Racism is multicultural
Nowadays as the races have mixed and are not segregated, racism has been reduced dramatically. People are vigilant about what they say and how they approach subjects. Even a simple joke can be taken offensive. Racism is still present in the workplace, at schools and in the community. Many thought that by the 21st Century, racism would not exist, but groups such as the Klu Klux Klan and The Aryan Brotherhood has shown this not to be the case. In the British society today racism is very low keyed. It is still in place at the workplace. Black people in Britain are twice as likely to be jobless as white people, and when they have a job, it is more likely to be low-paid, semi-skilled, or unskilled work. Here is a typical scenario: two people one white the other black; the white person is not as skilled as the black person, who would get the job? Perceptibly the white person would get the job. This scenario is being repeated with other ethnic groups around the world.
Racism can also be observed in society today by there being stereotypes about ethnic groups. Most people expect and Indian person to eat curry and also expect their houses to smell of it. This is a stereotype that leads to prejudice. Nowadays even political figures have been caught saying things that are racist and offensive. Britain has become a multicultural society, which in the 21st Century is something magnificent. But there is a risk of fascism coming back as in the French Presidency election when because of low voter turn-outs the French National Front leader Jean-Marie Le Penn got into the second round of voting. Eventually he was beaten in a landslide victory by the Jacque Chiraque. This sent shockwaves around Europe. This was a warning that the far right movement could rise again.
Racism is a extremely difficult to control in today’s world, as we live in a fairly democratic world people have a right to air their opinions. It is done in a sensitive way, by allowing the groups or parties e.g. British National party to march, stage demonstrations and even speak. Laws have been passed making it illegal to be racist to ethnic citizens. That has helped the society but still it exists in society today. As there has been integration between the races people have come to except it as a normal thing to happen. There are still some traditionalists today who still believe that the races should not integrate. There are scores of racist groups out in the world today. They mostly have the same belief, which is, that white people are the superior race and all the other groups. Others like the Aryan Brotherhood believe that the perfect race is white with blue eyes and blond hair. These hate groups are mainly found in America although some have sister groups in other countries.
Klu Klux Klan members dressed in the full attire and holding the southern flag, which is deemed as being racist
A tattoo normally found on all Aryan Brotherhood members. These are normally found in jails mainly in the South of America
Then there are groups that tackle racism with violence. Groups such as The Black Panthers believe that “Blacks must rise up from the oppression forced on us by the white supremacists.” Many have been incarcerated for gun possession, murder; attempted murder the list is endless. Those who have finished serving their time state that they did it for “the struggle.” Many in the black community see these men as heroes and see why these men do the things they do.
Figure 1 This is a mural, which depicts the black panthers in a section of pictures put together to create a powerful mural. Also seen is the symbol of the BLACK PANTHERS the fist symbolising black power
Non-Violent groups that deal with racism such as The Commission for Racial Equality (here in the U.K.) tackle racism without resulting to violence. They deal with things by using legal means. In America, groups organize demonstrations and try to promote good race relations. This method generally works and raises awareness.
In my opinion, Racism stems from the environment that someone has been brought up in. Most of the people in hate groups are middle-aged white men and women. They are mostly in the South of America as racial tension is very high. Being a black person in a mainly white country, I feel that I experience a lot of racism. Many stereotypes have been made about the black youth. For instance, this is a typical stereotype that all black people do drugs and are gangsters. This is not true but this is how we have been represented. Many black teenagers choose to follow these stereotypical images. This really makes me angry because many black teenager are talented and rather than using those talents they rather choose to opt. This gives other black teenagers a bad representation. I also believe that racism is not only a black and white issue it is a multiracial issue. Nowadays the racism between blacks and whites has dissolved leaving only the racism between whites and Asians. Now it is not unusual to hear someone call an Indian person a ‘paki’ or is it not unusual to hear a Chinese person being called a ‘chink’. These names are being accepted and are being used frequently. I think that these names are racist and can be classified as being racist. People who use these names are being racist and do not even realise it. Most people view racism as being only associated with skin colour. It can also occur with religion. Some people might not like a certain religion. This happened back in the World War II days with Hitler killing all the Jews. This can also be classified as prejudice. Many people ignore this, but it needs to be addressed. Since the September 11th Attacks in New York many Muslims living here in Britain have been threatened. Hate graffiti has been scrawled all over the walls of towns were Muslims live. Graffiti such as “Muslims = Terrorists” and “ Muslims = Murders”, have been placed in parks on high street walls and even near playgrounds. I foresee a future of uncertainty and probably a future where things will improve. In the last 30 years race relations have improved who knows what the next 30 years will bring. I feel that the black society today needs to be redeemed. I think that nowadays-young black teenagers have adopted the ‘gangsta’ image. It makes me annoyed to see so many black teenagers coming out of school with no GCSE's, and then blaming their misfortunes on the system. I would have thought that being black in an institutional racist system should motivate them to do better than their white counterparts but this is not the case. As a black teenager, I feel that I have to work extremely hard to get where I want to get to, to show that I can do better than my white counterparts. I feel that black people need to see positive representations. I especially feel that black young men need to be shown positive role models. It is sad to report that more black teenage boys are excluded from school as their white counterparts. This is due to poor role models for them. They need to see black men doing professional things. Right now, all they see is the gangster image. They are being sucked up in the drug game at an early age. Some when they leave school are doing things to feed their drug habit by either selling stolen goods or even selling drugs to children aged 10 and over. This then restarts the cycle of drug abuse in the black community. This cycle needs to be stopped by drug users being encouraged to get rehabilitation and to get drug dealers of the streets so that the children can be safe. In addition, there has been an increase in gun violence; this is due to being the increase in ‘yardie’ gangs being introduced to this country, this needs to be stopped. In my opinion as a black person, we need to break those stereotypes and prove that we can actually aim and achieve our goals and also that we can leave school without being excluded and also that we can get excellent results. Another thing that annoys me about the black race is that when they see a well-spoken black person they start to question their ‘blackness’. This is because all black people are not supposed to be well spoken. Then they are accused of being white. This is in fact an insult to black people as being well spoken is only seen as a white thing, which is not true. Sometimes it makes me feel a lot of resentment and anger towards black people. We need to change our ways for the better and for a better future not only for us but for generations to come.
People are not born racist. Most children who grow up in an area that is mixed and their parent’s are racist grow up not being racist; on the other hand, people that have racist parents and live in predominantly once race neighbourhood grow up being racists. Their racist’s messages and views are carried with them wherever they go. Many of these people grow up and teach their children the things and then the sequence of hate is repeated. What needs to be done is that people who are hateful need to be taught about other races. This in turn will reduce the racism and eventually wiping it out. This leads onto my next topic whether racism will be around in the future.
In the last 30 years, race relations have improved tremendously. Nowadays you see blacks and whites sitting next to each other on the bus. Black people being able to go to the same universities as their white counterparts. In addition, we see all the races beginning to mix with each other. With the other races, tolerance has been introduced. In the next 30 years, I feel that racism could be reduced to a mere 10% of being racist. This could happen if it was treated with a lot of attention. Nowadays MP’s are sending the wrong message by shrugging everything off and also by trying to play the race card. In addition, some MP’s have been saying things that are racist in public. For example the Tory shadow agriculture minister Ann Winterton was sacked due to a racist joke she made at a rugby club dinner she attended.
The disgraced MP Anne Winterton
This was the joke:
‘That there was an Englishman, a Cuban, a Japanese man and a Pakistani on a train. The Cuban throws a cigar out of the window, saying they are "ten-a-penny" in his country. The Japanese man throws a Nikon camera out, saying they are ten-a-penny in his country. Then the Englishman throws the Pakistani out the window.’
This joke was very offensive to the Indian caterers at the dinner that night. This is a clear case of racism. However, in the future will these jokes be accepted? In my opinion, they might be and might not be. Many jokes have been said about people of Pakistani origins for instance this text message has been sent to many people’s mobile phones:
‘If you feel no-one loves you
No-one cares for you
Everyone ignores you
No one listens to you
Ask yourself are u a Paki?’
These types of jokes need to be discouraged as many people will take them as normal jokes and use them at their leisure. This also gives us an indication that things might not get better in England in the future. The more these jokes and other meagre acts of racism are seen as being normal the race relations will become worse. Nevertheless, I feel that race relations between blacks and whites will have diminished. As you can tell by there being black and white marriages and also biracial offspring being produced. Years ago this would not have happened but times are changing for racism from whites on black and blacks on whites. They have learned to see that black people contribute a lot to the music scene and also in public services. However, with the race relations between Indian/Pakistani/Chinese/ Eastern Europeans that will soon be rising up and in my view spiralling out of control.
This chapter has seen how Racism affects individuals and families; we are now going to look at how Christianity condemns racism, and how this is evident through various bible passages.