I actually had a structure, a plan, as to what I was going to do with myself on this blog. This wasn’t going to be my second entry.

But then I saw this photo.

One of my friends on facebook had shared it, from someone who has this image as their cover photo, receiving over 6,700 shares. And why not! It’s brilliant, a visual representation of how labels affect us and need to be broken down. It shows that you cannot just see a black guy for his skin colour, and you cannot see a gay man for his sexual orientation, and you cannot just see a Muslim man for his skin colour and religious dress; the turban he’s wearing, and the kara (steel bangle) on his wrist. The photographer is completely right with the Muslim man, because he is in fact a Sikh man. That is not a Muslim, that is a Sikh man, very recognisable by his religious attire. I still can’t believe that someone trying to break down labels and racial stereotypes with this powerful photo can’t even see past the colours themselves. 

I replied to my friend’s post, when they shared this, politely stating that the Muslim man depicted is in fact a Sikh man. I didn’t receive any reply from them, nor from the people who commented on it, liked it, and shared it. I let that go. It’s not my friend’s fault, and I’m not going to judge them for sharing something that is actually a very nice concept. They are also a photographer, so it’s understandable. I also went back to the person whom it was shared from, and inboxed them with a message asking if they had the name of the artist/photographer out of curiosity. No reply yet.

A few hours later, the photo reappeared on my news feed, by a very well-known youth LGBT organisation; “Please share.” 

This time, the photo had originated from another LGBT group, with many more shares. And this time, I was really angry. How ignorant could they be – a society that works for equality and that is looked up to by hundreds of people, who’s word spreads like wildfire through mediums such as facebook, and they upload this. I also cannot believe that no one, out of the hundreds of people who work for, and are members of, these organisations, did not notice. Did they see the gay man in the middle with a label on his back and think, “That’s a fantastic photo, and it’s just what we’re trying to make a stand for – and we’re supporting equality of black people, who were segregated years ago, and even Muslims as well, because everyone thinks that brown people are scary Muslims, but we don’t just see their colour either.”

Hmm…

Please do not get me wrong, I’m not saying that you can’t tell the difference between brown people and their religious faiths. And I’m not saying that segregation of black people isn’t still around. Racism is indeed alive and well.

So what did I do about this? I commented on the shared photo, stating politely that the ‘Muslim’ depicted is Sikh, and if they are going to urge people to share a photo, they should make sure it’s correct. That was last night. This morning, the photo had vanished.

Please; save your applause. I only wish that I knew who this photo was by. I’ve tried searching for it and finding clues but no luck. However, I have narrowed it down to someone outside of the South Asian community. But by circulating this anonymous photo, everyone who shares, likes, and praises it are responsible for doing the opposite of what the photo sets out to do. And look ignorant. (Don’t really know if you’d want to take responsibility for this photo now that I’ve popped open this can of whoop-ass.) If you see it, please correct whoever showed it to you. Let’s break down those racial stereotypes and labels. *wink*

I would get my feminist rage on (WHY ARE THEY ALL MEN – WOMEN GET LABELLED TOO), but that’s really for another day.

Thank you for listening,

Sabah.