Stand up

People customarily stand up in many a context – in a church or classroom for example - but I suspect they do it rather unthinkingly. In effect, without examining the symbolic meaning of such an action, they do not challenge the authority which silently requires people to go with the flow.

However, I sincerely believe that we ocasionally have to stand up to such institutionalised behaviour by not standing up when we are supposed to since it serves a number of good purposes. First and foremost, it makes you belong on the spot to a minority and on the other hand, finds the majority being exposed to a ‘sore thumb’. That is a thought-provoking and perhaps peace-promoting set-up which effects are unlikely to pass one by.

Finally, I daresay that being a member of a minority makes for greater understanding of other minorities – commonly pressurized, often underprivileged or worse still, oppressed.