Recently, a tweet showed up during my daily doomscroll. It was about a bunch of “well-educated, prosperous” men gathered in Delhi’s upscale Khan Market discussing the latest revelations in the Epstein files. According to the tweet, once the men were done discussing the “hot pics” in the Epstein files, they ended the conversation with, “Kuchh bhi kaho, bande ne zabardast aish kari”.

Shocked? Why? That is the attitude of the whole world towards one of the most horrific human rights atrocities of our time. Some of us show well-articulated outrage on social media and then snigger at the latest Epstein meme. And others simply dismiss any talk of the Epstein files as “not our problem”.

It is our problem though. Let’s be clear about the gravity of the accusations. The man raped children and invited others like him to do the same. This is the very tip of the iceberg. The alleged rapists, as is being revealed slowly and carefully, were men with the most power in the world. Men whom the law would never touch then and will most likely dismiss with a gentle rap on the knuckles now. Men who have the luxury of hiding out forever in their remote mansions without ever feeling any regret for their actions. Men who will make excuses for their email exchanges with Jeffrey Epstein but won’t acknowledge why it was wrong for them to entertain a known paedophile.

The Epstein files: What the survivors said

As you might have noticed, the documentary on Jeffrey Epstein is trending on Netflix right now, but it’s been on the platform since 2020. We’ve all known about this for years and yet there is no anger. Just gossip-like sharing of the news as more and more powerful men are exposed.

But let’s recount what some of the survivors have said in this documentary. Multiple women came forward and said that they were forced to massage Jeffrey Epstein, naked, in his home when they were teenagers. Women have said that they were raped and molested and that some of their younger family members were targeted by Epstein and his then girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell. The duo promised children academic opportunities and used their trust to assault them when they were alone and trapped. Some of their victims, who came from underprivileged backgrounds or troubled families and were the most vulnerable, were lured to the Epstein residence with the promise of money. These girls were as young as 14 and 16 years old. And some of the most vulnerable among them were forced to recruit other girls of the same age to face the same torment. Jeffrey Epstein created a mountain of victims, believing that his power and his political connections would keep him out of trouble with the law. And it did for far too long.

There are accounts upon accounts in the documentary of the horrors that were meted out to children by Jeffrey Epstein and the men he invited to participate in these abuses. However, as mentioned earlier, all of this has been known for years. So, what’s changed? Unfortunately, nothing.

Where is the outrage?

Several powerful men, from India and abroad, exchanged emails with Jeffrey Epstein in the years after the first allegations against him came to light. The latest revelations in the Epstein files have thrown up names of prominent businessmen and politicians in India. Several news publications have reported that when Epstein offered a “tall, Swedish blonde” to Anil Ambani, he replied saying, “Arrange that.” The discussion then goes on to Meryl Streep and Scarlett Johansson, with Epstein allegedly commenting, “I am glad you prefer young blondes to old ones”.

In an interview to NDTV on his email exchanges with Jeffrey Epstein, Union Minister Hardeep Puri said, “I have an expression I use with everybody…I have some people who are well-to-do people. Which exotic place are you in? Don’t read any meaning into that.” Puri also added that by 2014-15, he knew of the allegations against Epstein but not the full extent of what was revealed later.

While some prominent figures seem to be discussing political and financial matters with Epstein, others were far less guarded in their exchanges with him. For instance, look at how a spiritual guru, who enjoys the patronage of some of the most popular Hollywood celebrities, talks about women:

Bill Gates and Jeffrey Epstein

As reported by The Hindu, a draft email among the documents released by the US Department of Justice said that Epstein’s relationship with Bill Gates involved “helping Bill to get drugs, in order to deal with consequences of sex with russian girls, to facilitating his illicit trysts, with married women.”

Jeffrey Epstein was first investigated for sexual crimes in 2005. In 2006, the American news media was covering this case extensively and questioning the repeated lapses that led to diluted charges against Epstein. In 2017 and 2018, however, Epstein was charged with more serious offences including sex trafficking.

In a utopian world truly gender equal society, there would be enough social outrage to ensure the predators outed in the Epstein files feel the full wrath of the law. These are leaders of the biggest nations in the world, ministers holding high positions in governments, billionaires with significant political influence, and many, many more. These men (and some women) would lose everything they’ve built by making the world believe they’re good people. They advocated peace and goodwill and created foundations and brands for the betterment of humanity. Yet, they had no qualms talking about women like they’re less than human.

Reactions in India

Let’s be honest, we’ve seen more outrage on Indian social media about financial fraud. People were angry when Nirav Modi fled the country without paying his massive loans. We were fuming at how Vijay Mallya “got away with it all”. But when women are the victims, we make memes.

Apart from laughing at memes, this is what the Indian internet chose to focus on:

As mentioned earlier, this is one of the biggest, most horrific stories of our time. But will we ever take it seriously enough to go beyond memes and hot takes?

Is the absolute horror of what occurred, year after year, at the hands of Jeffrey Epstein and associates being overshadowed by the complexity and sheer volume of files released? Or are we just okay with dismissing the crimes of rich, powerful men?

Is this fear of political and financial power…or just apathy?