I wrote a paper about the problems of racism for one of my history classes. It was the only paper I wrote in which I did not do research because the topic itself gave me enough to consider. Racism is all around us; but, many times it is presented so discreetly that we don't even realize that it is staring at us, right in our faces. I am posting this short essay in the hope that it enlightens people about the hidden folds of racism.
When I go for a walk on the streets of America today, I see little children laughing and playing. Meanwhile, their mothers are busy talking to one another about how their children are growing up so fast. I am painting a picture of an America where the differences in race do not exist and segregation is all but gone. However, this is simply a mirage. We are living in an America that only appears to be rid of the problems associated with racism and discrimination. Even when we are faced with glimpses of racism, we turn blind to it because it seems to be too much of a hassle to deal with at times. We want to be done with these societal problems and so, it becomes relatively easy to put these issues in the back of our minds.
If only it was this easy to forget about the problems of racism that still plague our society. We cannot get rid of racism until we first identify what the problems are. While these problems remain entrenched in the society, we cannot be a peaceful and a prosperous country. One of the problems that relate to racism is white privileges. It is quite self-explanatory but just to clarify, the idea behind white privileges is that being white is awarded in many areas of the society, such as, politics, law, economy, police, education, and so on. This is the most direct way to be racist in our society. The only problem is that people do not always admit that being white gives them advantages. So, if a person is refusing to admit that white privileges exist, how can anyone even attempt to get rid of this problem? It is definitely food for thought.
There are many benefits that are attached to being white and they seem even more numerous in comparison to what black people have to face. Whites have the luxury of being the standard that other races have to conform to. A white person is never a representative of his race. In other words, one white person’s view or behavior does not mean that all white people think or behave alike. In addition, there is not the burden of negative stereotyping. In many incidents, whites have been the criminals and yet, when there is a gang of white teenagers standing together, people do not automatically think of them as hoodlums. Moreover, while driving through an all-white neighborhood a person would not think that there are too many of white people. Hence, it is quite plain that being white puts you in a favorable circumstance. Whites dominate in most of the major professions, and that is not just a harmless coincidence.
A problem that is linked to white privileges and that is also a major component of racism is money. It is often said that money is the root of all evil and at times, it is hard to disagree with this statement. In today’s society, no matter how vehemently people oppose this truth, being black still makes you an outsider. Black people are victimized as it is assumed that just because a person is black, then he is automatically poor. It is true that there are many black people who are poor; however, this can be said for people of other races too.
One reason behind the poverty is that many black children drop out from high schools or colleges. These black children grow up in neighborhoods where they see their family members face racism in one form or another. All around them is an environment which gives them a hidden message that even with education, they cannot overcome the barriers of racism. The black men and women who do successfully graduate from colleges do not have the opportunity to perform as well as their white counterparts do. They do not earn as much as white men and women do. One can only imagine how terribly frustrating and de-motivating it must be to even want to try.
Once there is less poverty among black and white communities, there would be less insecurity and jealousy among them. It is not sufficient to just recognize the issue of poverty; it also has to be dealt with. But when the recipient of government help is a black person, society frowns on the government’s actions. This is partly because black people are blamed for the conditions they live in. If one were to stop and think about it, it would be logical that no person would consciously choose to live in poverty. But as blacks are thought to be lazy, their unfavorable circumstances fit in with the scenario.
Another important problem related to racism is willingness to understand other’s perspectives. Whites assign “The Race Problem” to blacks to solve it. They do not want to admit that they are being racist directly or indirectly. The first question we must ask of ourselves is that who would even want to admit that they are in the wrong? It might be harsh to say this, but it seems that they are just taking an easy way out of dealing with racism. Racism is an extremely sensitive issue in today’s society where everyone has to be politically correct. Nevertheless, if people would face these issues and take steps to address them, we would start eliminating racism from the society.
