No country for coloured men
United states of America, the self proclaimed leader of the world. In last couple of months 5 Indians were killed and a few more injured in race related violence. There is an uproar in liberal, Indian and foreign media. In 2016 there was a ‘Black lives matter’ movement on police brutality in African Americans. Some are attributing this to the rise of the right wing or in other words Donald Trump. But it has always been the home for racial crimes. The country was built on racial violence and genocide. What else did you expect?
USA is in some ways the Iran of the west. In other ways Americans and Nazi’s did some pretty similar things in their past. In-fact, they did far more bad things than what Arabs did to Iran and what Nazi’s did to Jews. Arabs had a clarity of thought, convert to Islam or die. So did Nazi’s. They hated Jews and they wanted them dead. They made no fact of hiding this. Germans do not celebrate the day Jews were killed by exchanging presents. Ayatollah doesn’t say his ideology is based on Iran first, Iranians first.
Got my point? No? Pilgrims and Natives. Does that ring any bell?
Thanksgiving day, an american holiday that Sitcoms show as a day when all its characters have dinner together and exchange gifts. Normal Americans celebrate (if you can call it celebration) it by creating stampedes in shopping malls in the name of Black Friday. Indians are very familiar with this holiday. This is when their cousins buy Iphones and other electronics for them. But what are its origins?
“In 1621 the myth of thanksgiving was born. The colonists invited Massasoit, chief of the Wampanoags, to their first feast as a follow up to their recent land deal. Massasoit in turn invited 90 of his men, much to the chagrin of the colonists. Two years later the English invited a number of tribes to a feast “symbolizing eternal friendship.” The English offered food and drink, and two hundred Indians dropped dead from unknown poison.”
Americans wiped out more than 90% of native Americans, but the history calls it just acts of genocide. Not genocide. Oh yeah. Apparently they are different.”How many ‘acts of genocide’ make up a ‘genocide’?”
On this count Present day Germany is leagues apart. Be it Stolpersteine project or the memorial day. The new German’s are constantly reminded of their ‘Actual’ history.
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| Brass plaques laid in the street to remember Holocaust victims |
So where were we? A European was sent to find India(Thank all gods he did not find India), Found America, named them Red Indians (which was not at all racist), Other followed, killed the indigenous population which is now celebrated every year with friends and family. Is that it? No I was just warming up.
I didn’t even mention gold rush, slavery, bible belt, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, red necks, white supremacists, Klu klux klan, gun culture, Cuba, Mexico, Cold war, Nuclear race, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, Capitalism. If you can’t relate these terms to America. Then I cannot help you, seriously!
When I said Iran is better than America. I meant it too. Iran’s transformation from Persia to present-day Iran also had its share of bloodshed. The local culture, language, religion were systematically erased. But not its people.
As an Indian I’ve seen my fair share of Racism(Even before I ever set my foot outside the country). Indians are devoted to Caucasian tourists. Crowds flock to take selfies with them. Even authorities give them respect. But if there is a African tourist, they look at him the same way Ivanka Trump would look at an African American in back alley of a shady pub in downtown Brooklyn. I’ve had well educated, so called forward thinking friends look down upon Africans. Lets not go that far. I’m a south Indian, but have a couple of tones fairer skin that an average south Indian. I’ve had many experiences where people mistook me for a north Indian and when corrected told me that you ‘don’t look like’ a south Indian.
Let me make it tad more personal. For years my maternal grand mother didn’t allow the maid into kitchen and used to sprinkle some water on all the things that maid touched to ‘Purify’ it. Racism is a part and parcel of life in India too. Persecution is still there but violence is rare.
Lets fast forward to American election 2016. It felt like Democrats and Republicans had a wager on who an field the worst possible presidential candidate. Republicans not only won the election but also the Wager. The notion that Americans are being unfairly treated in their own country is befuddling. If White Americans are not getting a good deal in America then who is?
It is a country of immigrants who are paranoid about the new immigrants. They did all the bad stuff enough for their beloved Santa to put them on ‘Beyond Naughty’ list with a permanent marker, now they want to maintain the status quo. Present day America was given birth by a an orgy between racist, greedy, arrogant, capitalist and hypocrite Europeans.
Make America great again – the caption of Trump’s campaign had a hidden message (an open secret if you have some common sense) on his agenda. Now America is becoming great again. Great at racism, great at capitalism, great at war spending, great at meddling with other country affairs, Great at arrogance.
America hasn’t changed. Americans did not change. Americans are just getting back to doing what they are best at. They should simply hang a sign called ‘Enter at your own risk’ on Statue of liberty.
I didn’t even mention gold rush, slavery, bible belt, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, red necks, white supremacists, Klu klux klan, gun culture, Cuba, Mexico, Cold war, Nuclear race, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, Capitalism. If you can’t relate these terms to America. Then I cannot help you, seriously!
When I said Iran is better than America. I meant it too. Iran’s transformation from Persia to present-day Iran also had its share of bloodshed. The local culture, language, religion were systematically erased. But not its people.
As an Indian I’ve seen my fair share of Racism(Even before I ever set my foot outside the country). Indians are devoted to Caucasian tourists. Crowds flock to take selfies with them. Even authorities give them respect. But if there is a African tourist, they look at him the same way Ivanka Trump would look at an African American in back alley of a shady pub in downtown Brooklyn. I’ve had well educated, so called forward thinking friends look down upon Africans. Lets not go that far. I’m a south Indian, but have a couple of tones fairer skin that an average south Indian. I’ve had many experiences where people mistook me for a north Indian and when corrected told me that you ‘don’t look like’ a south Indian.
Let me make it tad more personal. For years my maternal grand mother didn’t allow the maid into kitchen and used to sprinkle some water on all the things that maid touched to ‘Purify’ it. Racism is a part and parcel of life in India too. Persecution is still there but violence is rare.
Lets fast forward to American election 2016. It felt like Democrats and Republicans had a wager on who an field the worst possible presidential candidate. Republicans not only won the election but also the Wager. The notion that Americans are being unfairly treated in their own country is befuddling. If White Americans are not getting a good deal in America then who is?
It is a country of immigrants who are paranoid about the new immigrants. They did all the bad stuff enough for their beloved Santa to put them on ‘Beyond Naughty’ list with a permanent marker, now they want to maintain the status quo. Present day America was given birth by a an orgy between racist, greedy, arrogant, capitalist and hypocrite Europeans.
Make America great again – the caption of Trump’s campaign had a hidden message (an open secret if you have some common sense) on his agenda. Now America is becoming great again. Great at racism, great at capitalism, great at war spending, great at meddling with other country affairs, Great at arrogance.
America hasn’t changed. Americans did not change. Americans are just getting back to doing what they are best at. They should simply hang a sign called ‘Enter at your own risk’ on Statue of liberty.
Random thoughts of a confused primate 