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Racism in America Today |
“What?
Prejudice in America? That is not a problem in this country anymore.”
That is what many people think. Most readers may not have experienced
racism first-hand so they may not sympathize with victims of racism. There
are people who have experienced prejudice. And it is not an easy
experience to deal with. Prejudice is not an issue to be taken lightly.
Prejudice can be defined as
thinking that a race is better than any other race. So many of you are
probably thinking, “I am not prejudiced. This article does not pertain
to me”. Prejudice is not just thinking that a certain race is better
than another race or making racial slurs. Prejudice can also be classified
as not accepting someone because of a handicap, obesity, the way they
dress, or because of a person’s gender. Everyone has some type of
prejudice. If you feel that this is not an issue that people deal with any
more, you are sadly mistaken. Recently, a big swastika was spray-painted
on the door of a man’s business; files were thrown everywhere, and
written on the file cabinet were the words “GO HOME”. This was a man
who has been a citizen in this country for the past twenty years, but now
because he is originally from Afghanistan, some people think that he no
longer has the right to live here. Churches are still being burned down
and people are still being harassed and threatened because of their race.
All the destruction and humiliation has been caused because of their skin
color or their religious beliefs. People are being persecuted for their
religious beliefs in a country that prides itself on allowing its people
to make their own decisions as to what faith they want to practice and how
and where they want to practice that faith.
I have experienced racism
first-hand, more than once. I have walked into a store and had the manager
or clerk follow me around the store to make sure that I did not steal
anything. I have walked into restaurants and heard racial slurs being
muttered by a customer. Griselda Castillo said this about
experiencing racism, “Yeah, I have, but I try not to pay any attention
to people that only have half a brain so I just ignore people that are
prejudice against me.” It would be nice to just be able to ignore those
comments, but it is not that easy to ignore ignorant people.
In this time of crisis when we
should be comforting each other, people who practice the Islamic faith
have to endure reproach for the September 11 bombings. Some people in
America still have not figured out that the practice of the same religion
does not mean that they have the same opinion on issues. More importantly,
they are people do not deserve such degradation. People should not have to
be afraid to walk down the street in fear that a racist person will say or
do something.