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The Specter of Racism in Literature has been Handed on to Generations

We all grew up with children’s stories most especially those that are in books such as the classics. We all like them and were fond of them. The stories they told filled our imagination and gave us a sense of wonder. Unknowingly we have embraced vessels of one of the most if not the most aberrant social reality known to man – discrimination. Moreover it not just simple discrimination but the more horrendous kind – racial discrimination. Humanity has fought long and hard to cleanse racial discrimination from its very soul yet it is shocking to know its relics still exists, are widely accessible and still can poison the minds of the next generation. Just when we thought we have rid ourselves of the filth of racial differentiation, stereotyping and degradation we discover that materials that bear the same poison still exists and our children may get to read or may actually be reading them. We should not discount the fact that exposure to them and in the long run conditions persons to be racial particular, repressive and discriminatory. Now it is clear that mundane children’s story books and stories in general may contain the same notion that started the most notorious chapters in human history. We have seen the Holocaust, the Rwandan Genocide, the Ethnic – based Wars in Africa and the Genocide in the Balkans. It is striking that the underlying culture behind all of these atrocities still has a means to transmission and perpetuation. This only surfaced recently and we are left to wonder could have we contained it and prevented racial violence in our time?

In a recent article this reality was explored in the sense that racially revolting materials were examined. Some of this so called racially offensive literature includes Tin Tin, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Little Black Sambo. Though simple, unassuming and perhaps mundane on the deeper psycho – sociological perspective it is rich in racial discrimination. Most if not all racially demeaning stereotypes are presented without limit and they highlight racial traits for the purpose of human degradation. These are simply not acceptable in this modern day and age. Perhaps it will be a while before ma let go of is savage and primal nature wherein discrimination is included. However that does not mean we can just allow discrimination to be freely expressed and vented in society. Most especially if it the kind that contaminates the mind of the young thus breeding a whole generation that clings to racial discrimination.

Many in society firmly believe that we as a race can overcome racial distinctions and differentiation when we understand one single truth that we all share in the same humanity. We are one people, though individually different and we are united as a community. When we have truly accepted this then we would have overcome racism. And with that we can move forward in unity and equality.

July 3, 2010 Posted by | Uncategorized | , , , , , , | Leave a Comment

Apartheid is still being practiced

All eyes are now focused in South Africa, where a sporting spectacle that happens once every four years is being eagerly watched. This sporting spectacle is called the world cup, wherein, national teams compete for the ultimate glory in the world’s official sport. One of the reasons why South Africa hosted the World Cup is to promote peace and togetherness while vanquishing old racial wounds with hope that the world’s arrival and attention might bring new solutions to the African People’s problem. Yet, in this modern 21st country of South Africa, there still exist a place where the dreaded “apartheid”, that claimed countless lives from 1948 to 1994, is still being practiced.

Apartheid is the system of legal segregation enforced by the past African government wherein the rights of the majority non-white inhabitants of South Africa were curtailed, while the minority rule by the white people were maintained. Simply put, the blacks have no authority and rights as compared to the white people. This form of racial discrimination sparked countless controversies to the point that the slang word “nigger” a connotation for black people has been banned to be used. Many men have lived to become heroes to the cause and many also have died as martyrs to the cause, yet despite all these sacrifices, the problem still remains and there’s no apparent solution for a brighter future for the South African nation.

Racial discrimination could probably be traced back to the invasion of the country by the whites. In any war the invading country dictates how history should be written, thus the invader see themselves as a more supreme group due to the fact that they won the war. Thus, they see it as a right to rule over the defeated. Throughout the centuries, black people, particularly those of African decent have been slaves doing the bidding of their masters. Centuries, even millennia of servitude instilled a collective unconscious of underdog mindset for both parties, such as a clear solution to the problem is non-existent because both parties think that way. Even in the modern time, racial discrimination cannot be avoided not only because of events but because of the deep root of these concepts.

Violence is the consequences that cannot be avoided and this had been the problem of the South African government ever since. The oppressors always tend to abuse and the oppressed always tend to revolt and this creates a circle of violence that seemingly cannot end. The World Cup, in all its grandeur and glory, with the hopes of fostering peace and unity cannot overturn attitudes that have already existed. What can be done is to help the very people of South Africa to realize the meaninglessness of being a divided nation and the advantages of breaking the racial barrier to aid themselves into developing the South African nation into a self-sufficient country. As long as there are elitists and supremacists, there can never be peace and the fight for equality will only continue to drag on and claim more lives.

June 19, 2010 Posted by | Uncategorized | , , , , , , | Leave a Comment

   

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