What is Racism?
Image Credit: The Scientist Magazine
Racism is an issue that has definitely been going on as one can remember, and we are starting to see a rise in awareness and action lately. According to the website from BBC News, racism can be seen from Merriam-Webster as "a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race". Racism has been compared to a virus, as what the previously shared picture can show. That is because, racism can spread from human to human with giving such false claims that "this race is better than that race" and that "this race is a problem for the world". Although we may not see it often in the public, as in signs or propaganda, we are definitely starting to see it more within the person. A person will treat another differently if they are a different race. What is crazy is that these people are taught to not like someone based on their race. There will be two examples of racism: one from what we have witnessed over the last years and a personal story.
The Arrest and Passing of George Floyd compared to Robert Aaron Long
Last year, on May of 2020, many witnessed and heard of a tragic even that led to awareness of racism within the Black Community. George Floyd was a Black male who was put under arrest by the police. This escalated as witnesses as well as videos surfaced showing the police choking Floyd by putting their knee on his back/neck area, later suffocating him and having him lay lifeless after. This is in fact racism. As Webster has it defined, racism is seen as superiority of another race. If we compare it to another recent that has happened, this will be where we can see the difference.
On March of 2021, attention surfaced as we saw yet again another act of racism in two different ways. Robert Aaron Long is responsible for shooting and killing eight people, later causing fear within the Asian community. While he was being arrested, he was not treated the same way as George Floyd was. As a matter of fact, one huge difference was that Robert was not killed by them. Aside from that, there was a press conference about the even and in that conference, Officer Jay Baker responded that his reason for shooting eight innocent people was due to him "having a bad day". If that were to happen to someone who was Black, they would not even have the chance to explain "why" they did such a thing.
Image Credit: WBUR
Personal Story
Now I will bring up two occasions where I witness racism myself and how it had impacted me. During my years of high school, I attended a high school in Downtown. Within that area, it was a Latino dominant area. However, this was the day where I found out that even within the Latino community there is hate within one another. I am half Mexican and half Salvadoran. Whenever I would hear someone talk about Salvadorans, it would always be negative comments and that made it hard for me to embrace who I was during that time. It even went to a point where I would tell my peers that I was only Mexican. I had no reason why they would talk bad about Salvadorans. I was half and I did nothing to make them hate half of who I was. Yet, there they are talking bad about them. It wasn't until I went to college, I learned to embrace all of who I was and with pride because my race does not mean that I am who I am due to stereotypes, but due to my actions and morals.
Another event I will speak of is a primary example of racism being taught to one another. I used to work as a sales floor in a retail store and during that time I had made friends with a coworker. During that time we would talk well with each other: about sports, food, and even how we are as an individual. One day while we were talking, I asked her where did her parents come from and her response was that both her parents were born in Mexico. When she had asked me, she thought I was going to say the same thing, but when I told her my Dad was from Mexico and my mom from El Salvador, her face changed and replied with a simple "oh". I told her, "why the oh?' and that was where I heard her say "I don't get along with Salvadorans". But there we were, having a good conversation even before you found out that I was half Salvi. I immediately asked her why she did not get along with them and her response was that her sister taught her not to like them. This was where I further explained to her that one shouldn't be taught to be racist, but to be respectful because one's race does not define their characteristics.
Statistics
There are other ways to show racism than words or signs. Even job and education opportunities can show dislike to a race. For example, Business insider provided various graphs that showed how Blacks and minorities were not given the same opportunities. In this graph, you can see the difference between Blacks and Whites for the denial rates in loans.
Another that should help support is the graph talking about the arrest rates for having marijuana, by race.
This website was to help raise awareness about racism and how it is big in the United states.
Call to Action
If one wants to raise awareness or even try their best to prevent cases of racism, the best option would be to be educated on it. Do some research on what racism is and be informed. Once you are informed help your community into making it better. If possible, attend community meetings or public meetings and raise awareness of certain events that are happening to the call to action can be placed on it. It is possible that communities can then host events that would help embrace diversity. For example, there can be an event where people of different races and cultures can have a potluck where they bring a dish from their culture and they can dress and perform. What I did to raise awareness was to explain to my coworker why I felt like they shouldn't just a book by its cover. I later told her that everything was going well until I told her my race and that it shouldn't be like that. It was obvious that my attitude and actions broke the stereotype she thought Salvadorans had.
Kate Brumback, A. (2021, March 18). Man charged with killing 8 people at Georgia Spas. Retrieved April 14, 2021, from https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/national-international/multiple-killed-in-georgia-massage-parlor-shootings/2551786/
Racism definition: MERRIAM-WEBSTER to make update after request. (2020, June 10). Retrieved April 14, 2021, from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52993306
Shayanne Gal, A. (2020, July 08). 26 simple charts to show friends and family who aren't convinced racism is still a problem in America. Retrieved April 14, 2021, from https://www.businessinsider.com/us-systemic-racism-in-charts-graphs-data-2020-6#the-racial-disparity-in-marijuana-arrests-has-actually-gotten-worse-in-recent-years-even-though-more-states-are-legalizing-or-decriminalizing-marijuana-23
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