Estee Martin had written, "Identity is the theft of the self"
Regular blog readers (i know of none) will all agree that they disagree. Identity, however is a complex business. I was reading a TOI edit-piece. It talked about how in the West a whole industry of race is built. Obama's armpit hair would have stood up when the Italian PM called him "suntanned". Call a man 'coloured' and you will end up losing those millions, if you have it. If you dont-you are still screwed.
People, families migrate and their identity gets fractured. But again a choice of cultures is available for you to adapt. To fracture your identity may be painful; but it can be profoundly rewarding as well. Now you no longer think of yourself as a single, unified object, but as multiple, sometimes conflicting perspectives.
So who are we? We, Young India do not see race as a defining characteristic. Its just one of the factors that make Him/Her. We do not downgrade the importance of culture and ethnicity-we simply play it down.
So are we? A colour? A gender? Whoever or Whatever we are-I can proudly say that we (minus the leaders harping on saffron politics) are dignified people. Even the Dalit that doesnt have anything to eat tonite is better-off than the blonde who spends a grand on toe-nails. Literally.
The Healthy Choice
11 hours ago
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