Sunday, May 31, 2020

Crime: Tall, Dark and Handsome!

Why are people called 'black'? I have been to Africa multiple times and I have not seen one black person in my life! Most were darker than my skin but all various shades of brown. As a matter of fact, most indigenous African communities do not call their people black. 'Black' terminology was created by people who were designing a system and ideology that would oppress those who did not look or talk like them. Those people travelled around the world to conquer the diverse lands and the indigenous communities because they were greedy and mean. They carried the simple to foreign lands and exploited them as slaves! And because every one is equal, they could not keep them as slaves for too long, even though there were systems, infrastructures and laws in place to protect their atrocious scheme! At the end of a very long day, humans beings were able to prove they were always equal! Slavery had to be abolished, at least on the face of it! However, the western societies kept the term 'Black' to define and categorize people. Many in those societies never came to accept that 'black people' were equal to them! They embraced two lies at the same time because no human being is really black and none is lower than the other ever! 

The saga of hatred for fellow human beings and love for inequality continues in the United States of America. Not all are racists but there are enough to keep the system discriminatory against those of darker skin and on top of that if you are a grown dark man, things can be worse for you. There is no end of stories where a dark, tall and handsome boy or a man was brutalized or killed just because of how they looked. Nothing, their degrees, wealth, social standing or their hard-work could save them from the wrath of a police officer who saw them as a lesser human being! On May 25th, another man called, George Floyd, was killed by a cop, named Derek Chauvin, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The cop pressed his knee on the neck of George while he was handcuffed and suffocated him to death! All of this was recorded on the camera and eventually the entire world saw the horrendous crime. However, none of that triggered immediate arrest of the cop, it took the system four days and several protests on the streets to make that happen! Horrific events like these and sub-events within these events make people angry, helpless and hopeless! Not all but some do get aggressive because this murder is just one more injustice on top of all the oppression for generations, and worse, the possibility of swift change is very little! My heart goes out of every angry and hopeless youth who is out there fearing for themselves and their loved ones. If you are asking me why am I so impacted since I am not categorized as 'black', I am sorry for you! Those who misuse power against one person/group, they will do it again against another person/group! Moreover, Martin Luther King Jr. said, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere". Not only we should all be outraged now but we should sustain it until the system is changed substantially because majority of those in power will not do anything out of their own good will! 




I am not George Floyd,
And I can still breathe!
But it becomes hard to breathe,
to think about all those
who couldn't breathe before him
just because they looked like him
Tall, dark and handsome!
It becomes harder to breathe to realize 
that the beautiful souls were killed
by those who were paid to protect them
Just because they were
Tall, dark and handsome!
People's protests are wronged,
If few become violent,
Even though MLK Jr. said,
"Riots is the language of the unheard"
They will be sent home,
Just because the majority of those protesting are
Talk, dark and handsome!
My hope is gasping,
My desire for justice is diminishing,
Because the protestors will be criticized,
The protests will be silenced,
Unfortunately, like my brother George,
Discrimination too is;
Tall, dark and handsome!
Racism is so tall 
that it touches the top authority,
it sits on the highest hill of power!
The system is so dark 
that many are blinded 
to the fear, pain, and suffering 
and atrocities of the oppressor!
And the crime is disguised handsomely,
because it is carried out 
over and over again
by the owners of law and order!
Hey Derek, how hard is it to understand
that even though George had killing looks,
He shouldn't have been killed, 
just because he was:
Tall, dark and handsome!
It suffocates me to think of those 
who may not be able to breathe in the future, 
Because they are, like my son,
Talk, dark and handsome!



There are lot more articles and videos that explain the generational systematic oppression of blacks in the US, here are a just a few articles to support my points above: 
  • Discriminatory Practices in the American Criminal Justice System: The Politics of Policing and Punishment: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2713810
  • https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2019/04/09/views-of-racial-inequality/
  • Police Brutality - An Anthalogy : https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=Ic_UBQAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT4&dq=police+brutality+in+america&ots=z95ASmk1pt&sig=BHXMXjPGzRnvAIXJPAiGBLIIy_Q#v=onepage&q=police%20brutality%20in%20america&f=false
  • Police Brutality in the United States: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Police-Brutality-in-the-United-States-2064580
  • Racism, Inequality, and Health Care for African American: https://tcf.org/content/report/racism-inequality-health-care-african-americans/?agreed=1



Stress and anxiety in times of Quarantine

Here's a talk on dealing with Stress and Anxiety during COVID-19 times. Some simple tips and techniques for coping. Hope it is helpful!



Tuesday, May 12, 2020

Fear in times of COVID-19

COVID-19 is impacting all of us in some way or the other. We are experiencing various emotions as we are practicing social distancing and staying home. We are witnessing thousands of people dying due to this pandemic and worse, some of us have lost a dear one to this disease. If you or someone you know is  feeling afraid because of the factors related to COVID-19, please listen to this talk. This talk is hosted by Jorge Brito from the American Red Cross delegation and we I share some simple ways of dealing with fear no matter where you are in the world. Please leave feedback or questions, I will try to respond in a timely fashion.

I am not OK

I am writing this on behalf of thousands of people, particularly the humanitarian workers around the world, who are not perfectly ok. Many o...