What's with this judging thing?

I just don't understand why on earth people make such a big fuss about judging. It's something we all do all the time. Judgment of something doesn't mean condemnation, for God's sake. It could mean, among other things, that I have cared about something enough to have given thought to it and formed an opinion about it.

To be politically correct, I often qualify my statements with 'I think....' or 'IMO.....' and so on, but I just hate doing so. "I judge" is not the same as "I hate". It just means that it's my perception of things. And judgments aren't permanent either. I see someone speaking harshly / crudely to me, so I think he / she is a rough person. But if in the course of my interaction with him / her, I know enough to think that it's not so, I am quite willing to change my opinion.

I don't think there's anyone in this world who doesn't judge another person, whatever he / she may say to the contrary. You may say, "My opinion is this" but tell me how different is it from a so-called judgment? They say, "It's loud" is an opinion / fact, and "It's loud therefore it's uncouth" is a judgment. I say that the latter statement is just another step forward. It could turn out later that the loudness was merely due to someone being partially deaf, but the one conclusion that I can come to, with limited facts, is that it's uncouth. And it's not as if I am hell-bent on sticking to my judgment in the face of facts that prove me wrong. Like I said, I am open to facts, even if they mean that I have to revise my opinion.

A mid-autumn night's activities

I believe there are always two sides to anything. So it was in this case - the midnight case of the injured dog, if you will. I'll come to that in a minute, but let me explain what this is all about.

PAWS - People for Animal Welfare Services - is a group of non-aggressive animal rights activists in the company where I work. Led by a dynamic young lady (Ms. Stuty Jain) and with a band of members who are committed to the cause, this group aims to achieve multiple goals like spreading awareness among the public about cruelty to animals, helping voluntary organisations like Jeev Raksha (which is located in Pune) get more funding and exposure, and spreading the word about usage of leather alternatives and other such items (in collaboration with Beauty Without Cruelty, a non-profit organisation). The main protagonists of last night's good act were our dynamic and tireless leader, a suffering dog, another young member of PAWS, Prachish, and yours truly.

We had received a "tip-off" about a dog that was badly injured and lying uncared for at the Pune railway station. So we two gents set off to find it and ensure it reached Jeev Raksha and was attended to.

Let me elaborate "two sides to anything". It was definitely good that we eventually managed to get the dog handed over to the right people at Jeev Raksha. The poor animal will probably be taken care of as well as is possible under the circumstances. However, it was not without its share of unforeseen issues. The bad parts were:

a. the dog lost a limb. I mean, there was literally no left fore-leg at all; only a bloody stump in its place! Can you imagine a stray dog spending the rest of its life with only a stump for a leg? It was too ghastly for words and it'll be quite some time before I forget that dreadful sight! May such a misfortune never again visit any creature!

b. the guys at Jeev Raksha hesitated quite a bit before Stuty convinced them (over phone) that they ought to help. Even allowing for the late hour at which we called, their reluctance was an unexpected hurdle. Full marks to Stuty for staying up so late and following up every step of the way. Prachish did a wonderful job of talking to them and persuading them to get the dog admitted as well.

Then again, the good thing was they finally relented. Twenty minutes later, the dog was in a safe haven and was on its way back to wellness.

When I hit the sack in the wee hours of the morning, it was with a feeling of a job well done, however little the role I had to play in it was. I must honestly admit, however, that I didn't really relish the idea of doing it when the call came from her at first, but in the end, as she put it succinctly, "it was worth it". If I have to, I'll do it again gladly.

In the end, I felt glad that the doggie will get more care than a street dog (or even a pet dog for that matter) has a right to expect in our country. All's well that ends well.

Peace.