by Ray Morrell

Created on: July 10, 2008

Racism. What a huge debatable subject. Is it taught or learned? I would say it is a learned response. We as human beings have a real issue with experiencing anything different. Whether we like peas or not, whether we like driving fast or slow, or if you're favorite color is black or white. Whether we as people like or dislike a person is based on the ideal that we have an opinion. Our opinions are usually based on experience whether it would be factual experience or misunderstood experience. I myself as a Caucasian male have a hard time with even speaking about racism in general. Why? I have found myself angry, upset and sometimes enraged over the way this country has began bowing down to certain races, because of something that I had nothing to do with. That as a white American in this country I have to watch how I say something or react to something because of the people around me. That I may be called racists. Which of course sways my opinion of any race. No matter what my parents have taught me about people of any race, I have found that I tend to judge people by what and how they act towards me as a person. I accept people on how they act not so much on what someone has taught me about the population of any race. I just know what I see and feel when a race issue becomes a national media circus. Taking books off of a shelf because it looks like a certain race to me is ridicules. But this of course is my opinion and I believe because of this I have learned to not judge so much on an entire race but on a case by case basis. But like the rest of the human beings on the planet I tend to subconsciously group things together whether it would be apples and oranges, Asians or Hispanics. We as human beings have a natural need to group things together. So maybe it's just human nature to categorize and have certain feelings toward what we tend to group together.

The society that we live in today teaches us to conform to be ultra-sensitive toward everyone. Politically correct are the words that come to mind. But honestly no matter how politically correct we present our words, wisdom or opinion too. The bottom line is racism will always be a huge ordeal in our society. Whether it is taught or learned.
I have always been "taught" to make judgment on what is fact. But if I do just that I would have to take into account the statistical information that our media and government seems shove down our throat. And base my opinion on the factual information that the murder rate in my state on of the highest in the country are committed by African Americans that have invaded our city by way of gangs. That the majority of the African Americans are murders, of course this is a ridicules way to look at it. That every 7-ll I go into is ran by an Arab American and they all love slurpees. All Hispanics are illegal immigrants that have jumped the fence to get to America. Though I do love slurpees myself I have found that not all Arab Americans like them. Especially on free slurpee day. (Which by the way is tomorrow 07-11-2008) That all Hispanics haven't had to jump a fence to be in this country. Yes Caucasian Americans can dance. I have learned all of these things. I have been taught just the opposite and most of it simply is not true. So racism as a whole is a learned process .

Learn more about this author, Ray Morrell.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.