“I would always be an ESL student. I would always be different” (Anthology 839). While these words were spoken with a certain degree of resentment, I find myself embracing such statements. As a student body, and world, we are set apart and yet also pulled closer together by our differences. I have always found that different backgrounds largely shape the people we become. Being white, I can’t really relate closely to what many students go through who come from different racial backgrounds. However, I do have my own experiences to share.
The first being that I once was a victim of racial discrimination and what was said to me actually made me think pretty hard. I was at a high school football game with some friends. The rows in front of us, in a wave of excitement, had stood up to cheer, making it difficult to see what was going on. Thus, we stood up as well. A group of kids behind me apparently did not like that because I heard complaints and yells wanting us to sit back down. However, we couldn’t see so I merely remained standing. From behind me I heard a boy shout, “Hey girl, just because you’re white, doesn’t mean you’re better than us.” I did my best to ignore the comment, but inside I was furious. I have never in my life considered myself better than others on the basis of my race.
My parents have raised me to be as accepting as possible and that all people are equal no matter what—sexual orientation, race, economic standing, etc. I couldn’t believe this kid would just throw a statement like that around. But at the same time, I finally found myself in a position that many others have felt but I could never share with them. And while it was hurtful and frustrating that this boy had to resort to racial discrimination just because he couldn’t see at a football game, it was interesting to get this perspective. I didn’t really feel belittled by what he said and it didn’t make me think any less of myself. It did make me think about our society in a different way, just like how the boy on the football team “saw the campus with a new perspective” (Anthology 857). Comments like those are serious and only increase the manner in which we manage to set ourselves apart by things like these again and again.
I have also had similar family experiences as Michael’s sister had in that “I [am] able to express who I [am]” at family gatherings (Anthology 845). I know that these people will love me no matter what and we have “comfort and familiarity” with each other (Anthology 846). However, I find it sad that many people only feel comfortable (racially) with their families.
Racial discrimination is something that has fascinated me (in a bad way) for a long time now. I even wrote my college essay on this because my feelings about it matched the prompt perfectly—an issue that I truly care about. I understand that people are shaped by their backgrounds and races, but I wish so much that people could also learn to accept each other as well.
At the same time, I have also seen discrimination based on sexual orientation pretty close up as well. One of my best friends in high school is gay and the sad thing is, I didn’t even know this for a fact until we had graduated. The reason being, he didn’t want to deal with everyone knowing until later because of the high school we went to. While he had a very supportive friend group and not a single person thought worse of him after he came out, our school was swarming with homophobes who had already had their fair share of taunting him even without knowing that he was gay. He was always very feminine, with strange style, lots of girl friends, and a love for poetry. A group of boys we knew in orchestra constantly called him fag in a joking manner, but I see now how that must’ve angered him. He’s a very cool-headed guy, the type who would not let these things make him think less of himself, but at the same time, I understood how frustrating it could be for him to be made fun of for something as defining as that. I can’t possibly imagine discriminating against someone based on their sexual orientation. It amazes me that people manage to find things that are so basic in who we are and twist them against each other. The idea that we keep finding ways to set each other apart instead of bringing ourselves closer together is upsetting. I have always been disgusted at laws that try to ban same sex marriage or the ability for gay couples to adopt. It is absolutely not anybody’s business how gay people live their lives and thus there should be no laws prohibiting them in a discriminatory manner. I almost feel like we are at a point in our lives that rivals that of Martin Luther King Jr.’s day. We are faced with a great wall of discrimination, but at the same time we have people who care very passionately about equal rights for everybody and I think it’s about time we did something about it.
So, we really need to assess how we want to look at our differences. Are they something that will continue to set us apart and be the source of fights and tears or are they something to be embraced and shared? I for one, love meeting different people and learning more about them. I hope that we can move forward as a world with a greater understanding of each other and a more accepting nature in general.
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