Discriminating and favouritism are the two enemies of humanitarianism. Discriminating against someone because of their race is racism, because of sex is sexism. Discriminating in favour of someone due to their nationality is nationalism, on the basis of belonging to a region, is regionalism, giving someone a job for belonging to their own family is nepotism, voting mindlessly based on a party without appreciating the particular promises or results they bring in to the area is party politics. What is the name given to discriminating based on wealth? Never mind, the point is we discriminate on many levels, all the time but the worst kind of discrimination still remains the one called racism. It affects people on a personal level, lowers their morale, trust in other humans and ultimately the desire to live. The death of a 13 year old Sikh boy who recently took his life after writing a poem about him being bullied because of his different appearance in United States of America shows the damage being done by the speeches of Donald Trump and that kind of ideology. This is an example of racism by white people but USA is not the only racist country. South America has always been the playing field of worst kind of racism since the times of imperialism. Now they are trying to correct the balance of wealth by having some systemic changes like 50:50 black and white partnership in a company for it to operate in that country that is not being seen in positive light by those whites who own those companies from generations and still see blacks as mentally and racially inferior.
After 9/11 event in September 2001, the world did change a lot. It became tough to announce once self openly as a Muslim but Muslims in western countries do not wear a turban or a towel like Seikhs of Middle East. Instead, it's the people of Sikh religion, a minority religion from India, who wear a turban as their religious costume. For that visual reason and the ignorance people about what Sikhs stand for, they are the main target of racism in USA since 9/11.
The hatred towards the turban and the Taliban of Afganistan extended to Australia, thanks to the Murdock media and the politicians. Sikhs from Woolgoolga, a little town in mid north coast, like John Singh Arkan were forced to look in the mirror and remind themselves of their skin colour reminded and their past heritage for the first time. These people had been fooling themselves as Australian for their grand parents came to Australia in late 1800s and a lot of these baby boomers were given Aussie names and were well accepted in the society until the 9/11 event. It was psychologically depressing for people like him to be staired at because of his turban. "But I am a true blue Aussie, this town has known me from yonks, then why were they starring at me?" Asked John, the John that use to stand as an Aussie and criticise Indian habits of these freshies that came from India and tried to outsmart the Aussies like him. As his wife from India, I coped a lot of 'You Indians ....' and I hated it.
Twenty years later, I go on Facebook for some entertainment and instead see the posts of Sikhs being humiliated in public. A turban being taken off forcibly and a young man of 19 years of age being dragged by his hair in the street while 5-7 people are walking with the man dragging the victim through the traffic, all in support of the perpetrator. Nobody rescues the Sikh man. My blood boils but what can I do while living in Australia?
I already boycotted India since the gang rape and later death of a girl in the public transport bus when she was coming back from the movies with her boyfriend after watching the movie 'Life of Pi'. She was thrown out of the moving bus after the rape. It wasn't the last incident of gang rape. Rape of women seems to be becoming a common practice and their is no police or justice system protecting these women or punishing the guilty.
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