What is the extent of prejudice? How far will it go until the entire worldrealizes that it is wrong? Prejudice continues to infect and destroy the dreamsand minds of many people. A human being is not born with prejudice. Prejudice istaught to children at an early age to make certain that their fathers beliefscontinue. By the time a child reaches adulthood, he or she might have the samehatred of their fathers.
Prejudice has gone through many extremities. In a bookcalled Black Boy, a black woman is thrown out of a clothing store beaten andbloody for not paying her tab. In the movie American History X a boy istaught at an early age to hate anyone who isnt a white protestant. Stereotypes are used today to discriminate against others.
A restaurant ownerwith stereotypical views charged a black man a 50% tip without his consent. Whenthe owner was confronted by the customer the owner replied saying black mendont tip well. Without discrimination, putdowns, stereotyping, and namecalling, this world would be a better place. Instead we have prejudice.
Prejudice is wicked and evil. Prejudice is a spurious occurrence that continuesto confine those who deserve more, and infects the world with its hatred. Prejudice promotes violence and anger towards others who are different. RichardWrights Black Boy writes, They got out and half dragged and half kickedthe woman into the store. White people passed and looked on without expression. A white policeman watched from the corner twirling his nightstick but he made nomove to help.
Throughout the early 1900s people tolerated much more hatethan they do now. The reason the lady in the quote was beaten was because shehad not paid her bill. What is really distasteful is that people walked bywithout noticing the woman simply because she was black. Even a policemanobserved this incident and didnt lift a finger to help her.
Instead theofficer arrested her for being a drunken woman and disturbing white folk. Thisis outrageous! White people didnt care and black people were afraid tointervene. The blacks were fearful because of the attitude that the next time itcould be them. Blacks are forever at risk simply because of their dark skin. Prejudice makes an environment unsafe and almost impossible for people of colorto exist in harmony with those of differing views.
The Movie American HistoryX, is a neo-nazi movie that describes the spicy topic of racism and theskinhead movement. It describes a young boy named Danny Vinyard who grows up tobelieve that anyone not a white protestant is someone of pure evil. The boysbrother Derek kills two men for breaking into his car. The brother goes toprison and Danny is left subjected to racial and ethnic hate crimes.
He is ledto believe that he should not trust anyone. The brother is then released fromprison and because he is a changed man he helps the boy realize how he can makehis life better. Unfortunately the boy is helped too late and in the end paysthe price for his hate by being killed by a black boy in a restroom at his highschool. If only the boy would have realized the stupidity of his hatred sooner,he might not have been killed. But the brother was successful in teaching othersthat prejudice is wrong.
The movie has been successful in depicting the impactprejudice has had on many lives. The director of this movie, Tony Kaye hasinfluenced many and his efforts are to be commended. Prejudice does not requireviolence to be successful or to have an impact on the community. In Miami,Florida at the Thai Toni restaurant, owner Hirotomi (Toni) Takaradan was accusedof racism. Toni made a comment that he did not believe to be racist.
He added a50% tip onto a black mans bill. He said that black people dont tip well. The Black man was appropriately outraged at this action and pursued legalaction. As a result the restaurant was taken off many of recommended eaterieslist and although the owner denied that his actions were in any way racist thecommunity supported the statement of the customer. Seemingly little incidentsoften evolve into bigger disputes and reflect a culture or environment that isracist and riddled by stereotypes and prejudice. There is no one reason forprejudice.
Ignorance and hate contribute to that toxic thinking. Prejudicedbehavior in people is a response to a lifetime of beliefs passed down generationto generation. To eliminate the prejudice in society, people must be tolerantand examine their own beliefs and ways of thinking and operating in the world. They must look beyond their own histories and skin color and listen carefully tothose who have been harmed.
We as a society must learn from our mistakes. We arerequired to make this world a better place. Our future and the future of thosewho follow us are counting on it.Philosophy
