Holier than Thou

Undeniably, D.I.S.C.R.I.M.I.N.A.T.I.O.N. is the root of many problems in this world. I guess the reason that discrimination exists is because human tend to have this holier than thou attitude that resulted in other people being treated unjustly.

Whilst one can comfortably claim that he/she is not guilty as charge, let’s not forget about generalization which I believe is a fraction of/and thus can lead to discrimination too.

Here let me put the simplest example of generalization - when we see the enforcement officers making their rounds, some would say “Nak cari duit kopi lah tu,” Or when a young woman decided to marry a very much older chap, one might think that she's after that man's wealth. The least harmful form of generalization would be when we assume that product with better packaging is of a better quality too.

However, we should never generalize human being- we should never assume that everybody is the same. People should be treated as an individual without any prejudice, stigma or other kind of negativity.

This is one related occasion that really left me stunned. There was this Indian lady who told my Chinese neighbour that it was not ‘good’ to pelihara a black cat as it is always associated with bad luck and other bad things. (See? Even cat got discriminated because the color of the fur!) It was my neighbour’s reply that really put me in awe. His replied was something like this “Kalau semuanya yang hitam tak baik, habis tu orang kulit hitam pun tak baik lah?”

It was a really brilliant (and sarcastic) answer that I, for one didn’t expect to come from him - a 60-something, very soft spoken man, which one can easily assume for being very superstitious as well! Thus, we should never generalize!! I summed up my humble observation (and experience, I might say), as follows:

Just because I’m a woman, that doesn’t mean that I’m weak,
Just because I'm a woman driver, that doesn't mean that I'm a hopeless driver,

Just because I’m single, that doesn’t mean that I’m desperate,
Just because I’m married, that doesn’t mean that I should stop pursuing my own goals,
Just because I’m blonde, that doesn’t mean that I’m an airhead,
Just because I’m don’t have supermodel’s look and body, that doesn’t mean I’m not attractive,

Just because I’m a Muslim, that doesn’t meant that I’m a terrorist,
Just because I’m a young, that doesn’t mean that I’m not wise,
Just because I don’t say much, that doesn’t mean that I don’t have my own opinion,
Just because I’m compassionate, that doesn’t mean that you can walk over me,

Just because I’m Malay, that doesn’t mean that I’m lazy,
Just because I’m wearing hijab, that doesn’t mean that I’m an orthodox,
Just because I’m wearing hijab, that doesn’t mean that I’m a better Muslim that those who are not,
Just because I cover my head with hijab, that doesn’t mean that my brain is being shut close,

Just because we spend a good few minutes laughing among colleagues, that doesn’t mean that we don’t have work to do,
Just because we’re talking, that doesn’t mean that we’re communicating,
Just because we’re sitting next to each other, that doesn’t mean that we’re emotionally connected,
Just because we go out together, that doesn’t mean that I’ll marry you,
Just because we're a couple, that doesn't mean that we should stop getting to know each other anymore,

Just because you’re good looking, that doesn’t mean that I’ll fall for you,
Just because you’re rich or people with power, that doesn’t mean that you own me or my life,

Just because you think that is right, that doesn't mean that it is right for me too!

What’s your observation/experience on generalization? Let's share it together so that we'll have a better understanding on how people expect to be treated…stop generalization, stop discrimination! BTW I don't intend to sound like an activist or something =)