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I have a dream, cried Martin Luther King Jr. His dream was filled with images of equality and freedom. Since Kings famous speech, and many steps towards racial equality have been taken, yet at the same time racism is far from gone. As we have been working so hard as a country to eliminate racism and prejudice we have allowed new forms of racism to sneak up on us.
For the most part, racism today is discredited and is condemned to a clandestine existence (Beneton 1). Intentional segregation in schools, restaurants, buses and other public areas is clearly no longer accepted. The minorities and the majorities for the most part can go where they want when they want. The types of racism we see now can be considered under the table, making them hard to prove and identify. Racial profiling is probably the largest form of racism in America today. This type of racism is seen in our banks, our hotels, our restaurants, and even our shopping centers.
In an article titled Shopping While Black the author, Adam Fifield, talks about many instances where black men and women are discriminated against while shopping. One example in his article is about a black woman named Paula Hampton. Hampton was shopping at Dillards with her two younger daughters. After shopping for almost 45 minutes, Hampton had found a few things she wanted to buy.
As she was being politely helped at the register, a security guard rudely interrupted them. One of our associates, he said, saw you put something under your coat. (Fifield 1) Hampton, not even wearing a coat, was stunned by his accusation. Without even asking the guard reached for her bag and emptied it upside down on the counter. After thoroughly sifting through her new clothes the security guard responded with thats fine, and walked away. As he walked away Hampton told the guard that she did not appreciate being accused of shoplifting.
Almost unbelievably, the guard fired back sternly by saying he had not accused her of shoplifting. After several hours of arguing and complaining, she had still not gotten anywhere with anyone. Hampton and her husband decided to file a suit against Dillards a year later and won. Although celebrities rarely run into racial profiling, they are still at times subject to its horrible assumptions. Oprah Winfrey one time was absurdly ignored when she and a friend tried to enter a store.
They banged on the doors after calling the store from across the street and being told they where open, yet the employees were still obviously ignoring her. When she called the store a few days later and asked for an explanation, the manager, completely shocked, tried to tell her that there had been two black transsexuals who had robbed the store earlier that week. For some reason they believed Winfrey and her friend might be the two thieves coming back again. Shopping is not the only time you will see racial profiling. One type of racial profiling that has made the news several times is when officers will pull over a black man without a legitimate reason. I personally know a black man who several years ago was pulled over.
Instead of giving him a speeding ticket, the officer proceeded to ask if he could search the car. After he was done the officer explained that there had been a report of a black man stealing a car similar to the one he was driving. My friend was furious as he drove away, yet felt that there was nothing he could do about it. Racism against blacks seems to have changed quite a bit, but is it possible that now we have formed reverse racism among our society.
As we continue to watch it seems more and more the minorities are receiving special treatment due to new laws and regulations meant to make things more even and fair. In an article titled Coloring The News, William McGowan tells several stories of reverse racism. Paul Teetor, an award-winning reporter at Vermont's Gannet-owned Burlington Free Press, is covering a local forum on racism. A young white woman tries to speak and is told by the moderator, a mayoral aide, that only people of color are allowed to speak. Mr. Teetor agrees with the woman that this is reverse racism and says so in his next-day news story.
Mr. Teetor was eventually fired for his stance on the situation. McGowan included a couple more stories. The first is about a homosexual in Wyoming who was brutally attacked, and left tied to a fence in sub-freezing temperatures to die.
The second story also involves homosexuals only this one they are the attackers. A thirteen year old boy was raped for several hours and left to die by two homosexuals that lived next-door. The reverse racism lies in the fact that no one chose to cover these seemingly national stories. If anyone had chose to cover these stories there is a possibility they could have been sued for being racist toward homosexuals. What is it that causes someone to have this type of attitude or these types of opinions? Phillipe Beneton, author of The Iron Bonds of Opinion, states that racism today is discredited and is condemned to a clandestine existence.
Who today would dare to speak as Barres did during the Dreyfus Affair: Dreyfus is capable of treason I conclude from his race asks Beneton. When a statement like that is pointed out, it really causes you to realize how far we have actually come. We have have actually made huge strides in reducing hate crimes. Although there is still the occasional break in or vandalism associated with racism it is hardly even an issue anymore. Instead of ignoring other peoples race and trying to look at one another without color, we have put an even higher emphasis on race and color than there ever was before Martin Luther King Juniors time. Now we look at race before anything else and decide whether we should have to be extra cautious and give special treatment or whether we can just relax and not worry.
We have been taught, because of our laws, to profile people based on their race. Sure humans have a natural disposition to stereotype other people, but our laws, aimed at reducing prejudice, have forced us to be more attentive to the race of those around us. Instead we should listen to the dreams of Martin Luther King Jr. as he listed them in his famous I have a Dream speech.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. In a perfect utopia we would all be color blind or born the same completion. Instead we will always live with different races. We will most likely, never be able to escape the inevitable truth that color and race will always be an issue in our societies.
So what should we do then? Just sit back and let things happen. No, I believe for starters, everyone needs to learn to be respectful of those of other races. No special treatment, no profiling, and no unfair treatment, simply honest respect of others. Also if we could eliminate stereotyping, we would solve most of the problem right there. Finally, I think the most important thing we can do is learn to role with things.
Our country has a utopia in mind, where no one is mistreated, and no one is ever put through a moment in their life that causes an unwanted emotion. This is not only an unrealistic goal, but also an idea that strips people of character building events in life. Dont misunderstand me, I think many people encounter awful circumstances in life that are unfair and unavoidable, but many people have become so unrealistically sensitive it is unbelievable. For instance, most circumstances of reverse racism are blown out of proportion. The person being discriminated against, a member of the majority, has not been raised to expect this kind of treatment. This member of the majority then thinks it is awful to be discriminated against.
Their lack of respect for the minority has caused them to be insensitive to what a person of different race has to go through. I believe if we as a country can come to a point of respect for one another we will truly and finally reach the point of equality and freedom that Martin Luther King Jr. desired. In the words of King: When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of Gods children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, Free at last!
Free at last! Thank God almighty, we are free at last!
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