There’s no vaccine for racism. We’ve got to do the work.
Future Vice President of the United States Kamala Harris said that yesterday. Now don’t get me wrong she doesn’t have the best track record but that’s a story for another time. Today however, I want to talk about how the wounds of racism can run pretty damn deep.
I wasn’t always as progressive and liberal as I am today. In fact growing up I hated the colour of my skin and by association ‘hated’ all brown people.
I lived in a number of places, with the most pivotal formative years being spent in Rockhampton and America. Now while America had its challenges it was where I was most exposed to people of different cultures and backgrounds. Rockhampton on the other hand, not so much.
It’s a typical small town that embodies some of the worst characteristics to come out of country Australia. In this town I was one of the few people of colour in my school and such was bullied for it. Now this wasn’t the only reason I was bullied, there were plenty others but this is the reason that has stayed with me more than a decade on.
Being ostracised for something as simple as the colour of your skin is something you can’t control. From taunts about me looking like shit because I’m brown, or the fact that I was a curry-muncher who smelt like curry all day, eventually got to me.
I hated looking Indian, I hated Indian food, I hated my nose because it was a typical Indian looking nose and most of all I hated myself.
Over the years I grew to love myself a bit more but I could never grow enough to forgive or forget the people who treated me in such a manner. Over time I didn’t think about them as much until recently.
In light of BLM and other people of colour standing up for themselves I guess I’ve become more sensitive to the treatment and equity I, and my people deserve. So when I found out that someone who made fun of me because I was Indian decided to open and Indian restaurant I was confused.
A myriad of emotions overtook me, humour at the irony of the situation, anger at the fact that he’s now claiming to love a culture he once ridiculed and frustration at the fact that I’m not the first person this has happened to and I won’t be the last.
There are countless white people across the globe who once ridiculed a minority group to then profit off of them in the future. We see it everyday, big fashion houses stealing black artist’s work, paler girls making fun of darker girls, to then blackfish with fake tan once it becomes trendy and finally turmeric fucking lattes.
Maybe I’m in the wrong, maybe he went to India and ‘found himself’ eat, pray, love style and is a totally different person. But I’ve walked past the restaurant a few times now and I am yet to see a single Indian employee at the establishment.
It’s truly a case of white people thinking they can capitalise off our culture and I’m sick of it. It’s up to us as consumers to support brands that aren’t profiting off of other people’s culture or work. It’s up to us as consumers to support BIPOC when they call out brands for not doing enough, and its up to us to do better.
Future Vice President of the United States Kamala Harris said that yesterday. Now don’t get me wrong she doesn’t have the best track record but that’s a story for another time. Today however, I want to talk about how the wounds of racism can run pretty damn deep.
I wasn’t always as progressive and liberal as I am today. In fact growing up I hated the colour of my skin and by association ‘hated’ all brown people.
I lived in a number of places, with the most pivotal formative years being spent in Rockhampton and America. Now while America had its challenges it was where I was most exposed to people of different cultures and backgrounds. Rockhampton on the other hand, not so much.
It’s a typical small town that embodies some of the worst characteristics to come out of country Australia. In this town I was one of the few people of colour in my school and such was bullied for it. Now this wasn’t the only reason I was bullied, there were plenty others but this is the reason that has stayed with me more than a decade on.
Being ostracised for something as simple as the colour of your skin is something you can’t control. From taunts about me looking like shit because I’m brown, or the fact that I was a curry-muncher who smelt like curry all day, eventually got to me.
I hated looking Indian, I hated Indian food, I hated my nose because it was a typical Indian looking nose and most of all I hated myself.
Over the years I grew to love myself a bit more but I could never grow enough to forgive or forget the people who treated me in such a manner. Over time I didn’t think about them as much until recently.
In light of BLM and other people of colour standing up for themselves I guess I’ve become more sensitive to the treatment and equity I, and my people deserve. So when I found out that someone who made fun of me because I was Indian decided to open and Indian restaurant I was confused.
A myriad of emotions overtook me, humour at the irony of the situation, anger at the fact that he’s now claiming to love a culture he once ridiculed and frustration at the fact that I’m not the first person this has happened to and I won’t be the last.
There are countless white people across the globe who once ridiculed a minority group to then profit off of them in the future. We see it everyday, big fashion houses stealing black artist’s work, paler girls making fun of darker girls, to then blackfish with fake tan once it becomes trendy and finally turmeric fucking lattes.
Maybe I’m in the wrong, maybe he went to India and ‘found himself’ eat, pray, love style and is a totally different person. But I’ve walked past the restaurant a few times now and I am yet to see a single Indian employee at the establishment.
It’s truly a case of white people thinking they can capitalise off our culture and I’m sick of it. It’s up to us as consumers to support brands that aren’t profiting off of other people’s culture or work. It’s up to us as consumers to support BIPOC when they call out brands for not doing enough, and its up to us to do better.