Day 39 - Rama Singh

My letter to hate groups everywhere
Rama Singh
Hamilton, Ontario

I write this with the basic premise that people are good. Nevertheless, there are those who choose to act in ways that are not only beyond reason and decency, but they are also unthinkable.

After the atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing over 150,000 instantly, Robert Oppenheimer stated to President Truman: “Mr. President I feel I have blood on my hands.” He was taking moral responsibility for the consequences of his creation. Oppenheimer was a man of conscience, an example of human decency and integrity.

Hitler’s hands were drenched in the blood of six million Jews. The Holocaust was the result of his internalized hatred of Jews and his anti-Semitic national policies. Hitler died at the end of the war, an unrepentant mass murderer.

The slaughter of two million people during the India-Pakistan partition, and of nearly a million in the ethnic slaughter in Rwanda, shows mass hatred can engulf people like a highly infectious disease.

Like a mutation, mass hatred has returned in a deadly form. Blood is being spilled in God’s house, places of worships - churches, synagogues, mosques - and innocent men, women and children are being killed by individuals driven by hatred and violent extremism peddled by hate groups all over the world.

Hate will kill us all. Let me give you an example of how hate is being fanned.

A friend of mine brought to my attention an alt-right ad with a bunch of provocative questions to enlist new members. As I read it, I said to myself ‘hmm’ and nodded in agreement with some of the points they raise but not in ways you might think. Here are my answers.

Your ad is addressed to ‘white persons’. I am not a white person by race but in my country of birth I would be considered a ‘white person’ by the colour of my skin as well as by being a member of the upper caste with its perks and privileges.

No, I am not ‘tired of political correctness.’ Freedom of speech is a laudable goal but it presumes equality of opportunity for all participants. Political correctness is not the permanent solution but it promotes laudable goals for groups that are marginalized on the basis of their race, ethnicity, religion, gender and sexual orientation.

No, diversity and multiculturalism are not ‘limited to only white countries.’ India has been effectively multicultural for millennia and people of different faiths and colour lived together.

Multiculturalism is the wave of the future.

You are wrong: diversity does not mean ‘less white people.’ Diversity is natural and accepting diversity means creating room for immigrants, much like your grandparents and great-grandparents, regardless of their creed, colour or ethnicity.

No, white people are not ‘being blamed for all the world’s problems.’ But it would be absurd to deny that nations have exploited nations on the basis of race, religion and ethnicity.

Nobody can say ‘you’re racist for celebrating your heritage.’ But I will say you are racist if you do not allow others to celebrate theirs.

Yes, I am disgusted by the ‘garbage’ on television as well as on - you forgot - social media. Abuse of social media is fanning hate and I am told there are over 100 hate groups in Canada alone.

Unlike you, I do see a future for myself and my family. But I would be lying if I did not say that I am really worried about climate change, about the rising hate and violent extremism, and the spreading of anti-immigrant fear.

To answer, ‘When will immigration stop?’: it will stop when powerful countries stop manufacturing phony wars and forced migration. It will stop when people are allowed to develop their own means of subsistence and do not rely on handouts.

So as you can see, we have some common ground. The difference is that while we both are angry about what is going on in the world, you have chosen to spread hate and violence and I have chosen to channel my anger in constructive ways.

You have power in your hands to stop the bloodshed. You can stop spreading hate. Alt-right groups may not have been created as hate groups but once created, a group mentality prevails that looks for a target to blame. While conscience belongs to individuals, not to groups, groups can end up doing what their individual members will not.

Whether a member of an alt-right or any other group, you are not the ‘monster’ some think you are. I believe you are basically a decent human being and have a conscience; you can put it to good use.

There are times you have to take a stand and let your conscience speak. And say to yourself, as Gandhi did: “I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet.”

You have a choice. Choose to build, not to destroy.

Rama Singh is a Professor (emeritus) at McMaster University and a founder of Gandhi Peace Festival. His area of research and teaching includes human diversity and human nature.

Note: This article first appeared in Hamilton Spectator, April 6, 2019.