Ramona Crasto
Ramona Crasto

I got the habit of saying 'that fear should be there' from a friend of mine and I realized that after a while when you constantly use a phrase it turns into a catchphrase and when people around you listen to it, they start using it and the circle continues. Have you ever given this a thought, since childhood we all know that one person we are scared of or dislike. Reason? Don't know, we just don't like that person on the basis of what we have heard or what they have done to others and this becomes a kind of catchphrase that we end up doing and we also spread the word, why others should stay away from that person, without a legit reason.

So many people belonging from one country dislike people from another country without any logical reason or maybe because what their father's father's father must have done years ago. We are taught at school and home of how that person from that particular country is bad, is a terrorist or a robber or poor or rich because he belongs to that country. Stereotyping people has always been an issue for both assailant and victim. Assailants are also taught at home or school or from their surroundings the reason to hate people or why it is okay to do bad to people, because their ancestors did something to us a long time ago.

We can all agree that when a foreigner looks at an Indian we simply decide that he/she is poor and comes from some village. When a foreigner roams on the streets of India people assume they are very rich and give them a star struck feel by clicking pictures with them. Turns out that Indian you judged earns double your income and that foreigner has saved as much money as anyone else to make this trip to India affordable for their family.

When did we turn out to be so judgmental? Just because a country has rape cases, doesn't make everyone a rapist. Just because some foolish people from a country slaughtered innocent people, doesn't make everyone a terrorist. Just because once upon a time, their ancestor looted your country, doesn't make this man a robber. Just because someone did something 100 years ago doesn't mean they don't deserve forgiveness.

Maybe some acts cannot be forgiven but will this world be a better place if we don't? Why is there so much hatred? I don't know. Hatred spreads faster than love. Just because someone belongs from a country struck by war doesn't mean we leave them to their fate. What have we turned into? Zombies, already? We are humans, the first thing you should teach your child is the reason behind what and why you do it.

Hating or disliking someone has become a catchphrase and not a good one.

It is not okay or right to kill or take away someone's life or harm anyone physically or mentally for that matter. Maybe that person did something really wrong to you but if you do the same, what makes you any different than him/her? There are ways to deal with things and I'm very sure violence isn't one of them. Judging people isn't one of them. We need to learn to forgive.

We need to stop stereotyping everything and everyone. We need to have better conscious of what we are doing and what is the reason behind it. We need to stand up for the sake of love and truth, because we care and it's humane to be kind no matter how harsh the world is. That fear to stand up and question what's right and wrong shouldn't be there. Change starts small; it starts from you and what you teach the future generation. 'That fear should not be there'.

By Ramona Crasto