A PRIVILEGED LIFE

Watched the movie based on the book “The Hate You Give” with the older kids yesterday. Felt almost like experiencing survivor guilt, or rather survivor sadness, while watching it. Kept thinking what it would be like to live knowing you could be shot dead while sleeping, driving your car, jogging, or eating cereal in your own home, when the only thing you have done wrong is having the wrong skin colour.

 

Compared it to how lucky and blessed I have been in life when having lived for about 16 years of my life in countries where both my skin colour and my religious beliefs are in a minority, and having travelled all over the world, I have really only experienced two incidences of overt racism. The first one was when a patient laughed at me and asked me if I knew what a spear-chucker was, having called a few of us that name before. Ironically, he belonged to a traveler community which itself is a marginalized community in Europe. The other one was when I was standing outside Regent mosque in London with a visiting friend and suddenly heard a honk. When I looked back, the driver pointed a middle finger at us, then at the mosque, and then just drove away.

 

When I compare this other people’s life experiences when a 3-year old refugee child’s body washes to the shore, innocent people are blown to pieces just having coffee or enjoying a day on the beach, a young boy is shot for throwing stone at a tank, or a grandfather is shot dead in front of his 3-year old grandson, I sometimes feel ashamed for the privileged and protected life I have had.