Is it in 2019 if some actor/actress we loved when we were kids didn’t say something problematic? Actress Suchitra Krishnamoorthy stirred up a Twitter storm on March 25th after tweeting about a ‘lesson’ she allegedly learnt from her mother as a child:
Amma always said ” Money is not everything.Even criminals and whores have money. What matters is not money but character and integrity”
I truly truly understand her words only today.
Jeez ive never felt more proud of my middle class roots _
— Suchitra Krishnamoorthi (@suchitrak) March 25, 2019
Her disparaging statements equating criminals with sex workers was, for obvious reasons, met with derision by netizens.
& u shld be ashamed of ur low iq & parochial thinking to be honest. Take care & find somewhere else to rant https://t.co/ZBf65WY0uJ
— Suchitra Krishnamoorthi (@suchitrak) March 26, 2019
Renuka Shahane, who has lately made it a point to gift us with her unfiltered opinions on pretty everything, stepped into the picture. Instead of attacking Krishnamoorthy, as most on social media tend to do, she respectfully put her point across. Stating that she means no disrespect to Krishnamoorthy’s mother by refuting her ‘lesson’, Shahane nonetheless made it amply clear that comparing criminals with sex worker who are often victims of human trafficking, poverty and abuse, was out of line.
With just a few tweets, Shahane let everyone know exactly why it’s important to “correct the injustice that our traditions have imposed on” sex workers.
No disrespect to your Amma @suchitrak but as women let’s try & correct the injustice that our traditions have imposed on whores. We castigated whores while letting off their customers who are leading “respectful” lives! Let’s not put whores & criminals in one bracket at least 1/4 https://t.co/qQkwPSGztZ
— Renuka Shahane (@renukash) March 26, 2019
Then she followed it up with a few more insight:
Whores sell what is theirs. Criminals take what is others. Whores are often pushed into their profession due to human trafficking at ages as young as 7. Does any child have the right to say “no” at that age? Whores are pushed into prostitution by people they trust explicitly 2/4 https://t.co/qQkwPSGztZ
— Renuka Shahane (@renukash) March 26, 2019
Whores are abused, raped, tortured, drugged, given hormonal injections at a very early age & then raped relentlessly throughout their professional lives. Most of what should be their earnings is taken away by pimps & middlemen or middle women! 3/4 https://t.co/qQkwPSGztZ
— Renuka Shahane (@renukash) March 26, 2019
Whores are’nt respected by any social class in our society. Many criminals hold very respectful positions, some even in our Parliament & Industry. Very often it’s because of these whores that our children are safe from sexual predators. They face the brunt of society’s evil __4/4 https://t.co/qQkwPSGztZ
— Renuka Shahane (@renukash) March 26, 2019
Unlike what we’ve experienced with Krishnamoorthy in the past, this time she appreciated the inputs made, thanking Shahane for trying to communicate in a civil manner. And unlike most Twitter tirades, this one ended quite amicably:
Big hugs @suchitrak Love you too & you know it __ https://t.co/P4k0TJLWPI
— Renuka Shahane (@renukash) March 26, 2019
We could be wrong, but looks like this cordial-discussion method works quite well IRL.
