Even if you are white, the majority race, white people are still discriminating the white. For example, in “What White Supremacists Taught a Jewish Scholar about Identity”, White Supremacists see Jews as a separate race, but an impure race. The Jewish race is a threat to all others because it is a product of mongrealization. The women in the story says that she thinks she can imagine what it is like to be a person of color in today’s society… but then she realizes that, as a white person, she cannot begin to imagine.
Each day I see the ways in which I am fortunate to be the majority class, and even though I think we shouldn’t have a majority race or class. I know that I have different privileges than others and I often take them for granted. I know I am often categorized as a white and may get a job over someone who is of a different color, just as I may not get a job because of my color. They are many places that have to reach a certain quota of different races. For example, at the University of Michigan, black students were given more points on there applications because they were of the minority. They turned down many smarter students because they need to reach their quota of minority students. But today is very apparent that white people are given countless more opportunities than people of other ethnic background.
“It is not until one comes in contact with many people who are different from oneself that individuals realize the ways in which their backgrounds may influence their individual personality”, (Andersen and Collins 422). From the story “For Whites Only?,” many different thoughts and opinions arise about race and segregation. Since I left my suburban lifestyle and moved to the city, I have met numerous people that have opened my mine to new cultures, beliefs, and practices. This has only made me a better person. Each day I continue to become a better person by accepting others, who may have not common bond with me.
The readings “What White Supremacists Taught a Jewish Scholar about Identity” and “OPTIONAL ETHNICITIES, For Whites Only?” and watching the Prime Time, really open my mind to true accounts of discrimination that I was sheltered to. Even though the stories that we read were true life accounts, I find some of their accounts to have different meaning from the way that I have interpreted them. I know that we as American still have a problem with discrimination but I see America and Americans in a different light. It may be wishful thinking or it may spread in the near future. I do not think it is necessary to segregate ourselves by stating our ethnic backgrounds. By saying “I am Lithuanian”, may set me apart. I am proud of my background and heritage but am proud to classify myself as an American. People give their lives each and every day serving this country to protect the rights we have as Americans. People also give their lives trying to make it to America, in search for a better life for themselves and their family.
I am proud to say I am an American. To me it doesn’t matter what your race or ethnic background is. To me an American is anyone who loves life enough to want the best that it has to offer. One who is not automatically satisfied with their current situation looks to do whatever they can to make their lives worth something and with more meaning. Americans look to the future, the long term, a better tomorrow. An American is anyone who understands that to achieve the best in life requires action, exertion, and effort. An American is anyone who understands the need to use one's mind and wits to meet life's challenges. An American is anyone who understands that achieving the best in life requires risks. Immigrants have no assurance of success in a new land with different habits, institutions, and language. They leave friends, relatives, and familiar places, often risking their lives to cross oceans and hostile country to reach their new homes. But they, like all Americans, understand that the timid achieve nothing and when times are bad there is always hope for a better life. The nature of Americans explains the precious opportunity that has drawn millions to these shores. The Declaration of Independence states that all men are endowed "with certain unalienable rights that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Americans seek personal liberty, to live as they see fit, and to worship as they please. An American doesn’t need to share a common language, or the same ethnic background. That’s why America is such a great country because its differences bring all of us together. Americans are united by a love of liberty, respect for the freedom of others, and an insistence on their own rights as set forth in the Declaration of Independence.
