Rosa Parks is such an important name in changing the course of history. She is the person responsible for starting the movement for the rights of African American people. While even today everyone applauds her brave act of standing up for her rights and then starting a movement it us some thing we constantly see everyday but with no consequences.
Discrimination today has surpassed all levels. It no longer is restricted to being only about colour or your caste; it is now about your religion, your beliefs, your appearance, and nearly everything that will make you different from the majority. The worst part is that this discrimination has surpassed several boundaries of humanity today; affecting people in the most terrible ways possible and there is little we can do to stop it.
Colour still remains an important determinant even today. If you are black or brown or anything other than white, you will be made to feel like an outsider, you will be the subject of some level of racism and there might be jokes about you. But guess what? This kind of racism is not just subjected to collared people instead of a Caucasian person lives or works in an area where whites are a minority; he will report similar mistreatment at the hands of either African Americans or others around him.
The other issue that has sprung up far too strongly is that of religion. Following the 9/11 attack, people have become very shaken and distrusting, which according to psychologists is a natural response of human nature to such catastrophic events. However, there has been a rampant rise in discrimination towards Muslims. While it is always the fanatics, the extremists Muslims who get in involved in such devastating casualties, Muslims all over the world have had to face the brunt of this situation. From banning of scarves in various countries to harassment in workplace, school and nearly all other public places, this attitude has had a detrimental effect on all Muslims. And then the latest headlines made by Donald Trump have not helped to improve the situation one least bit. It is not just Muslims though, in several places Sikhs and Hindus have also faced similar dilemmas.
That brings us to appearances because Sikhs have their particular turban they have to wear all the time as a part of their religion and culture. On this turban alone they have been constantly subjected to strong opposition. And since it is not only clothes that define our background or religion, whatever indicates this about us ends up being the reason for someone’s discrimination.
This is exactly what the video shows too. Jośe Zamora had been applying for various jobs for months in vain. He would get up every morning and begin sending out his resumes to several jobs on Craigslist. He applied to every single job that he felt was right for him, that he was qualified for and one that he would be able to do well. However he received no replies any time. He applied to around 50-100 jobs every single day! Frustrated and unsure as to why he could not get a single job or even someone to reply to him, Jośe decided to experiment something. He changed his name on his résumé from Jośe to Joe and sent in his resumes to various jobs again on a Monday. And guess what? Exactly a week later, the next Monday, he began receiving replies. He got calls and emails, all asking him in for an interview or saying that there was an opening. This was the same guy applying for the same jobs with the same resume, the same qualification, same credentials! All these had had no meaning, no worth before and now all of a sudden he was being asked for, called for interviews. What changed in one week? He did not go and do some wonderful new courses or become some guy with unique credentials. No, all he did was change his name and viola! It was magic.
So what was so special in dropping a single letter from his name? Why was Joe luckier than Jośe in getting a job? That is how we end up judging people without even realizing that we are doing this, without even understanding that we are discriminating people on the basis of something that should not really matter in the first place!
All this makes it seem like we are back in the 18th or 19th Century and have not moved any way forward towards improvement, betterment three hundred years later. This is exactly the kind of behaviour that would be done by people back them, refusing jobs, making people work like slaves. The worst part to this attitude is that we do not even realize how important jobs are to everyone. We fail to appreciate that they are humans just like us, and have the same necessities. It is inhumane to let them suffer like this just because the way we think do not match with each other!
While Jośe is one person to have figured this out and hopefully will get a job soon, there are several aril uncertain as to what the reason behind all this is. They might be wondering that there is some thing wrong with them when there really is not! The amount of mental torture, stress and agony these people go through can not be compensated.
We might be doing this unintentionally as it has become so ingrained in our minds because of the constant exposure, so please be careful next time you come across a minority or a frequently judged group. Be kind, and be accepting. Love has no barriers!
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