In many instances, I have come across many discussions about racial inequality and discrimination. But recently, I had an individual discuss with me their beliefs about why race shouldn’t be a topic up for discussion.
"Racism doesn't need to be a problem because race shouldn't be brought up in anything."
This statement puzzled me. I didn’t understand what this person meant by this, but then I understood that we all have a plethora of world perspectives, through the way we have learned and lived our whole lives. The way we are raised and the social sphere we keep ourselves in and the people we surround ourselves with, play a huge part in how we think.
Regarding this statement, I disagree completely, not bringing up race has been done for too long in history. Classifying the problem and understanding that there is a racial problem is a step in finding ways to fix them. Not seeing or thinking about race is being ignorant to the real problem;we must think more collectivel. Thinking about race, gender, economic class as well as other social issues can lead us towards progression and a stronger working society.
We cannot just forget what we have been through in history, the massive racial inequalities that we have gone through. Jim Crow Laws, segregation and police shootings. There is no solution without addressing the problem. My professor in my Intercultural Communication class once said, “it's in human nature to hang out with people who look and act and believe like we do, which means that we will never break out of that habit unless we are made to do so.” Through a collective aspect, we must act as one society, and think, who is being affected when the majority downplays the minority, and smaller co-cultures that consist of our whole.
In an individualistic aspect, do you classify yourself directly with your race? Would you want an employer to look at you and first think about your gender, color of your skin or your appearance? Maybe, you are lucky: you have blue eyes and light, pale skin. How unfair and unjust to limit upward mobility due to the color of our skin.
We come back to the idea about not thinking about race. There already is a problem here, there is no doubt about that. It is the fact to either ignore that there’s something going on, unfair and unjust, or to brush the problem under the mat. This is why people are bursting into protest because of the fact that we don’t want to address what is going on here.
Thinking of the bigger picture doesn’t mean that you have to live your life completely different, or that you are forced to act a certain way. Thinking of the bigger picture means to be a little more open-minded, more compassionate about others. We need to understand how stereotypes truly can affect people because at the end of the day, we are all different, and yes race and ethnicity do play a part in our culture and identity, but that does not directly correlate to our actions or choices. Just be able to think that there are other people in the world with a different perspective of life than yours. You never know, maybe you will be enlightened by the beauty that other cultures have to offer.
