Am I Trayvon? Zimmerman? Both?

Guest blogged by Simran Jeet Singh

As I strolled outside my Manhattan apartment this morning, reflecting on the Trayvon Martin decision, I had one of those moments that wouldhoodie shatter any possible artifice of living in a post-racial society.

I heard a woman cry in pain and turned around to see her lying on the street, clutching her bleeding knee. I rushed over and extended my hand to help her up. She looked up and her entire body recoiled the moment she saw that my face was adorned with a turban and beard. She shook her head and muttered “foreigners…” just loudly enough so that I could hear. I stepped away, understanding her reaction, and I turned to hold the traffic as she gathered herself.

I watched her limp to the sidewalk and was surprised when she looked back at me over her shoulder and mouthed the words “thank you.”

And I realize now that I should have thanked her. She reminded me that despite being a social construct, race is absolutely real in our world, and in the rules of this game, so many of us find ourselves to be the typecast. It’s a lesson we receive repeatedly throughout our lives, but it bears repeating for a reason.

To forget the rules of the game is to forget the reality in which we live. As Keyser Soze said in The Usual Suspects, “The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.”

The U.S. is home to many marginalized communities that have endured long histories of oppression and live in societies that no longer explicitly endorse oppression including Sikh Americans. We are prone to overlook the modern structures of discrimination because they are couched and understated.

And that’s the danger. The rules of the game have been tweaked, but the power structures remain the same. Implicit oppression is far more dangerous in that it lies in bed alongside us, constantly seducing us, coaxing us to believe that “things aren’t how they used to be” and “baby, I’ve changed.”

The relationship between America and its minority communities is still abusive.

For example, about a year ago, a neo-Nazi opened fire on a congregation of Sikhs in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. In February, a turbaned man in Florida was shot while driving with his 13-year-old son, and a month later, a store owned by Sikhs in Wisconsin was torched in a suspected hate crime. On May 8, in Fresno, California, a 29-year-old viciously beat an 82-year-old Sikh male with a steel pipe.

Try telling the victims of these hate crimes that “discrimination no longer exists.”

And before we begin blaming America for being uniquely guilty of creating racial divisions, let us also recognize that societies around the globe are similarly discriminatory. People often assume that people with black skin in Africa do not experience oppression, or that people who wear turbans in India face no persecution. These assumptions are patently untrue and give us a false sense of reality.

The reality is that the global society is complicit in structural discrimination, and we have all become actors in that process. Sure in some way we are all Trayvon Martin. Each of us has had our humanity compromised by the current power structure. Each of us have been dehumanized, just like Trayvon.

On the other hand, we all regularly participate in a system that protects a select few, and we all play roles that contribute to the denigration of others.

The dehumanization cuts both ways.

So in a way, aren’t we all George Zimmerman too?


bookmark bookmark bookmark bookmark bookmark bookmark bookmark bookmark bookmark bookmark bookmark bookmark
tabs-top


25 Responses to “Am I Trayvon? Zimmerman? Both?”

  1. essaytigers says:

    These are truly awesome essaytigers reports for everybody to post their particular essay writing. I appreciate essaytigers because they are providing best student related essay tips. Keep more share for your essay readers.

  2. adminpool says:

    Each career guidance and profession development are essential components in your personal profession exploration. Understanding these types of foundational conditions will enable you to get what you'll need, and in the right period.usa-technology.net

  3. adminpool says:

    Profession advice nowadays comes in most size and shapes. It's simple to get "lost within the lingo" however understanding a few basic definitions might help enable you to get the correct support to your requirements. To place it simply, whether you'll need career guidance or profession development depends upon where you stand on your job journey.technews404.net

  4. adminpool says:

    Profession advice nowadays comes in most size and shapes. It's simple to get "lost within the lingo" however understanding a few basic definitions might help enable you to get the correct support to your requirements. To place it simply, whether you'll need career guidance or profession development depends upon where you stand on your job journey.technews404.net

  5. adminpool says:

    Producing the crucial decision to find a profession change following 50 normally doesn't come in one event or even one event. Rather it's the slow get, drip associated with events which trigger your decision.inceptiontech.net

  6. adminpool says:

    Professions change with time often through events completely beyond the control. Your organization and industry might be dying as well as budget slashes restrict your capability to do your work and you're now likely to do much more with much less. Or your own boss is actually beyond challenging,cheapssoftware.net

  7. adminpool says:

    Professions change with time often through events completely beyond the control. Your organization and industry might be dying as well as budget slashes restrict your capability to do your work and you're now likely to do much more with much less. Or your own boss is actually beyond challenging,cheapssoftware.net

  8. adminpool says:

    Life-long professions and employed by one company our whole working life is really a thing associated with past. With this current fast-paced worldwide economy, careers as well as industries appear to change as well as come as well as go immediately.lincolnwebhosting.net

  9. adminpool says:

    It really is sad if a place off comes they are the same individuals who will find it hard to launch their own job research quickly. It doesn't need to be that method! Here tend to be three "must do" profession success actions.vetwebdesign.net

  10. Muhammad Talha Yasin says:

    The credit card market has steadily grown and it has radically transformed how consumers spend and made a major impact on businesses. Credit cards are representative of the varied spending habits of various homes and businesses in the current economy. <a href="http://www.businessbankingsecret.com” target=”_blank”>www.businessbankingsecret.com

  11. Muhammad Talha Yasin says:

    Individuals use their credit cards for day-to-day spending. From buying groceries to making major purchases, credit cards provide a readily accessible and safe payment solution for consumers. Benefits such as purchase protection and prompt handling of attempted fraud are some of the reasons <a href="http://www.businessinsightstoday.com” target=”_blank”>www.businessinsightstoday.com

  12. Muhammad Talha Yasin says:

    ou’re probably not going to ease into your new home if you don’t get along with the neighbors. Before putting in an offer, take some time to speak with the folks you’ll be living near. Get a sense of their values and priorities. <a href="http://www.homelandsecuritymarket.com” target=”_blank”>www.homelandsecuritymarket.com

  13. Muhammad Talha Yasin says:

    Essay writing is something that takes a lot of time. You need to do a lot of research and devote a lot of your time to prepare a research paper. Today in this busy life, it is not possible <a href="http://www.careerssurgery.com” target=”_blank”>www.careerssurgery.com

  14. Muhammad Talha Yasin says:

    Everybody must learn to sail. It is the similar as studying survival. Or gun protection. You might not utilize it all that often, however you know what to act when circumstances calls for it. The sailing is regarding self support in natural world. <a href="http://www.travelplansigns.com” target=”_blank”>www.travelplansigns.com

  15. Muhammad Talha Yasin says:

    If you are to go in the fashion industry then merely being good looking is not going to be enough. You have to make sure that you look jaw dropping beautiful to have an added advantage and attract a lot of attention, and possibly get an instant opening toofashionflatirons.com

  16. Royce says:

    Perfect piece of work you have done, this site is really cool with great info .

  17. WBSZONE says:

    Hello
    this is a nice article for us
    thankx.

  18. arslan672 says:

    There is definitely equation which often floats about the minds regarding countless women and many more increasingly, adult males nowadays, in addition to that’s Botox = Luxury. It’s uncomplicated. In order to help keep looking more youthful and wrinkle absolutely free, the best solution is to acquire botox images. http://www.acnetreatmentresearch.org

  19. arslan672 says:

    You’ll see that in Are generally Paz likewise, but Are generally Paz will be more ‘international’ in conjunction with large and incredibly active (plus much more temporary or perhaps mobile) expat areas that, except aid staff members and missionaries, often will not make fantastic attempts to combine with the exact locals. http://www.healthinlatinamerica.org

  20. arslan672 says:

    Guiltiness problems occupy many our time, some people allow us with guilt because motivating aspect in almost every choice or perhaps decision we have now ever designed. http://www.fashionwithoutguilt.org

  21. mayajan says:

    Each of us has had our mankind bargained by the present force structure. Each of us have been dehumanized, much the same as trayvon.

  22. This is nice article for us it gave us a lot of information to us thanks

  23. alanlar says:

    Nice post thanks for sharing. I would like to visit again to your website. http://www.sekaantika.com/

  24. Thank you for taking the time and sharing this information with us. It was indeed very helpful and insightful while being straight forward and to the point.

  25. Not all security guards are like Zimmerman. There are so many professional, kind security officers in New York who are nothing like Zimmerman. A lot of them are African-American, who take pride in protecting people and property. People like the A-Hole mentioned above just give these security companies a bad name when all they are trying to do is observe and report, keep people safe at shopping malls, train stations and parks. http://www.guardsecurity.com