I abhor racism. It is terrible that humans make assumptions about a group or individual based on the colour of their skin or shape of their eyes.
My earliest recollection of racism was when I was about 10 years old and growing up in Perth, Western Australia. I was sitting in the back seat of the family car as we headed home from a friends place.
It was an uneventful drive until some people (who happened to be white, blonde and young) drove past us, but then decided to slow down so they could drive next to us.
They had slowed down to look at my dad because he was wearing his turban. Their windows were down and I can not recall what was said but they were making comments to each other and laughing - about my dad. Back in the 1980's in Perth, a man wearing a turban was about as common as a fat person at a salad bar.
Upon recollection of this event years later, I felt proud that my old man did not react. He knew what was going on, but he kept on driving. I am sure it hurt him but he thought me a valuable lesson that day
The ignorance of someone should not affect you in any great deal.
I strongly believe that most of the time, when people stare at you because you look different, it is because they do not know you or more importantly, your culture. I found that just because someone makes a silly comment that sounds derogatory does not mean they are racist. They just do not know and when you explain it to them, they shall learn and their eyes would have opened to something new. Therefore, they will become appreciative of this new information and may want to learn more.
But then there are some who will not want to learn. That is because they will never know what life is all about. They think their way is always right. But it is wrong.
No religion or culture should exclude another just because they do not fit into their norm. All religions and cultures actually encourage the spread of their ideals in a way that is not confrontational. If you embrace it then good for you, if not, such is life.
But people are a different manner as there is always a small minority that will never want to listen to others. They poison others with their ideals who then close their minds and souls to the wonderful diversity of the world.
In the long run, we should accept that everyone is different. Even those that worship the same deity can have differences of opinions. As a Sikh, I never understood why there was a difference between Christians and Roman Catholics. Yet after some discussions with some people, I understood the difference.
Everything is different, everyone has some peculiarities about them. But overall, everyone should aim to be good and respect one another and help another human being no matter what they look like or who their worship.
Afterall, we are all the same and we all want to live life well.
My earliest recollection of racism was when I was about 10 years old and growing up in Perth, Western Australia. I was sitting in the back seat of the family car as we headed home from a friends place.
It was an uneventful drive until some people (who happened to be white, blonde and young) drove past us, but then decided to slow down so they could drive next to us.
They had slowed down to look at my dad because he was wearing his turban. Their windows were down and I can not recall what was said but they were making comments to each other and laughing - about my dad. Back in the 1980's in Perth, a man wearing a turban was about as common as a fat person at a salad bar.
Upon recollection of this event years later, I felt proud that my old man did not react. He knew what was going on, but he kept on driving. I am sure it hurt him but he thought me a valuable lesson that day
The ignorance of someone should not affect you in any great deal.
I strongly believe that most of the time, when people stare at you because you look different, it is because they do not know you or more importantly, your culture. I found that just because someone makes a silly comment that sounds derogatory does not mean they are racist. They just do not know and when you explain it to them, they shall learn and their eyes would have opened to something new. Therefore, they will become appreciative of this new information and may want to learn more.
But then there are some who will not want to learn. That is because they will never know what life is all about. They think their way is always right. But it is wrong.
No religion or culture should exclude another just because they do not fit into their norm. All religions and cultures actually encourage the spread of their ideals in a way that is not confrontational. If you embrace it then good for you, if not, such is life.
But people are a different manner as there is always a small minority that will never want to listen to others. They poison others with their ideals who then close their minds and souls to the wonderful diversity of the world.
In the long run, we should accept that everyone is different. Even those that worship the same deity can have differences of opinions. As a Sikh, I never understood why there was a difference between Christians and Roman Catholics. Yet after some discussions with some people, I understood the difference.
Everything is different, everyone has some peculiarities about them. But overall, everyone should aim to be good and respect one another and help another human being no matter what they look like or who their worship.
Afterall, we are all the same and we all want to live life well.
2 comments:
nice read :)
Interesting blog. It raises the question of how 'objective' we can/should be about cultural and religious practices that are different to our own. Where is the line in the sand... or isn't there one? While I agree in principle, I think there are some basic human rights that need to be accounted for, protected and defended vehemently. In adopting a 'live and let live' attitude we *can* run the risk of becoming too complacent. Do your liberal views extend to ALL cultural and religious practices? Is female circumcision acceptable? Is male circumcision acceptable (there are those who would argue that it is as equally debasing and painful as the female circumcision)? Under what circumstances are certain religious practices acceptable... for instance, there are groups of people who will go to some extreme lengths to ensure that the young men are initiated regardless of the resistance from the initiand. The marriage of very young, pre-pubescent girls to much older men is culturally appropriate to some. Does that mean that we, as a society, sanction paedophilia?
A really good, thought-provoking blog here Dev. Well done!
Post a Comment