There is a great challenge we all face as both victims and as oppressors. Unconsciously or not, we all have our own biases. This, in turn, makes for a controversial discussion. Interestingly enough, we are hypocrits. While we preach that we are all equals, I still, deep inside don't believe it (even though I'd like to). Upon meeting someone for the first time, we have already prejudged them. Take the first day of school, for example, in seeing our schedules and our assigned teachers, we have an expected outcome of how the year will go.
Now, thinking of the Kite Runner, Hosseini says that "history isn't easy to overcome". I very much agree with this statement, though it is debatable. History is the roots of where our thinking goes. We make judgments based off past experiences. Amir is stuck between two perspectives. He wouldn't call Hassan a friend, though Hassan is one of the only people in Amir's world that truly understands him. By definition, I would call him a friend. But the hesitation Amir has is because of society's bias against Hassan's people, Hazaras. Hazaras afterall, are second-class citizens, and inferior. When the whole world is feeding you information in which hinders another person's (or group of people) reputation, it is the hardest thing to not pay attention to them, if not, impossible. I bring up this topic not to have the solution be to colorblind ourselves to these rumors and ideas. Rather, I would like for all of us to be aware of these biases we have. That is the important lesson I believe that will help us take a step forward towards equality, and not backward.
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