Racism and all that stuff

Well time for me to get out some stuff out of my system and what better than cricket and to it connected something related to society. Yes I am talking of the racist taunts that were made by the section of the Indian public towards Andrew Symonds. Apparently there was this huge section of crowd that decided to pick on the constant thorn in the Indian side, Andrew Symonds and heckle him for the heck of it. Heckling by the crowd is not something new and its been something that has been going on for quite some time. I remember attending an India -Australia test match where a section of the crowd has a real go on Shane Warne but it was not something that was very serious or anything and it was clear to Shane Warne himself that the crowd was having some fun at him and he responded back by doing small jigs for the crowd. However , matters tend to be taken seriously when the element of racism is introduced into it. Symonds is the most famous colored cricketer to represent Australia and is indeed a perfect role model for the game. A fearsome striker, a fabulous fielder in any position, one of the strongest throwing arms in the history of the game, a medium pacer or a spinner as the need dictates, he is probably the cricketing equivalent of the total football concept expounded by the likes of Cruyff and Beckenbauer.
Comparing him with a monkey and making monkey gestures speaks volumes for the mentality of the Indian public as a whole and also reveals the depth of hypocrisy present in them. With our obsession for fair skin , while we ourselves aren't as fair, the tendency to mock someone for not being so and comparing a cricketer like Symonds leaves a bad taste in the mouth. What makes it all the more appalling is the fact that this took place in Mumbai. This is the very image that flashes around the world. The commercial capital of India responding in such a disgusting fashion.
However what is more important at this stage is to recognize that this is not an isolated incidents. The number of cases relating to race abuse has been on an increase. South Africans were abused by a section of the Australian crowd last time they toured Australia. All this points towards a very disturbing trend. The growing intolerance of the fans across the world. This could probably be a result of the shrinking of the world as more and more communities come into contact with one another and in the process discover that each one is not what they expected the other to be.
Whatever happens, Dec 26th Boxing Day test match at Melbourne is going to be represent a BullRing (No Pun intended)