Warning: This passage is powerful and vulnerable, all in an act of wanting change in this society. This isn’t to shame anyone for their actions but simply a reflection of how we can aim for a social change, encouraging more loving, compassionate, and kind behaviours.
Is this the society we still live in? Is this the world that stands right before us? We demand justice, but our voices have been silenced. It’s like a puppet show, where we are the puppets, the world
is the stage, and demons within the mind are the puppet masters. This isn’t supposed to be
entertainment. This isn’t supposed to be a crime TV show where bystanders are the audiences of such
painful, intolerable rituals. People often create jokes out of social justice issues through social media posts,
memes, TV shows, etc. Decades have passed, but we witness little to no change at all when we
reference societal norms, expectations, and stereotypes. As newer generations develop a sense of mind
utilising the education they receive, they continue to go back to their old ways of looking at
stereotypes as a way to abuse and manipulate power. Some individuals joke around conflict as a way
to cope or because they haven’t gained enough perspective. Educators do the best they can to ensure
that the world learns from their lessons, but it isn’t enough to change the narrative of how people think
about society. Of course, everyone has free will and can say and believe whatever they want to, but it
doesn’t mean that the world should execute such harmful behaviours.
Why is it that young girls and women continue to get sexually, emotionally, physically, and
mentally abused by men? Why are we, the victims, more likely to get sexually assaulted than a white
stray male? Why is it that a queer person gets criticised, shamed for, and ridiculed, for being
transparent for who they are, their unique colours that shine with vibrancy? Why is it that people of
colour are more likely to be made fun of due to their cultural traditions and their ancestral beliefs by a
European descent?
In an intersectional, systematic, structural society, a white, stray man has ultimate power, but
race, ethnicity, age, sex, mental health, disabilities, marital status, and education all play a role in
shifting variable power. There are marginalised communities that aren’t able to experience a “perfect”
life compared to those who aren’t as marginalised, which are white. In this society, one
manipulates this power to strengthen their voice, while others are forced to stay silent without a
choice. In this book of life, people use inappropriate jokes about the shift in power in topics like
gender, skin culture, ethnicity, education, mental health, and disabilities. Some individuals are
self-absorbed, self-centred, and aren’t empathetic. This brings us to the question of ‘why do I care so
much?’ I care because I demand a change. Of course, one written passage will not change a person.
One voice isn’t powerful enough unless there is an initiative taken to address a social justice concern.
This isn’t to shame anyone for their behaviours, either past or present. This is a reflection of how we
can encourage loving, compassionate, kind behaviours. In a mirror, I see the complexion of a dying
hope. I remember being told that I was too sensitive, fragile, and delicate, but why are my hands chained
up with handcuffs?
As a young woman with coloured skin coming from an Indian family from Punjab, I live with
constant stereotypes and expectations about how I should behave and look. My youngest sister, who is a
teenager, copes with her life's inconveniences with dark humor and sexist and racist jokes. In a society
like ours, most people want to “fit in” rather than be different and stand out. We live in a man’s world, or do we? Our world is materialistic. We live in a world where toxic masculinity is starting to overrule. Some individuals say that the world is changing, but different aspects like murders, suicide
attempts, rape, and so on tell me that it’s one step forward and ten steps back. It’s like a relapse. In
parts of the world, especially in agrarian, less urbanised and developing countries, there’s yet to be
action for social justice, gender equality, and freedom.
In the recent American political 2024 election, there is a threat to reproductive rights because
of Donald Trump’s establishment of banning abortion rights. If Donald Trump is pro-life, what does
the future negotiate with those women who’ve experienced rape? This can create massive changes in
Canadian politics and history with the access to safe and legal abortion. Women have faced
oppression for years. We keep fighting. We decide to cut the rope we’re hanging from when they tried
to strangle our necks. We were told to stay in the kitchens to cook for the families and stay home to take
care of families, and we were told that we wouldn’t make anything out of our lives if we didn’t get married.
We were trapped in cages while the man had the key. He’d only open the cage door for baby-making because the lord forbids that girls could be used for anything else. For years, we had our rights taken
away for education, were treated less than everyone else, and were told that we were unworthy. When
people use the phrase “Your body, my choice”, what does that teach the younger generation? What
does that teach the marginalised, undeveloped communities? How about those with different cultures
that still live by older expectations for women? I hear young boys in schools saying that phrase over
to young girls. What does that teach us?... that we’re going in reverse? It’s like a fire that is ignited.
When the world feeds it with inequality, discrimination, and pain, the flame gets larger.
Someone tells me that not all men are the same with their thought processes and mentalities.
However, with the world that we are surrounded in, how can we be so sure to trust those words when
one hasn’t experienced shame and blame? How can we be so sure that the world is proceeding to heal
and recover from all its wounds? Living this life can be a blessing or a curse. This world is cruel.
The devil laughs at the innocent angels that have suffered for a lifetime. This is no joke that the world
is taking steps backward to witness the pleasure of pain. The world is residing in the past, where all
that echoes is inequity.
