Say No to Racism
By: Kailee Ramsell
There are many reasons why the International day for the elimination of Racial Discrimination is an important day for us to recognize. Not only does this day remind people not to be racist but it also reminds people that there is hope. No one should have to put up with racism just because of their appearance or their culture. Discrimination is absolutely unacceptable, and under no circumstances should anyone ever be in the position of a victim of racialism. I strongly believe that anti-racism is the right path to go down, because racial discrimination will get you no where in life.
There are three main levels of racism, individual, institutional and cultural. Racists are people who use abusive or rude behavior towards members of a different race. Not all racism is intentional. Some reasons to why people might be racist could be the physical appearance of someone or their disabilities or even their gender! In my opinion, it is very inhuman to judge people on their looks, their family or their way of life and take pride in doing so. The attitude that racists have could be bigotry, belittling or jealousy which result in their racial beliefs.
Racial beliefs are stereotypes. In stereotyping another person, racists use a “set image” and assume that they are not as good as them and that their value is substantially higher than members of another race. Stereotypes are often negative and form an instant picture of a group of people, usually based on false or incomplete information. Stereotypes ignore the fact that no two human beings are identical. You definitely cannot classify an individual or a group just by their race or lifestyle, and by putting these beliefs to actions racial behaviors develop. Racist behaviors include violence, name-calling and discrimination. You have the power to stop racism.
You have the power to stop racism. Although you are just one person, you do have a right as well as a responsibility to speak out against racism. If you are a victim or a witness of racist behavior you have the strength to stop it. You could take part in activities supporting March 21 [the International day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination], join organizations dealing with human rights and issues of racist acts, and you could even make a suggestion to your community that they develop a policy statement against all forms of racial discrimination. Even objecting to racist jokes and insults can eliminate prejudice and discrimination. A good idea to do in school would be to do exactly what I am doing right now; participating in an essay contest about the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
Overall, don’t you think it’s worth it to help stop racialism? Not only does it keep people from emotional pain but it makes you and your country and even the world a whole lot stronger. I believe that if everyone participated just a little bit in eliminating racist attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors, this world would soon be virtually free of racial discrimination and prejudiced stereotypes. You can do a lot for the world if you want to. There is definitely no limit to an individual and their ability to help keep racism buried. Believe in being anti-racist and it will help you succeed, that is why I think that we should recognize the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
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