Racism in developed countries – who’s to be blamed?

Who’s to be blamed? Well, we all play the blame game right from our childhood days. Trust me, we are good at it!

When I left for Germany, a few years ago for my graduate studies, I heard a lot of negative comments about being a foreigner in Germany. Many of my friends, well wishers and strangers (that I met @airports, en route to Germany) painted a picture that German’s are racists, and still the principles of Nazism are strong in their blood. Of course, what else can you expect outta people that read history books manipulated by the Americans, and watch Hollywood movies? Not a bit of REALITY.

Right from day one of my entry into Germany, till the day I left that country after two-and-a-half years, not a single day to regret. The Germans (most of them, except for some old jerks in their 80+ age) were very friendly and helpful. I was astonished; stark difference from what I heard from people, and what I saw in Hollywood movies.

I was traveling by the U-bahn during one of my visits to Stuttgart, and I spotted a group of fellow Indians in the same compartment. I tried smiling, and I got some cold stares in return. I broke the ice, and spoke to one of them, and got to know that they work for an Indian MNC based outta Bangalore/Hyderabad, and had come down to Stuttgart on a 6-month deputation. Fine, I envied them; ‘was still a student, earning money from odd jobs. And these people looked like they were on a paid-vacation. Real envy in my heart!

Then came the nasty thing.. they were caught traveling without tickets by the authorities, and were fined in front of me – forty euros from each of them! One of the ticket checkers came up to me and asked for my ticket. Showed him the valid ticket, and the German gave me a confused stare. I knew what was running at the back of his mind when he asked for my ticket. I was ashamed, for obvious reasons. In a single instance, the image of Indians might have taken a negative hit in the minds of the authorities. Also, I heard from some of my other friends that ticket-less traveling has been practised by many Indians that were on deputation. Saving money, while earning in Euros, huh!?

Once bitten, twice shy. Whenever I travel in trains and buses, I or my Indian friend would be the target of all cold stares, ‘coz the ticket checker will walk up to us first, check tickets and then proceed with the others asking for tickets. Can we call this racism? NO.

I was denied a credit card, ‘coz the manager of a famous German bank found that ‘m an Indian. Upon inquiry, I came to know that a group of Indians used their credit cards to pay an overseas consultant, and left for the US without settling the credit – amounting to 4000 euros per person. Can the denying of credit card to an Indian like me by a German bank manager branded as racism? NO.

Having said this, I don’t deny the presence of racism in Europe in general, and in other countries like Australia, and the most hyped USA. The Brits (just watch the Jeremy Clarkson car reviews..), and the descendants of these Brits in other countries are generally known for racism. The racist attacks happening in Australia must be having TWO dimensions, of which only one is being projected by the Indian media – creating hype and public outcry, and generating lotta money in the process. Also, many of the recent attacks in the US were targeted at Telugu people. Well, this sounds a bit fishy – there got to be a special reason for these selective attacks.

Don’t forget the intensity of racism in India. Many of the national/regional parties have been founded on racist principles. So, who’s to be blamed at the end of the day? The society, the people. We all live in a hypocritical society, playing the blame game very effectively, just benefiting outta our own selfishness.

Remember, we elect the politicians that further strengthen the racist elements. Do we even have the right to condemn the attitude of the people of a different country? I’m not sure. Let me know if you have an answer to this question.

Image source(s): Links and Daily Nation

Tags: america, australia, germany, india, politician, racism, racist, USA

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