Misinterpreting the Robin Hood Concept

When we were kids, we were all told the story of Robin Hood. He was portrayed as the saviour of the poor. The stole from the rich and gave it to the poor. The rich used to be afraid of him and tried to protect their gold from him but could not. He was a hero. Well, he IS a hero. I agree. Everyone of us remembers this. In fact, this is the justification given for taxes.

"Its not stealing if you steal a little from the people who have a lot and give it all away to the people who don't have much." - A friend.

Well, there is one major element in the above concept that people always tend to forget. The rich people that Robin Hood used to steal from had acquired their wealth through illegal means. They had exploited the poor and filled their coffers. Robin Hood just helped the poor people get money which belonged to them in the first place.

So, essentially Robin Hood did not actually redistribute wealth. He just saw to it that the rightful owner got it.

So, Robin Hood cannot be used as a defense when you want steal money from the rich and give it to the poor when the rich guy has actually earned it legally.

We might say that stealing money from a thief is justified but just because a person has a lot of money doesn't make him a thief. Nor does it create an obligation on him to share the money with people who don't have it. He earned it. It's his right. He can burn it all up for all we care. No Robin Hood can take it away from him and claim to do the society a favour.

If there is a politician in your country who has hoarded a lot of illegal wealth and stashed them at a Swiss Bank Account and if you somehow manage to steal it, then you can feel like Robin Hood.

But if you steal from say a Tata or a Birla, who have slogged their way to success and then try to act like Robin Hood then you are just another petty thug in tights.

So, the next time you tell kids the Robin Hood story, explain the 'people who got rich through illegal means' part carefully. :)

The importance of being a follower

We always respect leaders. They are talked about and looked up to by people. Everyone aspires to be a leader. It is very natural. The flamboyance, the charm and the clout of a leader are thing which makes it a very desirable position.

But what we are forgetting is the chief ingredient that makes a leader effective. The followers. The people who make the leader, a leader. The people who give their support. The people who come together and give the leaders the power.

People always ask about our 'leadership skills'. Taking initiative is considered to be the most important thing. C.V.'s will have a specific place where we have to enlist areas in which we have shown our 'leadership skill'. I am not saying trying to be a leader it bad. Not at all. The world needs leaders. All I am saying is just like the world needs leaders, a leader needs followers.

The credit given for being a good follower is almost nothing. People think that following a leader is easy. It's not. It requires sacrifices. Although a follower follows someone because he believes that his and the leader's view match to a greater extent, sometimes when the views of the follower are not in sync with the leader's then the follower is the one who has to let go. Leader might decide the plan of action but its the followers who actually implement it.

Twitter teaches us that we all begin by following someone. It does not necessarily mean we agree to all that leader says but it means that we like the person and respect his views. Side by side, we also post our own views. People who like them follow us.

In a group discussion, people always think that the person who leads the discussion is the best. But what people generally fail to see is the opinion which a person chooses to support. The views you support show more about your character than the view you hold. Because just like a leader is judged by the type of followers he has, a follower is judged by the type of people he follows.

So the next time you seen a group of people working efficiently and one of the members taking the lead, spare a thought for the member who chugs along, unnoticed. :)

P.S. - This in no way means followers are better than leaders. They are both dependent on each other and equally important.