No matter how we spin this, the fact of the matter is that our crowd called Symonds "monkey". Why was Symonds chosen and not Ponting? In our culture it is perfectly acceptable to make fun of someone for their dark complexion (Kalu, Kaalia). We do not make fun of people's lighter complexion. I do not think that Mr.Panicker's example, of his wife calling him "monkey", applies to the situation at hand. However, I'm not entirely sure if the crowd was being racist or simply displaying appallingly bad taste. The same benefit of the doubt can not be extended to cricketers who represent our nation. They are pretty much our ambassadors, and any racist comments should be thoroughly deplored.
For anyone who wonders why we do not have an Umpire of International caliber, peruse Mr. Panicker's column. Emotion triumphs over objectivity and journalism. This is not necessarily a bad thing in India (rhetoric could actually help one's career) - however it is seen as lack of professionalism in other parts of the world. "Sissy schoolgirl" indeed - not as bad as using "Golliwog" in a previous article, but pretty close. Yellow journalism at its best.
