Racism, unfortunately, is something that every generation has had to endure. One would think that a civilization as advanced and as modern as the United States would be capable of putting something so terrible to an end. Racism in our world has its similarities to slavery as pointed out by David Ceballos. However, it's something that our civilization cant escape. People don't realize that the thoughts they think and the things they say affect more then just one person. It sets up boundaries, instills hatred, makes tension, and causes anger that builds up, and what started with a simple joke, starts to "snowball", rolling downhill until it crashes. Starting fights, causing murders, and eventually leading to terrorism.
Spain's Olympic basketball teams offended their Chinese hosts at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. The men's and women's basketball teams managed to do this by pulling back the skin on the sides of their faces to make "slit-eyed gestures". Fully dressed in their uniforms, standing on a basketball court decorated with a picture of the Chinese Dragon on the floor. No one involved in the photo considered the picture racist, or offensive, but thats not the case for the many who viewed it. Heated debates world wide have risen about the situation whether this situation was racist or not.
"The typically sedate Chinese crowds vigorously booed the Spanish basketball team at times in Spain's overtime victory".
One issue that occurred during the Civil War was the racism between African Americans and Whites. Slavery ruled the land and Blacks worked for no pay under tyrannical masters. The southerners felt that owning slaves was their constitutional right. The Blacks wanted rights and freedoms. "As long as blacks were willing to accept their oppression, they remained victims of a psychological form of violence, one that stripped them of their dignity as human beings. Denied fundamental civil rights, decent housing, and an adequate education, generations of black Americans were broken in spirit by the silent violence of the racist system." - Nick Treanor. The white owners felt that they had the right to own slaves, they felt superior, and didn't want to give up the undeserved power.
"The only reason we have to get together is the color of our skins. They oppress us because we are black and we are going to use that blackness to get out of the trick bag they put us in. Don't be ashamed of your color." Excerpted from Stokely Carmichael's "Black Power Speech," June 29, 1966.
These two stories have racism in common. Racism is everywhere in our world regardless of time or location. The Spanish basketball team meant no harm through their actions, the Whites felt they had the right to rule over the African Americans. They did not see racial issues negatively affecting them, they didn't care if they were doing the right thing or not. However, in the end both situations back fired when the people that were being victimized decided to stand up for themselves.
Evidence
Mackley, Robert. "Spanish Ad Spurs Charges of Racism - 2008 Olympics – Sports and News from China – The New York Times." 12 Aug. 2008. 2 Oct. 2008.
Treanor, Nick. The Civil Rights Movement. Michigan: Greenhaven Press. 2003.
Excerpted from Stokely Carmichael's "Black Power Speech," June 29, 1966.
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