Prejudism

22nd of July will always be the day Norway was hit by terrorism . One single man killed more than 90 people, most of them young ones on a political youth camp, because of his ideas of our government not doing enough to prevent a multicultural society. ! It shocked all Norwegians and the rest of the world because of its cruelty and it made us all take a stand on what kind of perspectives we have on human beings.

Some agreed with the killer even if they didn’t agree on his method. Some people think Norway should consist of pure Norwegians, they are afraid the being Norwegian will cease.

My idea is different cultures offer a contribution to our society because we all are unique humans and can learn from each other. Multi cultural society is a part of us because time has made it easier to travel. Time has also made some countries pourer than others and this make people search for a better life.

I love knowing people from other cultures because I get input in a different way that if I only had purely Norwegian friends.

What is prejudism? I believe one definition is scareness of people with lifestyles and background you don’t know anything about. It’s also peoples idea of the unknown that makes peoples prejudism.

I have encountered prejudism all my life due to my cerebral palsy. People stare at me when I walk , as I walk unsteady with my head slightly tilted due to wrong surgery. If I saw me I would stare too, When I open my mouth I speak unusual . People sometimes think I am retarded and start treating me so, which annoy me. I walk slow because I am no good walking with 2 crutches so currently trying to improve my balance so I can use one crutch only. When I walk unsteady people think I will fall down any moment, but I have control. People can rush to help which in itself is good but if I say no thanks they should respect this.

My first encounter with prejudism was when it was time for me to start school . I became the girl who couldn’t walk or talk properly and I had a difficult childhood because of it.

My first encounter with others than me having a disability made even me do a self search due to even me being unsure how to react to others with disabilities.  I soon learned that personality counts more than colour of skin or whether or not people have full function or not. After the conclusion of personality matters most, I have always had friends of all sorts.

I married a man who was overweight…….. rumours was I did it for his money because we were travelling a lot. The same people said taking my daughter all over Europe was bad for her while in fact she got the unique experience of seeing other countries, meet people with different backgrounds. It has made her the broad minded woman she is today. When I had my daughter people called my mother to ask if I knew what I was doing and she replied : ” If anyone know what she’s doing it’s my daughter.” I love her for this.

The list of prejudism is long. Now with my involvement with a Gambian man I meet more prejudism than ever. If it’s not the colour on his skin it’s the country he lives in. Gambia is poor, and many Gambians go the back way to Europe in search for a better life. You can’t blame them, but you can’t say all is the same. My Musa is more honest than my previous boyfriend was, and that counts a lot to me. I also hear that because of my disability I should not go off to Africa, but this is one of the best thing I have ever done in my life.

I think society is demanding more and more that you live by certain rules. If not then you’re not good enough. We all should be more open minded and be sceptical to predetermided images of the world. Meet people, get to know them for who they are. Bad people are everywhere, but thank god the good people outweighs the bad. Also to follow your heart is the key to happiness. If I were to write a book on my life it would be called ” my way ” because I always did things against other peoples advice. And I will at 55 do so even more than earlier. On my shoulder I have tattooed “Carpe diem ” and that more people should have the guts to do.

About the author - a member of the My Disability Matters Community: Marit Egseth