A RECIPE ON HOW TO DECEIVE THE WORLD:

When dissecting the cause of societal issues, each and every one of them; are a result of a “social construct. A harmful idea that has been created by society, and taught as if fact; with misinterpretation, misinformation, and generalisation ridden all over these causes. But how is it so easy to lie and deceive the world? What is the recipe for disaster that has been practised to perfection? History tells us it’s easy!

Firstly, target a minority group. Look for anybody that appears to be different to you in appearance and or biological makeup; this could mean: skin colour, sex, gender identity, race, accent, nationality, facial features, or body type. This is solely to make it easier to point out their different features, as a flaw. They must be a minority because something went wrong in their creation or in their life for them to be different to the majority. If there is no minority, make a minority, scare some of them off and make your demographic the majority. Just like how it was done in Botany bay; British people stated that because there were only huts and “uncivilised naked cowards” on the island, it was acceptable for them to bring 11 fleets of white people to reside there without any consent of the natives. Now the indigenous people who were once the majority there, are now the minority.

Secondly, create an idea of your own and teach it as fact. Construct an idea with no factual basis nor statistical correctness, this idea may be created to satisfy one’s own bias towards a minority group. This could be completely made up, or it is an exaggeration of a distant truth. You can say things like all South Asian people have poor hygiene and smell like curry, or that women were put on this world for raising families. Get creative with it! Ensure that this fact has everything to do with their obvious differences (different to the majority that has now been created). To make the idea extra harmful ensure that you generalise this idea on the entirety of the minority group.

Thirdly, Spread it around society. This creates a culture of obedience. By making it mainstream and infiltrating it so deep into all socio-economic systems, people blindly accept the predicament they have been placed in. And once the privileged notice that it benefits the “superior” demographic, they continue utilising and supporting that system to reap the benefits. This is seen in many examples: During the 19th century, the slave trade was justified by the slave owner, saying that the Bible allows for enslaving of black people and that the white owner is to be obeyed at all costs. Majority of the slave owners were Christian men, and brainwashed their slaves into believing that they are doing God's work by obeying the holy scriptures. Thus ensuring the longevity of the slave trade and the pockets of the owners at the sacrifice of African freedom. The discrimination will be so infiltrated, that even 2 centuries later white people make up 78% of the overall labour force whereas Black people only make 13%.

Thirdly, maintain the hierarchy that has been created. A lot of effort has been put into ensuring one group is made superior, and another is made inferior. Therefore, the descendants of the powerful group must maintain these systems of bias by ensuring that it stays within the demographic. This could mean not offering maternity leave for working women to ensure that less women work, reject black doctors because white doctors are “safer”, give Asian people the primary labour jobs to decrease the competition the white majority faces, and wrongfully prosecute people of colour to save white corporate owners from losing their wealth.

Lastly, combat any opposition with censorship and brainwashing. If anybody dares to even address the issue to its actual severity and dare explore the truth that is being hidden, just depend on the people in power to remove the truth from literature, education, and the media. Because we can not stop somebody else from expression, but we can restrict their platform so that they can not educate others as much. For example: restricting the visibility of the genocide on Palestine by banning instagram posts, removing the “crudity” from history books to distract historians from the offenses made against ethnic minorities, or presenting the discussion of social problems as “innaporpriate” to decrease the possibility of progression. All of these are actions done to protect the systems in place that are a result of historical oppression.

When we dissect history, we observe that all forms of widespread discrimination, began from a false idea. And that idea was simply foolishness out of a random human’s mouth, that was worshipped by the whole of society as if it were wise words. Which makes us think: how did we blindly follow a glorified opinion? Simple… through the art of deception.

By Yusuf Kamran 6F14 (Interviewer)