On race relations

First of all, I want to apologize for the long hiatus between this post and the last. I guess I’ve just been quite busy for the past couple of weeks, and, adding to that, have been ill with probably the flu this weekend. Which is always nice. So for today, here's an extra-long post. Yaaay!!!

On to the main topic for today: yesterday, I read an article online about the 'racist' burning of poppies, and the inevitable accompanying comments. I know this is a sensitive issue for many, so let me be very clear from the get-go: I am not a racist and I certainly don’t condone discrimination in any sort of way. I’m pro-choice in just about every aspect of its meaning, and I always try to see the other aspects and points of view of an issue (and most of the time, I get mad about all of them). This post is intended to share some of my thoughts and comments on what others think and believe. It will only raise critical questions, and not contain any answers. Feel free to comment yourself, but please, keep it civilized.

The piece, from the Daily Mail, talks about how Muslims burn poppies to display their displeasure of the goings-on in the Middle East, among other things.

In many comments I read, I saw the emergence of the words we, us, they and them (as a small side note, most of these kinds of comments implied racism in some kind of form). I've always wondered: who is this 'we'? And who are 'they'?

The easiest answer is, of course, the West vs. the East. But what exactly is 'the West'? And what exactly is 'the East'? And isn’t it true that both the West and East share a lot; through immigration, adaption, modeling after one another, and lately, globalization (which is, in fact, just a euphemism for the westernization of the rest of the world). And sometimes, as was the case in large parts of Spain for hundreds of years, Moors and Christians lived side by side. Are the descendants of those people ours, or are they theirs?

Let’s, then, try to define 'we' (for me, the author). 'We' implies some sort of unity. Are the US of America and Europe the West? Well, how much doesn’t Eastern and Western Europe differ? Belgium then? Nope, just look at the bickering between Flanders and Wallonia. Flanders? Or Leuven? Maybe my hometown? Certainly, these are too small to be a real 'we' in this argument! So who is this 'we' they’re constantly talking about? Tell me, because I ache to know!

Another thing I noticed is the usage of the phrase political correctness. You know what this means, don’t you: disabled instead of handicapped; African-Americans instead of blacks/negroes; significant other as a common, gender-blind name for girl/boyfriend or husband/wife.

People offended by this burning often claim it’s because of political correctness and freedom of speech that the police can’t or won’t do anything against Muslim perpetrators, because if they do, the community will supposedly brand them as racist. But is this really so? I don’t know.

What I can tell you is this: I don’t want to live in a world where we have to walk around on eggshells, where if we offend anybody, it would be game over (as was the case with several radio show hosts, most notably Don ‘Nappy-Headed Hoes’ Imus among others), because this is discrimination in its purest form. Yes, you shouldn't arbitrarily offend people, but also: let things go, forgive and forget! 

Another much used argument is: ‘they hate our freedom' (note, again, the usage of they and our). But when you think about it, it’s probably more true if those people said 'we hate their lack of freedom'. I could go on and on about how 9/11 was not the first step, but how the West created many of the needed conditions years before, but that's not my point.

I read a piece by Fisk (don’t click through if you have a weak stomach!) a while back about corporal punishment of women for absolutely petty things in the region of the Middle East. I do think these practices are horrific and despicable, as does the rest of the Western world. But the question, which I admit I can’t answer correctly, that is often overlooked, is: ‘Is this a cultural thing? Do those societies want to change these ‘traditions’? Do the (potential) victims want to change it?’

In the early summer, I was walking around in a boiling hot Brussels, when a friend pointed out a Muslim wearing a black Burka. She said it was crazy to wear that in such hot weather; my response was that this Muslim probably wanted to wear her clothes as much as she wanted to wear a Burka. The only difference between those two women was, while one minded her own business, the other wanted to change the one.

It reminds me of historical movies and series. You can’t go watch anything that depicts the values of that time, because those practices would be called indecent by the standards of our time, so filmmakers simply omit those discrepant values instead of educating us in which world we came from.

I guess people have always wanted to spread their own thoughts, ways and manners because they see them as virtuous and inherently better; and we like to think we have the final Moral Values version 5.0, while others are stuck using 1.7/3.1/4.0. This is not the case. Open up your mind, try to see the issue from the other side, and think for yourself. You may not end up with the ultimate answer, but it truly may save innocent lives.