Identity

I have noticed within the past year of hanging around more brown people than usual (in Kansas it is a special occurance sometimes). I finally came to the realization that people within the Pakistani community really do separate themselves even further into ethnic groups....as if we are not divided already with the Indian community and other religious communities we need to go on further to differentiate ourselves.

As if the identity of ourselves as a whole unit of "Pakistani" is not enough.....we are so lost in our identity of ourselves that we need to go on further dividing everything. This probably has been around before I was born but I just never paid much attention to it recently.

Who cares if you are Punjabi? Pathan? From Kashmir? I really had no idea what my background really was (Kashmiri with a pinch of Punjabi) until about 3 years ago. Did it matter to me? In a fun sort of way, yes. It is nice to know your genetic makeup or your background culture or whatever else information you can extract from it to understand your present situation and the people around you. Culturally it's fun.

But then comes about this mentality, I have noticed, that poses a "You vs. Me" agenda. Certain groups like to pump themselves up as being the greatest people of all time, we historically have done this and always follow a certain way of life.

Well bullshit. I'm sorry, but if that is true then it is because you have culturally trained yourself to follow it that way. There is nothing inherent in being Punjabi or Sindhi or whatever. You grow to value and love and admire what your parents raised you to believe in. And at a certain age your mind develops fully on its own where finally you truly can decide for yourself what you want to be as an individual and what duties you feel you owe to society.

Your culture can dictate that very strongly, no doubt. But what I really hate is when somebody keeps telling me, "Oh we are So and So People, and we believe in Such and Such a Thing. I am brave hear me roar...." and all I ever observe them being is anything but that. When the real things in life matter and they cannot live upto the potential that is set for them....that is when the whole "identity theory" collapses!

Ok, here is another idea of what I am trying to say. I am a Libra. Yes, I love reading horoscopes. Who doesn't? It gives you the sense of some place in the universe, a really easy tool to connect with random strangers (even if you really don't want to). Hey, I'm a Libra. You are too? Awesome!

Well, isn't it true that when you read what it is to be your horoscope, many times the description seems to fit *exactly* like who you are? Or even if it is not exact, it's in the ballpark and very close to it (as it is for me). Me? Indecisive? Always! Loves the finer things in life? Of course! Kind, nice, generous? Why not!

But what is so crazy for some people to understand is that THERE ARE OTHER PEOPLE WHO LOVE BEAUTY, ARE INDECISIVE, AND NICE! It is not a Libra thing, it's a personality trait many people have. You just put those together and you form an "identity". There you go. I am not Pakistani, I'm a Libra! And proud of it! (Not really, I could care less but it's just to illustrate a point).

It's just a tool of separation to me. Even in the Quran (for who it matters) it states that cultures and different ethnicities were given to us on this Earth for identification purposes. Not to separate ourselves with.

So the *real* underlying main point of my little rant is that I hate it when certain a person (ahem ahem....believe me, I doubt they read my posts anyway) rests on their high throne of identification from a certain ethnicity that on paper sounds so wonderful....but they completely ignore the fact that there is a real identity they are completely ignoring....their own. That identity that makes them who they really are. I might be a Libra, but I am Neda. I don't care if all Libras are kind, generous and whatever. If I run around smacking people in the face every time I don't agree with them, I can't use the fact that I'm a Libra to hide behind what I'm really doing. And it makes me sad when they can't realize it until it's too late. I just feel it hinders growth and development as a person. Because really, I feel one of the reasons we are on Earth is to be better than we are the last time we checked in with ourselves.

Identity is what we make it to be. And when we ascribe ourselves to one, that already is self limiting. It's ok to be more than one.