Going through some Tumblr tags, I noticed that there is a lot of talk of institutionalized racism. What a lot of these people believe is that coloured people can never be racist, and that all white people inherently are. This cult-like mindset is alarmingly starting to spread, especially among young bloggers who want to make themselves feel like they're doing some good in the world despite being glued to their computer/phone screens all day.
There is undoubtedly racism in this world. People are oppressed and segregated simply because of their skin colour. But it is foolishness to think that only white people are behind it. Here in India, there are many races - Punjabi, Bengali, Kashmiri, Assamese, Khasi, Mizo and so on. And more often than not, these races hold a sense of prejudice against the others. Bengalis are seen as being in love with gossip, Garos are seen as being dense, Tamil people are seen as being backward (and their thick accent is often the butt of many jokes by the others). I do not condone such narrow-minded viewpoints, but I do acknowledge their presence despite the influence of Caucasians. Of course, some infantile bloggers reason this by saying that the British brought racism to India with them. They say that before the British arrived, Indians everywhere always got along. A simple look at the history of the nation will reveal this to be false. Besides, the East India Trading Company was able to get such a considerable footing in India because it gained the favors of warring Indian royalty belonging to different races. As time passed the country become economically more progressive and it started to embrace its differences instead. But even today there is prevailing hostility among different races. This is an observable fact.
Having interacted with a lot of people of different colours, I can speak from experience when I say that racism is not exclusive to whites. For instance, I recall getting into a debate with a Brazilian guy, and as the debate progressed, his last rebuttal was a racist comment - "You're just a dirt farmer." This comment does not sound any less racist just because it came from a coloured person.
Being mixed race myself, I have had the pleasure of being bred in a joint setting. I was not limited to the confines of one cultural setting. As such, I was able to witness racial interaction within my own family. There were local elections being held recently, and people were drunk on party loyalty. It was during this time that one of my cousins asked my sister if she was going to vote. My sister responded in the negative, and my cousin said "Why not? You don't want the Bengalis to win, do you?" Apparently, to my cousin, the elections went deeper than support for certain party principles. It bordered on a racial issue. These are just few of many examples of where I have personally witness racism from coloured people.
The way I see it, racism is racism. You cannot hide behind your coloured skin and insult other people who are of a different race than you, including whites. There was certainly a time when a lot of white people were the reason for injustice and oppression of racial minorities. But not all white people at the time were hostile to colored people. It also does not mean that all black and brown people got along back then, that there was no prevalent racism among them. The same principles apply even more so today. Racism transcends Caucasians, it is an inherent social defect that needs to be fixed. The only way we can do this is through education, but as of right now there are too many people spreading the wrong information.
There is undoubtedly racism in this world. People are oppressed and segregated simply because of their skin colour. But it is foolishness to think that only white people are behind it. Here in India, there are many races - Punjabi, Bengali, Kashmiri, Assamese, Khasi, Mizo and so on. And more often than not, these races hold a sense of prejudice against the others. Bengalis are seen as being in love with gossip, Garos are seen as being dense, Tamil people are seen as being backward (and their thick accent is often the butt of many jokes by the others). I do not condone such narrow-minded viewpoints, but I do acknowledge their presence despite the influence of Caucasians. Of course, some infantile bloggers reason this by saying that the British brought racism to India with them. They say that before the British arrived, Indians everywhere always got along. A simple look at the history of the nation will reveal this to be false. Besides, the East India Trading Company was able to get such a considerable footing in India because it gained the favors of warring Indian royalty belonging to different races. As time passed the country become economically more progressive and it started to embrace its differences instead. But even today there is prevailing hostility among different races. This is an observable fact.
Having interacted with a lot of people of different colours, I can speak from experience when I say that racism is not exclusive to whites. For instance, I recall getting into a debate with a Brazilian guy, and as the debate progressed, his last rebuttal was a racist comment - "You're just a dirt farmer." This comment does not sound any less racist just because it came from a coloured person.
Being mixed race myself, I have had the pleasure of being bred in a joint setting. I was not limited to the confines of one cultural setting. As such, I was able to witness racial interaction within my own family. There were local elections being held recently, and people were drunk on party loyalty. It was during this time that one of my cousins asked my sister if she was going to vote. My sister responded in the negative, and my cousin said "Why not? You don't want the Bengalis to win, do you?" Apparently, to my cousin, the elections went deeper than support for certain party principles. It bordered on a racial issue. These are just few of many examples of where I have personally witness racism from coloured people.
The way I see it, racism is racism. You cannot hide behind your coloured skin and insult other people who are of a different race than you, including whites. There was certainly a time when a lot of white people were the reason for injustice and oppression of racial minorities. But not all white people at the time were hostile to colored people. It also does not mean that all black and brown people got along back then, that there was no prevalent racism among them. The same principles apply even more so today. Racism transcends Caucasians, it is an inherent social defect that needs to be fixed. The only way we can do this is through education, but as of right now there are too many people spreading the wrong information.
