"Miles from Home", the "American Gigolo" kisses a "Pretty Woman"

The other day I heard that Indians were burning effigies of Richard Gere and that a magistrate has issued an arrest warrant against him. At first I thought that India had finally imported the movies "Dr. T and the Women" or "First Knight" and people were outraged at how tragically poor both those movies were. Instead Gere, who is a longtime HIV/AIDS advocate, actually came to India to help promote AIDS awareness since India now has more HIV positive people than any other country. The protest happened because Gere kissed actress Shilpa Shetty on the cheek at the event. So Shetty and Gere allegedly violated an obscenity law against any public displays of affection or public acts that can be considered indecent. The kiss on the cheek was considered "beyond vulgarity" by the conservative Shiv Sena party who were the ones responsible for the protest. Thankfully not all Indians are calling for the heads of Shetty and Gere.



What makes me confused and angry is that if the Shiv Sena party is so outraged at this so called vulgarity then I wonder what frack they are doing about the countless number of people using the public streets as their own urinals. I am tired of seeing and smelling urine. The people doing this do not even try to be modest and spare the public the sight of them handling their dinks. It is really pissing me off (pun definitely intended). I have seen more penises in my six months here than Jenna Jameson has in her entire career. Where the hell are the flaming effigies and arrest warrants for these people! The people doing this are not all poor or homeless either. So the root cause is not one of poverty. Also I won't even get started on the public acts of defecation.



So anyone can essentially be charged with a crime for displaying any type of public affection and it doesn't matter if they are married, dating or friends. I wonder if it is even considered acceptable to hold someone's hand or put an arm around them. Are those acts, if done in public, also defined as vulgarity? Each of the three penal codes that Shetty and Gere allegedly violated can carry up to 3 months jail time. I guess the moral of the story is that public amorous behavior will not be tolerated under penalty of imprisonment but feel free to piss and sh*t in public.