02/03/2013

same same but different?

I just finished watching something that everyone should see, something that should be a common knowledge by now but what because of human limitations and reluctance to acknowledge their own faults still remains an uncomfortable truth.

BBC Four documentary on the history of racism. This  three-episode series  is a real eye opener that makes you realize how little we know, or perhaps want to know, about racism and its origins. In the 21st century we like to believe that we managed to create a racially equal society, where everyone has equal access to education and deserves respect. But have you ever felt uncomfortable when a group of young black men passed you on a dark, empty street? Would you be happy if your child married someone whose skin colour is different than yours? How ethnically and religiously diverse are the senior leaders of your company?

I moved to London with a naive idea that I will be living in a place where people of all countries, skin colours and religions live together in mutual respect, where a view of an interracial couple raises no eyebrows, where you get a job because of your ability not your skin colour. This is how London seemed to me during my first year of university. I had black students in my year, I had Indian friends, wherever I went I seemed to see perfect examples of a cosmopolitan utopia. Until I started looking closer.

Bhangra night in the Ministry of Sound- only Asians and me. University corridors- groups of Pakistani guys sticking together, groups of black girls chatting next to a group of white girls. You would see mixed-groups too, but somehow everyone tended to stick to those who looked like them. I guess from a social and evolutionary point of view it makes sense, people are naturally drawn to those who look and act similar to them and tend to subconsciously perceive those who are different as a potential threat. But that's a mechanism that worked in the old days when people lived in small tribes and they competed with other social groups over food. As far as I'm concerned, Tesco has now enough food for all of us. So why the fear?

The documentary doesn't provide an exhaustive answer to that question (don't think anything or anyone ever will), but it presents a thorough account on the limited thinking and flawed concepts that fed the racial atrocities and the wrongful feelings of white supremacy. It doesn't just talk about the apartheid in South Africa and lynches in the States however, it uncovers a whole load of evidence that most of us never hear about at school or in the newspapers.

Talking about the British imperialism, the westerners often seem to feel a sense of pride at the "success" of conquering a foreign land and making their society more "civilized". The "better" people helping the "lesser" people. American troops in Iraq, forced religious conversions, Australia's stolen generations. The assumption of superiority over another human being because of religious, cultural or racial difference is perhaps one of the greatest and most dangerous of the many delusions that we frequently practice. In Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment, Raskolnikov's inflated sense of grandeur leads him to murder. But hey, it's not really that bad because he got rid of an elderly woman, and after all he, the young man, needed the money more than someone who is "useless" to the society. In his brilliant novel Dostoyevsky shows us very clearly the tragic consequences of such flawed logic, and he warns us against the convictions of power and supremacy over others. He also shows what us humans became really great at- rationalizing our internal motives and applying complex theories to account for our demonic urges or inner fears. British settlers killing Native Americans, the atrocities conducted on the Aborigines, lynches in States less than a century ago,  3000 Namibians killed in the first German concentration camp of the Shark Island, holocaust. These are only a few examples of where radical ideas may lead.

Aside from fear, another crucial aspect to consider is the economy. A conviction that you are better than someone else because you were born with white skin and they weren't, allowed many people in the history to sacrifice human lives for profit. The British Raj lead to a death of 30 million Indians in the 19th century droughts because the financial gains were more important than the misery of those who contributed to them. The Africans were treated like a commodity,  kitchen robots of the old days. Who on earth gave us the right to sell another life? Why aren't we doing something about women sold for prostitution, children sold for labour? Human trafficking is no different to a modern day slavery.

We all allow for it to happen. We are all responsible. If you fail to acknowledge that you are no better than ANY other human being, if you think that people should marry into their own race, if you believe that women should serve their husbands, if you prefer to be treated by a doctor of your own skin colour, you are guilty of  racism. Skin colour is a result on 1 gene which decides about the level of melanin, a dark skin pigment. Differentiating on the base of race is the same as if you decided that people with a different eye or skin colour are inferior to you. It is time we all stopped labeling people based on their physical features and looked past their complexion or religion. We all deserve to be treated equal and we are all entitled to a respect from one another.

                   Success is knowing that because of you the world is a little better
                                                                                                                                           Michael Sneyd

No comments:

Post a Comment