I personally have not been insulted due to my race or ethnicity. I have been insulted based on my sex though. I have been told that it is a man's world and that I will never be able to do what men can do. Though all three have not personally affected me, I have been exposed to them.
The comment I hate is when some one from a different ethnic background says, " Oh it is because I'm (e.g. Black)". I am not racist. I do not want to be accused of it.
I think that the media makes the insults and comments worse. They exaggerate things. They do not ever show the whole truth. The news is the worst at this. For example the incident with the cops. Where a white cop was beating a black person. When they showed the incident to the world everyone automatically assumed that it was because he was black and that the cop beat him for that reason. That may not have been the case but that is how the new perceived it and that is how they shared it with the community. Maybe it was because he was black or maybe the cop was just having a bad day. Or maybe the victim said something or did something that only him and the cop know. There are many explanations for what happened that day. People see this incident on the news and now some people are like see they are racist and that leads for other communities to hate white people because if one is racist we all are. Which is not true, I understand that yes people are racist but the media enlarges the problem and makes it worse. For example I see the news talk about maybe a bank robbery and just because the criminal is black lets say, I do not sit there and think that all black people are criminals. People are becoming so accustom to the racial thing that all you hear is insults on the news so then that becomes a part of your life. I also think that when things that are fiction such as TV, books, movies and music, add racial scenes it does not help the situation. For example if they have a little Mexican girl in the movie that is hated because she is not white. That just gives us the idea that it is normal and that it is life.
In think that the problem with prejudice is becoming more irreversible everyday. If we want to be able to fix the problem we need to stop filling our minds with the garbage in the media. If we keep going at the rate we are going we are never going to be able to solve this problem.
In conclusion I have been exposed to the prejudicial insults. I think that it is ridiculous. I think that people need to think about what they are going to say before they say it. If people would fix themselves before they tried to fix others the problem would be able to solve.
I've had all three kinds of slurs directed at me! Before you jump to conclusions, please, let me explain. A class mate of mine didn't get along with the rest of the class, myself included, and one night, he yelled at me, calling the entire class racist, and said all the girls were flighty and dumb. So there's racist and sexist slurs, all in one breath! I've also been called "Gringa" more times than I care to count.
ReplyDeleteI believe that most media slurs usually are from whites against other ethnic groups. I can't blame the slurs that have been directed at me as media influenced, really, considering the circumstances. But I do blame them on bad manners and lack of basic respect for others. This too is taught by the media, unfortunately. Media shows it as "cool" to be rude to your family, girlfriends/boyfriends, and strangers, as well. the media tells young people to be independent, fight the system, question authority. That's great and all, but in encouraging this, the media has destroyed basic values. I won't even go into all of the social niceties that have been tossed aside by the media, but unfortunately, these niceties are necessary to live an adult life. Unfortunately the media is raising, racist, sexist, and brutish youth. This doesn't have to happen, we can demand change.
I think that is a good bottom line for all of us, Alley: Go back to good manners! What a concept! Then if people thought something ugly, but kept it to themsleves, they would not escalate division.
ReplyDeleteI’ll be glad when we move on to other subject matter. The constant focus on prejudice and all the election mudslinging is keeping me in a constant state of anger. I suppose it is possible that groups which have been discriminated against could be taking back some of the offensive words as a means of removing the sting from them. It seems to me that being a victim of a racists, or sexist slur would make someone more compassionate and less likely to use it.
ReplyDeleteThe words racist, sexist, and homophobe have been tossed around so casually they are losing their power as well. I’ve had guys at work tell me I should use the “gender card” to get what I want. Obviously, they think there is some power in threatening others. To use any “card” is to cheapen the sacrifices made to purchase equality. I’ve known many people who do it though. The point some people miss when they use their race, gender or sexual preference to gain power over others is that the others do understand the action is unfair. It may shut them up, but it unfairness of it makes them angry too. I know there are still bigots in our society, but not everyone who slips and says something that isn’t politically correct deserves the label, bigot.
We forget sometimes that each of us has a set of life experiences that color our perceptions of other people. Sometimes our upbringing has a huge influence on how we see the world. If we throw “cards” around at each other we miss the opportunity to create true understanding. Maybe just talking to someone will help them see their actions are offensive. I don’t think all of it is intentional.