Like most things, it begins when we are young.
"If you don't behave the bangla will catch you!"
Lesson #1: you should be unnecessarily wary and afraid of strangers on the street. More specifically, anyone with dark skin. You should view them as threats and also as people you should consciously avoid and exclude in your society.
"If you don't study hard you will end up being a road sweeper!"
Lesson #2: all jobs require work, all jobs pay, but no there are some jobs that are hideously degrading and you should avoid them at all cost.
Lesson #3: the only reason to work hard is to avoid a horrible job in the future.
Lesson #3: the only reason to work hard is to avoid a horrible job in the future.
Also Lesson #4: even from a young age with no working experience, no sense of responsibility or family commitment, you believe you are superior than the hardworking fellas keeping our roads clean.
"Don't go near him he looks so dirty later you bring home germs."
Lesson #5: who needs compassion when you have a clean body to carry home to shower with hot water anyway.
Driven by fear. We are always driven by fear. And it is this fear that has created so many gaps in our society. Fear that has us building walls of steel around our already cold hearts, to look at strangers and think we have them figured out, to always believe we are superior. We place so much emphasis on protecting ourselves, minding our own business, doing all we can to avoid being in someone else's situation because we are much better than that. We are an arrogant bunch, we really are. Humility needs to run through our veins just as much as our conscience reminds us we are human. Humility needs to deflate our egos to help us see the world as it is, not as this Venus Flytrap that is always out to ruin you. Also, we are not really motivated anymore. Why must our drive come at the expense of another person's dignity. "Do this so that you wouldn't be like them." This isn't a community. This is more like a game to see who can one-up another person, even if the person is a stranger.
Kids, kids. What do we tell our kids?