Furthermore, there is no mention of the long-lasting effects the Empire had on ethnic communities which continue to prohibit their growth. School history syllabuses tend to concentrate on the Tudors and World Wars, at the expense of more consequential events such as British Colonisation. This inaccurate understanding of the East-West dichotomy is hugely a result of the UK’s unreliable school system. In contrast, the Global North is seen as logical and its countries are considered, according to Jan Heller, ‘products of modern thinking’. Alongside these unacceptable headlines, the incessant neglection of Western terrorism further highlights the power and status the West holds.ĭespite any social progression, we’re still being programmed to have a set view of the countries within the Global South as being irrational and consisting of a chaotic culture. Just this month, my social media feed has been flooded with information regarding the government encouraging laws against protesting, plans to cut universal credit, and refugees searching for this ‘better life’ being sent to animalistic detention centres. However, the social issues faced in the UK should not be ignored simply because they are less pressing. Many countries in the Global South are dealing with issues such as serious poverty and a lack of women’s rights. This is true in many ways, such as increased human rights, and I am beyond lucky for the opportunities I face. Anytime I go back to India, I often hear friends or relatives assume that because I live in England, I am living a higher quality of life.
It is a common assumption, especially in India, that when one moves to the West it is a sign of intelligence or accomplishment. I personally find this absurd because there is such a variety of people just within India, so how could one term ever encompass an entire continent? This ignorance makes me wonder why the West is so glorified and able to escape any stereotypes, while the East is bound to many. For example, the “A” meaning Asian assumes all Asians fit under one category. The term ‘BAME’ highlights the unfortunate reality of individual cultures not being recognised, as everyone who is not white is jumbled into one.
As a second-generation immigrant I have witnessed first-hand how this has impacted my parents struggle to form any true cultural identity. This has a bitter effect on immigrants as it results in a personal struggle between being unable to call the country you are living in home, whilst not being able to identify with your homeland and cultural values. In Nikesh Sukla’s The Good Immigrant, comedian Nish Kumar talks about his experience of growing up in the UK and constantly being mistaken for almost every ethnicity other than his own. It not only promotes Western dominance, but also a confusion of identity for many immigrants. This mindset of classifying immigrants has continued for decades, despite recent social advancements. However, what many fail to recognise is that conforming to this ‘good immigrant’ title can lead to the sacrifice of their cultural identity as they must adapt to Western civilisation to avoid seeming abnormal or unknown, and therefore a potential threat. This capitalist sentiment perpetuates the belief that if an immigrant is not fulfilling this responsibility, their move is not justified. A ‘good immigrant’ is deemed as one who ‘gives back’ to the Western economy as it is believed to be their duty for being allowed to immigrate in the first place. This attitude is driven by the undying systematic racism we witness in the UK. This categorical thinking is misused when people who hold themselves superior attempt to organise immigrants into ‘good’ and ‘bad’. We also do this when analysing others and deciding their significance in our lives. When introduced to any mass of information, human beings often make sense of it by simply categorising it into good or bad. Stain in the Sea – Meli Vasiloudes Bayada Life in Plastic, It’s Fantastic – Izzy ChowdhuryĪ Case for the Universal Appeal of Anime Fashion – Meriel Dhanowa Your First Month in Rural Island – Lola O’Brien Dele Time to Come Out: On Temporalities and Queerness – Lucy Danoghue
Neighbourhood Watch: Exploring the Roots of Kenmure Street Protest
0 kommentar(er)
