furtive glances
A reflective piece on the BBC's website this morning, one that i believe delves into an aspect of humanity's nature.
The piece discusses London commuters' range of emotions - fear, wariness, distrust, paranoia and guilt - vis-a-vis their fellow commuters, as well as how Tube and bus passengers are dealing with each other and themselves in the days subsequent to the multiple explosions.
Those of 'Asian appearance' (how would one define that?) feel furtive glances from others; some express their feelings when the seat next to them is the only one left unoccupied. Others articulate their guilt for harbouring stereotypical sentiments, while a few discuss how these emotions play right into the desires of the 'terrorists'.
i don't reside in a city that has, as of yet, experienced bombings. The day following the 7 July bombings, i went to a store wearing - what i usually wear when it's hot these days - jeans and a white kameez that reaches to my knees. It's an extremely 'ethnic' dress look. i am not certain if it was my paranoia. i felt distinctly uncomfortable. i deliberately tried not to make eye-contact with anyone; the few times i looked up i thought i saw others staring at me. If there were to be attacks in this country as well, i wonder at how people here would react vis-a-vis each other.
It's an extremely uncomfortable feeling, to walk around with the perception (accurate or not) that others are regarding you as an outsider. In the BBC piece, there was a comment by an individual from the U.S.:
"Now the general public has been introduced to the plight of the black man. I am a chemistry PhD student, a research and teaching assistant but that does not seem to be enough to make others feel comfortable. I too make my own declarations: doing work on my computer, grading papers or reading some chemical journal with a molecule in full view, but I still see some women clutch their purses a little more tightly or some men making sure their wallets are still there as I pass. To survive, you have to train yourself to just let it go. Perhaps when the fear subsides and the london public returns to a fair sense of normalcy, we will learn the more appropriate of the two lesson here: Dont judge."
The piece discusses London commuters' range of emotions - fear, wariness, distrust, paranoia and guilt - vis-a-vis their fellow commuters, as well as how Tube and bus passengers are dealing with each other and themselves in the days subsequent to the multiple explosions.
Those of 'Asian appearance' (how would one define that?) feel furtive glances from others; some express their feelings when the seat next to them is the only one left unoccupied. Others articulate their guilt for harbouring stereotypical sentiments, while a few discuss how these emotions play right into the desires of the 'terrorists'.
i don't reside in a city that has, as of yet, experienced bombings. The day following the 7 July bombings, i went to a store wearing - what i usually wear when it's hot these days - jeans and a white kameez that reaches to my knees. It's an extremely 'ethnic' dress look. i am not certain if it was my paranoia. i felt distinctly uncomfortable. i deliberately tried not to make eye-contact with anyone; the few times i looked up i thought i saw others staring at me. If there were to be attacks in this country as well, i wonder at how people here would react vis-a-vis each other.
It's an extremely uncomfortable feeling, to walk around with the perception (accurate or not) that others are regarding you as an outsider. In the BBC piece, there was a comment by an individual from the U.S.:
"Now the general public has been introduced to the plight of the black man. I am a chemistry PhD student, a research and teaching assistant but that does not seem to be enough to make others feel comfortable. I too make my own declarations: doing work on my computer, grading papers or reading some chemical journal with a molecule in full view, but I still see some women clutch their purses a little more tightly or some men making sure their wallets are still there as I pass. To survive, you have to train yourself to just let it go. Perhaps when the fear subsides and the london public returns to a fair sense of normalcy, we will learn the more appropriate of the two lesson here: Dont judge."
posted by rolihlahla at 7:08:00 a.m.
1 Comments:
Do you have copy writer for so good articles? If so please give me contacts, because this really rocks! :)
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