Blog 1 - Discrimination and a Solution

Discrimination has been around for centuries and it still exists today affecting naturalized American Citizens who retain their racial identity.  Those who have to deal with discrimination often struggle physically and mentally with problems at work and at school.  Furthermore it’s difficult to educate people who have been raised around discrimination because it goes against what they have been taught; it’s learned.  The lack of respect is common place and luckily modern equality laws punish those who choose to harm their fellow citizens at school, in the community and at any work place.  Sadly these laws only go as far as punishing bigotry after it has already happened.  In order to help reduce discrimination it is necessary to develop a momentum to create a wave of change to engulf the minds of those who continue to be prejudice and hurtful
Link to U.S. Mexican Border .

             The above link leads to a News story where you notice racism depending on how you read the subject line.  Emphasizing sophisticated seems to illustrate a belief that perhaps Mexicans aren't intelligent compared to other people.  Furthermore the article itself goes on to talk about the tunnel allows drugs and immigrants to pass through illegally of course. Coming from a mixed Latino background I have personally dealt with experiences where I felt threatened because of my social identity.  In the past I have been mocked out for having a darker complexion.  While at Skate park i was questioned by other kids that i shouldn't be skateboarding but rather swimming across a river.  Comments such as these can be hurtful and are a shame to hear.  News stories like the one above help push these beliefs onto people, by emphasizing all the bad news and never the good.  People crave to be unique yet they are willing to single each other out by pointing out certain traits such as darker skin or strong accents.  Additionally, the media continues to hamper Mexican Americans citizens by publicizing not only drug cartels but border trespassing.  A New York resident isn’t affected by a group of trespassers so why publicize the news.  Negative news such as lack of boarder control prompts other American citizens often not of the same race to treat those of Mexican descent unjustly like they hopped a border fence to be where they are today.  This common theme of course applies not only to Mexicans but to Guatemalans, Arabs and Africans.

                Great emphasis is needed to spread the stories of both successful naturalized citizens who experience discrimination; as well as citizens who have never been able to reach the American Dream because of who they are.  By spreading these stories the success of decreasing common place prejudice is greatly reduced.  People need to realize that a person can be great, successful or just like them, but not be from the same country, region or even continent.  Educating children while they are in grade school by learning about different cultures enables acceptance to exist for different types of people.  It is also necessary to produce information, real life stories and experiences from past victims in order to educate those who inadvertently pick up this conditioned thought and behavior.

                Finally I want emphasize that this blog is a step to highlight the need to spread discriminatory injustice and introduce a personal examples from discrimination that existed from experience.  Hopefully by seeing situations from somebody else’s shoes one can realize their profound effect they make when a discriminatory remark escapes and not only ravages the victim but then builds in the minds of those who idle by and watch.  Since Discrimination will take longer to erase from the minds of those who already cling to its existence there is an alternative solution.  It is better to focus on the future and on the young minds of those who have not yet turned off the light and teach them equality.

Andy Lalka