My Opinion on Politics, Race, and Gender Discrimination

The Race Obsession In America

I understand this is a sensitive topic, but I'm still talking about it because we need to talk about race. Everyone needs to talk about race. It doesn't matter if you're black, brown, white, whatever. We all need to have this conversation. I feel that part of the problem with the racial injustice in America has to do with the obsession with race. It all has to do with the boxes society, especially American society, assigns to each race. Black people are thugs, white people are racist and bland, and immigrants have funny accents and eccentric personalities. Believe it or not, these stereotypes seen in situation comedies, the news, and other forms of media affect how we see different races. I understand that jokes about race that are somewhat true or based on truth can be funny, but a lot of them are divisive and give people a false idea of what people of other races are like. Everything now is about race. One thing I think is important is to define exactly what race is. The race is the color of your skin. We're all familiar with black and white, but now we're treating religions and ethnic groups as races. I think we need to understand that Muslim is not a race. It is a religion. Not all Muslims are brown, there are black and white Muslims. The same goes for Latinos. Latino is not a race. There is a difference between white and

caucasian. White is the color of your skin. Caucasian implies you're of European descent. So when someone asks what race you are, you look at your skin, and whatever color you see is your race. If you are a black Muslim, Muslim is not your race, black is. If you are a white Latino, Latino is not your race, white is. Nowadays, everything is about race. A woman filmed herself being catcalled and harassed on the street, and people say,
"People only care because it's a white girl. If it was a black girl, no one would care". It's not about that. No one brought up race.
If you get into an exclusive college? It's because you're a minority.
If you're white and you get cornrows, or simply have naturally curly hair, it's appropriation.
I'm not saying blackface is good. I'm not saying black people are racist. I just think everyone needs to relax, step back, and realize that some things have nothing to do with race. I can't blame white people. I can't blame black people. I can't blame any race. I can only blame the British colonizers who arrived in America with

African slaves, assigning value to each race and slowly fabricating that obsession with race year after year.
From the early 60s to the late 90s, the race problem has always been present, but it hasn't grabbed that much attention, compared to the present day. Nowadays, there is so much more diversity in America. Not just of race. There are black, white, brown, Asiatic. Some people speak Spanish, English, Arabic, Chinese, and so much more. There are Catholics, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Mormons, and so much more. There are gay, lesbian, transgender, bisexual, transsexual, and so many more sexual orientations and genders. There is so much diversity in America, that it's obvious people are going to be uncomfortable with all the change, with all the freedom. This can range from ultra-conservatives who think marriage is between a man and a woman, and that immigrants should not be allowed into the country, all the way to ultra-liberal people who feel offended over things that have nothing to do with race. The racial division will remain prominent if we stick with these divisive mentalities. Make sure to have balance. Be accepting of everyone, but don't treat them like they're better or worse. Learn to understand the difference between a racist attack and something completely unrelated. It's complicated,

but the best thing you can do is free yourself from these mental barriers.
Race-based thinking is the problem, but because of the recent police killings, and the horrible year it's been, it seems the only thing we can think about is race, and I can't blame anyone for that. Black parents around the country have been worried that one day their children might be the victims of an attack similar to that of George Floyd or Breonna Taylor. I feel like, before George Floyd, we cared about killings, like Philando Castile, but it was on our minds for about a week, and then we'd move on to something else. Nowadays, I think people realized that this cycle of tweeting #BLM and then totally forgetting about it isn't going to get us anywhere. We need change and reform. We need to do something about this. I don't understand how a policeman would kill someone and get away with it simply because they're a policeman. Laws should apply to everyone, and the people who enforce the law should know that. But maybe our obsession with race makes it worse. Maybe we shouldn't be obsessing over race. I don't mean don't talk about race. We need to talk about

race. I just think we need to stop assuming every comment or action is an attack on our race.
As much as people can over-analyze things and get mad about nothing, sometimes it is about race. I've heard people comment on the Starbucks incident and make the argument that it's just company policy and people are just upset because it was applied to black people. I disagree. While yes, it is company policy, the employee could have handled it differently. They could've said,
"Listen, I'm sorry, it's company policy and I can't let anyone in the bathroom unless they pay for something". They could've said it in a polite manner that avoided any sort of confrontation. Instead, they decided that they would call the police because they seemed suspicious or threatening. That's racist. To treat someone unfairly and call the police on them for asking to go to the bathroom. I do believe that racism does exist. I think it is a problem and it makes you think about the corruption involved when the President and Mike Pence claim it's not a systematic problem. It is a systematic problem. Black Americans

have been targeted by law enforcement. I don't think all police are bad. I do believe many of them are there to help, but when you watch the video of George Floyd being murdered by Derek Chauvin, it makes you wonder if this man is abiding by the American ideals we all look up to. So, for the average citizen, I say: Don't assume everything is about race, don't limit people to what stereotypes make them out to be, and when you are the victim or witness of a racist attack, don't forget to speak up. For politicians, I say: Do something to fix this mess. How many people need to die before you get it? This needs to stop.