The human race is hurting because of the disobedience of Adam and Eve. The original harmony that was disrupted in the beginning has been replaced by death, sickness, and decay.
We all know that racism is bad because of the negative impact it has on other people. But the question is, why do people hate, discriminate, and treat other people wrong? Why does somebody need to feel that they are superior to others? In short, why can’t all of us just get along? How can another human being think that others are subhuman because of where and who gave birth to them?
You can be in a country where the caste system is prevalent, and they may justify it one way or the other, but there is no justification to relegating people to a position of servitude for life.
Any system that imposes limitations on who goes where, who interacts with who, and gets married to who needs to be re-examined.
Those who need to feel superior over other people are suffering from a superiority complex and need to get down from their high horse. Just because somebody or a group of people think they are superior does not necessarily mean that they are superior. Even if they feel that they are superior, it does not make it true.
People deal with their hurt in different ways, and some think that feeling superior over other humans gives them a sense of power and purpose. Nothing can fill the void that is in the heart of each one of us. This is the God void that only God can fill, but throughout human history, people have tried everything under the sun to fill this void to no avail.
If you meet somebody who thinks that another human being is beneath their feet and they are ready to discredit them because of the amount of melanin in their skin, you should pity that person because they are hurting badly and need healing. There is no iota of data that supports some of the absurd ideas about the human race that is perpetuated across the globe.
When you take a close look at how people interact with each other, you will realize that ignorance and misinformation are driving most of the beliefs and attitudes people have towards each other.
Every country in the world has hurting people. The entire world is filled with hurting people, and these hurting people are hurting other people. To reduce this monstrous human problem to racism is trivializing this issue.
Ever since people started blaming racism as the cause of the hate, anger, mistreatment, and even murder of other people, the issue of racism has not been resolved. Instead, racism is on the rise, and the definition has morphed into something entirely different, depending on where you are.
Lately, there have been talks of racism on the rise in Europe because of the influx of immigrants from other parts of the world. Again, the news media like sensational headlines and focuses on the symptoms, rather than the root cause. The symptoms make good viewing but do not necessarily try to resolve the problem.
Fear is a stronger emotion than racism, and fear is usually driven by ignorance. The word “ignorance” here is used not as an insulting term, but to explain a lack of information.
When you have an influx of people into an area with customs, beliefs, and other ways of doing things that are very different from those of the people in their new environment, there is bound to be some distress on both parties.
On the one hand, those that feel their space is being invaded will try to push back because they are afraid that their way of life is being threatened. In addition to the fear of losing their way of life, there is a fear of limited resources, jobs, and depressing wages. The other big fear is an increase in crime.
These fears are not limited in Europe or North America alone. These reactions are common among people all over the world. Each time people move into an area, other people may feel threatened and become fearful.
I remember hearing some derogatory terms being used to describe people from the northwest region of Cameroon that has moved into the southwestern region of the country. Some of the southwesterners started feeling that these “strangers” are taking their lands, their women, and most of the economic opportunities. This led to some tension, and at one point, some were calling the Northwesterns “come to no go.” This was a reminder to those of northwest region descent that they do not belong here and will never be considered part of this part of the country.
According to this reason, once you move in from somewhere else, you will always be treated as an outsider. Can you imagine this type of sentiment among people that have the same skin color, share a lot, and are citizens of the same country?
Hurting people indeed hurt others, and this is a universal problem and should not be reduced to a white and black problem.
While there are different degrees of the manifestation of this problem, the underlying characteristics of hate, discrimination, mistreatment, and murder have cut across every society, culture, and nation.
As I write this, Cameroon, my country of birth, has had an armed rebellion for the past four years that has led to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people. My parents have fled their home as well and are living somewhere else. Thousands of others are living in the bushes. Many lives have been lost, and many are still going to be lost because, with each passing day, that situation is getting direr.
Cameroon has a complicated history. After the Berlin conference of 1884, Africa was portioned and the Germans were given the territory called Kamerun. They colonized and administered this territory until the first world war broke out. The British and French troops invaded Kamerun from the West and East, respectively, and were able to flush out the Germans. The Western part of Kamerun that was occupied by the British was carved out as a British territory and named Southern Cameroons, while the Eastern part occupied by the French was called Cameroun.
In 1960, French Cameroun gained her independence from France and became the Republic of Cameroun. In 1961, a plebiscite was conducted by the United Nations in 1961 in Southern Cameroons to determine their future. They had to vote to join Nigeria of the La Republic du Cameroun. When all the ballots were counted, those in favor of joining La Republic du Cameroun won.
The two countries decided to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon. In 1972, there was another vote and the country became the United Republic of Cameroon, technically getting rid of the federal system of government that had issued each part of the country to conduct their affairs in a manner that gave them dignity, respect, and honor. Those from the English side of the country, since they were in the minority, started feeling that those from the French side were trying to absorb them and erase their identity. Some accused those from the French side of forcing the United Republic without honoring the terms under which the two countries came together in the first place.
In 1984, the president got up and declared that the country was now La Republic du Cameroun. This effectively erased the history of the union between the two countries and set the stage for the Recolonization of the Anglophone part of the country. The French side is in the majority and has been slowly choking the English side. About four years ago, those on the English side felt that the oppression, marginalization, mass incarcerations, indiscriminate killings, discrimination, and lack of opportunities were unbearable.
After peaceful demonstrations and protests did not yield the desired results, some of the people have taken up arms. Now, the separatist groups are seeking to create their own country where they will be free, respected, treated with dignity, and have equal opportunities for all. They will no longer be judged by the language they speak and will not be discriminated against because they cannot speak the French language, and will have fair trials because the common law, not the French legal system, is used to try them.
What is happening in Cameroon is not restricted to Cameroon. There people all over the world that feel they are in the minority and are being discriminated against, have no opportunities, are treated unfairly, murdered, abused, hated, and all sorts of atrocities.
No matter what justification is given to explain why those in the majority were doing this to minorities when you dig deep, you will find that even those in the majority are hurting. Being in the majority does not spare you from the malady of the heart (envy, greed, hate, murder, slander, wickedness, adultery, lust, fornication, bribery, etc.).
The key point of the matter is that hurt people hurt others, and there are hurting people in every country in the world, regardless of nationality, level of education, political, religious affiliation, and social status.
Therefore, it is more appropriate to focus on what is causing people to be hurt, not on racism, which is just a result of the hurt. If we can solve this hurt in the hearts of people, the problem of racism and other issues will be resolved.
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