Racism is an absurd idea. Being prejudice or discriminating against another human being due to the color of their skin isn't easy to comprehend; however, this was common knowledge back in the days of slavery. Generation after generation have slowly unraveled the concept of racism and have made huge strides toward equality. Although we are not there yet, we are better of than we were.
I had the opportunity to live in Kiev, Ukraine for six months. During this time, Russia was invading Crimea and other parts of Ukraine. Consequently, the city was hostile and every citizen was on edge. The Ukrainian military patrolled the streets with heavy machine guns while the Rebels were interwoven with the public. Fear was rampant in the streets and caused many disturbances. To my surprise, the people in Kiev and other cities around Ukraine I visited could pick me out of a crowd and identify me as an American. This was shocking for two reasons. One, my skin color was the same as theirs and two, I attempted to dress similarly.
This is relevant because as I walked the streets constantly being questioned and harassed, I recognized how easy it is to tell people apart by their skin color. The concept may seem a bit obvious and simple but I didn't truly acknowledge it until that moment. If my skin was brown or black, I wouldn't have the ability to try and go unnoticed (even though I didn't succeed in that area anyway). Skin color is apart of who someone is. It is in their genetic makeup. As I was sitting on the subway thinking about this, I started to laugh to myself. Not because I find the matter funny, but because I find it utterly ridiculous.
As I traveled into different countries of Europe, it was interesting to see each culture. Geographically, the countries are not far apart and I assumed they would share many characteristics but this was not so. Learning a little bit of the history of each place highlighted the struggle with the surrounding countries. Racism is nothing new and has been around for thousands of years. It is interwoven through our history books and will continue to do so without change.
Now, my personal experiences have shaped who I am and have given me unique perspectives on many topics. A subject close to home (literally) is discrimination within America. On December 6th, 1865 the Thirteenth Amendment added to the United State's Constitution abolished slavery. So, approximately 152 years ago people started to shift away from slavery. I use the term "started" loosely because it took many many years after that for it to really go into effect. My hope is to continually progress. This isn't subject to color but encompasses every culture. In the year 2017, we are better than we were but we are not there yet. It isn't easy undoing what previous men have done.
I think we have came a long way since slavery was abolished, but I do agree that we are not where we need to be and we definitely need to keep getting better. I also agree that it is hard to undo something that people did before us, because racism is a learned behavior. Until people really do not see a color or classify people by race I think we will continue to have slavery and that is very disappointing.
ReplyDelete