THE BIGGER PICTURE Shalini SinhaWell, we've passed the Referendum - overwhelmingly. So, how do you feel? Any aches or pains? Any muscular soreness, digestive problems or anxiety?
Those I have spoken to who voted 'No' are deeply disappointed. It meant a lot to them. They saw widespread implications for Irishness and the direction of the Irish identity and State well into the future. For them, there was a lot at stake. At this moment in time, among this small but decisive group of 20 per cent, there is anxiety, pain, sorrow and loss. This group of people are wounded. We are suffering from "Post-Referendum Stress Disorder".
Despite the resounding victory of the 'Yes' vote, I haven't seen exuberant celebrations from those who voted in favour of the change. I see a confidence, a pride in being decisively 'right' and part of such an indisputable majority. But no boasting or shouting "Hurrah!". The implications did not touch them as deeply as those on the other side.
And what about that majority? 80 per cent! Have you ever seen anything like it - a people so quick to give up their powers, their participation in a process, their right to have a say in how they themselves are defined? Our Government insisted repeatedly the question had nothing to do with racism. Are you sure? Do you know that much about racism to identify it in its elusive forms? Can you feel its effect on your health, your muscles and bones?
I give workshops and lectures on racism regularly. The issue is sickening. It roots inside us a deep pain, continuous tension, fear, anxiety and isolation. It shapes our health - manipulating extra stress on our bodies, disrupting our immune systems and destroying social relationships. It is not only people targeted by racism - Travellers, Muslims, African and Asian descent people, Nomadic people around the world, Jews - whose physical and mental health are compromised, but those of the privileged group as well - our loved ones who are White, Settled and Christian.
However, it is easier for those targeted to see how racism makes us sick. We feel the strain daily and right through our lives. We watch our hair grey and our bodies disintegrate. We witness our children being insulted, dismissed and demeaned - growing more confused and angry, struggling to be visible but surviving by becoming invisible. We watch colleagues struggling for jobs - having to prove their intelligence at every turn. We understand the connection between this oppression and our lives, our health and our people. And we notice how the majority group neither see it nor believe us when we point it out for them.
But, as much as racism directly affects the health of its targets, it is slowly killing the privileged too - passing as a mysterious, elusive part of social decay. I am forced to witness daily the destruction it causes for White, Settled Irish people.
The privileges granted by racism are hollow and limited to wealth, power and land. They are materialistic only, sucking on the humanity of those who receive the gains. The cost for gaining through the exploitation of others is isolation and a damaged integrity. Whether or not you believe in a balance in the Universe or Karmic returns, the human psyche cannot survive the exploitation of another human being. It stalls and shuts down. It becomes numb inside - distanced from others.
Our society is numb with greed. We each must have our individual piece of everything - one phone for everyone in the house, one car each, one copy of the extended version of Lord of the Rings for every person in Ireland, one coffee shop on every corner, one bin every few yards to catch our insurmountable waste.
The isolation breeds a fear that grows and gains strength. It is a fear of acknowledging the exploitation, a lack of integrity - a fear that those who are being held off and held back unjustly, whose backs are being trod on to gain a few extras, will break through and annihilate you. Those with privilege fear for their lives, and so enact policies to ensure their isolation. Ironically, it is not you who is being annihilated. The isolation, however, might kill you in the end.
It is true, however, that some among us are not surviving and are so distressed they would lash out in violence. They are amongst you too, dying from isolation, bulling ahead with fearful, self-destructive policies to ensure greater pain for all. Some also manage to have the charge of prisons, armies and mental institutions, waging state-sanctioned violence against humanity. But the most of us know how to and want to live with you, while the most of you are terrified.
Why would Ireland want to be like the rest of Europe - taking the lead from previous colonisers on policies to identify ourself? Why are we so afraid? In any case, it was a resounding 'Yes'. Let me know if you start to notice the pain.
ssinha@irish-times.ie
Shalini Sinha is an independent producer, counsellor and journalist. She is a consultant on equality issues and has lectured on Women's Studies in UCD. She co-presents Mono, RTÉ's intercultural television series.