RACISM [NOUN]
– The belief that all members of each race possess characteristics, abilities, or qualities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races: theories of racism
– Prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one’s own race is superior: a programme to combat racism.
Firstly, I want the acknowledgement of racism being is not exclusive between black and white people however it is seen as the ultimate poster campaign when discussing the issue. Racism is between every race possible and this is where issues begin.
In today’s society with social media whether you have a Twitter account, still use Facebook religiously or are addicted to YouTube videos it’s certain that you would’ve come across racist comments or videos (and shared/viewed them even if it was by accident). Today I came across a video after it was shared via Facebook, soon after I began to see tweets regarding the matter. My initial reaction to the video was shocking, I’m not a naive person I understand that there is still some degree of racism within the world, this was not what shocked me. What would cause someone to react in such a manner? To publicly humiliate themselves while out with their children screaming such abuse while the person on the receiving end sat inside their car and filmed the antics as they unfolded. The person who filmed this managed to handle the situation as best as they could despite every threat being made in his direction such as threatening to kill him. There was no remorse from this woman she seemed proud to repeated the racial slur and walk up to the camera several times. Although she seemed annoyed about her children being filmed it was disgusting to see children who have barely just been released from their nappies and learnt the alphabet throwing abuse towards the man too.
The video definitely highlights several issues living in the 21st century. It proves that you can live anywhere in the world, whether it be one of the most developed countries or the most finically deprived, but still experience the same level of negativity and abuse. I’m lucky enough to have never experienced racism therefore to some extend I may not understand how it feels and why people react in the way they do. On the other hand, it is not fair to assume that because you fall within a certain category that you did not (and will not) go through racism. By this, I mean that different generations have been exposed to different types of racism despite the fact that we were all taught about a certain type of racism through our educational system and other sources such as our parents/films etc. In this particular case, the children have obviously been exposed
to interpret that black and white people are not equal and using racial slurs is okay.* Like I said earlier, racism is not a one-way street and does not only affect black people however our attitudes towards how racism is perceived towards us differs.
If you flip the coin the other hand, you have social influences such as rappers and music artists who will use this racial slur freely but claim that the context of the world is different because they are black. I, personally have never been an advocate for the “N” word and believe that it should be left within the horrific history as it’s connotations are still as negative and demeaning within today’s society. I couldn’t care if you were black, blue, white, orange, grey or purple – certain words are just unacceptable regardless! Several black people living in the UK & USA believe that it is only ‘acceptable’ for black people to use this term is something that I find an example of superiority. So because you’re black you can refer to yourself in this way but flip out if anyone else calls you the same? How is this explainable to young black boys and girls growing up in today’s society looking for positive role models, that this word can be thrown about in songs and across social media only if they themselves have black skin but if used by anyone else of another colour inappropriate.
We seem to be living in a world that is desperate in a search for equality but how will this journey ever be reached if we are limiting basic elements and filtering who is applicable to use certain words. Instead, we need to draw a line preferably starting with the basics of communication.
I fear now that new levels of racism are developing and are being exposed to children at a younger age. It’s unfortunate that there are some incompetent parents out there that have somehow managed to hold onto custody of their children while teaching that treating others differently due to various factors.
Unfortunately, racism is still alive in 2014. The journey of equality is still a distance away…