Is This Racism?

In my opinion, it doesn’t matter who you are or where you’re from, at some point in your life you will have to deal with some form of racism or prejudice. Perhaps it may not be aimed toward you specifically but by keeping silent you only show the world that you are ok with it. In this school I have personally dealt with racism on a first hand basis a few times and I’ve also observed people making racist remarks. Are they ok? Not to me. Have I said something about them? Yes, to an extent.

When someone called me a Nigger, I walked out of class and went straight to the principles office but he wasn’t there. When I encountered him later and told him my side of the incident he brushed me off and said that he didn’t have the time to deal with me and walked away. A few days later he felt the need to remove the offending student as well as myself from class and talk to us. Our little chat lasted all of three to five minutes. In the end he said he would speak to the person’s parents and that the student was on probation for a week. In my opinion that wasn’t enough and I walked back to class. When Dr. Bob caught up to me he was angry. He asked me why I was walking away and he said that what he was doing was for me. In my opinion he was doing me no favors by being so lenient. Dr. Bob also felt the need to defend the student. He said that basically the word Nigger meant nothing and that the student in question was just calling me stupid. Of course that explanation made everything o.k.

How is it that a white male student can get away with calling a black female student such an offensive word and yet other students have been punished worse for wearing the wrong pair of shoes? That same student didn’t even get detention. At the end of the day I don’t think that Dr. Bob was acting out of any sort-of prejudice towards me. He was just being a coward and taking the easy way out. Why should anyone else care when my own principle didn’t even blink an eye when I told him my story.

In another situation I observed a few students making racist remarks about another student’s Jewish heritage. First and foremost, I am not perfect. I have most likely on more than one occasion laughed and/or made a racist joke. In my opinion the jokes they made weren’t funny and yet a lot of people in the room started laughing including the student that they were making fun of. Should I have said something? Perhaps, but I chose not to. Why should I defend someone who would not even defend themselves. At first I felt that the student was being a bit pathetic by just sitting there and taking it but now that I have the time to dwell on it, my opinion has changed drastically. In high school and to some extent, the outside world, it is best to travel in a crowd. If he had confronted the other students he would only have been alienating himself. Perhaps some other students in the class would’ve jumped to his defense and argued with him but I think not. In high school, and to some extent, the outside world it is best to sit back and observe rather than stand up and defend.

Words to Know

Racism-The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others. 2. Discrimination or prejudice based on race.

Prejudice- An adverse judgment or opinion formed beforehand or without knowledge or examination of the facts. 2. A preconceived preference or idea.