He has close to 7 million Twitter followers, and with well over 18 thousand tweets, he is clearly very prolific on Twitter. Anand Mahindra frequently shares news, views, inspirational ideas, funny news and so on via his Twitter handle. He recently shared a picture of a news clipping which had made him laugh. Many laughed with him. A few didn’t.
Mahindra tweeted this image with the headline “Man fakes being deaf, dumb for 62 years to avoid listening to wife”. When he asked his wife whether she would see through such a charade, she apparently said that this wouldn’t be possible because he wouldn’t be able to resist using his phone.
A lot of people found it hugely funny that a man pretended to be deaf-mute for six decades – in order to avoid speaking to or listening to the person he presumably lived with for over 60 years.
Some of the tweeple shared their own ‘jokes’ similar to the one Mahindra tweeted – because making snide jokes about men being ‘afraid’ of their wife’s supposed nagging nature and constant chatter is ha-ha funny.
A lot of the Tweeple suggested that the man who pretended to be deaf-mute for so long should receive an Oscar or similar award. For some reason, these not-too-intelligent, so-called jokes about the stereotypical demanding, irritating wife, are still considered funny.
It was pointed out that this article is not a real story. Apparently the couple did file for divorce but not for the reason cited; but for an illicit relationship.
The worldnewsdailyreport.com website is well known for its satirical ‘news’ pieces and outrageous headlines: Blind Woman Arrested After Breastfeeding Her Guide Dog In New York Subway, France: 91-Year-Old Catholic Nun Auctions Her Virginity To Rebuild Notre-Dame Cathedral and so on.
A lot of people thought Mahindra’s tweet was very funny – because it speaks of a man who supposedly avoided listening to or speaking to his wife for 62 years and because Mahindra's wife's reply makes her ‘smart’.
Anand Mahindra’s tweet and the responses to it are problematic for several reasons: Firstly there is the fact that Mahindra got taken in by a satirical ‘news’ piece and tweeted it out – as a major Twitter personality, he should be a lot more responsible and careful about what he tweets. Secondly, someone of his influence buying into the whole ‘nagging wife joke’ way of thinking is unseemly. In this instance he seems to condone spousal neglect and indifference; thinks it is hilarious. We know that this sort of ‘humour’ reinforces stereotypes and prejudices and normalises misogyny. Thirdly it is rather patronising of Anand Mahindra to say that his wife’s reply makes her ‘smart’. If I were a wife who was told this, I would not take it as much of a compliment.
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