It's boring being racist. Just imagine not wanting to interact with whole sections of society because you don't like the amount of melanin in their skin; because they don't look, dress, speak, think or eat like you. Borrrrrrrring! In my short and limited life, meeting people of different backgrounds has led to so many valuable things. Insights, thoughts and ideas seep from one human to another. To be racist is to close yourself off, to ignore a world of wonder, in exchange for a blinkered tunnel. Sadly, whilst the rest of us smile and soak ourselves in all the wonderful diversity out there, there's a section of society which does the opposite.
In Britian we have the BNP - The British National Party. They're a bit embarrasing really; like a relative you never want anyone to find out about; you know, because they smell or pick their bogies in front of everyone. One of their policies is to offer voluntary repatriation to all non-Whites. It's excellent fun trying to work out who they would want to kick-out or keep in. David Beckham is an all British poster-boy, admired around the world for his footballing prowess. But would the BNP let him remain in Britian, given he has a Jewish grandparent? You see, that's the problem. What's their definition of white? Are they going to trace-back people's ancestors and verify all those birth certificates?! Their policies aren‘t just prejudiced; they‘re flawed logically. They’re currently trying to get one of their MEP’s into the European Parliament.
It's almost guaranteed that support for the BNP will increase during the credit-crunch. Labour supporters are discussing this issue here. It's worth remembering that there's one major reason as to why Hitler managed to galvanise so much power and influence so quickly. Germany was going through one hell of a recession. You see, for some people it's nice being told that 'those lot are nicking all your jobs and homes while you get nothing'. Ahhhh...the old 'it's someone else's fault' syndrome. Works a treat if you're the kind that likes to look at what others have, instead of pulling up your sleeves and getting on with it.
A little while back I had to buy some Samosae and Sholae (triangle, fatty and fried fings with spicy, curried chick-peas) from a local sweet-shop. We had guests so thought we'd buy-in the catering. While waiting to be served, I chin-wagged with the owner about a pair of white guys who had bought £50 of all things asian and tasty. He told me: "They love the stuff more than we do". And why not? This is just one small benefit of a multi-cultural society - our taste-buds get to go on interesting adventures. I'm a very simple eater but even I end-up cooking things or combining ingredients which hail from all corners of the planet. If only people got on as well as ingredients do in the cooking-pot!
The sweet-shop owner's words got me thinking though: if the BNP did get rid of all us 'Pakis', who would cook their curries - you know, the ones that some of them like to savour whilst swigging their lager...which would have probably been brewed in India or Africa.
For the last few years, I've realised that we should feel sorry for racist people. It’s actually a bit like a mental-illness of sorts, being racist - it's de-habilitating, affects every aspect of a sufferer's life and places limits upon their potential. I mean, do racist people even think about how incoherent their beliefs actually are...
"Do you think it's right that the black puppy should kiss the blonde ferret? Answers on a postcard to: Aren't racists funny, Small-minds-ville, PO Box...." Photo-credit: Foxtongue
On a related note, it's sad what Prince Harry (another one of those British relatives I mentioned earlier) said recently. He’s obviously no BNP member; more a case of someone who put his foot in his mouth I think, but the thing is that his words have been broadcasted all over the world and therefore Britain is yet again portrayed as a place where racist attitudes are present even amongst the most popular and well-known inhabitants. I suppose having Prince Phillip as your grandpa probably doesn’t help much!
Needless to say, The Satguroo has summed-up the totality of race, of colour, of melanin so adequately as to render it completely irrelevant. For a Sikh to even contemplate being racist, prejudiced or to even stereo-type others, is so absolutely contradictory to The Satguroo's Teachings as to be hilarious - in an un-funny way of course! So let's finish with the very straight-forward words of The 10th Mehl (Satguroo's Form), Guroo Gobind Singh Jee:
ਦੇਹਰਾਮਸੀਤਸੋਈਪੂਜਾਔਨਿਵਾਜਓਈਮਾਨਸਸਬੈਏਕਪੈਅਨੇਕਕੋਭਰਮਾਉਹੈ॥
dhaeharaa maseeth soee poojaa a nivaaj ouee maanas sabai eaek pai anaek ko bharamaao hai
The Temple and the Mosque are the same; there is no difference between them. Neither is there any dissimilarity between pooja [Hindu worship] and the namaaz [Muslim daily prayers]. The whole human race is the self-same but due to illusion, they appear different.
Siree Dasam Granth Sahib, Panna (Page) 47 - read the whole shabad
