At the risk of being harassed, scorned or having my car
torched, I feel I must exercise a little First Amendment freedom of speech on
the recent riots and demonstrations. I do
sympathize with nonwhites, but to a point.
As an Asian male, I grew up with my share of racist encounters (even as a resident in training), some
very ugly and downright scary (from whites AND blacks alike). Yet I refuse to blame an entire segment of
the population for the misdeeds of a few.
I refuse to allow circumstances to shape me as a person or my attitudes,
and instead I try to live my life as virtuous as possible—taking care of
patients as best I can, being just and fair to others, providing for and loving
my family as best I can, no matter what unexpected and negative stuff God
throws at me. Do I always succeed? No.
But we were created as flawed, error-prone individuals, and I try to
learn from my mistakes to become a better person. It is the struggle to improve in the face of
negative conditions that molds and shapes one’s character for the better. By exemplifying good actions and good deeds,
I strive to convey the message that anything worthy is achievable, anything is
possible. Coming from parents who were
not highly educated, I still became a doctor only after years of hard work and
purposeful drive, not from privilege.
Living in America makes this possible.
We need to have an abundance mindset to see opportunity in the face of
difficulty. And I believe the manner in
which we live is the best means to change a world view.
I was taught not to stereotype people. However, I fear the talk of “white privilege”
breeds intolerance against whites, exercising a stereotype in the reverse
direction. Intolerance is another form
of hatred. Yes, the system must change,
but this is only part of the equation.
Waiting for others to change, seeing this only from the lens of “us
against them” makes victims of us all.
And when we see ourselves as victims, we unwittingly place our fate in
the hands of another. We can control our
own fate while helping to create a fair and just system by taking individual
responsibility by the way we act and kindly treat one another. But it must go both ways, it must be mutual.
“Always do the right thing.
This will gratify some people and astonish the others.”
--Mark Twain
Well said, dear doctor! I felt the injustice of this new "verbal expression" of generalizing each
ReplyDeleteday. I am American Citizen, a white Caucasian female from Eastern Europe,poor,who cam here not to fulfill the common American dream, but to be a part from One Nation under God. Though, all help goes to minorities and foreigners, despite of the fact those without large networks due to life circumstances (Caucasian Americans included) are in bigger danger for surviving. God bless your parents who educated you so well!
Keep the faith. You are living in a country that provides opportunity to achieve anything. Life is always unpredictable and has a funny way of throwing things are way that are unpleasant; we need to believe we are not victims of circumstances, but use adversity to our advantage. The heroes of the past all faced enormous hardships which often was what drove them to work hard and led them to great success.
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