I don’t take privilege lightly, especially regarding the climate that many people with my background and climate have grown in. When white people are entitled to a whole word that you have never experienced before, it becomes apparent that the world does seem to lean towards the team that you are not a part of. I know a lot of my brown brothers and sisters will know that being Indian has not had the best reaction from another community in Australia. And many more of my ethnic friends would agree when I say that if you are white, you are open to a wealth of opportunity that no one else can access.

This week in uni I learnt about how colonisation had detrimental impacts on indigenous communities all over the world. Our focal point was on the Aboriginal people of Australia, but in the larger scheme of things, no one really stops to think at how white people have really somehow had massive effects on the world. Indigenous people were not always considered to be equal, but in fact Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution was used as a weapon when trying to belittle other ethnicities who were not white. In other words, if you weren’t white, you were of darker skin tone and therefore much less evolved because of how your appearance was perceived to be somewhat alike to apes. Which is completely untrue and ridiculously stupid but hey, if you have large fleets and the power of the Queen on your side I guess whatever bullshit comes out of your mouth has to be somewhat true.

It’s a terrorising fact that grips a lot of people when you realise you are never going to be able to compete with any white person in the world just because you yourself have a different skin colour or racial background. But in a society where all cultures and ethnicities are to be celebrated, how can this be? Well the instilled values of colonisation are the main reason for this. Despite the fact that we are now apart of a multicultural society, being white is now not only a sly way of making it but also an excuse to appropriate other cultures and traditions into your life if you like it. And yes I’m talking about girls who walk around festivals with bindi’s and saying “Namaste” to every person they see because they think they’re “spiritual” or whatever.

I see white people appropriate Indian culture all the time, and even though it’s a great thing to see how much of a positive influence it can have on people, the fact still remains that at the end of the day you are still white. You’re never going to understand what its like to be Indian, or another culture because you yourself are not that culture. Instead your ancestors probably spat on the people who practice said culture for thousands of years because they thought that it was “weird” and unheard of. Look, I get it, Saree’s are pretty, and Hinduism looks like fun. But my mum was ridiculed for her accent. My dad was discriminated against by old white men because he looked different. And I was racially abused for a good part of my life by people just because I looked like Mowgli from the jungle book.

Take a step back and really think about what you’re doing. Because if you being able to wear Indian clothes and then be celebrated  for it, why cant I, or many others like me do it.

If you want to truly recognise a culture or tradition. Don’t do so using your privileged, use your brains and your actions. Learn about it and most of all understand it. Not through theory but through the people who have suffered for it. Recognise that others have suffered and died, that despite what you may think these people have walked this earth trying to show pride and now have to watch you do the exact same thing with no hardship whatsoever. Recognise people who have been trampled on, learn their pain and don’t exploit it because it looks good.