Skin color. Why do we judge man's character on what his skin looks like? "He's asian, he must be smart" "He's mexican, he must be lazy." "He's white, he must think he's better than everyone else" "He's black, he must be drug-driven, gang affiliated" Skin color is no more an indicator of man's character than his blood type, or his cholestrol. Some whites say they are not prejudiced against blacks, yet they don't like asians. Some blacks who pride themselves on being prejudiced against whites can't stand hispanics. And it goes on.
I think many of us say we are not racist, but how many times have we described some one based on their color, as if that is the one defining characteristic about them?
This year, I moved from The Bay Area of California, which is widely known for its very diverse culture, to a small pre-dominantly white town in Massachusetts. Never before have I experienced such racism. I am half white, and half Persian. I speak some Farsi, and am almost fluent in Spanish. But the thing is, many of the students in my new high school could not get past the color of my skin. I have been subjected to name-calling such as "dirty mexican" and "nigger" etc. I am not even mexican...I am not even black. I cannot help but be offended though, because if they think I am mexican, or black, than that it is an insult. I have many friends who are hispanic, black, asian, and white, but no matter how many times I have tried explaining that I am Persian, no one seems to understand. Sad though, isn't it?
Some say ignorance is bliss...I think we need to be a lot more informed about the races.
I am Persian, thus thrusting myself into the "Caucasian" category in everything. I find this offensive actually, because I am Middle Eastern and White. Not just Caucasian. Also, why do we mix together all eastern ethnicities into one--"asian?" Many asians feel offended as well because they can clearly see the difference between Japanese and Korean, Chinese and Cambodian, and yet we still group them together. "you are THIS because I say so!"
I am not trying to blame anyone, I think we are all equally at blame for racism in the world today, my question is, what can we do to stop it?
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