The other day I was having one of those ‘intellectual’ discussions with a colleague of mine, when he said something that made me stop and say ‘Wow!’ There’s no better way of describing my sentiments at that time, other than that I was simply speechless. He honestly believed that now, in our present, there are no instances of discrimination whatsoever. His argument was that in the past, we had successfully struggled first against racism, and then against sexism, as it led to the eventual granting of rights to black people and women respectively. He specifically referred to the granting of voting rights to these groups of people. Therefore, he declared, we have conquered racism and sexism!
If these comments led to anything other than a heated argument, it made me realize that he may not be alone in his thoughts. Perhaps all of us, in one way or another, assume that that which our ancestors have been fighting against for years – racism, sexism and many more discriminations – have been destroyed completely. However, the unfortunate truth is that despite the achievements of our ancestors in erasing the evident applications of such discrimination, they have created an environment wherein these discriminations have become increasingly implied. The previously blatant discrimination has now become concealed discrimination. Since we no longer (or at least much less frequently) see the explicit application of discrimination, some of us come to the conclusion that it no longer exists. My argument, to the dismay of my colleague, was (and continues to be) that discrimination, implicitly applied, has much severe consequences than we could have ever have imagined. For not only does this mean that perpetrators of racism and sexism will deny their actions, but it also means that victims of such discrimination will be less likely to report the discrimination that they face, in fear of being labelled as being paranoid, trouble-makers, and as feminists.
As much as we would all love to live in a world where everything is just and fair, reality is far from that of our imagination. Let’s face it, Barack Obama being elected as the President of the United States does not mean that racism against people of the black race has been eliminated. The fact that women can vote as equals to men, and have access to both education and employment, does not mean that they are treated equally within the domestic sphere and the work sphere. Just as ‘black’ individuals continue to be portrayed in the media as deviant individuals, women continue to be subjects of domestic abuse and harassment at home and work respectively. What is important is that we should open our minds to the possibilities of discrimination occurring in our environments even today. Only then will we be able to struggle against it, as our parents had against the blatant discrimination that had surrounded them. There is no denying how far we have come in achieving the rights that we have now. Yet, there is much more to be fought for – every struggle giving us something more that we need.
Our present was the future of our parents.
Our future will be the present of our children.
Tags: Discrimination, Inequality, Racism, Sexism, Speak Out
