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the need for cruelty

i was reading the papers today(please allow me to sound a lil intelligent), and i stumbled on a piece on albinism in a certain african country where albinos are used for money rituals. the various uses to which albinos are put isn't quite the subject of today's blog. truth is, i often read albino stories with one mindset: albinos are again begging for acceptance - and i'm often right.

it saddens me that in an age where prositution is permitted, and HIV is being spoken about on national television in all its dirty ramifications, society still finds it hard to treat albinos like there's nothing wrong with them. albinism, along with sickle cell aneamia and some forms of diabetes, is hereditary. meaning that these people who suffer from these ailments, really had no choice about whether they would like to have these ailments or not. quite the same way you couldn't have decided for yourself if you'd prefer being naomi campbell rather than the short stumpy mutt that you really are.

i feel strongly that the greatest hinderance to acceptance, is love. usually, we find it easier to watch "someone else's daughter" parade nude on national television in the name of numerous beauty pageants but we would rather die than allow our mum even attempt to sing in public at a party. its just that you love her so much that you feel embarassed for her even before she does anything embarassing. so lies the fate of the albino. we want as a society, to protect people who we perceive require special attention. we feel that they should not be subjected to the same daily cruelty that everyday life brings. but we fail to realize, that this is exactly what they are asking for!

they want to walk into the room without you looking to see if they will walk into a wall because of their constantly dilating pupils...they want to share a joke with everyone else without people apologizing if they make a slip about fair skinned people...they want to live!

but as i write this, even i find it difficult to ask albino people how they feel when they are under the sun. i just feel its downright rude to say "does the sun hurt?"...or "do i look blurred when you look at me?" but i know in my heart that if i could just get certain curiosities out of the way, i could actually make friends with an albino without thinking i'll turn grey the next day. i, like most other people, clearly have a different standard for treating the "not-so-like-me" folks.

so today, i'm going to ask everyone who's reading this blog, albino or not, to let the guard down. grab an albino, and ask him or her the most impossible questions. just let it out. somehow, they know you're thinking it anyway and maybe if you just ask them, it'll make it a tad easier to start relating with them without any hang ups.

I'll write about HIV positive people tomorrow (and yes, you may very well have it as we speak). and i know i still owe a write up on keri hilson's new album...so, like they say when advertising nigerian movies - "WATCH OUT!!!"

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