Despite the efforts through various organizations and through the teachings of the many lessons of history, racism is still rampant in our society. While the level of discrimination and hatred has decreased considerably since as early as fifty years ago, there is still much to be done in order to eliminate prejudice. But, what can one do to contribute to racial equality?I realize that everyone's story varies, but I'll describe to you of my own experience and how I was able to learn from it...Last year, I heard many insults aimed towards my peers. But, one really stuck out: The word "Jew." The story is almost always consistent every time: My friends and I gather every morning in the hallway. We talk. We start to storm each other with insults. This is all fun and games until someone shouts out the word "Jew", and points to an opposing party.I never did approve of this degradation towards and innocent people, and yet, I remained unspoken during the entire tribulation. To this day, I am not completely certain why I did what I did. Perhaps it was because I was feeling apprehensive of standing out from the crowd. Or, perhaps I thought that merely calling someone a "Jew" was not a bad insult and that I was senseless for not "joining the crowd."Whatever the poor justification I used, I now know differently. These comments are based on the notion that one's culture is ideal. They, therefore, create wrongful stereotypes about another's "inferior" traditions and, more often than not, lead to hatred. Remaining indifferent in the face of this oppression only proves that one condones the activity. We must learn to speak against all forms of racism. For if we chose not to do so, then our predicament will retrogress even further....
