FACING PREJUDICE AND DISCRIMINATION

I was watching the Tyra Banks show two weeks ago and I chanced upon an episode wherein they were conducting an experiment on first impressions.

They invited a group of individuals and asked them about their impression on a Muslim woman, an Asian woman, a Latina and a Black American woman. The response they got was shocking. The group labeled the Muslim woman a terrorist, the Asian an intelligent successful woman, the Latina a maid, and the Black American woman an illiterate and on crack.

It was truly shocking because the reactions on the Tyra show can be seen in the Philippines alone with the Muslims, Christians and IPs of the country.

Last August, we attended a video conference in UP Diliman where the topic was about “Prejudice Towards Ethnic and Religious Minorities in the Philippines”. As IP delegates, this was a sensitive issue for us.

When the question on what comes to mind when the word Muslim was asked, one answer reigned supreme, “TERRORISTS”. Others like “mananakaw” or thief, “namimirata” or people who adhere to piracy in the country (based on Philippine context) followed.

When the word IP was asked, many were dumbfounded. They did not know what it meant. But once we enumerated the IPs as the Igorots, Aetas, Manobo, etc., words like “barbaric”, “illiterate”, “backward”, and “immoral” came flooding in.

Hurtful as the words may seem, we cannot help but ask where they got their views. Some said through the radio, television, newspapers, while others say that it was instilled in them since childhood.

IS THIS HOW WE ARE SHAPED BY OUR SOCIETY?

We build prejudices or our negative attitudes and opinions about people based on the fact that their religion, or race is different from our own, thus we label them as inferior.

We base our prejudices on stereotypes or oversimplified generalization of people. These are stereotypes that are brought by the sensationalization of the media, or by generalizations of our elders.

The most devastating part is when we discriminate or we act on the basis of our prejudices or our stereotypes. We put other people down and worse, deny them something that they are entitled to by right and law like livelihood and education.

This is especially true for our Muslim brothers/ sisters who are denied jobs because of the mere fact that they are Muslims or Maguindanaons.

This further leads to oppression. It becomes legalized, internalized and systematized in society. This is the worst condition because it makes it all seem ok to discriminate when it really is not. It becomes a cycle that is reinforced by schools, media and even the church.

The conflict that results from this kind of thinking that “we are better than them” can become so hostile that it is passed down from generation to generation. We end up hating each other and the sad part is that we do not even know how or why the hate stated.

But the truth is that the cause of conflict is not truly because of differences in religion or ethnicity. Rather, conflicts are borne out of a people’s experience of economic inequality, political discrimination and human rights violations. Religious and ethnic differences are merely used to provoke passions and anger.

As the future leaders of this country, what then can we do?

We should start with TOLERANCE within our own selves then we let it grow to our families, communities and the nation. We should learn that accept, respect and appreciate the fact that there is diversity in the world’s cultures. These are our ways of being human.

We are all human beings and that we are naturally diverse/ different in appearance, situation, speech, behavior and values. Let us open our minds and understand other people and be educated in other people’s ways of living. Muslims, Christians or IPs, we are all the same.

Let us remember the words of Martin Luther King Jr.: “I have a dream that my four little children one day will live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

Lastly, let us bear in mind EMPATHY, that before we start discriminating others, let us put ourselves in their shoes and feel the impact of our own discrimination.

Let us challenge the discrimination and oppression that is at hand. The cycle is rolling but we have the power to break that cycle when we start to question and raise our consciousness about what is truly happening in our society. We are given the will, the power to think. Let us use it to achieve EQUITY and a better society, for us, our children and the generations ahead.

With this I leave you a poem by the 16 year old Amy Maddox.

He prayed, it wasn’t my religion.
He ate, it wasn’t what I ate.
He spoke, it wasn’t language.
He dressed, it wasn’t what I wore.
He took my hand, it wasn’t the color of mine.
But when he laughed, it was how I laughed.
And when he cried, it was how I cried.


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