by Christian Fann

Created on: May 14, 2008

Without a doubt, racism is much more damaging. Am I saying this because I am an African-American male, am I saying this because I like "gotcha" games, or am I saying this because it can be proved?

You decide.

While sexism can work for and against both genders, it is primarily an interesting creature because it targets women (most notably negatively). While men can find themselves on the receiving end of sexism, it does not possess the same level of scrutiny because, those situations, as rare as they are, while embarrassing, will never hold an entire bloc of men back from advancing in life.

Many men have the keys to the city as it concerns every day life. Men, for all intents and purposes, are the ones that own and control the most prolific of companies; they control how money is being used and spent, and yet, suffer very little from sexism. The extent of their suffering is usually through casual joke or innuendo about their sexual limitations, etc.

Because we live in a world which is very hyper-sensitive to sexist themes, most people are not against enacting legislation (be it personal or governmental) which would protect women, from having to go through such humiliating circumstances. For example, if a woman walks into an office (lets say with greater credentials) and gets denied a job against a man, that in and of itself was probably sexism at work. And, because the law is on her side, she can file a complaint and have her situation, if not overturned, at least voiced.

Racism does not work the same way. Because people are largely against talks of "lets bring our issues to the table." Because of the Civil Rights Acts of the 1960's, many some how feel that racism had breathed its last breath, but if recent history is any kind of articulator, it has not.

This is not hard to see why because after all, blacks are much more endorsed by their government now than in any time in Americas' history. Blacks and Whites are allowed to attend the same schools (without firebombs and bomb threats being all the rage) without fear of outright violence perpetrated by Fascist groups. My personal favorite is blacks and other minorities of color are now seen as the standard-bearer of what is "cool" or "in."

Phenomenons never really went over too well for me. Why? Because for the simple (and plausible might I add) reason what is in style today may not be tomorrow. There is no free pass for not having any substance and that is not a shield against the prejudices of the day. What MTV, BET,

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