Religion, Nature, Racism or who is responsible for painting colour 'Black’ black?
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Welcome to another episode of “Curious Mind”. Our curiosity today is why people tend to use white for anything good, and black for anything bad and evil. As usual I shall bid you to undergo a minute mental exercise. Sit back and meditate, the question is, ‘WHY IS WHITE SEEN AS GOOD AND BLACK SEEN AS BAD?’ Did you get any clues? Write them done. It is time to let the cat out of the bag. Enjoy the ride!!
The inspiration behind this post was a discussion I had with a friend weeks ago. While discussing, I stopped and asked, “Why did you use ‘hell’ for a negative statement?” She just looked at me like a weirdo, “Everyone does! Black and hell sound bad and negative.” Of course, not like I didn’t know, but who taught us that this is true? Why do we have this bias towards colour black?
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A possible source of this trope is racism. I thought, whites got modern civilisation first while blacks were seen as backward, bad, evil people. If this is true, then the opposite also should be true. If blacks got civilized first, black would be considered as good while white as evil. However, the reverse cannot be tested but looks like the forward is true. The dictionary meaning of the two words show a deliberate attempt to paint “Black” black…LOL!
This can be seen clearly in many movies and cartoons. The villain if not black or darker in complexion, he would be having a black cloth on. This has been a traditional way of symbolizing the bad guy, unknown to many authors that they are furthering the argument that black is indeed bad.
A hidden example is in ‘3 Idiots movie’. One of my favourite movies, lost count of number of times I have watched it. The character called Chatur (Silencer) was portrayed as the loser in the movie. Where is he from? Uganda!! This may look like a coincidence, but is it really one?
A counter argument is that in many African culture, most still consider black as evil. Black clothes in my culture symbolise mourning or ill fate. White is a symbol of purity, prosperity and goodness. Even blacks see black colour as evil, the source of this trope is therefore more than racists’ intention.
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From nature point of view, black is dealt a killer blow. Black is obviously associated to absence of light. Black is the night when most evil acts are performed. This gives black a bad reputation among its companions. The black hole is referred to as black hole because nothing can be seen in there, it is pitch black. This is also similar to what most blind people have reported to see. They see nothing in fact, but the best description to them is ‘I see nothing but black everywhere’. Black has really suffered!
The decaying of living organisms make them become darker. This gives us a feeling that black is related to death and deterioration. How many times have you come across a black flower? They exist but aren’t common for people to beautify their homes with such.
Wearing a black cloth during summer will make one uncomfortable because black colour absorbs heat; while white colour clothes is most suitable because it repels heat. This is a proven fact in science. However, in winter, this guy becomes the hero of the season. Black cloth has the potential to keep one warm. Of course many that argue using this reason do not consider its usefulness during winter.
I shall speak from a Christian point of view.
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How many times do you think about God and picture Him as a black being??
How many times do you think of the devil and imagine he is a white looking being with beautiful ornaments all around him??
When you think about angels around the throne of God, do you see them as black lovely ladies with black wings
When you imagine demons and fallen angels, what comes to your mind? Beautiful ladies with white wings and gold rings?
The answer to the above questions is obviously NO to most religious mind. Though, there is no sufficient prove in the Bible that the devil is some ugly black being, yet our minds have a ready picture of what he looks like—a black ugly beast. I cannot remember to have read that angels have white wings, and demons black wings. Where did we get this impression that they are so?
The association the devil, demons and evil have with black colour is responsible for why most religious people see black as evil. This is true for most cultures especially in Africa (the black continent).
There may be many more reasons other than the above responsible for the ill fate of Mr Black. No matter how astute the lawyer for the defendant (black) is, it is destined to loose in this case. Its association with numerous wrong company as seen with Racism, Nature and Religion is enough reason nail it. There is absolutely no way to wash it WHITE and clean, not in this world.
However, men should not be judge similarly. The goodness in man is in the heart and not in his colour and race. There are many black people with good heart and many have stunned the world in the past. Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Bob Marley, Michael Jackson, Chinua Achebe, among others are proves that colour black may be indeed ruled as evil, yet the goodness in the heart of a man cannot be judged by the colour of his skin.
I have more interesting posts you will find educative and entertaining.
- Superstition, Basics of some wedding traditions?
- Truths about the Wedding Ring
- When the Internet Shuts Down
- Why Do We Clap?
- History of Birthday Cakes
- Life of a Color Blind Person
Thank you for taking time to read through this post. I hope it was educative and entertaining. Let me know what you think about this topic in the comments section below.
