Looking out is good, disparity is not...

Submitted by Hari Srinivasan (India), Aug 12, 2008 at 22:24

Somewhere in the course of all these complications that have developed in the Danish (and to a certain extent the entire Scandinavian) society, the whole Islamophobic vibes have become so blind that anyone and everyone who is remotely brown-skinned is being victimized. Being an Indian, and an outspoken atheist, I find holy wars ridiculous. But what is funnier is when somebody tries to belittle you by pointing out that a 'Paki' like me does not deserve a shot at assimilation.

I have a hard-line stance against Islamic fundamentalism, but somehow it does not make a difference in how I am judged, as I seem to be at par with someone schooled in a Hamas madrassa. I have never lived in the aforementioned places, but being a journalist, I have come in contact with enough people (and behaviours) to validate my claim.

I find it laughable that the so-called educated ethnic Danes I know claim to be rationalized and not xenophobic. Let me burst your bubble here, because you are not. I support the Danish weeding out anti-national elements, be it a Maulana preaching against assimilation or a street thug. But please do not let colour cloud your judgement, because in this case, there is a lot more at stake than what meets the eye. I wonder what makes the Swedish and Danish government to freely offer resident status to a lot of anti-national elements despite knowing that they might cause trouble.

Is 7 years residency and a clean slate all that you need? I think background checks that border on fascist rigidity should be made mandatory before granting full resident status to anybody seeking it. But then again as my title reads, looking out for your country and your society is an excellent thing, but losing sight of progress and indulging in blatant discrimination is not.

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