A friend greeted me with a West African saying. He said "Skihona" - I see you. I replied, "Sawubona" - you are seen. It is more than a simple hello but an acknowledgement of one's existence.

All too often we don't see a person but an image transposed upon them, like a picture of plastic fruits place on a laminated piece of paper. Everybody like me you've seen, every assumption you assume, and every discrimination you place on this face, these clothes, this race are all layers - fallacies built upon fallacies. What we should try to do is not set upon false images, but see beyond them.

I emphasize the word 'see' because I believe there are two paths of which we can view and perceive each other. You can choose to blind yourself and see me as an icon, a representation of a whole nation that might not reflect who I am.
Or you can choose to find common ground and see the person and my individual visions. This mind's unique contemplations and revelations that are in part influenced by my parent's Asian origin…and then just happen to notice that my skin is a bit tan. In order to prevent this blindness one truth must be remembered: I am you and you are me, together a mixture of one another's culture.

 Now culture is not an exclusive thing processed only by those of color.
Culture is what you've seen, heard, learned, revolved around, what you care about, what you taste, and it's about you're race. Culture is who you are. A Caucasian has as much culture as a Hispanic, African-American, or Asian…only without as much pigmentation. It's what you are and what you choose to incorporate in your day to day play.
Your culture is like a piece of mathematical fractal. You are a part of a
community that is a part of a city that is a part of a country that is a
part of this world we all live in. I hold similarities of your culture in mine so before you see me, see yourself. I am a part of you as you are a part of me. Unity of the masses is what I preach…sight and true vision is found in understanding. The person next to you is more than a face, but a whole culture to meet and learn from.

If you choose, look beyond or be blind, you don't see a person. The
difference between the two is that in one you see the truth and the other
you see a false illusion.

"Skihona" - I see you.
"Sawubona" - you are seen.

I am Gabriel Dante Cabasco Cebrian and now there is no reason for me not to be in your vision. I am here and you can see me, just as I can see you.

 Copyright © 2001 Evil Monito