Lives matter!

Picture courtesy: https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2020/04/black-lives-matter-it-must-be-said

A few days back a storm of thoughts crept in my mind. How primitive we've regressed to remind ourselves that lives matter? Black lives, women's lives, gay lives or can I just say lives of those not born with a silver spoon, those born with a uterus, coloured skin or out of the mainstream, so-called normal sexual preferences...,

Shocked, as I could be to hear a close one say to me that blacks are just too arrogant and violence is one of their characteristics. I was all ears to hear what came next. Heard till I could and then I spoke. 

How easy and effortless it is to assume, to come to conclusions, to generalise, to discriminate, to differentiate, to throw opinions, to shut ourselves to opinions and views different from our own?  How can we say that all blacks are arrogant or violent? Can all be identical? Can we generalise this opinion to all of them? Definitely not! 

An incident that shook the headlines worldwide and spread like wildfire on social media a few days back was that of the 'murder' of George Floyd, a black man while being arrested by the Minneapolis police. A recording of the brutal act recorded by a bystander has gone viral in which there is no humanity seen in the policemen. The ones intended to be taking up the title of protectors showed a completely different and contradictory side. Far from providing protection, this act only reflects pure rage, racism and hatred towards the blacks. Not just once, but several incidents have surfaced in the past years, particularly in the US wherein the blacks have been subject to discrimination and violence.

Why is this still happening? In a world that's progressed so much, why is racism still an issue of concern?

Picture courtesy: https://www.skysports.com/more-sports/news/12183/12003297/george-floyd-funeral-private-service-to-be-held-in-houston-on-tuesday

The statement, 'Blacks are violent and arrogant!' still runs in my mind. That day I realised that racism is everywhere, it's not confined to a state, a country or a community. It's everywhere, in our heads, fed in by what we see or hear (or to say correctly, made to see or hear). The same person further tried to clarify the statement saying, most of the crimes in the US have been committed by blacks. The question here is, how accurate is the data and statistics? It's not. We see what we are made to see. Manipulation of data is very common. I've read instances wherein the blacks have been arrested for committing certain acts and had no effect on whites who commit the same. Fake allegations have landed many blacks behind the bars. Unequal economic opportunities, discrimination, racism, have only degraded the situation of Blacks. 

The death of George Floyd followed a wave of protests on the streets of Minneapolis and elsewhere, taking up the slogan 'Black Lives Matter'. People of all skin colours have united to fight against the injustice. But instead of saying Black lives matter, can't we just emphasis on lives itself?  No matter where you belong, whichever community, no one has the authority to take it away from you. And certainly not innocent lives just for being born black!  

It's a shame we have to remind ourselves that lives matter!