The recent George Flyod incident in U.S. brought in light not only the insensitivity of the system but the responses to it showed what is wrong with our attitudes. It is not even surprising that one of the responses towards Black Lives Matter(BLM) campaign is that all lives matter. This makes me realise the problem with our attitudes very much reflected in our daily conversations.
We all have heard people telling us that its no big deal. Everyone faces problems and you are not alone. And yes that ‘s true. But now imagine telling a rape victim that everyone has problems , or telling a kid who never went to school in a rural area probably working on the farms with his father, that everyone has problems.
All lives matter argument is even worse. Imagine telling a Black mom whose son has died in racial violence that all lives matter. Similarly , Can we tell a Dalit woman in India , that all women lives matter. Is it really the same? A woman at the axis of caste-class -gender inequality vs. a woman living in a urban town having problems at a job is not the same. Yes their lives matter equally but their struggle is not the same, and therefore we can see why it is not an appropriate response.
This shows the level of insensitivity in the society. The problem is at the very level of our mentality. Everytime we have got a problem, people tell us look at other people , they have it worse and that is not a healthy attitude. We are supposed to realise our privileges so we can use them for bettering lives of others, and not to feel better about the fact that other people have it worse. Even the behaviour that we always need to be better than others relatively rather than our own selves is nothing but unhealthy.
And if we are really just finding ways to think how we are better off than others , isn’t that just our ego working? We are supposed to be human and empathise, and not always look for ways to see how we are better off.
What matters is not how better off we are than others, or how many more things or achievements we have but what does matter is how better we are making this world for everyone to live. So lets not generalise. Lets try to understand and empathise or next time we see someone struggling and we can’t help in anyway then atleast lets not say that everyone has problems. Just pause for a moment and imagine someone telling that to you in the midst of your life crisis. And you’ll have your answer.
The answer is not decorating problems but it is also not belittling other’s struggles. We must recognise people’s problems. Give the fact check a break and take a sensitivity check. How sensitive are you , not for yourself but for others too? I’ll leave you with that question.