‘Rumour’ : One less problem without it
What spreads faster than COVID-19 and is ten times more contagious? A rumour. Plant one in an ear, or in a chat box and press send. It will have a life of its own. Rumours reframe reality. They pass off more often as truth even if they aren’t. Once I rang up a person to ask why he stopped coming to church. He said that a parishioner had told him that I did not want him in church because he was not a Marthomite member. I had never said such a thing. We talked and he eventually got back to attending services. Rumours are a real problem especially among us, the religious lot. Sometimes rumours are passed on as prayer requests, with heavy disclaimers.
I found a rumour even in the Bible. Here’s an incident from John’s Gospel 21:20–23.
“Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them; he was the one who had reclined next to Jesus at the supper and had said, ‘Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?’ When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, ‘Lord, what about him?’
Jesus said to him, ‘If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? Follow me!’ So the rumour spread in the community that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but, ‘If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?’”
John goes great lengths to clarify that what became the rumour was not the truth of the matter. That is the whole point. It’s not the whole truth. It might contain elements of truth, but it is not ‘the Truth’. It’s like the orange-flavoured Fanta. The bottle carries a label stating that it contains no fruit juice at all. Yet it passes off as orange in colour and flavour. Both Fanta and rumours do not contribute to our health.
Even then, we are quick to long press and forward unverified “truths” to people on our contact list, or groups that contain a good part of the human race. There is no impediment to “sharing” on our phones or on social media. Everything is made easier today. It is the free flow of communication, they say. I’ve made that mistake on twitter, by retweeting unverified information.
Specifically during this pandemic, it is all the more important to refrain from communicating unverified information — even if the one who sends it to you is your most trustworthy friend.
Rumours can kill. It killed Pehlu Khan. It killed some others who were rumoured to be possessing beef (and it turned out to be some other meat). Rumours create an anxiety that makes us want to pass it on. We have no shortage of anxiety today. There are way more rumours in the country than available Oxygen cylinders and hospital beds.
Even news channels have been peddling rumours as truths ever since the advent of twentyfour-hour news channels which need something to loop while filling up the non-advertised time. They capitalise and make profits on our craving for news as well as newness. Was Sushant Singh murdered by his girlfriend? What happened to the 2G scam? Did the ruling party ride the anti-incumbency wave in West Bengal as predicted? Why were some BBMP war room workers suspended without cause and asked to resume work after a few days?
Rumours abound. Many of them have deadly consequences. Let us take precaution so that we may prevent ourselves from becoming carriers of rumours. If you are rumour positive, quarantine yourself with the rumour for at least 14 days. Do not turn into a super spreader machine like the Indian poll body or the national leader who allowed crowded matches and massive religious gatherings despite warnings of a second wave. Verify the truth. Pass on the truth if it is needed and appropriate to the situation. Let’s be determined to not become a rumour carrier. With COVID-19 raging around us, we need one less problem without it.
