Racism is a human condition. Or better yet, "otherness" is. The American condition is simply exacerbated by it's scope in the face of a culture that prides individual success. Everyone wants to be distinguished, feel distinguished, even if at the expense of others - particularly, at the expense of others. Race differentials makes this easier, particularly for a class that has been impressed upon as being superior, without any consequence.
Biblical students will recollect that "otherness" started from the second generation of people and continued to be reinforced with each coming generation. Cain needed to prove he was better than his brother whom his parents seemed to prefer, he murdered his brother. But much more than that, the thread of otherness was sown. And many years later, according to biblical texts, when humans came together to build a temple to the heavens, there were scattered and their languages changed so they would not understand themselves. Literally or otherwise, it is clear that our ancestors know something about otherness. Every tribe, every group, every village, every town, distinguished itself from its neighbor. And not just in terms of language, or even tribal marks or decision to circumcise or not to, or what gods to worship or not. But also, in terms of good and bad, clean and unclean, righteous or sinful, worthy or unworthy, superior or inferior. It has always been a human game, a human palavar as a popular African music legend would say.
As America grapples with the issue of race, we should all understand that racism in itself may not be the culprit to fight against, because otherness is a human nature that can not be overcome, but rather inequality. The challenge is not to stamp out the tendency of people to seek out and highlight the otherness of others, rather, it should be to ensure that even in the face of the realization that we are all indeed unique, and can easily become "other" to another person, we all should start out with a fair and equal shot. That indeed is the essence of Martin Luther King's dream.
The spate of recent uprising that have come to highlight the vulnerability of black male to organized state violence - cases where white men in police uniform saw an opportunity to demonstrate their "superiority" over "unruly" blackmen is not much different than the scenario in "developing nations", like Nigeria where "mobile" police units from the north are usually deployed to the south to help quell unrest. The "others" have no problem suppressing those they consider "inferior" or "other". When it happens in Nigeria, it is not racism. It is called tribalism. There too, southern Nigerian male
were vulnerable to organized state violence. All you need to do to get out of some big trouble those days was to speak accent-less Hausa.
The cases in Ferguson and New York, while just the latest reminders of how "otherness" could lead to violence, and unregulated lethal violence when sanctioned by the state, they should not make us cringe out of fear of what lurks in our hearts. We are all racists at heart, and it is time we face up to it.
And when we get to Mars, we will simply be human. Just ask the Yorubas in Maryland or the East Africans in Portland. In a foreign land, they are all brothers and sisters, closer to their origin, they are "others".
Biblical students will recollect that "otherness" started from the second generation of people and continued to be reinforced with each coming generation. Cain needed to prove he was better than his brother whom his parents seemed to prefer, he murdered his brother. But much more than that, the thread of otherness was sown. And many years later, according to biblical texts, when humans came together to build a temple to the heavens, there were scattered and their languages changed so they would not understand themselves. Literally or otherwise, it is clear that our ancestors know something about otherness. Every tribe, every group, every village, every town, distinguished itself from its neighbor. And not just in terms of language, or even tribal marks or decision to circumcise or not to, or what gods to worship or not. But also, in terms of good and bad, clean and unclean, righteous or sinful, worthy or unworthy, superior or inferior. It has always been a human game, a human palavar as a popular African music legend would say.
As America grapples with the issue of race, we should all understand that racism in itself may not be the culprit to fight against, because otherness is a human nature that can not be overcome, but rather inequality. The challenge is not to stamp out the tendency of people to seek out and highlight the otherness of others, rather, it should be to ensure that even in the face of the realization that we are all indeed unique, and can easily become "other" to another person, we all should start out with a fair and equal shot. That indeed is the essence of Martin Luther King's dream.
The spate of recent uprising that have come to highlight the vulnerability of black male to organized state violence - cases where white men in police uniform saw an opportunity to demonstrate their "superiority" over "unruly" blackmen is not much different than the scenario in "developing nations", like Nigeria where "mobile" police units from the north are usually deployed to the south to help quell unrest. The "others" have no problem suppressing those they consider "inferior" or "other". When it happens in Nigeria, it is not racism. It is called tribalism. There too, southern Nigerian male
were vulnerable to organized state violence. All you need to do to get out of some big trouble those days was to speak accent-less Hausa.
The cases in Ferguson and New York, while just the latest reminders of how "otherness" could lead to violence, and unregulated lethal violence when sanctioned by the state, they should not make us cringe out of fear of what lurks in our hearts. We are all racists at heart, and it is time we face up to it.
And when we get to Mars, we will simply be human. Just ask the Yorubas in Maryland or the East Africans in Portland. In a foreign land, they are all brothers and sisters, closer to their origin, they are "others".
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