I believe that society has taken leaps and bounds toward
acceptance of all individuals, regardless of race, sexual orientation, gender,
and other opinions. In some areas, we have come farther than others. For
example, as a whole, African Americans and other races have equal opportunities
as whites as far as job opportunities go. Unfortunately, however, you can still
see today how we are divided when it comes to a topic such as homosexuality, as
gay marriage is still illegal in many states. In my opinion, society will never
be perfect because all groups of people have different sets of ideals based on
how they were raised, and it is impossible to expect everyone to have the same
opinions.
One of the problems that is raised when discussing racism is
what race an individual identifies themselves as. On the works that we have
discussed in class, such as Angry Black
White Boy, the narrator is struggling to grasp their identity. He is obviously
white, but he resents white people and is struggling to identify himself as
black by living by stereotypes associated with blacks such as stealing the
white man’s wallet, carrying a gun, and being involved with the hip hop scene. His
internal conflict is based on stereotypes associated with each race. You can
see in the novel how relieved the white people that get in his cab are when
they see that he is a white cab driver and not a black one because they don’t
want to ride in a black person’s cab. We
also see this internal struggle in Autobiography
of an Ex-Colored Man. He can act white when he wants to, whether it’s
getting into a bar to get a drink or being able to be around a lynching of an
black person without being caught. However, he can also get in touch with his
black heritage by playing rag time music in the American south. His ambiguity to
race is unfair to him and causes his internal struggle, and it’s caused by how
society perceives him.
In my life every day, I still see discrimination everywhere.
I also think that many people are like me. I wouldn’t call myself a homophobe
or a racist. However, I’ve played basketball my whole life, and it’s uncanny
how the best teams seem to be comprised of African Americans. Therefore, there
is a stereotype in my own head that black people are better at basketball that
white people. Also, it makes me uncomfortable when I see a gay couple holding
hands or kissing in public, but I’m not against same sex marriage. I see both
sides of the story; I can see that love is love, and that people should be able
to be with who they want to be, regardless of gender. I also can’t help but
feeling that homosexuality just doesn’t seem right and that it wasn’t God’s
intention. As I mentioned earlier, I think society has come a long way in
accepting others, but there will always be a sense of discrimination between groups
of people based on what Is considered “normal.”
