Furthermore, everyone on this planet is equal, it shouldn’t matter that someone comes from a different country to you, or that they happen to follow a different religion, they are still human beings. Racism is a disbelief in equality and this is unacceptable in society today.
The world would be extremely boring if we were all the same. Imagine a world where everyone was identical. The same thoughts, feelings, religions and colours all day, everyday. No one would be an individual anymore and no one could be special. The world we live in has all different kinds of people and everyone needs to learn that this is how it will be. If you can’t accept that, and decide that abuse to others will help to prevent this message getting through, then you need to be taught this is wrong, through punishment.
Racism just isn’t socially acceptable anymore. The world is a lot less ignorant than the times of Martin Luther-King. No one can choose how he or she comes into this world. No one asks to be born black, white or otherwise. So why do some bullies decide that it is a just explanation of why they are allowed to hit their victims? Skin colour or religion is hardly a worthy reason to use as ammunition. People who think it is deserve retribution.
In other words, racism in many ways is much like sexism and age discrimination. Society find these unacceptable, they should also find racism a significant enough crime for a reasonable punishment.
However, one of the most important human rights is freedom of speech. If we punished people for their thoughts, we would be punishing the whole world. Not being able to have your views is denial of your rights as a human being. This is even less acceptable than racism. You cannot forsake the rights of everyone just to change one problem.
Also, there is a very fine line between what could be classed as racial discrimination and a joke taken the wrong way. I don’t expect many people can identify that line. If a person is punished just because one day someone decides this time it wasn’t meant as a joke, even if it was, this person is going to be punished. This is a complete miscarriage of justice and totally unfair to all individuals it affects.
What if no one can decide whether it was a joke or not? What is to be done then? Are our courts going to be wasting our hard earned money deciding whether people are racist or not? This would be even more pointless and more of a crime than racism itself.
Another way of looking at this issue is that if you are a citizen of a country, you owe a certain debt of gratitude to it. If you come to live in a country, but can’t even be bothered to learn its language, this could be classed as being ungrateful and extremely disrespectful. Those people are then the ones that should be punished. Therefore in this light, people who are classed as racist are actually helping society. Infact they are encouraging others to appreciate the values of the country they live in.
In addition to this, many people believe that you cannot punish someone for their thoughts. Anne Robinson was in the news this year for expressing views that may be considered racist against the Welsh. However, she was never punished. If someone as influential on society as celebrities are isn’t punished, how can it be satisfactory to punish other members of society for acting in the same way? After all, they were merely following the example shown to them.
In my opinion, people shouldn’t be punished for being racist. Many people have very strong views about controversial issues, yet they aren’t punished. It is everyone’s right to express his or her views appropriately.
Although I think that freedom of speech is imperative to modern society, I don’t believe that violence and attacks on the basis of race are acceptable.
People often say things they don’t mean, or they say things that were possibly meant as a joke. It is nearly impossible to prove who is actually a racist and who definitely is not.
In my mind, as long as an opinion is voiced correctly, with due consideration, it is fair to let people stick with their views.
Bringing together the factors I have discussed, I have resolved that racism is a very complicated issue.
It is very hard to justify who is racist and who has taken a joke too far.
I have concluded that racism has quite a lot to do with respect, or lack of it, for others. Many racists are extremely ignorant and fail to realise that there are other religions and colours of skin other than their own, but this doesn’t make a person bad or wrong.
Freedom of speech is very important to all individuals, but it shouldn’t be abused, as society has taken upon itself to do. Violence towards others however, is not a basic right.
I don’t believe that society should stand for thugs who decide it is okay to hit someone on the grounds of something as trivial as skin colour. This isn’t socially, or morally, acceptable.
Once society learns the values of mutual respect, racism and other mindless discrimination could finally be abolished.