I think that racism is one of the most stupid and ignorant traits that can be passed down from one generation to the next. Think about it. Are blacks and whites really that different? Both breathe, live, love, breed, and die. They both commit crimes and both do good deeds. What racism should be about is along the lines of "good and evil", not "black and white". Not to say that this is the only type of racism that is occurring or has occurred.

In my opinion, people are people. We are all the same. Take toast, for example. If you burn toast, it's still toast. If you scrape off the burned parts, it's still toast. A quote that comes to mind is "A rose is a rose is a rose". No matter what color it is or how you choose to look at it, it's still just a rose.

People of all colors, shapes and sizes have their mundane reasons for being racist. Slavery, ridiculous restrictions, and so forth. I say to those people, get over it. If you try to put yourself in the shoes of someone of another race, you will see that their points are valid to them. If your great grandmother was a slave, you would probably hold a grudge too. When teaching your children of their heritage and stories from great-granny's past, being a slave would probably make it's way into the conversation...seeing as how that's how she spent her life. You can't just leave out significant things like that. You want your children to see how you and your relatives have overcome hardships so that your little ones will hopefully learn to do the same.

I do not condone racism at all, although I do see how it came about. On the other hand, I don't understand how it has come to stay. I would think that people with a less than fortunate life would be happy to have overcome such difficulties, rather than sit and sulk and teach further generations to hate those that put them in those situations. What happened to moving on and forgive and forget? I think it's pretty sad that people are still stuck in the past so much so that, in order to feel that they are advancing, they need to hinder a child's belief from the start. I say that children should be exposed to all humans the same way, with the same thoughts, greetings, conversations, and goodbyes. Let them learn for themselves who they choose to dislike for their own reasons, not the reasons of relatives, books, and biased beliefs.

Can you imagine the kind of world that would exist if everyone let their children love the people around them, just because they are fellow humans...going through all the same struggles that life has dealt? What a wonderful place that would be! I love cultural diversity. I think it gives a certain spice to life. Different cultures...ways of life for me to learn about. It's so very interesting. Besides, I get kinda tired at looking at the same faces all the time.

Learn more about this author, Jessica Smith.
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