I just sat down on my favorite square in the centre of The Hague and one another bench, close to mine, I see a Moroccan young man whom I guess is about twenty years old. I did not ask him if he was Moroccan, I made the assumption of the way he looked. Nike sport shoes, jeans, still wearing his thick winter coat in spite of the warm weather, a cap on his head, colored handsome face and a tough attitude.
Out of a plastic bag he gets a smaller bag and does, at least in my opinion, something unexpected.
Apparently in the small bag is something like breadcrumbs he starts to scatter, because all pigeons fly in his direction. They land everywhere around and on him and also eat out of his hands. As soon as the pigeons ate the crumbs they all return to wherever they came from leaving the young man to himself again. He folds the little bag into a gag and looks around, walks about twenty meters to the nearest bin and throws it in. Walking to the bin he had passed another bench where people are sitting as well. Right next to that bench an old man has parked his scoot mobile and he seems to be writing something. As he tries to drink something he moves clumsy and tremulous so it is no surprise that he drops his pen. The young Moroccan, on his way back to where he was sitting, passes the old man and without hesitation kneels down to get the pen of the floor. With a nod of his head and a smile on his face he hands over the pen to the old man and with a friendly voice I can hear him say, I believe this is yours sir!
He walks on to where he was sitting, gathers the rest of his stuff and leaves.
I have been watching this young man, his actions made me feel good and I can hear myself think: You see, it can be like that as well.
And then: Damn…Damn again. What the F…?! Another thought crosses my mind.
Why am I thinking: You see, it can be like that as well? Why not, wasn’t the way that young man acted totally normal? People should behave that way! But just because it is a Moroccan man, I suddenly think: Hmmm it can be like this as well!
That says a lot of how I think about Moroccan young men in general! I don’t seem to think much of them. And how many young Moroccan men do I know personally? Could that be none?
I find it really annoying that I am conditioned to think that way, like I don’t have my own independent mind. Am I a Pavlov dog? Ring a bell and I start to drool? Show my a Moroccan young man and I immediately think he is up to no good?
In moments like this, I think: What made me get this image in my mind? Apparently It has been instilled from outside. In cases like this it is not difficult to trace as these Moroccans have so often been portrayed negatively in the news.
We all seem to take pride in our independent minds but do we even realize how much we are just like Pavlov’s dogs? Are the thoughts in your head really your own thoughts or have a lot of them been instilled very subtle from the outside? Are the ideals that you strive for your own or maybe social standards, happening to be economically very convenient?
It is up to you if you want to do anything with these questions. One thing that can help you and the world a lot:
Don’t judge so easily and maybe even better, don’t judge at all!
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