"Any concept of one person being superior to another can lead to racism."
-Walter Lang
To me this quote really outlines the root of racism, all men and women are made equal and yet people in our society refuse to treat each other as equals.
An example of racism that I found shocking was the video that one of my class mates showed during their summative presentation on racism. The video detailed a situation which was set up by a group that was working to eliminate racism in our society. The situation unfolded as follows, a woman of African heritage walked into a store - she was an actor, the was then confronted by one of the the white sales women (also an actor) who demanded she leave the store - immediately, purely because her 'type' were not welcome in that particular store. The point of the video was to get a reaction out of the nearby shopper - who were not actors.
I found the different reactions to this scene very interesting, especially when one man supported the racist sales woman! When the act was revealed he immediately changed his opinion, which I found ironic, however majority of the people who did react to the scene did so in defence of the African American woman who was being discriminated against.
I am personally extremely against racism, and don't understand how some people can discriminate against other on that basis of skin colour or ethnicity. This video I mentioned did however have some encouraging moments - for example when two women stood up against the "racist" saleswoman, by not only supporting the African American women but by also and proceeded to walk out of the store , bringing many of the other shoppers with them.
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