Racism Today

Racism is one of the most controversial issues that is still going on in today's society. In this day in age we are constantly being judged by others because of our race, ethnicity, religion, class, profession and gender, among other things. For some people it is hard to look beyond these issues. Even though in our history many people have stood up for what is right to end racism, discrimination ,and hate yet all these still remain in the minds of bigoted people, and crimes are still occurring, right now we are at war because of these reasons. There are also a lot of white and black supremacist organizations in our very own city still stirring up controversy. These racist groups in my opinion should not exist, but they have and will continue to be a negative part of our society.

I would say that things are a lot better than they were in the 1900's but still today certain people are still being treated unfairly. It is obvious that racism is unjust; it has been outlawed, and now everyone is seen equally in the eyes of the law, but unfortunately not everyone always agrees.

I learned at an early age how some people can be very prejudice. I can remember my very own grandmother telling me on the playground; oh we don't play with them, talking about the black children. I didn't understand why, I would just play with whoever was nice to me, and it wasn't until many years later that I understood what she had meant. Ironically I was raised by my blind mother, who has been discriminated against almost every day because of her disability. I learned a lot by watching people interact with my mother and I saw how they degraded her, and I knew that I never wanted to be viewed that way. I saw how narrow minded my grandmother was and that she thought her white, disabled daughter was still better than a black child with no physical issues. Needless to say I don't share the same ideas, but unfortunately a lot of the older generations do. I was raised to see everyone as an individual. Not as a black, white, or handicapped, each person has a name and a face, no matter what color or shape it happens to be.

Every day people of all ethnicities are fighting for racial equality, just as my mother did, whether they are at home, work, or in public these people are facing racial profiling, predigest, and hate crimes, preconceived notions, and stereo types. As in Nathan McCall's essay, Alford J. Mapp he was the victim of racial hatred, and it ended up turning him into a spiteful person as well, and I see the same thing happen in my home town. Like the local news' showing their idea of privilege and oppression. You hear about the white citizen who saves the baby from a burning building, and then you hear about the black man who just robbed a bank, it is an evil cycle. Some seem to catch it but it's not always right there for you to see but it is an underlying issue, over time hopefully these issues will end,