Before I start my rant about culture and religion, I just want to say that they’re both two beautiful things when they’re not taken to the extreme. Culture is apart of heritage and different teachings which makes an individual unique from others. Religion is also apart of teachings and morals which makes an individual different or unique. The festivals and celebrations that are thrown to celebrate these two make the world what it is today; vibrant and alive. Although there are racist and ignorant people, many others appreciate the world for what it is and they’re interested in learning about the many varieties that exist so they explore and travel.

Now my issue is, even though I don’t want to come off as racist or ignorant, I’ve noticed many things about my culture which I dislike SO much and the amount of belittling and looking down it comes with both the religion and culture. Sure I love certain aspects of being Bengali, but not once…have I ever been “proud” to be considered Muslim nor do I believe in its teachings or morals. Many issues come with religion because it causes wars, hate, and superiority complexes (especially in the Middle East). So many girls suffer from getting married off to older men who take advantage of them so they commit suicide because they can’t escape. Just because a girl isn’t a virgin when she’s married off, they don’t even consider that she might have broken her hymen due to different activities when she was younger or wasn’t even born with one. They automatically assume that she’s a whore and has slept with someone.

I remember my brother getting into an argument with my mom because she was saying that Western girls are trashy because they expose their stomachs. He argued back that the women of Bangladesh do the same thing especially when they’re wearing saris. Saris expose the tummy, but there’s a small piece of cloth which goes across it (it’s usually made out of thin fabric). It still doesn’t hide the fact that it’s revealing skin. My mom basically tried explaining that Bengali people had a better culture and beliefs than the Western culture. I personally found this as bullshit. No culture is more important nor superior than the other.

There’s also so much FAKING you have to do when it comes to meeting other people. I have heard so much trash talking after I’ve seen people acting fake in front of each other that it’s unbelievably STUPID. If I were to say that I’m Agnostic to those in the “community” they would be highly disappointed and look down on me just because I’m not religious. Instead of just smiling and accepting it, they’ll look at you strangely or talk about you behind your back. It’s like when you’re not interested in someone whose Muslim or Bengali it’s the biggest shit in the world. So what? Just because your parents are religious, you have to please them and fake it out by converting the other person to show off to others?  This just ties in with the fact that you believe that your culture or religion is superior than the other one. I hate this kind of thinking and I especially HATE it when people try to force religion down my throat and tell me, “you should do this and that”. My response back would be, “No I shouldn’t because I hate faking things. If I’m not religious, I’m not religious. Accept it, not everyone is going to be like you.” I wish that others would respect me for my perspective just as how I respect them for theirs (like if they’re religious).

Now I’ve never really enjoyed going to Bengali parties, especially when you have to sit with the parents because they just brag about whose child did what and what they’ve achieved. That’s all it’s about; showing off.

Honestly, it just matters about WHO the person is. You don’t need to be religious in order to have morals of what you think is right or wrong. I think if the person has a good heart and hasn’t gone around stealing, raping or murdering others, they’re fine as how they are – religious or not. I look at those that claim to be “good” and “religious” but they still swear, smoke and drink need to stop being hypocrites because it’s in their religious books not to do that. In addition, they gossip and judge others just because they don’t have the same perspective as they do (and you’re not supposed to judge others).

When it comes down to the basics, we’re all just human. People need to learn to accept change and stop living in the past. Yes, status is important because it looks bad when you’re presenting yourself as a thug or white trash because people like that have no manners.

Just be yourself and if people don’t like you for stupid reasons like culture and being religious or not, so what? I’d rather be loved for who I am, than loved for what I’m not.

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Posted by Nekorini on November 6th, 2010 :: Filed under General (Life),Uncategorized
Tags :: accepting, culture, hypocrites, Religion
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