Never Assume
A certain culture will celebrate its beliefs and the rest of society can observe and respect, or, they can assume they know diversity in all its colour coding, dress and practice. When a white person sees a brown face, what do they see? Do they just see a colour, or do they see a person with an individual identity?
Confusing a Sikh with a Muslim by verbally assuming they are the same; is this a mistake, or just a lazy assumption? Why does the media use the generic term of ‘Asian’ for brown faces from a diverse continent?
Racial, religious and cultural ignorance wear many social layers. It’s binary opposition; black and white, Hindu and Muslim, Christian and Catholic, and so on.. Can a child assert themselves against the assumption of a teacher? What does a non-white person say when a white person confuses their culture with another? Do you grin and bear it, or do you educate the other?
Colour and culture create issues within ‘brown’ society. Whenever I taught in a mixed race school, the Muslim children would obsess over whether or not I was ‘one of them.’ When told it wasn’t part of the lesson, they would start hurling insults in Urdu at me as the white children looked on. Sikh, Hindu and Muslim adults of certain generations know the visual differences that define them from other brown faces. The shape of the face, nose, eyes and sometimes, even the degree of ‘brownness’ can signal whether someone is in your club or not. It’s a sad filter that is used to judge others by.
A world without colour would be bleak. Ironically.the sun tan business would not exist. Overseas holdays would be nothing different apart from the weather. When people holiday abroad, they accept and absorb the culture and people. But why is it acceptable to be racist or culturally inept at home in your own country?
When you see someone who appears visually different to you, and if you have noted the difference by adjusting the way you treat them; stop and think with empathy. See people as the same, without the colour, accent or dress. Look into the eyes of the ‘Other’ and see yourself; mirror kindness. We all live, breathe and hope for the same goal; happiness. Educate yourself before you assume and if you are unsure, ask valid questions. Answers arrive when assumptions are not made. Humanity pumps through all of us, regardless of the colour, shape or size of channel.
