This I Believe

 

This I Believe

Americans are still racist. We celebrate in the face of our first half-black president, thankful to finally conquer racism. But we’re not over it just yet. Why say that a black president makes us clear of racism when, no matter his color, he was just another presidential candidate? Simply people noticing that fact is racism, even if it is a good thought. If he had lost the election, critics and the media would have jumped at the possibility to call us racist, but his loss wouldn’t have been racist, just America having differing opinions from his.

The only time I think we’ll eliminate racism is when no one says that we’re no longer racist. I think that people will stop being racist when they ignore color. Obama’s win wasn’t because people thought “even if he’s black, I’ll give him a sporting chance because I’m a good person”, but it was his values and opinions that made him president. I try not to acknowledge the fact that we’ve a black president, just a bad one. People think that we’re no longer racist, but they see just a black president no matter what he believes.

I’ve even seen examples of people creating racism when there is none. In 1997, there was a Barbie created to support Oreos, who just happened to be black. The toy company was immediately called racist and most likely sued. All the company was doing was supporting cookies with a doll. They weren’t purposefully using the old slang term for blacks with a black Barbie. Would I have taken offense had they used a white Barbie for advertising Vanilla Wafers or crackers? No, I wouldn’t have, because they didn’t intend something racist.

Americans should stop feeling bad about the fact that black people used to be treated badly almost half a century ago. Everyone is psyched that they can claim that, since they voted for a black man, they aren’t racist. I find that racism isn’t saying another race is bad, but thinking even something good about all people of that race is. Ask the American Heritage Dictionary: They say that racism is “discrimination or prejudice based upon differences between ethnic groups.” Prejudice is pre-judging, and can mean thinking someone is going to have a characteristic because of their ethnicity. Discrimination is to treat a person differently based on the assumed characteristic. Obviously, this happens every day with stereotypes against every single ethnicity.

Some treat another nicer because of their ethnicity. Maybe it’s the guilt over happenings from long ago, or the dread of being dubbed racist. The most common interaction seen as racist is having bad feelings towards a stranger because of their background. I agree, that’s a very prejudiced thing to do, but not the only way someone can discriminate as I just said.

There are very small, outside differences between myself and a Hispanic or Asian girl, but we’re both just people, not black or white, but grey. Grey palettes at the beginning until splashes of color show our personalities. I think that everyone should be seen as just a mannequin, faceless, without a characteristic, until you know them and befriend them. That’s how all people need to see one another, and how I hope to grow to, as well.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that racism will be over when people stop simply noticing skin color. I’ve heard stories where someone is called racist for disliking another who just happens to be black or a different race that their own. If Americans can finally figure out that Obama is just another president and we’re all just human beings, racism can be diminished. This is what I believe.

Copyright (c) 2009

Samantha Shoemaker