What are your thoughts about racism?

Black, brown, yellow, white. These used to be just colors, adjectives. Nowadays, they are used to judge a person as a whole. Racism is seen, heard everywhere around the globe. It has and had become a part of everyday life. Although this is a sensitive topic to discuss, people should know! All around the world, people throw racial remarks without knowing the weight of their words. I believe the idea of racism has changed over the years. In the past, these words were really offensive and hurt many people. Today, rappers use the "n" word to identify one another, like it meant nothing for the past centuries, influencing millions of people to do the same. Racism is highly noticeable in the justice system. This is where African-Americans are usually targeted against and punished more cruelly than whites. There are hundreds of cases where African-Americans are falsely accused and unfairly punished for it.


What are your opinions on racism? No answers are right or wrong.

Racism Awareness

Racism has occured in many events of today's society, and it is getting out of hand. Imagine being judged or blamed for something wrong just by the color of your skin. Imagine being shot or thrown in jail just because you're different. Here are some ways that you can help spread the awareness of racism.

• Don't judge a person based on the color of their skin.

• Be accepting of everyone no matter what they look like.

• Don't believe in stereotypes. They might not be true.

• If called to jury duty, listen to the evidence and facts instead of being biased towards a certain person or race.

• If someone makes racist "jokes," or says anything mean about a certain race, tell them to stop.

• Think about it: what if you were the one being made fun of? How would you feel? Remember that race is NOT something that humans choose to be, it's just who they are. 

Michael Brown

OBJECTIVE ACCOUNT OF EVENTS

• Michael Brown and his friend walked in the middle of the street
• Officer Darren Wilson used profanity and bad words to tell them to get off the street
• Brown and his friend said that they'll be out of the street shortly
• Almost his Brown and friend with the door
• Johnson stopped beside Brown and, still in his car, grabbed Brown by the neck
• Brown tries to pull away but Wilson kept pulling him back
• Johnson threatens that he's going to shoot
• Brown runs away with his hands in the air
• Johnson shoots Brown multiple times; shoots him to death
• Officer Darren Wilson had no punishment and was on paid administrative leave.

This case was unfair because in the homicide of Michael Brown, officer Wilson was let out in a paid leave with no charges after shooting and killing an unarmed, noncombatant civillian. Michael Brown was black and tall; causing officer Johnson to come to the belief that Michael was dangerous thus shooting him. Do you guys see how stereotypes blind and cause us to see things differently?

The Past and Now

Racism

     Racism, the belief of hate that one race is superior than the other which has been around since the beginning of humanity. Cults, police, and normal people like us can be racist. Many policemen commit acts of assault and arrests of people because they are different than them by physical appearance. Cults can be somewhat the same too by convincing to people that others are sinners and such, like how the Ku Klux Klan had dealt with African Americans in the past by killing, burning houses, and lynching. although very few of these types of cults exists, there are still others that target different individuals like the Westboro Baptist Church who target by protesting military men, gay rights, soldier's funerals, and jewish institutions. Hating someone because of their physical appearance makes you a wicked person. Everyone is the same and physical appearance does not usually say what kind of person they are. A person of a different appearance by skin color could have the ideal personality of companion you want in your life.Judging by one's appearance or beliefs limits you from meeting people you might like and makes you look more malicious. Thinking your race is superior than the other does not contribute to society at all, but chipping the pieces of it off because everyone is created equal and all races are capable to do the same thing as the other race can. You would be missing out if you're so ignorant to accept people of who they are.

Scottsboro Boys

Objective Account of Events

• Included nine black youths in Alabama, 1931
• A fight broke out between Scottsboro Boys and white hobos
• Whites got thrown off the train
• White hobos wanted revenge; told stationmaster to stop train
• Scottsboro boys about to be charged with assault when two white women were found in boys clothing hiding in the train
• The women had sexual relations with white hobos
• Fearful of being prosecuted, women agreed t testify that the nine black youths raped them
• Black youths charged with raping those women even though there were no evidence
• Black youths went to jail
• All white jury convicted all nine of the Scottsboro Boys but the youngest (12 years) to death

This case has been bought to the attention of many since it includes  the unfairness of a trial, having it being an all white jury. Of course an all white jury would be bias and side with the white teenagers, especially since racism was way worse back then. The injustice of these boys made a huge impact on history and is now looked upon as a huge tragedy due to color discrimination.

Trayvon Martin

Objective Account of Events

• On February 26, 2012 , Trayvon Martin was staying in Stanford, a central city in Florida because he got suspended from school and parents wanted him away from his friends and any enjoyment
• On Sunday night, he was getting a snack from 7-Eleven when he caught Zimmerman's eye
• Zimmerman was the neighborhood watch that night
• Zimmerman followed Martin because he seemed 'suspicious'
• Contacted police serval times and police told Zimmerman that there was no need to follow Martin
• Zimmerman disregards instructions and continued stalking Martin
• Zimmerman and Martin encountered each other and people said that they were arguing really loudly
• On one 911 call, someone was heard yelling 'HELP ME' 
• Zimmerman shot Martin in the left chest
• Martin was pronounced dead on 7:30 p.m.
• Zimmerman claimed Martin attacked him first and shooting Martin was an act of self-defense
• DNA tests were ran from that night
• Tests does not support Zimmerman's claims
• The jury consisted of five white women and one minority
• Declared Zimmerman not guilty of murder in Trayvon Martin

No one told Zimmerman to follow the Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman jumped to conclusions and made the assumption that Martin is a bad kid just because of Martin's skin color. The public were outraged when they heard that Zimmerman left with no charges. They brought up the statement "What if Trayvon Martin was white? Would that change the jury's mind?"

Racism and Stereotypes

There are many stereotypes that are running around and being spoken of left and right. They're being used to judge and to jump to conclusions about people. Instead of following stereotypes to judge others, can't we all just get to know the other person before placing a judgement about them. Stereotypes could offend others and could lead to depression or death if taken seriously. Just because one is black does not mean they're from the hood or play basketball. Just because one is Asian does not mean they're smart or like rice. Just because someone is from America does not mean they love Starbucks and consumes a bunch of fast food. We should not judge people by their skin but by the content of their character.