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Cancel Theppu

 This is what happened. A youngster shot a girl dead in Kerala, and then killed himself. The police are investigating the case, and prominent theories suggest that the two were in a relationship, she ended the relationship for reasons unknown and he committed the crime as an act of revenge.


Most people reacted to the news with utter disbelief, and anger. But let us talk about the people in the screen-shot and their disgusting comments.


I will give a sense of the comments for those who don't know Malayalam. The first comment is a textbook example of victim blaming. The person says that the girl might have dumped him which was why he got enraged. “Equal blame on both”, the comment say. The second comment goes on to empathize with the killer, highlighting the pain he must have gone through to take such a drastic step.


And there are many other comments conveying similar sentiments.


In a society where the term dating is largely unheard of, many people believe ending a relationship is something to be looked down upon. (Starting one too, but then hypocrisy is worn as a badge of honor). And they have coined a distasteful word “theppu” to attach shame to people who do.


People may fall out of relationships for several reasons, and separation would hurt badly. None of it warrants inflicting harm on your ex. Cry all you want to, remove your profile picture for a couple of days, and move on! It is a dangerous precedent in a society when people come out justifying a violent crime such as this. And a significant blame goes to filmmakers who celebrated “theppu” as a comedy trope, and stalking as romance.


Another angle that we constantly overlook is the importance of mental health. Crying and laying low may not heal everyone from tragic situations. Some may lose a grip on their reality (as some friends of the accused in this case suggests) and arrive at decisions they would not have if they had received proper treatment. For your own sake, please don’t “man up” and bottle things inside. When it bursts, you would be the first to get cut.




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