Reflection 17

Racism is an issue that surrounds our world every day. It is something that can be visible but at times people will not show it even though they feel very strongly about it. Although some people choose to be blindsided about the fact that we are surrounded by racism every day, it is something that can become very dangerous. People need to get over whatever issues they may have against a certain race because no one is better than anyone else. I remember one time when I was about sixteen years old my family and I vacationed in Sarasota Fl. The demographic there was older white people. I didn’t think anything of it because I didn’t realize there was racism toward us. We walked into a restaurant to have some lunch and there is when it was very obvious that we were being stared at. From the moment we walked in I felt extremely uncomfortable. No one wanted to serve us and the looks we were getting were very ugly. I had never felt so out of place and a little bit scared. It was after that incident that I realized the true ugly face of racism. At that moment I knew what many people probably feel on a daily basis. This wasn’t even a fraction of what the African Americans went through and I felt terrible. I was a bit ashamed also because I felt embarrassed of being who I was because of all the negative attention. Racism is not a pretty picture and people need to start realizing that when they act upon their racist feelings, it can be very hurtful and at times live threatening to people. There is a very popular documentary on how they blacks were treated and it could bring people to tears. You see the police hosing them down with high pressured hoses and letting the dogs attack them and it is just brutal and disgusting to think that we did that to our brothers and sisters just because of their skin color. We need to stop acting so barbaric toward one another and grow up. Racism is uncalled for and all it does is segregate people and make them feel badly about themselves. We as a society have come a long way from the beginning of time. With our technology and how we are evolving I think it is embarrassing that we act like such stupid little kids continuing to be racist toward each other. You would think that we would grow up by now. I hope that one day people can finally be amongst each other without having any negativity toward anyone.