Racism

The American Racist

We are taught at an early age all about cultural diversity, and how we shouldn't judge someone based on the color of their skin or where they originate from, but how long does this lesson take to wear off? What's to blame for the racial tension among Americans today? Why does one's race even truly matter? Well, from the perspective of a "white American" like myself, I believe that it's a mixture of what is portrayed in the media and an individual's drive to find out who they are and what makes them feel superior to other people.

On June 10, 2006, I was sitting in a coffee shop, checking my email, when I received my first roommate request for the fall term. It was from a middle eastern student named Yousef Ezz, even though I don't consider myself a racist individual, I winced at the name, and before I even read the email, I had already succumbed to the widely followed prejudice towards the Arab culture. As I read the email, I tried my best not to judge this person that I had never met, but with all the pre-conceived notions that surround us today, I just didn't completely trust this person. But as the summer progressed, I began talking to Yousef more and more, and by the time college started, I was completely ready to live with him. This is a prime example of what the media has done to increase racial tension, because of all the negative feedback from the news and the portrayal of Arabs in hit shows like Kiefer Sutherland's "24", the average American population views the Arab culture as barbaric and deceitful, which is totally untrue.

Another major flaw in the way that Americans handle racism is the double standards of racial slurs and the way certain races treat each other due to these double standards. I remember a couple of years ago, my friend's five year old cousin learned the "N-Word" from a popular rap song. When he asked one of his friends what it meant, all he understood is that it meant a black person. So sure enough he used it at one of the most inopportune times, in the classroom. Although his teacher was an elderly African American woman, she was the only one who didn't make him feel bad about it, he was seriously crying because he was completely oblivious to racism in the world. Now this is a major problem, why should a young, innocent boy pay the price for a word that isn't even censored on television when a rapper or a black comedian says it, but God forbid a white person says this word. It goes the same for just about every other racial slur, it's only seen as offensive if someone else says it, frankly I think this is a load of bullshit, these words should either be accepted widely, or phased out completely. Too many people have been beaten, shot, and killed for the misuse of this word, but some black people use this "inexcusable" word as a greeting, this just has to change. The second part of this double standard pertains to the upbringing of certain races. If an African-American child is brought up in a good home, is well educated, and doesn't "fit the mold" of what a black person should be, than they will be ostracized by other black people and considered to be white. Now this is one of the biggest insults you can give someone, just because they had a better upbringing than others, they aren't even considered to be their own race by others? This is also a load of crap that must be adhered to in America. Even though I primarily used the African-American race as my example for this argument, any heritage can be used, but because