Prejudice
Wednesday, June 2, 2021
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character,” a quote stated by Dr. Martin Luther King Junior. I’ve been called ugly, I’ve been called dark-skinned in a racist way and so on, I never tried to focus my mind on other’s opinions, but just because their looks are better or their caste is better doesn’t mean they can say or act the way they want. Sometimes I feel why can’t imagine themselves in that position, but I don't think they can, can they?
Sometimes the world likes judging people out of the way they look or from what background they belong, it’s not something that started recently, discrimination, stereotypes, and prejudiced opinions, have been a troubling aspect of our society for centuries and many people struggle with their personal identities because of the predetermined ideas that are tagged upon them. The murder of George Floyd which we all are very much aware of suffocated by a police officer who lodged his knee into Floyd's neck is just one of the biggest example of a well-established history of racial terror and has sparked global outrage, where we witnessed millions of people protesting for George Floyd’s dead and how they all stated, “Blacks Lives matter.” Even though there is a Penal Code in India that states, it is illegal to use language that promotes discrimination or violence against people on the basis of race, caste, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other category, but isn’t it still there within our societies? Aren’t thousands or even millions of people facing it even after all these years of independence?
It’s not just the race or the class, but it is also the gender, growing up as a woman I’ve come across many incidents where not just mine but many woman’s rights have been cut off because of the traditions or superstitions that have been passed down from the 90s to the early 2000s. When I hear people expressing their hatred to a particular individual because of their caste, race, or religion, I try my maximum to fight for that person’s rights and make that person understand it’s not their problem or even ask them to imagine themselves in that position, but they might just keep quiet for 4-5 minutes or even an hour or so. But will that change their outlook or their opinion for them? The only thing I want to say at last is STOP DISCRIMINATION, and fight not just for your rights but also for the rights of our society! Because remember what Zainab Salbi said, “No change can come if those who are impacted the most by discrimination are not willing to stand up for themselves.”
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