It is a hard deal to trace the actual root of our perception. This is because our past is so vast that it requires a lot to actually reach a satisfactory goal. But if only we can break the vastness of our backgrounds and create pillars in which we can categorize different aspect, as Mamdani said, our perception can then be thinkable. He was able to analyze the Rwanda genocide by creating three pillars (History, Agents and Geography).
As individuals, if we succeed in identifying important pillars of our perception, then we can amicably trace the origin of those perceptions.
There is a mystery behind History, which has the power to drive a whole nation, not to talk of an individual. We see how the history of colonialism was interpreted by the Hutus in the Rwanda genocide.
As an individual, I believe we should recognize the facts behind our history, but we should be mindful with how we digest them. Otherwise, those facts can force us to build a kind of perception about ourselves which we would not be proud of.
...to be continue...