This year has been different in many ways but it was not only the pandemic or ignoring the science from the top level to the bottom. Racism has always been part of the culture and it has always been covered under politeness and sophistication. In the past few years it has become apparent that leaders can bring the best out of you and the worst as well. We have seen plenty of stupidity, ignorance, extremism and racial injustice. One incident brought that front and center. But it is not new though, ask any immigrant or person of color and you will know they have been living with this all their life. The underline biases are so ingrained in our thought process that we cannot call it racism. “This is how it is. ”
The younger generation took charge and I think that was the main reason our society is taking it seriously and working towards some kind of reform. We all need to do our share. We need to speak up, let the person know it is not acceptable and everyone has to respect each other. The biases and jokes cannot be part of the conversation, period.
Diversity and acceptance should be the way of life, but to make it “normal” we need to feel comfortable in our own skin. I was talking to a CEO of a non profit. I hope something good comes out of that conversation. I decided I will honor my “Indianness” and culture, so wore a blue saree. Someone commented that I am normalizing wearing saree in Boston. That remark has stuck with me. I love wearing sarees, it makes me feel confident and strong. If someone wants to judge me based on it then they don’t deserve any place in my life. During the conversation I got to know they have had only one person of Indian origin on their board’s 25 plus years of history. Time to change that may be..
These kids deserve a better world and all of us owe that to them.. time to work hard-er - One day at a time, one issue, one cause - thats call progress.
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