I was sitting next to one of the main carriage doors, when a family got onto the train. Mum, dad, a couple of children. You say, an ordinary family?
Dad was about 40, mum in her late 30s. The one 'child' was a young lad, about 14 years old. The other, a little girl, about 5 years old.
The little girl had severe facial deformities. Not because of an accident, but because she was born with a medical condition.
Now, I am not an expert in genetics and medicine, but I often read about syndromes. I know the name of the syndrome, I have seen relevant pictures of patients before, and maybe a couple of relevant videos. I could tell that the girl I saw has Treacher Collins Syndrome. Yes, the facial characteristics of the girl were spot-on the typical signs of TCS. Downward slanting eyes, malformed ears, etc. But does it matter?
I am going to stand on what happened on the train.
Someone offered the mother a seat - and the girl sat on the lap of her mother. That could be the happy end of the story.
But it wasn't. Simply because I noticed how the fellow train passengers looked at the little girl.
Now, trust me. I didn't stare. I only caught a glimpse of the girl. And that was it. Normality is the key. Normality, respect, a welcoming approach. But others did stare...persistently! Something that personally annoyed me. What are you looking at?
How that mother might have felt? Now, if I were the mother of that girl I would be angry with so many of the passengers, just because of the way they were staring at my daughter! But she acted normally (I approved of her behaviour and I really admire(d) her, she did the right thing).
Two ladies were standing next to me. The one signalled and gestured to the other about the looks of the little girl, in an attempt to silently describe how the girl looked like. Gestures about the girl's mouth, etc...
The girl was just a little girl, a little bit different maybe, but people around her were staring at her like she was a freak of nature. They should be ashamed of themselves! And those two women (above), who turned their head deliberately so that they look at the girl and explore her facial features better, signalling to each other about it, these women were so inhumane!
Why are we judged about the way we look? No matter how we look like, we are always judged because of our looks...
For issues such as:
Oh, she is fat...
Oh, she is too short...
Oh, he has a funny nose...
Oh... he is very feminine...
Oh, he has manboobs...
Oh, she has facial hair...
Oh, she has malformed ears...
Oh, she is 'no-oil-painting'...
Oh, he has no legs...
Oh, she has one arm...
Oh, his face is deformed...
Oh, her skin is pale...
Oh, his hair is ginger...
Oh, she is black...
People are mean, no matter what. People will ALWAYS judge you, they will always find something negative to say.
I am angry with people. I know that there is research out there that says that people are naturally attracted to beauty and proportionate characteristics but sorry! I have to disagree with lookism. Beauty is really beyond looks. It is something much deeper than skin and bones.
Then I thought of Lizzy. Lizzy who has changed my view of seeing the world (you should really watch her inspirational video). I get emotional every single time I watch it.
Lizzy. Lizzy! And the girl on the train. And these statistics that are so alarming!
How can we all learn to see and think with the heart instead of using the brain (and our sexual hormones)? How can we all learn to appreciate people for their identity and personality, and not for their looks and psychical characteristics? How can we all learn to value ourselves (and the others) for who we are, and not for how we look like?
If homo homini lupus (and many people out there have a wolf in their heart) luckily there is veritas, bonitas, pulchritudo, sanctitas... and they all come from within.
We need more cultural education. This is the key to the solution of the problem. Discrimination must end.
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