There is nothing more in this world that makes me mad then when someone makes a comment geared toward someone’s race, sexual orientation or even religion. I just don’t see why people make snap judgements towards people. Growing up, I never really noticed it, because I just never paid any attention. But now, being old enough to understand what people mean what they say, it makes me incredibly mad.
One day, I was walking through the park in my neighborhood. and there were a lot of families with their kids. I sat down on one of the benches to take a break, and I looked over at the playground. All of a sudden, I heard someone ask their friend “When did that black family move in?” I was completely thrown off by what she asked. Then it got me thinking about the families that did live here. I live in a predominantly white neighborhood, and I have never seen the new family move in. It wasn’t a shock that a new family moved in, or it wasn’t that fact that they were black. It was that person said that threw me off. I didn’t see the point in identifying them as ‘the black family.’ Normally I would say something, but there were children there and I didn’t want to make a scene. I got up and walked away.
It might not seem like a big deal, but a simple comment like that can really make me mad. Since when was it OK to reference someone or a family as "that black family" or "that gay guy"? Last time I checked, it wasn’t. Just because some has a different skin color than you, prays to a different god and dates someone of the same gender, or even a different gender than, you doesn’t mean they’re not equal to you. They have the same rights as everyone else. They are still human.
I don’t judge people based on any of that. When I meet someone, I go based off personality. If you’re going to be mean to any of my friends, my family or even me, I won’t be all that nice to you. You can be Asian, Muslim, lesbian, gay, bisexual, Jewish, Hindi or whatever, if you’re nice to me then I will be nice to you right back. If you’re going to give me a nasty attitude, don’t expect me to be nice. I won’t be a complete jerk to you, but it won’t be good.
Another thing that ticks me off is when people say, "My friend is [blank], so I can say that." Guess what, buddy? No, you can’t! Just because your friend is of a certain race, sexual orientation or religion doesn’t give you the right. In fact, you should defending them if you hear someone make a comment like that.
I know that many people don’t intend to make comments towards someone’s sexuality, race or even religion. At the end of the day, we are all human, no matter what people say. Just because you don’t agree with someone or view someone a certain way doesn’t mean that you should be saying negative comments to people. There is nothing wrong having an opinion, but if you say the wrong thing, it can be taken the wrong way. Everyone should be treated equally and fairly, because we are one and we are all human.
