Racial Stereotyping
If you’ve been on social media lately, you’ve seen the #IStandWithAhmed movement going on. A nine year old boy brought in a homemade clock to show his teacher. He was eager and proud to show off what he made at home. Instead of receiving praise for his creation, he was handcuffed and put in a juvenile detention center. His teacher was convinced it was a bomb, even though never made any threats.
After the horrible event, he told a reporter, "I didn't feel human."
The question the world is asking is would this have happened if he was white? His invention was instantly seen as a threat; he was seen as a terrorist. After 9/11 some people have started to see anyone that looks Middle Eastern as a potential terrorist, instead of realizing a radical terrorist group was responsible. They've decided who these people are based on the color of their skin.My husband has faced this stereotype as well. He travels for work every month. This means he spends hours and hours a year at the airport. He has a travel routine as well. Every night before a trip he packs up his bag, has a movie night with our kids, gives all of our boys dozens of kisses, talks to them about their plans for when he gets back, and he shaves.I didn’t think much of that until a few years ago. It was the infamous no shave November and he had an amazing beard. He was getting ready to shave and was telling me how bummed he was to do it. I started to question why he was doing it if he didn’t want to. Then he told me. He shaves before every trip because he doesn’t want to get extra checks through security or for people to stare.Now, my husband is an East Indian man born in Chicago. People instantly assume things about him at the airport because he has dark skin. America was supposed to be a place for people of different races to come together and be free from this oppression. Instead, we are still faced with racism.Buzzfeed recently posted an amazing video of a group of people standing up to racial stereotypes.[embed]https://youtu.be/JMQjyRc7eiY[/embed]How can we remind people to see past the color of our skin and see who we really are?[tweetthis]We need to recognize the problem, stand up, and say something. #StandUpToRacism[/tweetthis]Racial stereotyping and phobia are both types of racism. Racism can come out in the way people talk and treat each other. When we see this happen, we have to stand up say something. It’s easy to hear it, ignore it, and walk away. It takes courage to fight against it.This means don’t laugh when people make racist jokes or act like it’s not a big deal. If you see someone being treated unfairly based on the color of their skin, say something. We all have a voice and need to use it.Don’t sit idly by and watch racism happen. Let’s fight for each other and a loving world. Don’t let people’s hate for a group of people cause segregation. I want my children to grow up in a blended world, not a world where we push away people that are different than us.
Have you ever experienced racism or racial inequality? How did you respond?
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