Who is a Best Friend?

Someone whom we constantly talk to so that we can listen to ourselves...

"Show me a Hero and I will write you a tragedy" - F. Scott Fitzgerald

The above words from F.Scott Fitzgerald kept playing in my mind as I was reading the statement from the Chairman of Satyam Computers Mr. Ramalinga Raju where he explains the accounting irregularities of the firm that he founded and built. A true Hero whose business acumen helped build Satyam , a son who made his father proud with his achievements, a beloved leader of fifty thousand employees, a social reformer who created programs for the upliftment of people from various strata in the society, a wonderful father to his two sons and now … ? I wonder which act gives more joy to the society – Celebrating a Hero or witnessing a tragedy?

Prejudice

I was reading an interview of Clint Eastwood on the web and during the course of the interview, one of the questions that the interviewer asks is about Filmmakers's responsibilities and the depicition of violence in movies. Clint Eastwood replies that he grew up watching violent movies but that didnt make him go shoot people. He goes on to say that the healthy mind doesnt get affected by this and then remarks " Those Columbine guys? They were sickos to begin with." In that instant, my mind had interpreted COLUMBINE as COLOMBIAN and thoughts about the drug cartels and the kidnappings and the violence assoicated with such things were flashingly rapidly. And for a second I thought how Clint Eastwood could make such a prejudistic statement? I couldnt believe what I thought I had read and went back and read the line again and thats when it struck me that he was referring to the guys involved in the COLUMBINE Massacre. Well that put to rest the question of who the Prejudist was... But I just wondered why I ended up with such a connection in the first place and the only thing I could think of were the movies that portrayed drug wars and all the violence associated with it. Borrowing from what Clint Eastwood said, I could say that my prejudices will not make me go as far as shooting people, but can filmmakers assume that all minds that watch movies are healthy minds and where do they draw the line?...