Prejudice And Racism

460 Words2 Pages

As long as humans have inhabited planet Earth, there have been interpersonal problems caused by a variety of personalities that do not always amicable towards one another. I wish to eradicate racism. It poisons our thoughts and incapacitates our reason. It deceives us, and causes us to believe in ridiculous ideas. I tend to think back to instances in history class when we discussed times of extreme racism, such as the Holocaust, slavery and racism in America. It bewilders me to learn that people truly had that mindset on a large scale, everything Hitler did in Germany was “legal”, and Jim Crow laws were real, and people were dehumanized and traded like common beasts. Although society made strides in a commendable and virtuous direction, people still need convincing that equality is a noble idea. To achieve nationwide equality with which many are in favor could be …show more content…

I have experienced racism firsthand,, which served as a wake up call that exposed my naivete. I grew up in a predominantly white, middle class liberal society, and racism felt distant, like something only found in history textbooks. I desperately wanted to believe that the open mindedness of the north was accompanied by little prejudice. However, in reality, it is quite the opposite. For example, last year, one of my friends, who was African American, transferred schools after consistent encounters with white students who frequently used racial slurs as part of their vernacular. This came as a shock to administrators, and myself, who, up until that point, thought this was such an accepting school filled with tolerant children. While there isn’t much bullying on a physical level, I have witnessed numerous accounts of white students using racial slurs, telling awfully offensive jokes and, in essence, trying to act