Salaam.
I read an article a few days back about a lovely Sikh man who hung out around New York City in a Captain America costume - complete with beard and turban! (He wrote the article.) He describes his worries and expectations and the outcome and experiences. He received a lot of attention and most of it was raving. He wanted to challenge the thinking that Captain America, the idea and what he stands for, has to be defined by and as a white male. And I think he succeeded. Kudos to him for having the courage to introduce a new idea to the world.
While reading, however, I started to think about whether we all needed to make spectacles of ourselves to encourage people to be more open-minded and think critically about society today. Now, I don't think that what Vishavjit did is ridiculous - I actually really applaud him. I want to be clear that he is awesome-sauce. I agree that being outspoken is the only way to approach it - no one ever inspired a revolutionary movement by sitting around silently. And sometimes being outrageous is the right way to make a point. I just wonder if pageantry is ever going to stop being the only way to open dialogue. How sad for us.
xoxo
I read an article a few days back about a lovely Sikh man who hung out around New York City in a Captain America costume - complete with beard and turban! (He wrote the article.) He describes his worries and expectations and the outcome and experiences. He received a lot of attention and most of it was raving. He wanted to challenge the thinking that Captain America, the idea and what he stands for, has to be defined by and as a white male. And I think he succeeded. Kudos to him for having the courage to introduce a new idea to the world.
While reading, however, I started to think about whether we all needed to make spectacles of ourselves to encourage people to be more open-minded and think critically about society today. Now, I don't think that what Vishavjit did is ridiculous - I actually really applaud him. I want to be clear that he is awesome-sauce. I agree that being outspoken is the only way to approach it - no one ever inspired a revolutionary movement by sitting around silently. And sometimes being outrageous is the right way to make a point. I just wonder if pageantry is ever going to stop being the only way to open dialogue. How sad for us.
xoxo
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