Marginalization: The Lethal Double-edged Sword

Marginalization whether at the national, community or family level is a ruthless violation of the principle of equity/justice/fairness. It’s a flop on duty and responsibility. Marginalization aborts dreams and hopes of many innocent lives. It cripples its victims, impoverishes them and wastes their lives. Marginalization is a deliberate neglect of the needs of subjects as well as a failure to recognize the wasted potential. The most painful element of marginalization is the amount of untold suffering borne by the marginalized groups.

Normally, a sharp contrast exists between the quality of life of the marginalized group and that of the responsible authority. And the same is true when you compare the lives of the favored group versus the marginalized group. 

However, nature has a very faithful servant known as fate charged with the responsibility of overseeing equity/justice/fairness in the universe. Fate is a law of nature that ensures actions and inactions are rewarded accordingly. So if someone does a good deed they reap a good deed in return and if they sow evil they reap evil.

In the face of gross suffering brought about by marginalization, someone may wonder whether fate really exists. But the truth is as long as heaven and earth exists, fate reigns as the queen; she’s the very breath of universe. Important to note is that fate is not meant to punish but to teach lessons; she’s more of a teacher than a disciplinarian. She benefits those who are teachable and cautious in life. For this very reason, lessons of fate have failed in many nations/communities/families where marginalization has pitched permanent camps. This is because authorities that normally flop on duty and responsibility are selfish, callous and too apathetic to pick up the lessons.

In regard to marginalization, lessons of fate are usually return doses of hardship and suffering equivalent in measure to what the marginalized group experience. However, these hardships and suffering do not necessarily take the same color or form experienced by the marginalized group and that’s why many authorities fail to recognize the consequences of their actions. And the more their successes are curtailed by the tragedies happening to them, the more they justify their failure to meet the needs of their marginalized subjects. It becomes a vicious cycle and the suffering intensifies with every click of the clock.

As the actions and inactions of authorities bounce back at them and plague their kingdoms, even the innocent ‘favored groups’ share in the fate; because marginalization is like a double-edged sword that cuts on both sides.

More often, the favored groups give a blind eye to the injustice meted on their marginalized counterparts. They fail to realize that as long as they continue receiving an unfair share of the cake; fate keeps on serving them with their fair share of the consequence of the injustice. This is so because fate does not announce her arrival and she does not give briefings; she isn’t obvious, only those who care and are keen in life understand her signs.

So if you’re a member of an affected unit may it be a nation, community or family, rise up in arms and call for an end to the senseless violation of rights called marginalization. Otherwise, your perceived calm and comfort are only momentary, the reality is you’re all on the same pot and the temperatures at the bottom will be felt at the top sooner or later.

As it is, fate cries from her throne, ‘how I wish the mortals would pay attention to the consequences of their actions; how I wish they would care to learn my lessons’. And in response I say, ‘stop marginalization today!’