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| Twenty-first century racism |
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| Written by Erin Harty - Argonaut | ||||||
| Tuesday, 08 September 2009 | ||||||
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While the general public likes to claim a progressive attitude when it
comes to multi-cultural society, there are still those who have a
problem with racism. No one likes to be called a racist, and most
people like to believe they have never been intolerant or
small-minded. But racist remarks are everywhere.
Yesterday while dining at a Chinese restaurant, I heard a gentleman say with amusement, “Aren’t we at a Chinese restaurant? Because everyone working here seems to be Mexican.” He then went on to repeat his “joke” on his cell phone to a friend. I find this remark to be problematic. First of all, the restaurant is clearly billed as Chinese-American cuisine — so does it really matter what nationality the employees are? I don’t see why anyone with proper training and good recipes couldn’t be a Chinese chef. Second, the people this gentleman were referring to as Mexican, while they very well could have been Mexican, could just as likely be Cuban, Puerto Rican, Peruvian, Argentinean, Chilean or Guatemalan. Insert any other culture or ethnicity here. Americans should never lose sight of their heritage, as it is a large part of their history. They must also remember no matter what nationality an American is, they are still a person. We don’t need to be labeled by the color of our skin, the language we speak or the way we dress. We are all just people, living in a country where we are supposed to be free to express ourselves and grow up to be whatever we want to be, even a Latin-American Chinese chef if we so choose. Some people don’t realize they are being racist, and some people prefer to place the blame on our politically correct society. People sometimes blame their racism on their upbringing, which is common in a state like Idaho where diversity has been a slow process. It can be difficult to shake the ideas you were brought up with, but it is not impossible. Whatever the cause of racist thinking, it is wrong. Everyone should make an effort to be more aware of those around him or her and the effect a few simple words can have. The best advice in any situation is the advice heard by mothers everywhere — think before you speak, and if you have nothing nice to say, don’t say anything at all. Comment on this article at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  Add as favorites (22) | Views: 339
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