A neighbourhood friend is flying off to the States where he feels that he might get discriminated. Apparently he had heard all the potential nasty things that others have encountered from friends and relatives and was getting cold feet. Fearing for his well-being, my friend scoured for information on how to be "politically correct", so as not to tread on any toes.
He was getting perplexed at how some words had to be avoided when addressing certain groups of people and eventually lashed out to say that the people who feel strongly against racists are actually racists themselves; a case of the pot calling the kettle black. No connotations regarding colour intended of course. Indeed it seems that biased people are the ones accusing others of being prejudiced; not just the racists but also the feminists, chauvinists, nationalists, terrorists and who knows what other extremists.
My secondary school teacher once reprimanded a fellow classmate who blamed another for causing him to come late for class, showing that his accusing finger is accompanied by 3 other fingers pointing back at him. People are always quick to jump at the faults of others without even looking at their own shortcomings. Perhaps this explains why there is so much strife in this world.
Instead of seeing the likeness in all of us, humans seek to be different and tend to segregate themselves and others. Somewhere in that supposedly big brains of ours reside an ego of equal magnitude and perhaps it could be pride that drives certain people needing to feel superior over others.
A person who truly holds no prejudice is one who treats everyone the same.
3 comments:
I would think that anyone around the world would be the same, when it comes to acknowledging cultural differences. I've spent some time in the US myself. I ended up living in Texas (stereotypically classified as one of the more 'redneck' or potentially prejudiced places in america) for a little while as an exchange student.
Yet throughout my time there, I never felt any particular prejudices. At the most, I've had people talk slower to me (than the already slow pace they use) in concern that i wouldn't understand them - which always amused me because while english isn't technically my first language, i am fluent in it.
Anyhow, hope your friend has a good time in the states! =) Things aren't always as different as you'd like to think. some things are pretty universal the world around. after all, at the end of the day, we're all made of the same stuff, yeh?
=)
Precisely we are all essentially made of the same "stuff" but i guess somewhere along the line some people just felt they needed to be different. i am not against the idea of "identity" but against those who use it as a reason for conflict.
Anyhow hope my friend takes your firsthand advice. i am pretty sure myself that everything will turn out fine too and he would enjoy the work trip.
I think the friend of yours is just a bit paranoid. Everything will just turn up well for him i think
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