OUR DIFFERENCES CANNOT DIVIDE US... UNLESS
“Even God doesn't propose to judge a man till
his last days,
why should you and I?”
Of the
hundreds of things that we get to watch on social media, particularly FB, I
long to watch the most are… the videos of little babies and pets! Wow, how
clean, warm and enriching they are! The more I watch them, the more I get
connected to the baby within me – my core… my innocence… that clean,
affectionate and trusting space within my soul…
And, then, on the same screen, I, also, get to watch hundreds
of videos - of debates, news items, propaganda stories – which clearly cut me
off from that clean space within… In seconds, I can feel within my soul that
heaviness, that discomfort… and, I wonder where it comes from… I see myself
disconnected… Mind taking sides… I can sense within me the bias, the prejudice,
and, importantly, I can easily trace my words, actions and behaviour which stem
from that space…
Am I a prejudiced person?
Yes, I am.
Was I born with it?
No, I don’t think so.
Just the way no babies are!
My every prejudice is an infection of my soul… I have got it
from someone, somewhere sometime… Yes, I was not born with it.
And, what kind of prejudice am I talking about, here?
To me, any of my beliefs, opinions and reactions to someone or
something around me, if they come from my ignorance, intolerance and
misguidance – yes, if they are unfounded and based on my insecurities and lack
of trust – they are my prejudices. From such ignorance and intolerance, come my
deep dislikes, hatred and violence… Be it my prejudice towards another
religious community, or political leadership or ideology, skin colour, caste,
class, Gods, eating and dressing habits, speech and culture… and, even, gender.
We all are infected with prejudice of one kind or the other… And, if we deny
it, I think, that’s a clear sign of one more prejudice…
The denial is the womb of not only ignorance, it’s also the
womb of our arrogance!
Many of
us do not realize, that, what we call a prejudice is simply our inability to
recognize, accept, respect and celebrate our differences. “It is not our differences that divide us,” said Audre Lorde, “It
is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.”
How true!
Our differences cannot divide us, unless we are unwilling to
accommodate and celebrate them. I wish
to repeat, once again, here, that we all have prejudices within our souls. And,
I, also, repeat, that none of us was born with them… We all have acquired them from
someone, somewhere, sometime… Yes, we have been brainwashed, infected!
To me, this very awareness itself is the way to cure myself!
This world shall, always, remain imperfect. Only in a ‘perfect
world’, we can hope to see life without prejudices. And, that world will be a Utopia... That hope will be an
illusion!
My wife and I have our
shares of prejudices… And, we both watched, together, the latest Hindi movie ‘Mulk’,
twice… Once, on the very first day of its release, and once, last evening. And,
both the times, the cinema hall was almost packed with amazing people… They
looked educated, well-placed in life… They came with their families… And, I
have no doubt in saying, that all of them went home the way my wife and I did –
a lot moved and reminded of our inner infection – ‘prejudice’!
GERALD D’CUNHA
Pic.: Hindustan Times
Video: YouTube
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