archives of december, 2001

the archives contain old posts from the home page.

5 december 2001
on sunday, 2nd december i viewed the animated film based upon a bible telling, 'the prince of egypt' and although i have seen this film before, i was surprised when i heard for the first time something said by the character moses. after unleashing the "wrath of god" on egypt, pharaoh asks moses why he hates him so much. moses's reply included the phrase "no empire should be built upon the backs of slaves". i checked an online version of the bible, but i didn't find a line similar to that, this leaves me to say that the phrase were the words of the writers, or maybe a paraphrase.

i was surprised because this is something i say a lot, in the same words (most times). i started to consider that i may have heard this phrase before and absorbed it subconsciously, without actually being aware of it, and then started using it. i conclude that i did not hear this before and it's just an amazing coincidence.

now, the ironic part. isn't it ironic that this animated film, created by americans to make them money, would have a character say such a thing when america itself was built upon slaves. all nations considered developed by the average man were built upon the backs of slaves. it's funny that god was vehemently against that then, but not when slaves were ripped from africa to sweat and bleed to build the white man's developed nation. (for anyone who does not know: i'm not losing my faith or such, i am an atheist).

red? their red blood, turning purple and crusted on their wounds. white? white flesh exposed after the whip leaves their skin quickly, no time being wasted for another blow. blue? the life of slaves -- not the blue next to the stars; close your eyes right now, that blue.

27 december 2001
although i knew this was a common thing for people not white, and a thing that i expected, i was upset and angry after being discriminated against. it has been a few days, so i don't care much about it anymore. this is a short summary of what happened.
my friend and i entered a store in manhattan, near times square, where i intended to buy 4 nickel-cadmium rechargeable batteries. a man asked us our ages and we asked why. this man, not in uniform, showed us a police badge, and answered, "because i can." we told him our ages and then he motioned his thumb towards the door. i asked if he wanted us to leave, and he said yes. we repeatedly asked why, but his only response to us was, "because i can". we left; "those who fight and run away, will live to fight another day", buju banton. i considered making the "my rights" scene, but i didn't want to risk getting arrested for "disturbing the peace".
if you're curious, the man was black, not that i cared; he was just another american to me.
i hope i haven't given you doubt, be assured that it was a most common case of racism.
i realise now that it may make no sense to even tell you this because of the complexity of my response, which i don't think i can relate. you are human, and the probabilty is that you're a minority like me, a slave, therefore i don't have to tell you how i felt -- you know.
treatment like this is nothing new though. i believe that this is worth telling because if there is someone out there who has been treated like this, he now knows that he isn't alone. the war continues.

a letter from a visitor has reminded me why i wrote about my supression. i wanted to point out that they discriminate based upon a person's foreign attitude, his different attire, the colour of his skin and the size, shape and position of body parts, and this is how they force us to act like them. because we want to escape the "embarrassment" of discrimination, we act in a manner that makes them feel comfortable, and mold ourselves so that we may not be picked out from the crowd and magnified until they are satiated. this is one way in which guyanese, as well as many other groups, eventually fall into the american sack, or rather, are pushed.