The power of speech
A decade ago, I was fortunate enough to attend my then dream school, Harvard, for a prestigious summer program where I met some of the brightest, and most talented kids. In the surrounding areas, I met people with an undeniable amount of natural intelligence, along with an incomprehensible level of ignorance. Probably recognizable because of my own background, experiences; nature, and nurture. My parents raised me with a sense of decency, and since that's all I knew, I unknowingly assumed that everyone had a moral compass; every person, deep down is decent. Furthermore, since I was born in Singapore, raised in America, and of South Indian descent, I was able to understand different cultures, and therefore show respect to all types of people, not just those who look like me.
Outside my favorite bubble tea shop in the square, my friend and I encountered two middle-aged men who stopped us dead in our tracks to question where we "came" from. We shrugged the question off, providing the benefit of the doubt, and kept walking. We were then blocked from the entrance and a question directed at my friend came quicker than we could expect it: "wait you're Black, can't you guys like not afford shoes...isn't it a cultural thing, like why are you wearing shoes? Why are you in America?" Imagine what you would feel like if someone degraded you for wearing shoes; something we mindlessly put on every, single day. What would you say, and what would you do if you were put in that position?
Another question came out, this time directed at me. I hadn't said anything yet, but he was convinced I had to have an "unattractive" accent, because well, I'm not white appearing. He questioned me loudly so that we'd attract an audience, saying, "TALK...why aren't you talking? It's because you have an ugly accent, right? Since you're Asian and not from here." No one came to our defense. Every other person of color around sat quietly, not joining in, but not defending us either.
My friend and I were like that, too. We looked at each other in silence and walked out. We didn't try to justify or prove them wrong. We just walked out. For the longest time, I wondered why we didn't stand up for ourselves.
Even now, ten years later, I’m not sure what the answer is. Maybe I had to work hard to gain a voice and to use it. Maybe it’s one of the moments in life that were influential and brought me to storytelling, and media.
What I do know is that I wish I had the power, and the courage to not only fight for myself but educate others on what is so definitely wrong vs. right. That day, I learned the power of speaking and the power of being quiet.