Dear Mario / Basilio,
Perhaps I should not have joined both in the same reply, because you both have very different points of view and strategies. But I am joining the two precisely because of that. Mario wants to handle the problem of the Catholics first, and leave it to Santosh, Radhakrishnan Nair, etc to solve the problem of their Hindu community. But I believe and agree with Basilio that we have a common inheritance and the two communities still live in the same house that we call Goa, day-in and day-out! It is truly a challenge to look at it as "our common problem" and tackle it together. Catholic paroquial" approach appears to me as doomed from the start. My second point of disagreement with Mario is his language and repeated expression "driving stake in the heart". From the Catholic Inquisition that burnt persons at stake, have we now progressed to this new phase of Catholic violence? Luckily for Christ he was not a Christian, nor a Catholic! These are post-Christ inventions. Christ“s strategy is presented more truthfully by Basilio in the last three lines of his posting below. Christ preferred to expose his nakedness and to be nailed on the cross. That is where lies the power of his ressurection, not in the stakes invented by Catholic Christianity. Teotonio R. de Souza ------------------------------ Mon, 28 Feb 2005 19:10:27 -0800 Teotonio, Through the fog of all that feni it is beginning to dawn on me that we may be on the same page. However, while you are looking at the entire problem, I have chosen to prioritize in order to focus and make some identifiable progress. While I abhor any and all forms of discrimination based on color, caste and creed, the reason I focus on Catholic Goans is that it is this community in which I have membership and standing, and it is where I choose to take a stand. Furthermore, the caste system is at odds with the teachings of Christ and Christianity, whereas it is an integral part of the Hindu way of life. Thus, while I may abhor and denounce casteism among Hindus, I choose to leave it up to our Hindu coleagues like Santosh Helekar and Radhakrishnan Nair, who are eminently capable polemicists, to deal with their casteism. As you have seen, we have a big enough task to stamp out this insidious and destructive system in our own community. Mario Govea ------------------------ Three Cheers to the activists! More power to them! But do not demonize those who may ask the activists to show their cards. There are some disgruntled individuals who have taken up the cause of ³fighting caste.² Unfortunately, their disgruntlement disqualifies them as bonafide leaders to battle the scourge of caste, otherwise a worthy cause. Vociferous debates decorated with virulence do not solve anything or advance any cause. At best they provide self-gratification, and public adulation in some quarters. Vociferous discussions are not robust or intellectually rigorous. Condemnations and LOUD condemnations are exercises in pontification. My contribution to the battle against the caste: facilitate personal transformation. I only sow the seed; it is for the Lord to reap the fruits. I fully expect to be pilloried for what I have written. So be it. I may post some further thoughts if I think I have, at some point, something useful to say. Basilio Monteiro *********************************************************************** * G * O * A * N * E * T *** C * L * A * S * S * I * F * I * E * D * S * *********************************************************************** Greet your loved ones in Goa with flowers! http://www.goa-world.com/goa/expressions/ EXPRESSIONS - The Flower Shop. World famous all over Goa! ***********************************************************************