Hurray, suspended from Facebook

I had scheduled the below post six months ago when I had taken a hiatus from Facebook, but never published it as I had resumed my daily book reviews on the platform. But, yesterday, the platform decided to suspend my account, for a group of aroused activists had apparently ‘mass-reported’ a series of posts I had written to promote the holy practice of ‘Sandhya Vandhanam’.

I had published some old records of discourses on Sandhya Vandhanam by the legendary Sengalipuram Anantharama Dikshitar, Krishna Premi Swamigal and had urged those, who had the ordainment to do the ritual, to do so with the sincerity and devotion that was needed. As a practitioner, I stand testimony to the benefits.

Later, I had followed up with daily posts on the legendary Tamil savant ‘U.Ve.Saminatha Aiyer”s book ‘En Charitram’. I was so enamoured by the book that for the past one month I was continuously writing about the book as I progressed in an incremental basis.

Some groups had apparently thought that the above two amounted to ‘Ethnic Superiority’, ‘Racial Bias’ or some other stupid classification based on which posts and accounts could be suspended.

Facebook wants me to ‘contest’ the claim and reclaim my account. I have decided that there is no need to ‘pluck the nail’, as the Tamil saying goes, and have chosen not to plead for restoration of my suspended account. So much for freedom of speech.

Friends and well wishers have asked me to contest and reclaim the account. I could give in at a later time, but not now, for sure, even though I understand the immense broadcast capabilities of Facebook.

Here is the post that I had wanted to publish earlier.

I have been away from Facebook for a month now. I continue to link my blog posts to FB though I haven’t spent more than a minute in my Timeline. Once I post my blog link, I exit FB. ( now this will not happen, though)

How I feel now:

• No more ‘Always On’

• No more irritations in the morning

• No more anxiety disorders

• No more wasted / stressed days

• Mind is free to discuss real matter rather than politically correct / perceived issues

• No need to feign anger on issues that don’t have to be feigned on

• No need to be politically correct while being rationally stupid.

• No need to worry too much on a post that could be perceived as being sensitive

• No need to be ready to consume abuse from unknown trolls

• No need to be continuously bombarded with apocalypse and armageddon

• No need to ‘feel’ for Syria, ‘stand’ for Cuba, ‘pray’ for Palestine and ‘save’ dog/cat/bull/whale with hashtags
• No need to counter fundamentalist preachings of any kind

Benefits :

1. Come out of the state of mind that any name that has a Christian or a Muslim connotation would naturally be anti-national and a social evil
2. Peace, bliss, mental stability
3. More time to read and write
4. Mind is calmer, all neurons are well rested and ready to perform any analysis without any burnout due to social media induced stress
5. The benefits list continues to grow.

BTW, the world hasn’t ended, yet. Facebook fights should be continuing and people would be abusing complete strangers and thus spreading the venom of irritation. Only that I am not partaking of the ‘feast’.

• … and I will continue to be away from #Facebook.