I was going to my field work this morning and as usual I was listening to the radio. I hardly listen to just people talking, because I rather listen to songs unless they have some kind of game going on with their listeners. I was in my zone and I didn’t realize that the Radio Jockeys (RJs) started talking about this girl who is coming to their country for an internship which got cancelled last year due to Covid-19. This girl is coming supposedly from a “third-world country” (TWC) to a “first world country” (FWC). Even if I don’t disclose the country’s name, you will know which one is the latter one, just by getting to know how they feel about it.
One of the RJ said that “She must be really excited to be here”. While the other one said, “Well who wouldn’t?” He could’ve stopped there, but his arrogance got the better of him and he said, “Especially if you are from (that TWC)”. And then he continued saying, “My daughter asked me yesterday what do people from TWC speak in? And I really didn’t know so I said I don’t know, maybe TWCese (some made up word from the country name)”. And then they all laughed on the radio.
I want to mention here that I am NOT okay with this attitude. First of all, the girl you are talking about, is coming here to learn something positive from your country and you are doing nothing but basically bullying her. Which by the way, is a big deal in your country (so much for being the FWC). Not only that, you are teaching your kids to behave the same way by not teaching them to respect the foreigners in your country? You could have easily googled the answer instead of making a joke out of it.
The whole incident made me wonder why it is so easy for some people to do “casual racism” and think of it as not a big deal? They would even defend it if you try to confront them on that. What are they so arrogant of? They are not the best in education or technology or culture or music or cars or anything you can think of. But they are the FWC in the view of some. So, do they get the right to make fun of people coming to their country?
It has even happened to me when people have said things like, “How do you like it here so far?” or “Your English is perfect”, before even asking if I have been here my whole life or not. They just decide by themselves that I am a foreigner. For me, this is racism. But we treat you like kings and queens when you visit our country. Then how are you better than us?
RJs influence a ton of people every day. They have fans and they have a following. If such influential people use their power for racism, instead of bringing people together, how do you expect people to develop these qualities by themselves? We don’t rely on politicians for peace. We rely on our community. Once the teaching of humanity from our community is gone, there is no hope for peace and love in this world. Teach your kids humility, kindness, and a vision to see beyond skin color, body type, and accent. We can only end racism, if we start accepting our racist remarks and stop saying “just joking” at the end of it.