I still remember the day, about five years ago, when a Dutch friend told me about a conversation she had with another Dutch friend in which me and my ethnicity came up. Apparently, when she asked if I was black my friend had replied that I am from India, and she had replied something to the effect of, "So, he is black" or all non-whites are black. That story hit me like a brick, and it took me a few days to get over it.
Growing up in India means anti-blackness is ingrained in you even if you are not one of those Indians who makes money noises or throws stones at black people. The caste system makes sure of that as it encourages contempt for the castes below you and abject servility to the castes above you. Dark skin equals lower caste, so black skin equals lowest of the low. Black people experience racism everywhere but I would be surprised if they experience the same level of contempt that they do in India. Unless you are a T-20 cricket star from the West Indies.
It took me a while to come to acknowledge my anti-blackness and the complicity of brown people in upholding racial hierarchies. The middle rung of racial hierarchies can be a comfortable place. If you are a racist brown person, at least you are not at the bottom of the heap, and there are other races you can turn your nose up at. If you are a woke brown person, you don't suffer from white guilt, while implicitly benefiting from your proximity to the white race. If you are black or even half black, you are unmistakably of African origin. Brownness confers more ambiguity especially if you are fair-skinned s you could be from anywhere from Eastern Europe to Central and South Asia or from Latin America. For instance, in Mexico, I was often mistaken for a native
Growing up in India means anti-blackness is ingrained in you even if you are not one of those Indians who makes money noises or throws stones at black people. The caste system makes sure of that as it encourages contempt for the castes below you and abject servility to the castes above you. Dark skin equals lower caste, so black skin equals lowest of the low. Black people experience racism everywhere but I would be surprised if they experience the same level of contempt that they do in India. Unless you are a T-20 cricket star from the West Indies.
It took me a while to come to acknowledge my anti-blackness and the complicity of brown people in upholding racial hierarchies. The middle rung of racial hierarchies can be a comfortable place. If you are a racist brown person, at least you are not at the bottom of the heap, and there are other races you can turn your nose up at. If you are a woke brown person, you don't suffer from white guilt, while implicitly benefiting from your proximity to the white race. If you are black or even half black, you are unmistakably of African origin. Brownness confers more ambiguity especially if you are fair-skinned s you could be from anywhere from Eastern Europe to Central and South Asia or from Latin America. For instance, in Mexico, I was often mistaken for a native
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