What is it about the human psyche that makes humiliation an effective form of punishment? Remember getting caught in class while you were telling a joke to your best-est-est friend sitting right next to you? In all probability, the teacher would have said something like:
Teacher: What's that joke you are telling your friend? Tell it to the entire class. Let all of us laugh at the amazing joke you have!
Rarely would there be a soul who would have said something like "The teacher called 3 students, who were talking among themselves, and sent them to all 4 corners of the room...". If there has been someone who said something like that, the entire class would have surely erupted in laughter. But then again, the mere instance of someone getting caught in a class would have been an excuse enough for the remaining kids to start laughing anyway.
I have a feeling about the teacher, though. I feel that the teachers who are so uptight about kids talking in their class are very dull, and also that they wouldn't be able to control the class even otherwise. Meh! Chuck it. Where I was, talking about humiliation... So coming back to the student who got caught telling the joke, why did the jeering from all his fellow moronic students put a dent in his happy joke? That is unless, of course, the chap was shameless enough to not give a damn about the intended humiliation. The fellow would have had a heart the size of a sperm-whale, and would have shared the real joke with the entire class. And everybody except the teacher would have been very happy too. But sadly, that's not usually the case. And yes, the person getting caught is rarely a girl, despite all the banter that goes on in the girlie-corner of the room., hence the chap/fellow.
Why would one feel so humiliated at a bunch of nitwits laughing at his/her misery? Mostly, the one facing the humiliation would never come across those who are laughing at him/her. Since everyone's laughing, the scene wouldn't be that serious in the first place. When we see a cartoon character slip on a banana peel, we laugh. It is probably because that's the most we can do. And that's true for all spectators. It's like the song by Kishore Kumar that goes like this
कुच्छ तोह लोग कहेंगे। (People will keep saying something or the other.)
लोगों का काम है केहना। (It's the people's job to comment on everything.)
How does it affect us, what others say, I cannot understand. Neither can I understand why it affects us, about what people think of us/anything we do.
I was sitting in the college computer center, where use of cell phones is "strictly prohibited". And I was using my cell phone. One of the staff noticed me using my cell phone. And it wasn't exactly a covert manner in which I was using my cell phone. So, the fellow asked me for my college ID. Then he thought of having some fun at my expense. Fucker! So he told me to stand up and read out loud the warning that said "Cell phone usage is prohibited". So I stood up, cleared my throat, and in my baritone, read out "CELL PHONE USAGE IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED". And felt amazing for having said it. You know why? Three ladies turned around to see the body from where the sexy voice emanated. Ha!
But truth be told, after taking my seat, about 5 minutes after sitting, after all the sexiness was gone with the wind, I kind of felt pathetic. The bastard could have been a bit easy on me. But then again, who gives a damn! The line "Who gives a damn" is actually a question, if I'm not wrong. Strangely, just moments after I realized that, a small little meek voice inside said "Me".
Now THAT sucks!
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