George Floyd’s Last Words Will Be a Daunting Image for the World

A viewpoint of this and related incidents, from an Indian guy

Discrimination Has the Same Effect Everywhere Around the World

Discrimination has the same effect everywhere in the world when I say this what I mean is that it feels the same everywhere, for both the oppressed and the discriminator. It is ‘power and hatred’ versus ‘fight for equality and justice’. It is the same fight everywhere. I am from India, and I am not surprised by what has happened with George Floyd. I have read about similar incidents in the US before as well. I am from India, and we have an extremely casteist society. India is a land of many cultures, languages and religions. To bring everything together under a democratic umbrella is a herculean task, that we are still fighting to achieve. We have had our share of embarrassments over the last few years: man beaten to death for selling cow meat, honour killing of own daughter for running away with a man of another caste, abusing and taking advantage of a worker from other state and more.

How Effectively Has Hollywood Exposed Discrimination Based on Colour?

From an outsider, I have always looked at the US as a liberal land, a dream place for starting your dreams. A fair share of US cinema has exposed this dark underbelly of the dreamland. When I first watched the film ‘Crash’, I was confused, this cannot be true, I thought. More movies came into my attention, movies that were released after ‘Crash’ and before. Netflix made a fantasy action movie with discrimination as an underlying theme.

As an Indian, I have always felt that India has not made enough movies on the topic. But as far as I am knowledgable of, Hollywood has made a fair share of movies that have exposed the dark truth. But the real problem is that Hollywood continues to make tons of movies that are discriminatory based on gender, religion, nationality and colour. As an Indian, I have always cringed at how American entertainment portrays us, it is extremely stereotypical! The discriminatory nature of a large section of movies and series ought to have some effect on the efforts made by a small fraction of filmmakers who are trying to expose the dirt.

Can the Government Curb the Violence Created in the Name of Discrimination?

This should not be even a question, this qualifies as a basic responsibility of the government. The government is responsible for maintaining a healthy coexistence of all kind of people: Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Straight, Nerd, Differently abled, Colored, Poor, Rich, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist and everyone.

Recently in India, the government successfully passed a bill in the parliament, that was discriminatory against a section of people, and they were unapologetic about it. The cities were burning with rage and real fire, some by the protestors, but most of them by the people dressed as protestors. It was a mess until Coronavirus happened. Anyways, the matter of the fact is that if the government can fuel hatred among the people, they can also solve for it.

I am no expert to comment on the politics in the US, but we all know exactly how the world feels about Mr President of the United States of America.

The state is no different in other countries as well. Look at Germany, if you think the antisemitism is dead in Germany, you are dead wrong. This article from the New York Times perfectly captures the state of affairs in Germany.

You can read more about the discriminatory bill passed by the Indian government below:

What Can We Do, as a Member of Society?

I have been living in a society surrounded by all kind of people, people from all wakes of life, everyone struggling to survive. I have friends from all the corners, not that I made a conscious effort to pick from everywhere, but because I make friendships with people I can identify with, and they happen to be present everywhere, regardless of sex, religion or state. Until someone injects the poison into your head, you are clear. It is disheartening to see friends turn foes, neighbors turn enemies in the name of religion or caste, that too fuelled by the ruling government.

It is unfortunate that we need to hate to survive. As a society, we can abide by the laws, but we don’t need to follow whatever the government preaches. You listen, then you forget the terrible stuff.

The discrimination against the coloured is not a first in the US, it is neither rare. As a society, they should protest peacefully. As a society, they should teach their kids to grow as responsible and loving and caring citizens. So what if your daughter has a black boyfriend, your son has an Indian best friend, your husband works with a man who practices Islam? So what? It is a crossroad of lives meeting each other.

Live and let live.