All About Insanity, Stupidity and Tequilla
Dienstag, Februar 28, 2006
Stereotype and Racism
racism is just another way of saying "judging a book by its cover". living in austria, where the majority population is europeans, i have become a victim of racism myself, although not as often and not treated as discriminately as the africans are.
i have hated the word and the act of racism for as long as i can remember. although i'm not denying that there have been times where i couldn't help saying "racism stuff", but i have never done anything to hurt anyone just because of the colour of their skins. i do have some personal opinions that u may call "racist" but i don't show it to people.
what about stereotypes?
i'd say stereotype is simply the soft form of racism. it can go as light as thinking that all germans drink beer and eat sausages only to something malicious like all africans suffer from aids. see? racism, blanketed by words. same difference.
i was chilling at home last night with my african boyfriend and two of my good friends, watching tv. an sms from someone close - very close - to me told me to switch the channel. so i did. the tv programm was a coverage about a missionary helping africans infected with the hiv virus. at first i didn't understand, so i picked up the phone and called this person to ask what was the purpose of telling me to watch the programm.
the person simply said, "watch it, pay attention to it and tell me what u think about it, and then start thinking about ur own health". then it dawned on me. i switched the channel back to what we were watching before and slammed the phone down. the feeling was undescribable. i was angry at this person, who i thought was an open-minded person, and also embarassed.
later on that night, when we were getting ready for bed, my boyfriend asked me what the phonecall was all about. i looked at him straight in the eyes and couldn't bring myself to tell him. i was afraid of what he would say and i was afraid of hurting him. so i didn't tell him. i feel so bad about not telling him the whole truth, but i didn't want him to be hurt either.
so, last night, i have become an "indirect" victim of racism and my boyfriend a victim of cruel stereotype. i'm sure this won't be the last time, and i'm sure we will overcome it. but i just never thought it would come from a person very close to me.
-rv
posted by Apink a.k.a. Bubbzy
at 1:45:00 PM |
Freitag, Februar 24, 2006
Back in Business
well... here i am... surprisingly whole and alive. you would say "surprisingly" too, if u'd known what i've been through. three months of non-stop emotion turmoil. I do understand the concept of, you know, the whole "it's a big ferris wheel, once u're up and once u're down" thing. but i've just never been on a ferris wheel that goes full speed! so i guess it's excusable to say that i had to adjust a little.
yea, three months. it was tough. really tough. but i guess once u've calmed down and accept the things, u start to see everything else in a different way. and somehow, u just make peace with the fact that u just cant change those things. in return, u'll find another way that leads u to a whole new place that u think might just be the right place for u.
it is difficult, especially when u've lived and believed in that old place for too long, u even started to believe that u really did belong there. but the first step is always difficult and challenging. once u've taken that step, u'll find it easier to take the next and find it even easier not to look back.
and after a while, u'll reach a point where u become so sick of the past that u dun even want to be a part of it anymore. u dun even want to talk or hear about it. it's true that we have to learn from the past. and that i do, but that doesnt mean that u have to keep the past with u.
i have reached that point. the point where i just throw away all the past, and put it where it should be: behind - no matter how wonderful the past could be; and also where i start accepting and making peace with the things i cannot change. i wouldn't say that that made me a better person. but i think i may have just discovered a new layer of me and perhaps it's a good thing. i dunno... time will tell.
-rv
posted by Apink a.k.a. Bubbzy
at 2:55:00 PM |
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