Please click any of these links "FRENCH" or "ARABIC" if you would prefer to read these articles in either of these two languages, S.V.P. cliquez ces mots "FRANCAIS" ou "ARABE " si vous préféreriez lire ces articles dans l'une ou l'autre de ces deux langues, E N G L I S H E S S A Y S ** Point your mouse on each title in the menu below to browse the complete list of articles.** English Essays > Short Stories

Is it that BLACK & WHITE ?(Page 1 of 6)

It is obvious that some people are color blind, but their sense of political colors and inclinations together with their social associations and partnerships are very keen, exactly like a bull, who only reacts to red while he sees it  gray. Politics have no religion, no color and no assertion, it preys on cosmic schemes, with equal and opposite embodiment of evil, in an arena of pretenders and contenders.  This association places us with Caesar uttering : “ You too... Brutus “. Special interests, education, rationale and public awareness of the individual and maybe a nation, will dictate the colors under which we place ourselves, pride ourselves of, and react to the social pressure cooker, we harbor in.

In reality, we all are followers of somebody or something, be it to our benefit or detriment, not that there is anything wrong with being a follower, but it seems we have never been weaned, the suckling of all kinds of horror ideas and distorted rationales continue to take us down toward the endless abyss.

Not long ago, on one sunny afternoon of New York glorious Octobers, I was privileged to hop on a subway heading from Manhattan to Brooklyn . I guess, I thought for a moment, that I was fortunate to have the cart for myself, I hoped to catch some zeez. To my chagrin, my dream aborted before it had chance to be conceived;  at the next stop, a hurdle of people filled half of the cart, and the movie started without announcements, previews, credits or freedom of selection.

I found myself, with the presents, forced to become spectator in an arena with no hold bars, no etiquette, no manners or respect for fellow travelers.  Two kids playing hockey bumping against anybody and everybody while their mother watched and smiled in approval; two women whispering and chuckling; one business woman reading and ratifying her papers, absorbed in her world; some occupying two seats, one well-dressed man looked nervous and showed it in the constant movement of his body, as one having a restless night sleep, tossing a pencil from hand to hand, while his head is gyrating in all directions. Few were sleeping, while others kept their heads moving back and forth, left and right, screening other riders, the rest were standing.

Watching the cart being filled at each stop, you could appreciate the potpourri that New York is made of, as you watch the slightly visible number of certain ethnic people who embark or disembark at each stop. The cart now looks like a multinationals multicolored balloon ready to explode at any given moment, yet like a tight sardine container, where intimacy is often forced on you but rarely sought for.

As soon as we crossed the bridge, the passengers of the cart, including yours truly, have felt the congestion ease, and with it, our faces reflected some détente from the claustrophobic sensation that ran through our brain sending electrifying terrifying shocks into our spine and body.         

In spite of the serpentine swaying and monotonous clicking of the carts, the shrieking of the wheels against the bare rails, the stopping at designated stations, the influx and exiting of riders, the flickering of lights, the snoring of some dozers,  one could hear a faint heated debate escalating between two middle age riders, sitting diagonally of each other,  one white and the other black. To this date, I do not know if they knew each other, or bumped into each other on the subway.  Nobody knows what has triggered this debate.  The white man, with a stack of newspapers and magazines in his lap, gave the impression of someone in the editing and critique business, while the black man, dressed in a gray suit, reflected an image of government issue personnel.