Racism - here,there and everywhere...

These days my reading habits are on the wane. Its been a long time since I have given a considerable amount of day time to any book and had rather confined myself to unproductive, selfish but refreshing sleep. Technology, namely Internet, has been the sole companion to make me worthless (not in terms of information though) abuser of time. During these testing periods I came across so many wonderful creations (read writings) of my fellow friends (believe me they have extraordinary power of writing, god knows when they will write a book !!) that sometimes I gave a miss to a heartbeat. How I wish I could express myself so freely. The delight has been purely individual and the writer doesn't take any guarantee of wholesome entertainment.

One such post, deals with certain certainties in our lives and ends on a perfect note of questioning. Are we a racist? I am only trying to take a cue by exploding the term from its literary meaning.

What is race ? - "People who are believed to belong to the same genetic stock". If we leave out the term genetic and then replace it with something else (say age or mindset) then how much does the meaning change? A debatable question I guess. So, lets debate.

The person, who is not a racist is either a Satan or medically frantic. Only these two races, I guess would not fall in the said category, rest everybody does. Why so? Why it is that I am hell bent on criticising and sledging the whole mankind? Because I am totally mad and insane.

A child, before he/she is born, spends almost 9 months in mother's womb. After growing up, the umbilical chord starts to weaken - in the name of modernization, in the pursuit of independence or for that matter under the pressure of career. We have globalized families but localized mindsets. So, if parents are a race (and I believe they are and that too an endangered one) we all are a racist. We are a racist of the highest order who have no time for their own genes.

A husband, an educated person with a successful career, leaves his family in the lurch or in the mid sea because they are incompatible with his lifestyle. If he is famous and celebrity then media runs a business on the scoop, if he is ordinary like you and me nobody cares. Either way, the family is neither benefited nor saved. Legal processes only prolongs the death or strangles the darkness. So, if family is a race, these people are racist. A racist of god knows what order - doesn't even spare his - you know what.

A modern society - a great lifestyle and independent mind. It has no time for losers, no humanity for "also ran" communities. The gap between the winner and the contestants is like black hole - It can only absorb and absorb. Infinite input and no output.Those who are left behind are bound to fall in the well. If they start screaming for help - shoot them down, scandalize them or laugh at them by saying they are incompetent for the competition. The best publicity comes if you pity them. You hold seminars, you organize charities and say hundred good things but do nothing. Even if you couldn't manage hell you will surely manage a Nobel peace prize. So, every individual in a society is a racist - a racist who doesn't want to be in a crowd but wants to be alone at the top.

A girl, in her teens, eloped with her boyfriend and it became an instant news. The family hits back - criticizes her, yells at her and even curses their beloved daughter - but could do nothing. The neighbours, till unnoticed and unknown jumps into act. They do everything possible to make life hell, create mountains out of nothing and starts pronouncing judgements. The verdict is out - the sinner girl must die. The girl is unrelenting for saving her love (even though she says she cares for her parents too) - so parents pay the price. Eventually all die or commit suicide - society makes sure of that.So, all such neighbours in the society are - you know what.

God is great - god is always right. God only helps those who are just and in the quest of truth. If the intention is correct and you are on the right side of god - doesn't matter what you do - you would be saved. Such are the sayings in the epics, such are the sayings in the religions. Whatever god does to save right has to be right even if it is apparently not - we are not enlightened enough to understand what he does. So, god, who only favors his protege can do anything to save him/her. The losers may fight it out in the highest court but the verdict could change hardly in favor of them.

So, all said and done - we all are racist. You are so, your neighbours are so, your husband is so, your wife is so, society is so, I am so and above all HE is also so. Racism is omnipresent, omnipotent albeit ambivalent. A Brahman is a racist as well as a Sudra. Then where do we go from here? Do we revolt or should we continue the process of dialogue? Should we kill or get killed?

For me there is only one answer - either we change or perish, because a winning Satan might not be as graceful as Shilpa.