MLK
"In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." -- Martin Luther King, Jr.
Having grown up in a cosmopolitan city and a diverse country like India, I had always wondered why some people were narrow-minded. I remember my baby-sitter's daughter complaining to some one that she was B.A.L.L.B, but couldn't find a job because of all the South Indians coming to Bombay and speaking in English (yell, yemmm, etc..). Even at 5 years old the solution seemed very straight forward to me. Learn English!! She sat at home for quite a few years until she got married. I never remember her trying to learn English, or even looking for a job. I remember her taking me and my sister to watch movies in the afternoon though!!!
Today's holiday reminds me of two things: a movie, American History X and a book by one of my favorite fiction authors, John Grisham, titled "The Chamber" (I am sure there is a movie on this book too!!)
Both the movie and the book point to the same reason at the heart of this problem. The book tells the story of Sam, a klansman who is on deathbed for a klan-related crime. The book eventually unfolds to explain that Sam was brought up in a racist environment, where everyone around him was racist, black people were enslaved and ill-treated. Growing up in that environment it all seemed right, because everyone was doing it and there were no opposing ideas floating around that would instigate him to think otherwise. Interestingly American History X ends with Edward Norton, the skinhead remembering his father the fire-fighter blasting racist rants about everyone who is not white.
I wonder what are people saying in front of their kids today?
Having grown up in a cosmopolitan city and a diverse country like India, I had always wondered why some people were narrow-minded. I remember my baby-sitter's daughter complaining to some one that she was B.A.L.L.B, but couldn't find a job because of all the South Indians coming to Bombay and speaking in English (yell, yemmm, etc..). Even at 5 years old the solution seemed very straight forward to me. Learn English!! She sat at home for quite a few years until she got married. I never remember her trying to learn English, or even looking for a job. I remember her taking me and my sister to watch movies in the afternoon though!!!
Today's holiday reminds me of two things: a movie, American History X and a book by one of my favorite fiction authors, John Grisham, titled "The Chamber" (I am sure there is a movie on this book too!!)
Both the movie and the book point to the same reason at the heart of this problem. The book tells the story of Sam, a klansman who is on deathbed for a klan-related crime. The book eventually unfolds to explain that Sam was brought up in a racist environment, where everyone around him was racist, black people were enslaved and ill-treated. Growing up in that environment it all seemed right, because everyone was doing it and there were no opposing ideas floating around that would instigate him to think otherwise. Interestingly American History X ends with Edward Norton, the skinhead remembering his father the fire-fighter blasting racist rants about everyone who is not white.
I wonder what are people saying in front of their kids today?
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