Friday, September 18, 2020

rambling on human rights and tolerance

Can someone tell me what’s going on,
where are we still going wrong?

You? You are talking about human rights? Are you serious, my friend? Okay, first tell me who is a human.... according to you, who fits the definition of a human? Someone who looks like you? Who talks, eats, behaves like you? If you looked back, you would see that your race had violated human rights the most. You called people names, niggers, chicken roasts, watermelons, and so on… tried to either baptize or civilize chunks of populations, and, in so doing, had destroyed, stolen histories, wealth, and stories of races who were different from you, those whom you thought were not even humans:

‘To wait in heavy harness
On fluttered fold and wild -- 
Your new-caught, sullen peoples, 
Half devil and half child.’

Did you include them too when you talk about human rights? Of all the races in the world, you were the most intolerant. You had offended the whole world. South America comprises
Mexico, the Caribbean and most of Central and South America. In these places, residents speak mostly Spanish and Portuguese. These two languages are classified as Romance languages, which are derived from Latin, and that’s why you call South America Latin America? You have completely erased the indigenous languages, haven’t you? Then why don’t you call it continental euro-America?

Let’s not open the pandora’s box, but even today you have not changed. Not one bit. 

Why should we have to dress like you in our own lands? What do you mean by professional grooming and etiquette? It’s your own style of grooming that you regard as professional, don’t you? What do you mean by dining etiquette? It’s your style of dining, isn’t it? Why do we have to hold a fork and a knife to eat? Why do we have to talk like you, in your language, why should we neutralize our accent to project ourselves as an effective speaker? What do you mean by professionals? They are people who look like you, don’t they?

And why do our children have to do night shifts, why wouldn’t you allow them to sleep at night? And after all this, you are talking about human rights? I know that some of you also do night shifts for essential services in your part of the world, but even those who do night shifts, most of them are immigrants. In our part of the world, in every sector nightshift are creeping in like the insomniac virus that’s adversely affecting the health and hygiene levels here! Why do you compel our organizations to work in night shifts if you are so sensitive about human rights?

 From the way we dress, talk, eat, look, you are telling us that we are not okay, that we have to be like you to be civilized, to look like a professional, and you are talking about tolerance and human rights! Imagine this…in our own land, on days we wear our dresses, we call it ethnic wear day!

 You are still using our part of the world as your dumping ground. Why so! Why can’t you manage your own waste? Why don’t you allow us to cultivate crops in our own lands? The same rule still seems to be the ground rule, isn’t it? First learn to accept humans who look, talk, eat, dress differently, as humans; if you walk the talk well enough, you won’t need to talk much about human rights and tolerance.

2 comments:

  1. Enjoyed reading ........ we gave enough waste to Mother Earth ...... that’s what we are getting it back now.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Ruma, for reading and commenting. Yes indeed, it is so.

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