The story goes...
My mom only had one eye. I hated her... She was such an embarrassment.
She cooked for students and teachers to support the family.
There was this one day during elementary school where my mom came to say hello to me. I was so embarrassed.
How could she do this to me? I ignored her, threw her a hateful look and ran out.
The next day at school one of my classmates said,
"EEEE, your mom only has one eye!"
I wanted to bury myself. I also wanted my mom to just disappear.
I confronted her that day and said, " If you're only going to make me a laughing stock, why don't you just die?"
My mom did not respond... I didn't even stop to think for a second about what I had said, because I was full of anger.
I was oblivious to her feelings.
I wanted out of that house, and have nothing to do with her.
So I studied real hard, got a chance to go abroad to study.
Then, I got married. I bought a house of my own.. I had kids of my own.
I was happy with my life, my kids and the comforts.
Then one day, my Mother came to visit me. She hadn't seen me in years and she
didn't even meet her grandchildren.
When she stood by the door, my children laughed at her, and I yelled at her for coming over uninvited. I screamed at her, "How dare you come to my house and scare my children!" GET OUT OF HERE! NOW!!!"
And to this, my mother quietly answered, "Oh, I'm so sorry. I may have gotten the wrong address," and she disappeared out of sight.
One day, a letter regarding a school reunion came to my house.
So I lied to my wife that I was going on a business trip.
After the reunion, I went to the old shack where I used to stay, just out of curiosity.
My neighbours said that she died. I did not shed a single tear.
They handed me a letter that she had wanted me to have.
"My dearest son,
I think of you all the time. I'm sorry that I came to your house and scared your children.
I was so glad when I heard you were coming for the reunion. But I may not be able to even get out of bed to see you. I'm sorry that I was a constant embarrassment to you when you were growing up.
You see... when you were very little, you got into an accident, and lost your eye. As a mother, I couldn't stand watching you having to grow up with one eye. So I gave you mine.
I am so proud of you my son, who is seeing a whole new world for me!
In my place, with that eye.
With all my love to you,
Your mother."
This story was circulated in an email some time back. The original source is unknown. Nevertheless, the message is clear:
1. There is nothing shameful about someone having only one eye. One may feel uneasy upon seeing someone abnormal or different from us, but that doesn't give us the right to despise them or laugh at them. On the contrary, we need to empathize with the sufferings he/she is going through being not normal like us! All the more we should be cracking our brains: how we can be of assistance to them, or how to invent something that can make their daily chores as normal as possible. More often than not, people would go "Eee...", as if to imply that it is such a crime to be disabled/handicapped!
2. Do not add insult to injury. In the first place, it wasn't the victim's fault that he/she is abnormal in the first place! Before jumping to conclusion, remind ourselves that what is presented to us is usually the "tip of the iceberg". The truth goes deeper. We are usually prejudiced in our view that these people have themselves to blame for their predicament, just to learn later that we are the cause of their misery. It will be such a shame on our part if this is the case!
