Growing up in a small town that consists of almost 95 percent of the same race, you don't really think much of the social diversity that goes on in the world around you...or maybe you aren't even aware of it. I know I wasn't until I arrived at college. Now, don't get me wrong—I was never racist. However, I stereotyped all kinds of races that I never had much contact with, and I can thank social media as well as my small town for that. Chicago is a big melting pot of different races, cultures and even personalities, so upon moving there I was in for a rude awakening. It wasn't a bad thing, but it took awhile to get used to. I hate to admit it, but I had certain ideas of behavior associated with different races that I am sure some of you can already guess what I mean. Most of my town consists of Caucasian people, so when thinking of African American people, I thought: thug or gang related. When I thought of Muslims or I saw a person with a headscarf on, my mind subconsciously diverted to: terrorist. Asians are super smart, Mexicans are illegal...you get the point. During my freshman year of college, I met many amazing people of all different cultures and it immediately put to rest the stereotypes society had influenced upon me. That is when I started to get angry, and I started to pay more attention to how people treat and talk about race.
"Why are you talking black?"
Many will say that racism has almost gone away, and it doesn't really exist, at least compared to how it used to be. In a way, they are right—but in many ways, they are wrong. Just because we aren't lynching people and denying them service at restaurants anymore does NOT mean that racism isn't here anymore. I believe the problem with that is that many don't know the definition of racism, and think that it means hatred towards certain races. According to the dictionary, one of the definitions of racism means: the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races. The key word in this definition is INFERIOR. You do not have to hate a race to be racist. There are many people in this world that do not loath a race, yet still think theirs is superior or "better." There are many forms of racism that exist today and some are more subtle than others, which include the stereotyping society reflects upon races. Someone once said to me:
"Why are you talking black?"
....Well, what is that supposed to mean? I really thought about it, and deep down I knew what they meant, but it angered me a bit, and it even angered me that I knew what they meant. At that point, I was dating a guy who was black, and thought of him right away. He is black, but he isn't "ghetto," or "gangster." He is educated and comes from a Christian family with good morals. It made me sick that people are saying things like that, and he happens to fall under that "ghetto" stereotype just because he is that race.
Eventually my anger turned into sorrow. It is sad that this is how we think, and this is what we are taught by previous generations. I want it to go away, but I realize that it can't. There are people who are pushing toward the right of all races to be viewed equally, and that is just not realistic, no matter how much we want it. I am happy that there is no more national laws that discriminate races anymore, but that it about as far as we are going to get. Nothing is going to erase the ideas that have been put into our heads. Some say racism will die out eventually, and unfortunately I don't see that happening. The stereotypes of race are being taught down from generation to generation. Yes, there are many many people who are NOT racist, and who do view all races equally, but there are just as many people who think the opposite.
As long as there is race, there is racism. That is the truth, and it is unfortunate.
