So here we are half way through 2011. More than a decade into the 21st century. Yet for some reason here in American and in every other country across the world we are still plagued by hatred. Discrimination, Misogyny, Homophobia, anti-Semitism, and Racism to name a few. I really want to focus on Racism though (not that the others aren't as important, but, all that would take entirely too long to cover in one blog! For another day).
IN MY OPINION There are 4 main groups involved with racism today. Yes I am fully aware that EVERY race gets discriminated against, however I am talking about what we are hearing about on a daily basis in our world TODAY! I consider the MAIN groups to be Arab, Mexican, Black and White Americans. Don't make that face just because I added White Americans in that group. I will explain my thoughts.
As long as I have been alive I have been hearing about racism. I bet its been the same for you. The difference is how it may have been presented to you. In my life it has boiled down to this, never judge based upon what you see. It is certainly the idea of don't judge a book by its cover. However it would be very trite of me to sit here and say I never make assumptions about a person before I ever talk to them. I do. Not intentionally, but your mind is always working. Always assessing. So your true first impression is going to be on what they look like, how the dress or how they act towards and around other people. But first impressions are not the end all be all for any intelligent being.
So back to my groups. It is hard to find a starting point here. So I guess I will go in the the order of appearance... Arab. Oh boy this is a touchy subject! Well I guess when you single out any group specifically it becomes touchy... But I digress... I know a few people of Arab descent. Friends, teachers and simple acquaintances. As a lot of you know, I am in school learning Arabic at this moment, therefore along with the language I am also learning culture, history and mannerisms as well. I know Muslim Arabs as well as Christian Arabs. Some devout and other passive in their religions. I detest the thought of judging everyone I know by societies current standards of who Arabs are. Or even who Muslims are. Not all Arabs are Muslims, not all Muslims are extremists and vice versa. That being said... Sometimes it is not fun to be of a certain ethnicity here in America. Everyone (cept the Caucasians right!?) has had their share of pain. There were times when it wasn't ideal to be Jewish or Japanese etc. Unfortunately today, it is not ideal to be Arab. What are the facts? That fact is that a lot and I will even go as far as to say the majority of terroristic attacks and threats come from Arab people. Muslim Extremist Arabs. This IS NOT all Arabs!! You can agree or disagree, that is your prerogative. But we cannot live in a world of fear. This fear presents itself most often at the airport. You are probably not going to like what I have to say. I believe in profiling. But profiling the intelligent way. You can profile people based upon INTELLIGENT information, not suspicion stemming from fear. What I mean by this is, pay attention to NO-FLY lists. Target people with known terror ties. Etc etc. I still agree that random additional security checks need to be made on everyone to reduce threats, but we have to be smart about it. We can't OVERLOOK anyone in the name of political correctness. I have a much greater understanding of the Arabic culture now that I have been dealing with Arabic people every day for months now. They are no different than the rest of us. They have bad apples in their bunch and so does everyone else. The difference IMO is that those bad apples together are more organized (and patient to boot) than many other discriminatory and/or terrorist groups.
Mexicans. So you might find my position on Mexicans a bit tougher than my position on Arabs. Here's the thing. I don't discriminate against someone because of their heritage, race etc. Goes back to the book cover analogy. But here my problem is the masses. We have MASSES of illegal Mexicans crossing the American border. Before you jump down my throat and tell me it isn't just Mexicans, yes, I am FULLY aware of this. I know we have illegal immigration from EVERYWHERE... Got it. Who is the bulk? Mexicans. Let me remind you I said ILLEGAL. Someone WITHOUT permission... This act makes you a criminal. We all know that. But the other side of the story is the Legal immigrants and the US born citizens of Hispanic descent. A lot of people look at all Mexicans as if they have committed some horrible act. Really? In today's world? It's just strange that we believe that even though we have never spoken to someone that we instantly know their worthiness to be here. I just wish more of the Legal Mexican Immigrants would take a stand. They went through the tedious process and no one should be more pissed off than them about how the Illegal masses are giving them a bad name. As a side note to legal/illegal immigration... My father and his family are legal immigrants here... So don't tell me that I know nothing of the subject.
Black People. Is that the politically correct term now a days? Not really sure because it continues to change. Look, you can hate me for saying this or resort to calling me a childish name, but I have absolutely 100% no sympathy or empathy for the "oppressed black man". It doesn't exist. Hasn't in years. GET OVER IT ALREADY! Did dark skinned people suffer through slavery... Yes. Were they looked at as less than white men... Indeed they were. And it is a bloody travesty to boot! No one (save savage criminals) should be treated as less than human... But my question is HOW LONG CAN YOU HOLD THAT GRUDGE?? Right now, today I am 29 years old. Guess what... I am a white woman who has NEVER owned a slave. I come from a family that also never owned slaves. So with that being said, it would seem to me that there is a common consensus among a fair portion of the black community... As long as they are still the "victims" they can receive more entitlements. Maybe they don't think about in those words, but that is what is shown in everyday actions. When you have blatantly racist groups such as the naacp working to get you benefits because you "deserve" them just because you are black and oppressed therfore you don't have to work as hard as me, once again, I don't feel too bad about your struggle. Yeah there are some groups like KKK that still (for some ungodly reason) exist., and they are as ignorant and despicable as any other hate group, discriminating against a persons color instead of character. I am not making light of the struggle that slaves dealt with in their lives, but how can you move forward by living in the past?
Then there is my last group. The average everyday Caucasian. In today's world there is nothing worse in the eyes of the public than being a successful, white, Christian male. Because if this is you, you must have done something very corrupt to get where you are. Why is it that we have to constantly apologize for being successful? It just blows my mind. "White" is the new minority. Believe it or not folks, we are no longer the majority group in America. Yet, do we demand "minority" rights??? God help us if we did. And I am under no circumstances saying that we should. I don't think people are entitled to things just because they belong to a group. I simply think that White Americans need to stop being blamed for the woes of other races. If we excel its because we have worked for it. Just as any other American does. White men are NOT the only successful people in America. Get with the times.
I want to end with this... I don't see what blaming someone else for your problems will get you. I don't see how lowering test expectations is beneficial to a company simply because a specific number from a specific group didn't meet the standardized requirements. We need to push ourselves harder to achieve a higher quality, not lower the bar so more people "achieve" at a mediocre level. There is no sense in rewarding the lazy or unqualified. If you don't pass a test the first time around, study harder and take it again... Don't cry racism! The two do not go hand in hand. Personal responsibility will take you further in life than crying and whinning and screaming inequality.
You can hate me for this if you want, but these are my thoughts right now. I may change my mind in the future as the world is constantly changing and evolving, and that is my prerogative to do so.
Florynce R. Kennedy: There aren't too many people ready to die for racism. They'll kill for racism but they won't die for racism.
