Destroying Racism

Essay by Anonymous UserUniversity, Bachelor'sA, August 1996

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Destroying Racism

As the snow covered the house that my grandma occupies, I looked

out the window to the neighbor's front door, their mailbox, and the circular

driveway they had. It was just another home, where kids could build a

snowman or throw snowballs on the front lawn. But there where no children

or snowmen here. And beneath the snow, the word 'N-I-G-G-E-R' was

written in the grass. A family- a home- where they had bothered no one. One

night someone decided to take weed killer and burn it in giant letters into

their lawn. This is why our nation, the melting pot of many races, needs to

confront the problem and deal with what really is in front of us.

When I first really thought about this, I thought, this is not

Mississippi, or Alabama; this is Michigan, and it's in my grandma's

neighborhood. And the thing is, their a normal family, just like any other.

They went on trips in the summer, and spring, and this time came back to a

message on the lawn.

I sat there that day watching cars go by their house as if it were

haunted or something. I guess it can happen anywhere. But this snow-

covered house is still a reflection of America, white on top with a hatred

burning underneath. I go to a college, where the races meet every day.

Colored man helps white man; white man helps colored man. Doesn't sound

right ? That's how bad our society has gotten. Disturbing? Of course. But

what is more disturbing is, lately when these issues of racism have come up,

there seems to be impatience and annoyance. 'Does everything have to be

racism?' people ask. And they're always complaining that 'It's just a little

thing.' No, it's not.

People are always saying that there is little prejudice. But how is that

true ? It's like saying you're a little pregnant; can't happen. But this is

nothing new. How many times have you heard 'He's fast; for a white guy.'

Or 'White men can't jump,' Or 'All black guys can jump and dance.' And in

reality these are all hateful things to say. As whites, we are the majority, and

don't always realize it. And whenever there's racist complaints, we say 'OK,

we'll change' with a sigh. It's the white's who go crazy to get black athlete's

autographs. They say 'We love you!' yet how many would let them date

your daughter?

Although I say this, I do believe that some progress has been made.

But I do think that when you're the majority, you do have to guard against

insensitivity. But you can't drag it half way up a hill and then abandon it,

because it will fall down. I believe that 'we,' as a society, have made a

considerable effort to decrease racism, but no matter how hard you try get

rid of it, there will always be prejudice brewing in the air. And even though

we would like to forget about the problem, we can no longer avoid it. Racism

is an issue that should to talked about and explained, so that people with

little understanding to the issue can finally open their eyes.

The next time I went to my grandma's, I walked her dog down the

street past the neighbor's house. A lady was out in her garden, and I yelled

'HELLO!' She smiled and waved. I felt awfully good after that, like I had

done something, something good. It wasn't much, a simple 'Hello' but it felt

like a thousand words. But as I walked past the house, the snow reminded

me of what was beneath it, the message spelled out in weed killer. A

message so horrible and torturing, that people don't realize what it's like

until your put in their skin, in their situations, in their minority, in their

minds, and live the experience. But this doesn't mean, however, that they

should be treated better or differently than anyone else because they're a

minority; I believe in equal opportunity for everyone and that terrorizing or

vandalizing a different race than your own shouldn't be tolerated.

To put race into terms, I believe 'racism' and 'prejudice' intertwine

with each other. You basically pre-judge a person because they're not the

same as you, wether it be their color, how they speak, or even the way they

walk or go about their everyday life as a human being. We then treat the

people who look the least like us differently, like they're from some other

planet. But this is not so; we need to understand that because America is the

melting pot for many kinds of races, we, as a nation need to take more care,

to be a little more sensitive to others, so that all the ingredients can be melted

together as one, instead of the whole batch separating from each other and

eventually ending up with a mess rather than an example for other nations to

follow on.

Although I speak strongly on the fact we need to sharpen up as a

nation, I don't think it's up to a particular race or group of people to set the

standards for the rest of us. In order for racism to dissipate, it has to be a

decision we all want to contribute to. I think we are still a long ways from

getting everyone on the same page, although we have made great progress

from what we were, we still have many miles to go before someone can say

'What is racism'? For being racist isn't power, it's ignorance, and if you

could be of a different race for a day, you probably would never say a bad

thing again.

Racism has become one the biggest issues in society today, and many

people--from the President to a kid off the block-- are trying desperately to

be heard, and make that difference come to life. Many people don't actually

think about racism they just use it, as an excuse or as a way out of dealing

with what the actual problem is. Most of us know the problem, but it's up to

us to try to find the ingredience to solve it, it's a case that you can't let slip

from under your arms or it will get away on you, quickly. But we must first

face reality, and deal with what we can day by day and step by step. For it's

the only way to try dissipate the bold strength of the word 'racism'.