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By:
Mahugu Nuthu | |||||||||
| Posted:
Feb,29-2016 10:22:40
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Somefellow African-born friends of mine had an opinion that Oscar boycotters should stop complaining and work hard next time.I disagreed. Here is why. In a perfect world, all you need is qualifications, experience, skills, persistence, positive attitude, great passion and a sprinkle of optimism. Nobody is disputing for a minute that you need all these for personal success. But there are critical Issues in the minority communities concerning health, education, justice system and employment that may still require collective action.We would like to pretend that "all is well" but the evidence is overwhelming. In this world there a risk that you may be denied opportunities, rights or even freedom based on some subtle generalization, perceptions, stigmas and stereotypes in the society. For the millions of native Africans living in USA, we tend to be bystanders when it comes to issues concerning the black community. It’s as if we have developed some false immunity from it all.Since we are also dealing with national origin, language, accent and other bias classes, racism is often treated as a common nuisance that we think we can live with. We are hardworking people. We are above it all right? Wrong!When one race, tribe, gender or social class dominates the economic system there is high likelihood that the minority may be kept out of opportunities. Sometimes the thing that is holding you back may not be necessarily be your incompetence. You would think Africanswouldunderstand social exclusion considering what is happening back home. Notably there has been a regressive slide towards tribalism for the last few years. Social media has contributed in fueling this hatred. The tribal keyboard warriors can lie behind obscure usernames and spew whatever hatred they have been incubating. The mix of cheap tribalism and obscene sycophancy is intoxicating to the youth. This feeds the idea that one’s tribesman is the only perfect leader and somehow superhuman. For the benefits of our politicians we are taught to hate other tribes almost instinctively for reasons that can't be substantiated.Ethnicity has become a minimum requirement for jobs and other growth opportunities.How is that working out for us? You can make the same case about race relations in America.Even without looking at the number cases of unarmed black young men killed by police over past few years, the facts are clear. Race and class-based exclusion in USA is alive and well. Even following market forces, in-group cliques form over-time, often based on ethnicity. Sometimes practice is just better-disguised or subtle. Complaining is therefore not always a sign of weakness. The "work harder" mantra should not be used as an insult to those seeking equal opportunity. Abuse should not hidden in order not to appear whinny. One salient question still remains: should you do something? Should you take a side? While the hope is that one day the society will outgrow the culture of intolerance, I believe we have to do two things simultaneously: Join the world in fighting exclusion and develop a strategy that will allow you to earn a living in spite of the prevailing conditions. Let's look at these one at a time, starting with the communal effort.The task promoting equality and respect in the community belongs to everybody.This job is still on-going worldwide.That is why many nations are attempting to have parliaments and cabinets that are not only gender balanced, but diverse enough to represent the population. In your own small way, you can shoot for greatness and at the same time refuse to settle for mediocracy.These are not conflicting values. When we stand by, not wanting to admit what’s happening, we give these gatekeepers the upper hand. Yes, you will be accused of being lazy, developing a victim mentality or joining the grievance industry. I have to agree that a thin line separates being whinny from being a strong person who demands respect.But remember, silence is consent. At individual level you can work hard while still recognizing boundaries and continually pushing them. In my new book, a compilation of intriguing short stories, I demonstrate 40 ways that gatekeepers may attempt to exclude you from opportunities and how to thrive in such an environment. You will definitely need to factor in the various conventional prejudices in your society so that you can improve the odds of thriving in spite of bias. It may not look like a big deal, but this Oscar issue is about employability and opportunities for minorities. Oscar nominees and winners have more lucrative offers than those who are not mentioned at all. In this instance, not a single person of color was nominated.In a broader sense the boycott is about disrupting such patterns of social exclusion whenever they occur. Let us remember one small fact. As members of various demographics, we are all direct beneficiaries of those who fought to bring equality. We are enjoying the little freedom and opportunities we have today because somebody stood up. Somebody refused to give up her seat on a bus. Somebody spent 27 years in jail. Somebody risked his or her life. Most people will work hard given equality of opportunity and human rights as endowed by the creator. Nobody said life would be easy. All they ask is a level playing field. This why Africans in Diaspora should support the Oscar boycott. Mahugu Nuthu, author of the book "Nuthology". | |||||||||
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Source:
AJABU AFRICA NEWS
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