Hard to accept differences

I have been following with interest the readers' letters concerning racism. It is true that racism in various forms, such as ethnic sentiment, discrimination, and prejudice happen everywhere. I assume, it is because people tend to reject anything that is different from them. We love homogeneity better than heterogeneity, so we forget that diversity is naturally a root of dynamism. The differences in skin colors, ethnic, cultures, accents, and even names frequently become the source of tension. We have seen everyday how the tension occurs, ranging from the insulting of one's accent, to the fearful ethnic cleansing in Bosnia.

Human beings seem to be bound by their limitation. They tend to measure people by their appearance. I don't think anyone will accept anything willingly, without one seeing it. See, human eyes also have limitations. It is no wonder that many people conjecturally hate something without understanding why they hate it.

That situation is worsened by the fact that some people call themselves more superior, or better than others. As a result, it is almost impossible to convert a feeling of hatred to love. Moreover, we are small-minded enough to admit that people are basically the same.

WAHYUNI RIZKIANA KAMAH

Jakarta