Racism Essay, Research Paper

Racism For the first time in the history of the United States racial and ethnic groups, once thought of as minorities, are beginning to outnumber the percentage of white Americans. Our nation’s diversity has already begun to alter everything in society from politics and education, to industry, values, and culture. This is an extremely hard concept for many whites to accept. Long before this issue became a concern, our presumption of the “typical” United States citizen was someone who could trace his or her line of ancestry to Europe one way or another. Racism refers to any inherited physical characteristics such as skin color, facial features, hair texture, behavior patterns, personality traits, or intellectual abilities. In recent years, the definition for racism was modified to include social attitudes and occurrences. Racism usually takes the form of a claim that some human races are superior to others whether it’s based on language, religion, or manners. Causes of racism may be very complex and cannot be reduced to one reason. History plays a big role in the way some people feel today. Racism has commonly accompanied slavery, colonization, and other forms of exploitation and inequality. Proving the equality of all races was a long and difficult process. I believe that not everyone today agrees with the statement suggesting that everyone deserves to be treated equal. Rapid social change also promotes racism. The sudden immigration of highly visible groups of foreigners, and quick changes in the racial composition of a neighborhood are good examples. It is human nature to be uncomfortable with change. Many people are not ready for other cultures to invade their communities. A truly multiracial country is undoubtedly much harder to govern. Even conflicts that seem race-free are complicated with ethnic tension. Social Security benefits for the elders will probably be compounded by the fact that a large majority of those recipients will be white, whereas a majority of workers paying for them will be non-white. The Legislature strives for English to be the one official language, which poses a political problem. Many Hispanics maintain their ethnic and cultural identity though their Spanish language. Social workers and other organizations should not need to learn fluent Spanish to accommodate their needs. Immigrants should at least learn our language to be a part of our country, to survive, and to interact as an American. Our country’s affirmative action is a good example of how hard it is to govern a multicultural country. Some institutions under pressure to increase its low black enrollment, will offer free tuition to every qualified black freshman who enrolls. People who protest and complain feel that nothing is that simple for “real” Americans. This is a perfect display of how our country does not treat each individual equally. What if a qualified white man does not have enough money? Because of something so wrong schools will turn him away to keep a diverse population. Rules should remain the same for everyone. If people want to live in America, let them follow the rules and compete fairly.

When debates over the basic curriculum taught in schools each year becomes a problem, it becomes a problem for many people. Certain cultures have made requests to teach the children different views from each culture. Books treasured as classics by teachers and earlier generations are now seen as means of excluding other cultures. School is not to learn about each student’s personal culture, but to learn about America’s history. I know that there are many racist people in the world and I never used to think of myself as being a racist person, but I admit that I am. I think that a big majority of the world has a problem with other races and cultures. Being racist does not mean that I dislike each member of a particular race. The attitudes and actions of the majority of these people frustrate me. When I was younger, I can remember defending blacks when someone would bad mouth them. Everyone who was more mature than I told me that one day I would feel the same way. In many ways this is true. Working as a waitress in a restaurant, my job requires me to interact with a variety of guests. However, my experiences with each are not the same. I have developed a terrible sense about the black guests. Estimating that about ninety-five percent of my black guests are “problem guests” makes racist feelings very natural. This did not come from a stereotype; it was developed from my own personal experiences. I truly feel that they come into a restaurant with intentions of eating for little to no cost. Some barely leave enough cash to cover the bill, others will not leave a tip for even the best service, and some pull scams because “the customer is always right.” About one week ago I was working through the dinner shift at T.G.I.Friday’s when the host seated a black family of three at one of my tables. I did not mind them at all, and the service I gave them was flawless. It’s sad but I feel that I need to be extra nice to earn a halfway decent tip from most of them. The three of them ate sixty-five dollars worth of food and ordered a meal to go. By complaining to the manager, everything that night was free. I was amazed. The man’s complaint was unreal. He felt that his family was not receiving equal service because of his color. My manager even thought that his excuse was poor, but he cannot argue about racial disputes. His only option is to accept it. If their service was so terrible, why did he leave me a ten dollar tip? Racism may be wrong, but the truth is that many people in the world posses very negative feelings towards other cultures. Maybe one day we won’t hear about this hatred from groups like the Ku Klux Klan. Peace between all races is what a lot of Americans fight for everyday. They hope that one day, neighborhoods mixed with different races may be problem free and happy.