XLVIII: The ALIEN 'n' the NATIVE; the POOR 'n' the RICH;

The FRACAS (petty quarrel) that the Aussies’ cricket team had with Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh has been hogging the lime light for some time now. The Indian has been accused of racial abuse, the meaning of which has been not so clear to many of the news readers. That is because what is racial for one culture may be politically correct for another culture. The whole incident highlights the fact that one must be very sensitive to the NUANCES (subtle differences) of words when one is interacting with people of a different race and culture. The term MONKEY may be an endearing one in Indian culture, while it may sound racially abusive in the culture of the ABORIGINALS of Australia. The discrimination based on race and culture is technically called APARTHEID, just as the discrimination based on gender s called SEXISM. Hence, APARTHEID: RACE SEXISM: GENDER Let us now go back to the term ABORIGINALS. They are the NATIVE people of a country as opposed to the ALIENS or FOREIGNERS. NATIVE x ALIEN ABORIGINAL x FOREIGNER The term NATIVE can also be called INDIGENOUS. The INDIGENOUS industry of a country refers to its NATIONAL industry. The INDIGENOUS feelings of a person are his/her NATURAL feelings, which we generally term as INSTINCTS. Our INSTINCTS refer to our NATURE as opposed to our CULTURE, our CULTIVATED feelings or LEARNED responses. INSTINCTS are our INHERENT or INNATE or INBORN responses. We are born with them. The mark of a CULTURED person is that he/she has trained and tamed his/her INSTINCTS. EDUCATION or CULTURE is, thus, an ACQUIRED thing; acquired through training. ACQUIRED x INDIGENOUS INSTINCT x LEARNED RESPONSE NATURE x CULTURE Let us now have the various meanings of INDIGENOUS in various contexts all in one place:

INDIGENOUS ≡

NATIONAL

ABORIGINAL NATIVE ENDEMIC NATURAL INHERENT INTRINSIC INNATE

INBORN

When something is INHERENT in a REGION, we describe it as ENDEMIC just as when something is INHERENT in an INDIVIDUAL, we describe it as INBORN. Hence, ENDEMIC: REGION is similar to INBORN: INDIVIDUAL We should not confuse INDIGENOUS with INDIGENT, which means POOR. Look at the following statement: The arrival of the transnational companies has rendered our INDIGENOUS industries INDIGENT. It means that NATIONAL industries have become BANKRUPT or POOR. When we are INDIGENT we lack funds to repay our debts. We become INSOLVENT. If we are SOLVENT, we have no LIABILITIES (debts), even though we may have no ASSETS. Our ASSET is our WEALTH. Hence, ASSET x LIABILITY INDIGENCE (poverty) x OPULENCE (wealth) Let us put the SYNONYMS of “POOR” all in one place. POOR ≡

BANKRUPT INSOLVENT IMPECUNIOUS IMPECUNIARY INDIGENT

Look also at a few early pairs of ANTONYMS: SOLVENT x UNABLE TO PAY ONE’S DEBTS INSOLVENT x AMORTIZED (paid one’s debts) IMPECUNIOUS x AFFLUENT (rich) When we do not pay our dues in time we DEFAULT. The poor are more likely to DEFAULT than the rich. When we DEFAULT, we fail to pay, just as when we YIELD (surrender), we fail to RESIST (fight). Hence, DEFAULT: PAY YIELD: RESIST Also, have a look at the following ANTONYM: DEFAULT x FULFILL ONE’S OBLIGATION (pay one’s debts) With that we close today’s post. Till we resume it’s BYE from me.