Racism is Alive and Well
"They gave me two doctors to choose from: Dr. Chin and Dr. Abdul. I told her, 'Can't I just have an American doctor?'"
I couldn't believe my ears. I like to think that racism is dead except for in the South. I'm not racist am I? But to hear a relative discriminate against two professionals in one statement by simply using the last name as a basis for judgement made me rethink what I thought about the state of racism in the U.S.
Racism takes many forms as was adeptly portrayed recently in the movie, Crash. As a member of the majority in every category I fall into, it's easy to take a defensive stance. I get upset that I'm constantly forced to defend myself against racism. It feels like there is a broad assumption that every white person is a racist. I try so hard to be fair to each person that I meet and not judge them or stereotype them. I see that racism is alive and well in an older generation. Will the U.S. be a better place for all races when my generation takes leadership? I like to think so, but I think I'm being naive.
Comments
enjoyed your entry, being from south africa, and white i know exactly what racism is... and is not... i work cross culturally and yet i catch myself with the same thoughts! i would forget to lock my door an stop at a intersection, there would be a white guy crossing the street and i would do nothing, but the moment it’s a black guy comes along i lock my door??? i sit in a restaurant and across from me sits a white male he grew up in the apartheid era like myself, he talks to the waitress as if she is not understanding a word he is saying? i look at him and ask myself does he know how much she needed to learn to be a good waitress to him? next to him sits his daughter with some of her friends, teenage girls speaking about boy's... nothing new, just... the one girl is asian, the other black, the other white? made me wonder who the boy was?? racism… would it ever end???
Posted by: LivingLoud | January 5, 2006 01:13 PM