"I never believed in Santa Claus because I knew no white man would be coming into my neighborhood after dark." - Dick Gregory
What thoughts come in your mind after reading this?
Racism, Apartheid, Discrimination??
Why is the colour of skin such a big factor in how you feel about a person? Since time immemorial, racism has been the cause of millions of deaths. Take, for example, the Holocaust. Hitler killed thousands of people for a simple reason that they were Jewish. The Nazis believed that Germans were racially superior and that the Jews, deemed inferior, were an alien threat to the so-called German racial community.
So far, times have changed, years have passed, clones have been made and the political equations of the world have changed. But, does that mean the mind-set of imperialism and racism has changed too? The recent developments in Australia, UK and some other part of the world have reminded us of the ugly faces of racism. Though, we still call recent incidents in Australia as “alleged racist attacks”, one cannot deny the involvement of “racist elements” in such incidents, especially when it happens so often. Australia has generated widespread anger and outrage all over the world. The stabbing of a student, Sravan Kumar Theerthala has focused attention on the racism, rampant in Australia. Thousands of students have raised their voices in strident protest in the hope that the government will take a stand against the wave of hate crimes that are rocking the nation.
Humanity has confronted with the idea of racism yet again and as in the past there seems to be very little anyone can do. This monster like the mythical Hydra is impossible to destroy and every time a head is chopped off, it is replaced by an uglier one. The problem of so called “curry bashing” is nothing new in Australia (The term 'curry bashing' is generally used for describing verbal or physical attacks on Indians). Ever since Australian shores started attracting Indians for higher studies and jobs, alleged racist attacks have been reported in Australia.
It is to be remembered that racism is not only confined to Australia. Many other parts of the world are also witnessing racism either through violent attacks, social discrimination or social un-acceptance. Outrageous insults came in the Celebrity Big Brother house, London, as the 'reality game show' became a programme showing class divide, race divide and bullying. During her time on Celebrity Big Brother, Shilpa Shetty was allegedly a target of racism and bullying by other housemates, chiefly by Jade Goody, Jo O'Meara and Danielle Lloyd. Shilpa was mocked for her Indian accent and was branded "The Indian" and a "dog". Disparaging conversations took place among the other housemates about Indian eating habits, and Shetty's cooking was criticized for giving O'Meara diarrhoea.
With the world trade tower bombings on September 11, 2001, there have been violent, hate relationships between various sections of society in different parts of the world. Various movies like New York have tried to make the masses know the plight of many innocent people of Indian and Middle East/Pakistan origin who were killed, abused or side lined. Post 9/11 they were kept in detention without any proof and were tortured like hardcore criminals! This type of racism along with religious clashes has complicated the entire system of world histories and geographies.
Art does imitate life. As we have seen in Hollywood movies, the job of Black men was to carry luggage and polish shoes. The job of Black women was to be a housemaid. The job of Orientals in America was to accomplish laundering. The job of Latinos was to play music. The job of White women was to stay at home to raise the children.
While conversing about all these things, we should not dismiss from mind our own country. We too are not unstained from racial rows. The Hindi versus non-Hindi in South, the manus versus bhaiyas in Maharastra, and the epithet of “Chinky” to the North-Eastern students has not only been viewed in violence, but has also raised countless questions about our stake on racism. How can we whine about Racism when we are racists ourselves? How do we expect justice from Australians, Europeans and Americans? Dividing the country based on language, region, and religion might lead to more racial abuses and cases of violence. Either encroachment by immigrants or a sense of superiority or inferiority of one part of the society, adds fuel to the fire. This not only has created social exclusiveness, but has also segregated the entire society. It divides people in a rich state or a poor state, a developed state or an under-developed state, etc.
So many problems facing mankind today are caused by entitlement. Yes, the word is entitlement. It is not only limited to racism and its horizons itself depict its brutality. We cut down trees because of a sense of entitlement to utilize them to produce products, to sell and to make riches. We destroy natural environments to build houses, shopping malls and roads, making the environment no longer welcoming to four-legged wild-life, because we consider ourselves more entitled than other creatures on the planet. We break up families and fight for child custody because somewhere deep within, we feel superior to the other parent because they offended us, or rejected us.
Racism has been in existence, and no doubt it will be there in some form in future. Social and cultural tolerance and equal distribution of the natural resources is desired, if we are concerned about controlling racism. This, however, is not going to be easy for any generation. We cannot suspend the need to go abroad for studies, but we must be cognizant of foreign country’s culture, customs and law of the land. Our own constitution denies various rights to people who are not citizens. It is obvious that other countries will have their own regulations for those who come to their shores. Keeping this vital aspect in mind, those who go abroad for studies must focus on their primary objective, i.e. higher studies. We may face certain situations where our tolerance will be tested. But, our stabilized mind can avert provocation and hence prevent some crucial events like racist attacks.
On the other hand, countries that advocate foreign students to study in their country must have a strong organization which can obviate the incidents of racism. Racist acts at places like food zones, entertainment outlets or any other place must be tackled with stringent laws. Creating a 24*7 helpline, grievance redressal system and multicultural police forces are welcome accomplishments and should be strengthened further. If a foreign country can treat students from other countries with a sense of reverence and if the visiting students can show a sense of tolerance, there can hardly be a room for clashes. After all, “Colour is black and white put together”
Barrack Obama’s election as the first black U.S. President and Shilpa Shetty’s magnificent victory on Celebrity Big Brother are few examples which boost the morale of the people to work against racism and racists.
Once my mother told me, "You belong to the human race!" That is what I'll instill in my children. I wish every mother could infuse in there children that that they belong to the human race!
It is humans, who can appease all this. It will take time and a lot of effort but "Rome was not built in a day". Only the “common man” has the capability to break away from the political traps that divide a human from another human on the basis of race, caste and creed. It doesn't really matter whether you are black or white but the sad part is that we are still ruled by the colour of the skin. And this is what we need to amend.
In the end I would rest my pen and ask you to ponder on the following lines of Robert F. Kennedy-
"But suppose God is black? What if we go to Heaven and we, all our lives, have treated the Negro as an inferior, and God is there, and we look up and He is not white? What then is our response?"
This is an essay which I have submitted in an essay writing competition yesterday. the results will be declared by 25th September.
I hope you like it and I wish I win. :)
