Nadars are business-minded people! Brahmins, ah, we know what they are. Christians are looking at an opportunity to convert. Muslims want to dominate. The girls from Nagercoil are calculative. Well, black people are rough and English are racist. Americans only think about money, Tamils are conservative and of course yes, Malayalees are a closed group.
I will be honest! Some of these were my ideas too; We have all used them at various points of our lives. We attribute a character to a group!
And that groupings were of varied different forms! Religion, race, country, city, language, and even gender.
Yes, that is the norm. Everyone does it. Surely most people of a group, when a character is attributed to that group, display that character, and what is wrong with that? I can hear you all come back at me! Let me tell this story.
Today morning at work a terrifying incident happened. When my boss and I were on the way to work one random guy came and threatened us. He started abusing! Expletives, you name it, he used it. We were taken aback. We did not know how to react. After a full five minute of abuse, he decided to walk away.
All four of us in that place, me, my boss, another colleague and that man are from different countries and are from different races. Basically, we had different skin colours. After the incident, the immediate reaction in your brain is to identify that race to that kind of behaviour. Well, it is natural! Ain't it?
He was abusive coz, he was thinking he is retaliating against a wrong done to his race by other races present there. No, he had it wrong! Not everyone from the race which had targeted him have the same ideology. My mind started thinking badly about that race until I had to remind myself about a few wonderful friends I have from that same race!
You get the drift right?
Individuals vary! They vary within a group. Their characters change over a period of time. Of course, every individual has some influences from the group(community/clan or whatever) they mingle with often. But that does not make them another human being! They may have similar ideologies. They may have similar views on certain issues. They may behave in a certain way. But nothing can make one man a carbon copy of another man.
Thus when we judge an individual and attribute a character to an individual, it is imperative we think twice! Coz, judgment should always be on an individual and never the group!
I told myself today, that come what may, I will never relate hatred to the race of the man who abused me! For it was that individual who wronged me and not the race.
I will be honest! Some of these were my ideas too; We have all used them at various points of our lives. We attribute a character to a group!
And that groupings were of varied different forms! Religion, race, country, city, language, and even gender.
Yes, that is the norm. Everyone does it. Surely most people of a group, when a character is attributed to that group, display that character, and what is wrong with that? I can hear you all come back at me! Let me tell this story.
Today morning at work a terrifying incident happened. When my boss and I were on the way to work one random guy came and threatened us. He started abusing! Expletives, you name it, he used it. We were taken aback. We did not know how to react. After a full five minute of abuse, he decided to walk away.
All four of us in that place, me, my boss, another colleague and that man are from different countries and are from different races. Basically, we had different skin colours. After the incident, the immediate reaction in your brain is to identify that race to that kind of behaviour. Well, it is natural! Ain't it?
He was abusive coz, he was thinking he is retaliating against a wrong done to his race by other races present there. No, he had it wrong! Not everyone from the race which had targeted him have the same ideology. My mind started thinking badly about that race until I had to remind myself about a few wonderful friends I have from that same race!
You get the drift right?
Individuals vary! They vary within a group. Their characters change over a period of time. Of course, every individual has some influences from the group(community/clan or whatever) they mingle with often. But that does not make them another human being! They may have similar ideologies. They may have similar views on certain issues. They may behave in a certain way. But nothing can make one man a carbon copy of another man.
Thus when we judge an individual and attribute a character to an individual, it is imperative we think twice! Coz, judgment should always be on an individual and never the group!
I told myself today, that come what may, I will never relate hatred to the race of the man who abused me! For it was that individual who wronged me and not the race.
