[Hayat21436]

Most Americans are racist. I know that statement is going to get me a lot of flack, but that's the way I see it. Almost every person I've met in the States had some people/culture/religion/race they couldn't abide by. Even the best people I've met, the type who'd give you the shirt off their back, have felt 'blacks' were dangerous, or Asians suspicious, or Mid-Easterners violent.

What makes their racism so subtle is that they hide it behind an excuse. 'Well, their people are terrorists,' or 'Their religion doesn't approve of me' or 'They don't treat their women well' or 'They're communists.' It's as if the entire American social consciousness is built on a huge double standard. You cannot say that statistically speaking, the majority of America's criminals are black, or else you'll be shouted down as a racist. However, if you feel like saying that we should bomb the hell out of Afghanistan, and their people, too because it's their fault they had the Taliban to begin with', then you're a patriot. You can rant and rave against the mandatory covering of women in Iran all you like, but to point out the Hindu tradition of burning widows is close-minded. We have allowed ourselves to accept a bias, and now that we've been confronted with it, instead of looking within to fix it, we defend it like the nutty Americans that we are.

I was born and raised in the United States, but because my foreign ancestry is evident on my face, I have been on the receiving end of racism all my life. Most people can't tell where I'm from exactly by looking at me, but by my name and dark hair and eyes they know I must belong to some backward, oppressive, terroristic country. I've been spit on, had rocks thrown at me and been beaten up, all within my schooling years, because of my nationality. I've been called racist names by African Americans, Greek Americans (the boy who spit on me said, 'I'm Greek, we hate Muslims'), Caucasian Americans, Assyrians, Russian Americans, Jewish Americans, Asian Americans, you name it.

I am not going to be an idiot and paint all Americans with the same brush, because simply put, that would make me equally wrong. There are good Americans who do not allow themselves to fall into the trap of bigotry. But sadly, many are racist and continue to defend it. We claim 'We're angry and have a right to feel this way,' but as my lovely Irish Grandma tells me, 'You can't hate just because you're mad'.

User Detail :  

Name : Hayat21436, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Muslim, Age : 19, City : Chicago, State : IL Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Author]

Posts