Each and every one of us, no matter which part of the world we grew up in or what religion or culture we follow, has been taught from the very beginning that there are good people and bad. Kids are advised not to talk to strangers because they are ‘bad’, the same stranger, that is ‘good’ for another kid. Where do these perceptions come from?
They are passed on from one generation to another, and in good faith. More importantly, these are also popularised by our ‘Leaders’ and the ‘other Popular People’. Let’s just not use ‘good’ and ‘bad’ and substitute it with ‘white’ and ‘black respectively. Have a look at any part of the world history, from the war between Sumer and Elam in Mesopotamia in 2700 BCE, Napoleonic Wars, Conquest of Peru, the World Wars to the Cold War, all of these and the million smaller ones have one hero (person or party) and the other villain. Further, delve into mythology from across the world, Greek, Roman, Chinese and Hindu, you will find no difference.
Why is it always that the victor is white and the one who fails is black?
Amish Tripathi, in his book The Oath of the Vayuputras has answered this question in an admirable manner. He says, “ People only remember victors, for history is written by victors. They can write it however they want. The losers are always remembered the way victors portray them. “
As we are growing in our day and age and technology is becoming an irreplaceable part of our lives, perceptions have begun to change. With discussion forums and social media existing, every matter, as tiny or huge it is, can ignite a debate because of different schools of thought. These might have existed earlier as well, but they weren’t so prominent. Now that it is, we are beginning to change perspective. It has become important, at least to me, to know all the facts and then form my opinion about people and events. I don’t promote forming a black or white opinion, I believe, we must acknowledge the white, keeping in mind the black or vice versa.
Take the case of the Father of our Nation, M K Gandhi. He has been idolized all over the world for his work as a humanitarian and the results it got for the country. I agree, he played an important role, but he isn’t the ‘Only One ‘to achieve that, there were many other freedom fighters who deserve equal respect. Take a deeper look into his life and you will know he has done all sorts of things, from eating non vegetarian food (given that he belonged to a vegetarian family), stealing and even visiting a brothel. In his days in South Africa, he devoid his children from education. There are theories and pictures about him being close to his female followers in India (I don’t know how true they are). To give a push to his political career, he compromised on his family. His elder son, Harilal also converted to Islam, that is not unknown. This list can go on and on.
Stating all these doesn’t mean he wasn’t good, he did have so many other qualities and acts that he performed, that make me proud and do teach all of us lessons to live life. The whole point is, he was brought to the public as a purely white figure (for political reasons). That’s what I oppose. Everyone has shades of black and white, and both should be highlighted. As correctly said:
"The myth of Good Guys and Bad Guys is one of the most pervasive we own, and morally grey anti-heroes are simply one of modern fiction's attempts to shake off that mythology and replace it with something a bit more honest" - Richard K. MorganLet us all embrace that none of us is black or white, not even Osama Bin Laden. Them, you and even me, we are all our own shades of Grey.
