Pride & Prejudice

I was sitting in the lobby of a 5-star hotel recently, waiting for a few friends to arrive as we had planned to hang out at a joint inside the hotel. One of my friends was with me at the time. We were keenly observing the surroundings. Just then, a couple of white-skinned people aka 'Goras' just passed by us. My friend suggested that we turn the tables around and racially abuse them when they are in our country. An interesting thought, I wondered. Abuse the whites when they are here, because they inflict it upon us wherever we go. But there are several reasons as to why I reminded my good friend, that what we would be doing is a purposeless pursuit.

The problem with us that we lack the necessary ego. Yes, you read right. It's a dose of ego that we need. Ego, which would make us proud of who we are. Ego, that would help us appreciate our own race. Ego, which would allow us to break down the discrimination that we face, that the so-called Third World faces. The fact that I am stating now is likely to shock you, but we even racially abuse ourselves, hence compounding the complexity of the crisis. Whether we are black, white, blue, green or purple, our tendency to discriminate between ourselves itself wipes out the concept of racial revenge. We give the whites the respect that they get. Remember, they don't really deserve it. Just imagine yourself. Whenever you meet a member of the "First World", you will raise your courtesy levels beyond the maximum. But it won't be the same if you meet a fellow countryman, with a coloured skin, probably even the same as yours.

A bigger problem than the one stated above is that even national icons don't stand up to represent us. Our cricketers have been racially abused, but they just look down or continue doing their job. S Sreesanth is probably the only example in the current crop, who went some way in helping out. Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty was gift-wrapped an opportunity to stand up and make herself, and us, count. But she opted for the cash. Have fun counting your bucks, Shilpa!

The only way ahead - develop an ego that makes you proud of your race. It doesn't really matter whether you are deserving of it. We are not the children of a lesser God. Maybe, we only assume ourselves to be so.....