Opinion: Difference, Alienation, and Membership, By Uddin Ifeanyi
Over the last couple of weeks, as protests over the death of George Floyd rocked the world, I’ve struggled with the concept of identity. Not just about “who I am”. Or what the “who” that “I am” is. But also, about how that “who” establishes me as like, or not the same with “you, him, her, and them”. Then there are questions about what it means to be alike or different ― why, for example, some of these compartments sit comfortably by each other, and some at an aggressive arm’s length.
In addition, a key part of the recent arguments seems to be that in presenting these tensions, examples of racism in the United States of America nearly always go over the top. Nothing quite explains kneeling on a other’s neck for more than 8 minutes while gawking into the camera as if one were posing for a prom photoshoot.
Even in matters as simple as how we look, difference elicits disturbing responses. 17 years ago, I grew a beard on a whim. The susurration started back home. There was an outside chance that I’d converted to fundamental Islam ― you just got the sense that a lot about this wasn’t right. And even if it wasn’t the outward manifestation of a new definition of piety, “Did the beards not look unsightly?” ― whatever the underlining reason for keeping it.
“And how about when your fashion choices offend client sensibilities?”. This was a more difficult question to meet. I have never like hypothetical questions. Not just because they give the idiot more questioning space than any savant can take up accommodation in. But, because in this case, most employee handbooks simply insist that grooming be impeccable. And it was hard to argue that I looked unkempt.
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