Loose generalizations

This thought struck me yet again today when in a television interview, some rock-star was talking of an event in some other rock-star’s life. He was describing how the whole world was stunned by that. And here I am – totally unaware of who these two rock-stars are and whatz the big deal with the incident anyway?!!

It struck me especially since I read in an opinion article recently in Week or Outlook that cited how the media (esp electronic media) uses terms like “common man” and “average Indian” rather loosely. The article went on to describe the average Indian – one who does not pay any tax simply because he earns a paltry few cents a day (I must admit I don’t remember the numbers off-hand. I do remember that a huge percentage of Indians earn less than a dollar a day, which is the universally accepted standard for the poverty line).

So the next time you read of the average Indian being affected by outsourcing, BPO or the income tax, think again!