Living in a House Divided: When Ebony and Ivory Become A Time To Kill


"Ebony and Ivory" - Paul McCartney
“Ebony and Ivory” – Paul McCartney
Abraham Lincoln's Quote on a House Divided.
Abraham Lincoln’s Quote on a House Divided.
Racism - the trademark of  a House Divided
Racism – the trademark of a House Divided

 

“Ebony And Ivory” – Paul McCartney

Ebony And Ivory Live Together In Perfect Harmony

Side By Side On My Piano Keyboard, Oh Lord, Why Don’t We?We All Know That People Are The Same Where Ever We Go
There Is Good And Bad In Ev’ryone,
We Learn To Live, We Learn To Give
Each Other What We Need To Survive Together Alive.Ebony And Ivory Live Together In Perfect Harmony
Side By Side On My Piano Keyboard, Oh Lord Why Don’t We?

"Say No to Racism"
“Say No to Racism”
Racism ought to have no place in our lives. Sadly, it is highly prevalent in the world today.
Racism ought to have no place in our lives. Sadly, it is highly prevalent in the world today.
Racism is a learned experience. It is not innate or inborn. A child knows nothing of racism until he/she learns its implications.
Racism is a learned experience. It is not innate or inborn. A child knows nothing of racism until he/she learns its implications.
Racist Vocabulary
Racist Vocabulary
Racism is a curse against Humanity.
Racism is a curse against Humanity.
OJ's Trail of Blood - the notorious murder case that became the trial of the century.
OJ’s Trail of Blood – the notorious murder case that became the trial of the century.
1994-TV-Guide- the true crime story that shocked the world.
1994-TV-Guide- the true crime story that shocked the world.
OJ Simpson - Scenes from the Murder Case and Trial.
OJ Simpson – Scenes from the Murder Case and Trial.
The bloody pathway of the condominium where the brutally murdered body of Nicole Brown was found
The bloody pathway of the condominium where the brutally murdered body of Nicole Brown was found
Remembering young Nicole Brown Simpson.
Remembering young Nicole Brown Simpson.
Genocide of the Amelakites and the Midianites.
Genocide of the Amelakites and the Midianites.
North Korea Succession (1945 - present day)  North Korean soldiers march during a massive military parade marking the 65th anniversary of the communist nation's ruling Workers' Party in Pyongyang, North Korea on Sunday, Oct. 10, 2010. This year's celebration comes less than two weeks after Kim Jong Il's re-election to the party's top post and the news that his 20-something son would succeed his father and grandfather as leader.
North Korea Succession (1945 – present day)
North Korean soldiers march during a massive military parade marking the 65th anniversary of the communist nation’s ruling Workers’ Party in Pyongyang, North Korea on Sunday, Oct. 10, 2010. This year’s celebration comes less than two weeks after Kim Jong Il’s re-election to the party’s top post and the news that his 20-something son would succeed his father and grandfather as leader.
Expulsion of Ethnic Germans after World War II (1945)
Expulsion of Ethnic Germans after World War II (1945)
The Killing Fields of Cambodia: a file photo taken 17 September 1995 shows a Cambodian boy examining the skeletal remains of some 2,000 victims of the Khmer Rouge regime at a memorial stupa in northwest Cambodia.  Victims' bones are kept in makeshifts memorials throughout Cambodia as a remembrance of the millions who died under the 1975-1979 Khmer Rouge rule, led by the infamous Pol Pot, whom military officials reported 16 April to have died of a heart attack while in the Cambodian mountains 15 April.
The Killing Fields of Cambodia: a file photo taken 17 September 1995 shows a Cambodian boy examining the skeletal remains of some 2,000 victims of the Khmer Rouge regime at a memorial stupa in northwest Cambodia. Victims’ bones are kept in makeshifts memorials throughout Cambodia as a remembrance of the millions who died under the 1975-1979 Khmer Rouge rule, led by the infamous Pol Pot, whom military officials reported 16 April to have died of a heart attack while in the Cambodian mountains 15 April.

Ebony, Ivory Living In Perfect Harmony
Ebony, Ivory, Ooh

We All Know That People Are The Same Where Ever We Go
There Is Good And Bad In Ev’ryone,
We Learn To Live, We Learn To Give
Each Other What We Need To Survive Together Alive.

Ebony And Ivory Live Together In Perfect Harmony
Side By Side On My Piano Keyboard, Oh Lord Why Don’t We?

Ebony, Ivory Living In Perfect Harmony (Repeat And Fade)

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Racism is the belief that characteristics and abilities can be attributed to people simply on the basis of their race and that some racial groups are superior to others. Racism and discrimination have been used as powerful weapons encouraging fear or hatred of others in times of conflict and war, and even during economic downturns. 

Racism is also a very touchy subject for some people, as issues concerning free speech and Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights come into play. Some people argue that talking about supporting racial discrimination and prejudice is just words and that free speech should allow such views to be aired without restriction. Others point out that these words can lead to some very dire and serious consequences (the Nazi government policies being one example).

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The Notorious O.J. Simpson Murder Case:
From Wikipedia – the Free Online Encyclopedia
QUOTE: Orenthal James “O. J.” Simpson (born July 9, 1947), nicknamed “The Juice”, is a retired American football player and actor. Simpson was the first professional football player to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a season, a mark he set in 1973. Simpson was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985. After retiring from professional football, Simpson had a successful career as a football broadcaster and actor.The O. J. Simpson murder case (officially called the People of the State of California vs. Orenthal James Simpson) was a criminal trial held in Los Angeles County, California Superior Court that spanned from the primary jury being sworn in on November 2, 1994 to opening statements on January 24, 1995 to a verdict on October 3, 1995.Former American football star and actor O. J. Simpson was tried on two counts of murder following the June 1994 deaths of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Lyle Goldman. The case has been described as the most publicized criminal trial in American history.Simpson was acquitted after a lengthy trial that lasted over eight months which was presided over by Judge Lance Ito

 

Simpson hired a high-profile defense team initially. Los Angeles County believed it had a solid prosecution case, but Cochran, the shrewd defense attorney, was able to persuade the jurors that there was reasonable doubt about the DNA evidence (a relatively new form of evidence in trials at the time)– including that the blood-sample evidence had allegedly been mishandled by lab scientists and technicians – and about the circumstances surrounding other exhibits. Cochran and the defense team also alleged other misconduct by the Los Angeles Police Department. Simpson’s celebrity and the lengthy televised trial riveted national attention on the so-called “Trial of the Century”. By the end of the criminal trial, national surveys showed dramatic differences in the assessment of Simpson’s guilt between most black and white Americans. The verdict was seen live on TV by more than half of the U.S. population, making it one of the most watched events in American TV history. Immediate reaction to the verdict was notable for its division along racial lines: polls showed that most African-Americans felt that justice had been served by the “not guilty” verdict, while most white Americans did not.

Later, both the Brown and Goldman families sued Simpson for damages in a civil trial. On February 6, 1997, a jury unanimously found there was a preponderance of evidence to hold Simpson liable for damages in the wrongful death of Goldman and battery of Brown.On February 21, 2008, a Los Angeles court upheld a renewal of the civil judgment against him.” UNQUOTE

The Trial

The trial for OJ Simpson was given the name “the Trial of the Century”. It became the most publicized case of all time within the U.S. The state of California spent over twenty million dollars on this one case alone. It received more media attention than serial killers such as Charles Manson. OJ pleaded not guilty on both accounts of murder and on January 29, 1995 the trial people vs. OJ Simpson began. Even though the prosecution had no fingerprints, witnesses, or murder weapon, they were confident that they would convict Mr. Simpson. They relied on crucial DNA evidence to prosecute him. Some of the evidence the prosecution relied on was the:

  • Bloody footprints of shoes that matched shoes Mr. Simpson owned.
  • Hair Samples on the bodies and at the crime scene
  • Articles of clothing that were located at Mr. Simpson residence

The prosecution also called DNA experts to testify that blood found at the crime scene matched Simpson’s blood and that blood from both of the victims. The experts explained that the blood sample obtained within the Ford Bronco and at Mr. Simpson residence were direct matches, leaving the jury to believe that OJ had tracked the blood back to his residence after he committed the murders. Although there was substantial DNA evidence against Mr. Simpson, the handling of this evidence by the LAPD was unprofessional in the least. The way it was handled by the police led the courts and jury to believe that something was not right. The defense highlighted the faults of the LAPD and how Mr. Simpson was framed.

The defense team that that represented OJ Simpson was called the “Dream Team”. One of their main arguments was the police mismanagement of the case. The Defense focused on discrediting the Los Angeles police department. They claimed that the police failed to conduct a well-constructed, proper investigation. Johnnie Cochran, the defense attorney addressed the court stating that main police involved within the case were racist. He argued that police Detectives tried to frame Mr. Simpson of the crime by planted crucial evidence like the bloody glove in his residence. This lead to the famous court act where OJ Simpson tried on the murder gloves discovered in his home and to much surprise the glove did not fit.

” If the glove doesn’t fit, you must acquit “- Johnnie Cochran

After many months of deliberation and numerous witnesses within the criminal trial, 12 juries finally came to a verdict. Mr. Simpson was found not guilty in both counts of murder. Society was shocked by this verdict due to the DNA evidence presented and how obvious the evidence pointed towards Mr. Simpson. Many critics of the trial argued that the mishandling of the evidence by the police department was the reason for this verdict.

India is still reeling from the after-shocks of its partition with Pakistan.
The India-Pakistan Partition has led much communal disharmony, discontentment, mounting racial hatred and violence between Hindus and Muslims.
The Devastating  Rwandan Massacre.
The Devastating Rwandan Massacre.
The Armenian Genocide (1915)
The Armenian Genocide (1915)
The Horrific Armenian Genocide of 1915.
The Horrific Armenian Genocide of 1915.
Nazism and the Holocaust
Nazism and the Holocaust
The Stalinist Era in the USSR (1929-1953)
The Stalinist Era in the USSR (1929-1953)
The Truly Amazing Step Forward and Cultural Revolution in China (1949-1976)
The Truly Amazing Step Forward and Cultural Revolution in China (1949-1976)
Xenophobia - a crime against humanity.
Xenophobia – a crime against humanity.
The meaning of Xenophobia.
The meaning of Xenophobia.
What is Xenophobia?
What is Xenophobia?
Shrapnel in the chest of soldiers - the sign of deep-rooted hatred.
Shrapnel embedded in the chest of soldiers – a sure sign of deep-rooted hatred.
Nelson Mandela - the Hero of the Anti-Apartheid Movement in South Africa.
Nelson Mandela – the Hero of the Anti-Apartheid Movement in South Africa.
Quote on hatred and love by Mandela.
Quote on hatred and love by Mandela.
Quote on Education by Mandela.
Quote on Education by Mandela.
Quote on poverty by Mandela.
Quote on poverty by Mandela.
"Don't ever settle for less than what you are capable of living" - Nelson Mandela
“Don’t ever settle for less than what you are capable of living” – Nelson Mandela
Apartheid in S. Africa
Apartheid in South Africa
"Variety is the spice of Life."
“Variety is the Spice of Life.”
Shake hands with all your fellow-beings, irrespective of caste, class, race or creed -  be there for them, for better of for worse
Shake hands with all your fellow-beings, irrespective of caste, class, race or creed – be there for them, for better of for worse
"I"d like to teach the world to sing in Perfect Harmony....."
“I”d like to teach the world to sing in Perfect Harmony…..”
Unity in Diversity
Unity in Diversity
Unity in Diversity - the peaceful solution to our current life in a house divided.
Unity in Diversity – the peaceful solution to our current life in a house divided.

In 1995, he was acquitted of the 1994 murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman after a lengthy and internationally publicized criminal trial, the People v. Simpson. In 1997, a civil court awarded a judgment against Simpson for their wrongful deaths; to date he has paid little of the $33.5 million penalty. Directly after Mr. Simpson criminal trial concluded, a civil lawsuit was filed against OJ by the parents of Ronald Goldman. The outcome of this trial was different from that of the criminal. The lawyer for the Goldman family, Mr. Petrocelli brought crucial evidence into this trial which was not involved within the Criminal trial. A lie detector test that Mr. Simpson completed after the crime was examined, which showed how OJ had failed this test. This test involved questions asking if he had involvement within the crime. The jury within this trial awarded the Goldman family and the Simpson children 12.5 million dollars in compensation.

In September 2007, Simpson was arrested in Las VegasNevada, and charged with numerous felonies, including armed robbery and kidnapping. In 2008, he was found guilty and sentenced to 33 years’ imprisonment, with a minimum of nine years without parole. He is serving his sentence at the Lovelock Correctional Center in Lovelock, Nevada.

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Top 10 Most Horrific Genocides in History

Posted on March 11, 2013 by War-Crimes

 

The word ‘genocide’ is one of these controversial conditions that may result in a myriad of problems. The issue is that the word has been so politicized, and commonly used to attack leaders or nations that one dislikes, that it’s come to mean different items to different people. For example, the term has often been used to explain what white settlers did to the Indigenous Americans over the last several centuries, when a lot of the native population of America was destroyed. Nevertheless, the overwhelming most of these deaths were because of smallpox being unintentionally introduced right into a indigenous populace that lacked the means to avoid it which, while destructive, wasn’t a genocide as it wasn’t done deliberately.

 

For something to qualify as genocide, it’s to be always a deliberate, calculated decision with a particular cultural or religious group, chief, or a government to exterminate, or otherwise destroy, a certain group of individuals for religious, social, racial, or political reasons. This is often done both through direct action (murder) and through indirect means (removal or hunger). By using this basic description, then, what were the absolute most terrible acts of genocide committed throughout history? It’ll continually be some thing of an exercise in subjectivity to find out that have been the worst, as so how exactly does one start testing any such thing? Could it be a matter of absolute quantity of patients? Length? Political implications? Nonetheless, listed here is an effort to list the most horrific and notorious genocides in history.

 

10. Genocides of the Amalekites and Midianites

Lest anybody imagine that genocide is just an exclusively modern phenomenon, it must certainly be known that it wasn’t only condoned, but also allegedly ordered by, God Himself against two of ancient Israel’s arch-enemies, the Amalekites and the Midianites—at least based on the Old Testament. While acutely local, and probably leading to the deaths of only several tens of thousands of people over a number of years, it will testify to the truth that the need of one group to exterminate another for just about any number of factors has existed so long as society itself. The only real huge difference is that, currently, humanity possesses the technology necessary to make it on really a massive scale.

 

9. North Korea (1945-present)

Just how many people have died within the ‘worker’s heaven’ will most likely never been known with such a thing approaching certainty, however the truth is that Pyongyang has been at war with its people since ‘The Truly Amazing Leader’, Kim Il-Sung, first assumed power in 1945. Undoubtedly a few million peasants have died of starvation because the mid-1990s, with human and aid rights groups asking that North Korea has deliberately and carefully avoided food aid from attaining the places most devastated by food shortages. And obviously, this doesn’t range from the ‘not quite’ one million people—including women and children accused of the very trivial ‘crimes’—who have died in North Korea’s political prison camps during the last 65 years. Were it perhaps not being propped up by its single friend, China, it’d have probably imploded sometime ago. It remains a time bomb, waiting to explode, as it’s.

 

8. Expulsion of Ethnic Germans after World War II (1945)

Many scholars think about this more of a populace exchange, rather than true genocide. Nevertheless, the forced displacement of some 14 million ethnic Germans and allied Slavs from Soviet Russia, from occupied regions of Eastern and Central Europe in the aftermath of World War II, needs to drop as something quite near to genocide, particularly when one considers that between half a million and two million of these didn’t survive the trip. Some of the fatalities were from famine and disease, several German civilians were also performed outright or delivered to labor and internment camps by the Soviets—especially those recognized to or thought to possess had Nazi organizations. Why it is genocidal in character was that only Germans were focused, and that the policy of forced separation was ordered by Stalin himself, particularly as a way of retribution.

 

7. Partition of India (1947)

This really is among the several genocides ever which was not politically motivated or orchestrated by any government, but instead occurred spontaneously. Everything was caused by the partition of Great Britain’s largest and most significant community, India, in 1947. The “powers-that-be” chose to partition the state into Hindu and Muslim areas (making modern-day India and Pakistan respectively) – a choice that left thousands of Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs on the wrong side of the newly-formed line. This led to thousands being uprooted from their domiciles and having to go hundreds of miles for their new homes; during this great exodus, nevertheless (which affected upwards of 14 million people), increasing violence broke out between the different religious groups, resulting in as much as one million deaths (nearly all of it centered round the densely populated Punjab region).

In the meanwhile, many Sikhs and Hindus experienced at the hands of Muslim mobs in Pakistan, effect, many Muslims were killed by Sikh and Hindu mobs. It’s hard to label this a genuine act of genocide, nevertheless, as it wasn’t particularly started by both the Pakistani or Indian authorities. Nevertheless, their failure to prevent that which was essentially a spontaneous outburst of violence on both sides added significantly to the carnage. That event particularly sticks out to be among the several genocides to be nearly completely religion-based, and to be employed by many religions simultaneously.

 

6. The Rwandan Massacre (1994)

Rwanda is definitely an example by which it had been largely caused by tribal differences, while we prefer to suppose genocides are usually politically inspired. The short-lived killing spree, which left between 500,000 and 1,000,000 people useless, was the tensions between the minority Tutsi and culmination of historical racial competition. It would appear that the Tutsi had controlled the nation for hundreds of years, lording their position of power within the majority Hutus, until they certainly were overthrown in a 1962 Hutu rebellion. Tensions remained high next and eventually erupted into full-blown war when, in April of 1994, Hutu President Habyarimana died under circumstances in a plane crash. Bloody reprisals were elicited by this by Hutus against their Tutsi neighbors in retaliation.

Whilst not particularly orchestrated by the Hutu-led government, scholars maintain that the natural, and violent, a reaction to the murder was inspired by the Rwandan military and generally completed by Hutu militias, with the entire knowledge and benefit of the government, which makes it directly responsible. Also accountable for the massacre was the unwillingness of the UN, and other western powers, to take decisive action in early stages. The UN even went as far as to leave what few troops it’d in the united states, to avoid harm from befalling them! President Bill Clinton has since admitted that his insufficient appropriate action in Rwanda remains the best error of his Presidency. How various things may have been, had only the planet had the anchor to have done some thing.

 

5. The Armenian Genocide (1915-1923)

The Ottoman Turks, under the authority of War Minister Enver Pasha (1881-1922), might have performed the first large-scale, structured genocide of the 20th century, while they’re loathe to go over it currently. Throughout and soon after the Very First World War, Turkey killed, deported, and starved to death as much as 1.8 million Armenians, along side hundreds of thousands of other non-Turks. The Ottomans might have been the first although many of these camps were short-lived, to introduce the idea of the concentration camp.

Modern Turks broadly speaking won’t recognize what happened to possess been genocide, considering it just a mass deportation of individuals who’d allied themselves with the Russians (a country Turkey was at war with at the full time), and who mostly died from exhaustion or neglect during forced marches. Many genocide students, nevertheless, contemplate it to possess been an effort at exterminating an undesirable ethnic group that had lived within the boundaries of the crumbling Ottoman Empire for hundreds of years. Not surprisingly, it remains a sensitive issue among modern Turks even today, not to say angry Armenians with instruments.

 

4. The Killing Fields of Cambodia (1975-1978)

When the Khmer Rouge overthrew the government of Cambodia in 1975, and founded a ‘utopia’ in its place, its

The East India Company under the British Imperial Rule.
The East India Company under the British Imperial Rule.

 

India under the rule of the British East India Company.
India under the rule of the British East India Company.

 

The controversial policy of "Divide and Rule."
The controversial policy of “Divide and Rule.”

 

"Live and Let Live" - it is a universal and irrevocable truth of our times.
“Live and Let Live” – it is a universal and irrevocable truth of our times.

 

A classic example of Hindu-Muslim Unity especially during the celebration of festivals.
A classic example of Hindu-Muslim Unity especially during the celebration of festivals.

 

Quote by Mary Baker Eddy on "live and let live."
Quote by Mary Baker Eddy on “live and let live.”

 

"Censure yourself but never another......"
“Censure yourself but never another……”

 

"If we cannot live in peace, then we should at least hope to be able to die in peace." - Jim Jones
“If we cannot live in peace, then we should at least hope to be able to die in peace.” – Jim Jones

first act was to eliminate anybody it considered to be an ‘enemy of their state’. This included not just former members of the military and old regimen, but writers, teachers, entrepreneurs, intellectuals, Buddhists, and even individuals who just wore glasses! While the whole number of people who died in this short-lived, but grisly, purge won’t ever be known, it’s believed that no less than two million people (almost 20% of Cambodia’s populace) died at the hands of the Khmer. Had it not been for a invasion in 1979 that toppled the Khmer and sent them into hiding, the cost would truly had been greater still. You know you’re bad whenever your government is overthrown with a fellow Communist regime!

 

3. The Holocaust (1939-1945)

No genocide is really as well-known, or as watchfully recorded, whilst the attempts of the Nazis to exterminate not just the Jews from continental Europe, but an incredible number of others it considered ‘undesirable’. By the full time Hitler shot himself in his Berlin bunker in April of 1945, some eleven million people—over 1 / 2 of them Jews—had died, possibly through mass extermination, removal, or overwork and hunger in his prison camps. That was all part of a plan that until the first camps were opened by the Allies in the spring of 1945 much of the world both refused to think was happening, or made a decision to ignore.

What’s particularly interesting in this instance is that, unlike Russia and China, Germany had no record of such cruelty beforehand (at least on such a sizable scale), and was also thought to have now been among the most intelligent and cultured communities in the earth at the time it fell under Hitler’s spell. This will serve as a warning that no state is immune from being a killing field under the right conditions and with the right head, as an incredible number of Germans had to understand the hard way in World War II.

 

2. The Stalinist Era in the USSR (1929-1953)

The reward really would go to Joseph Stalin, his entire nation was turned by the man who in to one huge prison camp and extermination center, some people imagine Adolf Hitler to possess been the best mass murderer of the 20th century (these Mao Zedong perhaps not withstanding). Just how many died under his direct directions, or simply as due to his unsuccessful agricultural policies, won’t ever be known with certainty, but some estimates place it as high as thirty million. The Soviet removal of a social class, the Kulaks, and the following monster famine among all Ukrainian peasants, killed at the very least two million alone, while Stalin’s infamous 1937 Order No. 00447, that required the mass execution and exile of ‘socially dangerous components’ as ‘enemies of the folks’, ruined the military and intelligentsia of Russia, making thousands dead, and thousands more languishing in Stalin’s huge gulag.

Had he perhaps not had the great manners to die in 1953 before he could start still another show new list of Jews and other ‘opponents of the State,’ the amounts of death might have swelled much more. Curiously—and despite all this—the man was much admired by individuals who lived beyond Russia in this time, and the always-smiling and benevolent-looking ‘Uncle Joe’ also managed to get onto the cover of Time magazine no less than eleven times.

 

1. The Truly Amazing Step Forward and Cultural Revolution in China (1949-1976)

Although it is nearly impossible to find out exactly how many people died at the hands of the Communists once they found power in 1949 and in the years that followed, estimates range anywhere from 45 to 70 million people, based on whom you ask. Though some of these occurred when Communist forces eventually vanquished the Nationalist Army of Chang Kai-Shek, many of them happened later and came mostly in two major waves; the first was during the ‘Great Step Forward’, when China’s chief Mao Zedong’s attempt at agricultural modernization and social engineering resulted in mass hunger between 1958 and 1961, and the death of numerous former land owners. Whilst not a particular effort to expel a populace, what produced it genocidal in nature was the truth that Mao continued his policies long once they were clearly proven to be terrible, therefore dooming an incredible number of peasants to misery.

The 2nd great genocide was a direct result what was called the ‘Cultural Revolution’ of 1966 to 1976—a bloody show new list of ‘anti-government components’ that left thousands dead or languishing in prison camps through the duration of China. It had been only upon the demise of Mao that the worst of the killings ended, although the brutal crushing of the Tienanmen Square protesters in 1989 demonstrated that Beijing’s severe habits didn’t entirely die with the person.

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Xenophobia

From Wikipedia, the free, online encyclopedia:
QUOTE: “Xenophobia is the irrational or unreasonable fear of that which is perceived to be foreign or strange. It comes from the Greek words ξένος (xenos), meaning “stranger,” “foreigner,” and φόβος (phobos), meaning “fear.”

Dictionary definitions of xenophobia include: deep-rooted, irrational hatred towards foreigners (Oxford English Dictionary; OED), unreasonable fear or hatred of the unfamiliar (Webster’s).

A xenophobic person has to genuinely think or believe at some level that the target is in fact a foreigner. This arguably separates xenophobia from ordinary prejudice. In various contexts, the terms “xenophobia” and “racism” seem to be used interchangeably, though they can have wholly different meanings (xenophobia can be based on various aspects, racism being based solely on ethnicity, and ancestry). Xenophobia can also be directed simply to anyone outside a culture. Basically, a completely biased opinion regarding foreign matters.

Creating stereotypes is a way of organizing information. The problem comes when you start discriminating based on these stereotype in ways that counter accepted cultural values. Discriminating is the act where stereotyping is the thought process. When discriminating you start attributing good and bad evaluations of people based on that stereotype.” UNQUOTE

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NELSON MANDELA AND THE ANTI-APARTHEID MOVEMENT IN SOUTH AFRICA:

 

Nelson Mandela, in full Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, by name Madiba   (born July 18, 1918, Umtata, Cape of Good Hope, S.Af.), black nationalist and first black president of South Africa (1994–99). His negotiations in the early 1990s with South African Pres. F.W. de Klerk helped end the country’s apartheid system of racial segregation and ushered in a peaceful transition to majority rule. Mandela and de Klerk were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1993 for their efforts.

 

From BBC NEWS: 

Nelson Mandela

Rolihlahla Mandela was born in Transkei, South Africa on 18 July 1918 and was given the name of Nelson by one of his teachers. His father Henry was a respected adviser to the Thembu royal family.

ANC involvement

Mandela was educated at the University of Fort Hare and later at the University of Witwatersrand, qualifying in law in 1942. He became increasingly involved with the African National Congress (ANC), a multi-racial nationalist movement trying to bring about political change in South Africa.

In 1948, the National Party came to power and began to implement a policy of ‘apartheid’, or forced segregation on the basis of race. The ANC staged a campaign of passive resistance against apartheid laws.

In 1952, Mandela became one of the ANC’s deputy presidents. By the late 1950s, faced with increasing government discrimination, Mandela, his friend Oliver Tambo and others began to move the ANC in a more radical direction. In 1956, Mandela went on trial for treason. The court case lasted five years, and ended with Mandela being acquitted

Sharpeville

In March 1960, 69 black anti-apartheid demonstrators were killed by police at Sharpeville. The government declared a state of emergency and banned the ANC. In response, the organisation abandoned its policy of non-violence and Mandela helped establish the ANC’s military wing ‘Umkhonto we Sizwe’ or ‘The Spear of the Nation’. He was appointed its commander-in-chief and travelled abroad to receive military training and to find support for the ANC.

Life imprisonment

On his return he was arrested and sentenced to five years in prison. In 1963, Mandela and other ANC leaders were tried for plotting to overthrow the government by violence. The following year Mandela was sentenced to life imprisonment. He was held in Robben Island prison, off the coast of Cape Town, and later in Pollsmoor Prison on the mainland. During his years in prison he became an international symbol of resistance to apartheid.

In 1990, the South African government responded to internal and international pressure and released Mandela, at the same time lifting the ban against the ANC. In 1991 Mandela became the ANC’s leader.

A respected global statesman

He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize together with FW de Klerk, then president of South Africa, in 1993. The following year South Africa held its first multi-racial election and Mandela was elected its first black president.

In 1998, he was married for the third time to Graça Machel, the widow of the president of Mozambique. Mandela’s second wife, Winnie, whom he married in 1958 and divorced in 1996, remains a controversial anti-apartheid activist.

In 1997 he stepped down as ANC leader and in 1999 his presidency of South Africa came to an end.

In 2004, Mandela announced his retirement from public life, although his charitable work continued. On 29 August 2007, a permanent statue to him was unveiled in Parliament Square, London.

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When the colonial British East India Company was ruling over India, the British were notorious for following a radical but (for their standards) an effective way of ruling a vast country consisting of a large number of  varied castes, creeds, races and cultures. The British called their revolutionary method of ruling as, “DIVIDE AND RULE.” This policy of ‘Divide and Rule’ made the entire Indian sub-continent reel midst immense anarchy, chaos, confusion and constant battles between the various warring rulers and the petty tribal rulers/village heads/landlords. In such an environment of chronic unrest and discontentment, it was very easy for the British Imperial Forces to reinstate  racial prejudices among the people – these biases against all manner of castes and creeds led, in their turn, to a deep-rooted hatred which has blossomed over the years into untold violence, bloodshed and communal disparities. In fact, these glaring disparities and petty, chronic wars between ruling states led finally to the irrevocable Partition of India in 1947. From then on, till this day, India is a separate political entity from its neighboring country – Pakistan. Thousands of people have suffered in the horrific genocide of the “partition days” – it has fueled untold animosity, vindictiveness, malice and hatred between Hindus and Muslims and remains the case till this day. It is like stating that “the British put a small spark to a country in  intense turmoil but took great care to remain apart before the raging conflagration of communal hatred could take permanent root in the minds and psyche of the people.”

 

I have chosen just one example that is most striking of racial discrimination in my mind; however, I’m sure that you already know that there are innumerable such sad stories that have led to the history of racial discrimination, xenophobia, hatred and bloodshed in the world today.

 

Politicians play “a dirty game” in their endless pursuit of furthering their greed and their lust for power and political ambitions for positions of authority and wealth – so do any high-ranking leaders of state. In the nasty game of Politics, the victor takes the spoils – no matter how ill-gotten his/her gains tend to be. No one cares as to whose feet have been trampled in the cut-throat race to “the throne.”

 

Politicians and the priestly classes are notorious for “brain-washing” the minds of their ‘blind’ followers – it has made people more and more narrow-minded, orthodox and fanatical than ever before. For example, the ‘enmity’ between Hindus and Muslims is created by loud and false propaganda by the political leaders of each country. It helps these leaders to fuel communal hatred and thus, over time, makes them the “conquerors” – the leaders who are capable of overthrowing an entire race of people and thereby helps them to gain absolute power and tyranny over them. Yet it might surprise you to know that the common man – for example,  those in Mumbai or in Karachi – are all in favor of a policy of “LIVE AND LET LIVE.” Most people just want to get on with their lives with the least fuss possible – they may not necessarily like each other but they do not wish each other harm either – this, I tell you, from first hand experience. Even though Hindus and Muslims have suffered immensely in flaming communal riots, basic humane qualities still exist for each other. Muslims have been known to extend unstinting help to suffering Hindus and the Hindus have reciprocated with their willing charity and hospitality toward their Muslim neighbours. To a certain extent, this helpful and supportive attitude has given both communities an “upper hand” over racial discrimination.

 

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NEED I SAY MORE? FACTORS OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION AND BASIC XENOPHOBIA HAVE LARGELY CONTRIBUTED TO FANNING THE FLAMES OF BIAS, DISLIKE, PREJUDICE, HATRED AND VIOLENCE ALL OVER THE WORLD TODAY. Living on our planet has become akin to “living in a house divided.”

 

PEACE, HARMONY AND UNITY ARE THE ANSWERS TO ALL THESE PROBLEMS and I think that the lyrics, given below, of a well-loved Ray Conniff song express this sentiment best. It also serves as a fitting ending to this blog.

I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony) – Ray Conniff

I’d like to build the world a home

And furnish it with love

Grow apple trees and honey bees

And snow-white turtle doves

 

I’d like to teach the world to sing

In perfect harmony

I’d like to hold it in my arms

And keep it company

 

It’s the real thing

What the world wants today

That’s the way it will stay

With the real thing

 

It’s the real thing

Won’t you hear what I say?

What the world needs today

Is the real thing

 

I’d like to see the world for once

All standing hand in hand

And hear them echo through the hills

For peace throughout the land

 

It’s the real thing

 

I’d like to teach the world to sing

In perfect harmony

A song of peace that echoes on

And never goes away

 

It’s the real thing

 

I’d like to teach the world to sing

In perfect harmony

I like to hold it in my arm

And keep it company

 

It’s the real thing!

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