Jessica Benson Essay 4

My topic I believe is going to be racism/prejudice. My novel was 'The Green Mile'. I chose this topic because it is something that we still face in today's society. Prejudice is never a good thing. My stand on this topic is against. I believe people should not be quick to judge or make decisions based on color, gender, age, IQ or anything, but based on a person as a whole. Our government has the power to make laws that enforce being against being prejudice or a racist. I know in some places that it is illegal to discriminate, but do people honestly enforce it? We should make the laws more strict and make the consequences more fierce. Another thing I do not like, is when people get into an arguement and all of a sudden call the other person a racist because they are being called out. For example: A white male and a black male get into a heated discussion about how there is more poverty in this world and it is mainly minorities. After about 10 or 15 minutes the white male might say something personal, but not racial, to the balck male and he might get defensive and say "Oh, is it because I am black?" Now the white male is seen as a racist even though what he might have said wasn't racist at all. It is really hard sometimes to be put in situations where someone might think you are a racist or a sexist even when you are not. I wish the world could see its people as people and not by color, class, gender or orgin. It makes it really hard to be able to have the freedom of speech, but you have to watch everything you say and every move you make. My father was a veryu racist man and it always bothered me because a few of my friends were black and my best friend is vietnamese. He would always make excuses about how I couldn't go out with them because I had family things to do. It hurt me personally because I was just a kid who wanted to play with my friends. I never saw it as a black or white issue, ever. I believe in equal opprotunity and equal rights. People say it's an impossible goal to reach, but I beg to differ. In my mind it is one of the easiest goals in life to accomplish. Do not judge. It is a personal matter, but we are in a world that is surround by diversity and it should be seen as a beautiul thing. To learn about other cultures and how people live. There are so many idea's on this topic and I want to hear what you think! Thanks for listening to me ramble.. I hope it makes sense.