The Divide
It surely is a divided world we live in today.
Visible predominantly between two colors, though it is not a cleanly split that way.
One can say it is a divide between the dividers and the equalizers, the haters and the lovers. Is it really, though?
The fact is that racism, segregation and hate exists at both end of the aisle, which is masked by the solidarity between a unifying cause in each. Once the cause is taken away, the solidarity ends, and we are back to who we were. Bickering and complaining about those we stood with yesterday.
See, the fact is that segregation-ism exists in every country, every city, every community, at all levels. When you represent yourself in the world, we first call ourselves American. It is USA and rest of the world. When we are back home, we define ourselves by what state, city, community we are from. You have associations that segregate you into men and women, children and adults, landlords and renters, employers and employees. The segregation is never ending, and it all stems from our desire to belong to one. Or that we do, by default. Like, in the biggest separator of all - race.
As a man of color, brown being it, I have had a fair share of mine. Even within my community, by definition of caste and religion, within my country by definition of region and among my peers by definition of my skin color. I have been called the N-word, in a country where there aren't any. I did start at the back end of the line. I left home with a dollar, a hand luggage and a rolled up mattress as my possession. I was quick to note that, to get ahead, I need to put more effort in, take every opportunity I get to step ahead. With a little effort, a lot of luck and support from those who believed in me, I succeeded - my definition of success being that I am better person today than I was yesterday. I sure have come a long way, but two things haven't changed. One, I can still move with a hand luggage if I had to, knowing that everything else is material. Two, that I still face racism. I see that daily in the subways and streets of NYC. I have seen it from all types of skin colors - whites, blacks and even Hispanics, brown brothers from another mother, who are not sure if I am one of them. The truth is I don't belong with any of them, and that I belong with all of them.
One thing I have realized is that racism will never end. There will always be racists, there will always be segregation-ism and there will always be hate. It does not matter whether the segregation is based on the color of your skin, the country of your birth, the country where you live, the language you speak or the group you belong to. It is segregation, nonetheless. I don't care too much about that. As a friend of mine once told me, it is not the racism that we should fight, but the inequality in a system that continues to remain unfair and unjust. What upsets me is not just that an African American died crying "I can't breathe" but that the system let it happen over and over again. What upsets me is not just that a catholic priest molested a kid, but that they allowed it to happen over and over again. What upsets me is not that every cop is vilified over one unacceptable tragic incident which they themselves condone, but that it happens to them over and over again. What upsets me is not that we are Republicans and Democrats, but that we have forgotten to be American.
I look around and I am proud to be in America, where we can voice our opinion, without having a the fear that a tank is waiting to roll over us because we took a stand. Where we can stand up for what we believe in, instead of being laid down six foot under because we dared to speak out. Where we can hope and pursue for change and equality, instead of living in fear that we might get that only in the commonality of death.