Melvin's blog

Nshima & Curry

Melvin's  Blog

Nshima & Curry

NOBODY IS SAFE FROM HATE CRIMES

I’ve lived in Pennsylvania for about 15 years
and like to think of it as a progressive state,
a state where white folk and black folk and
brown folk can live together in harmony, a
state where the color of your skin isn’t as
important as the color of your pickup truck.

But I’m beginning to wonder if I’d feel safer
in South Carolina, where the Ku Klux Klan,
encouraged by the strong economy and the
Confederate flag that still flies above the
Statehouse dome, may soon open a factory
to make white sheets. The sheets,  of
course, would come in three sizes: big,
bigger and bigot.

My sense of security has been shaken by
two recent hate crimes, making me wonder
if Pennsylvania is any different from other
states. Perhaps we should declare a new
state motto: "Pennsylvania: We’ve got
racists, too." Or maybe we should update
an old motto: "You’ve got a friend in
Pennsylvania -- and someone who hates
you, too."

In March, a black man went on a shooting
spree in the Pittsburgh area, killing three
white men and wounding two others. And
just last week, a white man went on another
rampage in the same area, killing a Jewish
woman, an Indian man, two Chinese men,
and a black man. Another Indian man was
critically injured.

Eight precious lives snuffed out by two mad
men who somehow got their hands on guns.
Probably bought them on a street corner
from one of those tough-talking,
heavily-armed 6-year-olds.

The shootings struck a little too close to
home for me, not just because they
occurred in Pennsylvania, but also because,
like two of the victims, I’m Indian. That
means I could just as easily become the
target of someone’s hatred -- though I’ve
always tried to be nice to everyone, even
the local tax collector.

Truth is, nobody is safe from racism. It
doesn’t matter if you’re white, black or
brown. Someone could be out to get you,
someone who doesn’t care that you’re a
law-abiding citizen, that you treat people
equally, that you love your mother-in-law as
much as you love Elian Gonzalez.

I used to think it might be smart for me to
dye my skin white and wear a blond wig,
especially when driving through South
Carolina. But now I have a better idea. I’ll
protect myself from all racists by dyeing my
right limbs black and my left limbs white.
And I’ll dye my face purple, just in case
Barney the dinosaur goes on a shooting
spree.

I’m baffled why some racists feel the need
to act on their hate and kill others. Wouldn’t
it be easier and much more pleasant if they
vented their anger in a productive way, such
as by shooting themselves? That would
save us the trouble of putting them on trial,
listening to their flimsy defenses and
executing or imprisoning them.

What do they think they’re going to achieve?
Maybe, like Hitler, they’re trying to eliminate
an entire ethnic group. If that’s the case, I
have bad news for them: they’ll never
succeed. Kill a few of us and we'll just have
more babies. Trust me, we’re pretty good
at it. We don’t even need Viagra.

Well, some of us do, but we're still good at
it. We may even take fertility pills and have
sextuplets. Scary, isn't it?

White, black or brown. We’re here to stay.
Deal with it.

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