real time where power lies, what<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>people treasure and what people fear.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Thanks to the pandemic and the lockdown, we know who has less and who has more. More than that, we know who needs far more than what they already have.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>This has happened before. When the black death overwhelmed the humankind, we looked for someone responsible. Unable to fight the invisible virus, humans decided on the next best thing. They shut themselves in closed compounds and hounded out \u2018undesirables.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The senior Minster from the hill country who heads the list in his district was retreating to those dark times in history. He is not only dark in complexion but is also dark in mind.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>In fighting the Pandemic words matter. Social distancing is physical distancing while maintaining deep links to social solidarity.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The World Health Organization has issued the guidelines to media. Stick to facts. Don\u2019t report or repeat<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>rumours. Above all do not stigmatizing patients.<\/p>\n<p>Poverty of information spurs negative gossip that helps the pestilence to spread. Timely honest information helps to halt it.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>This pandemic is scary.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>What happened at the \u2018Vada Pitiya\u2019<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>reflects that all pervasive scare of the unknow.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>We are sacred of the unknown. In such irrational fear, we must find someone to blame. It is much more comfortable to replace panic created by an enemy unknown with a villain identified. It is much easier to associate our fears with others.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>It has another danger. When minorities are stigmatized as being the \u2018other\u2019 they automatically withdraw into their comfort zones.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The WHO has summed the process of \u2018othering\u2019 the other. &#8220;Stigma can undermine social cohesion and prompt possible social isolation of groups, which might contribute to a situation where the virus is more, not less, likely to spread,&#8221;<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>If people are trying to hide their illness to avoid discrimination, they are less likely to get tested or treated.<\/p>\n<p>We need a consistent, calm levelheaded message. Who will switch on the microphone and give it?<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Microphone was on. The world heard the goddess of Earth \u2013 \u2018Terra\u2019 singing the hymn of deception. Dharanee is the Sinhala name of earth\u00a0goddess. Romans regard her as<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>a goddess.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span>Goddess or Mother she frowns on deception.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":86,"featured_media":209127,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,2186,46,8,2375],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-209220","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colombotelegraph","category-featured-news","category-constitutional-reforms","category-editorial","category-stories"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Microphone Was On - Colombo Telegraph<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/the-microphone-was-on\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Microphone Was On - 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