Sunday, October 7, 2012

Land of the Free's Racism



Today I would sum up racism in America much better than the past and constantly moving forward. Only a few decades ago segregation laws were still in affect which only ended in the late sixties. These hateful acts were not only tolerated but at times honored in the south. Another example of american racism is the Japenese Concentration Camps held in California during World War II. Over 7,000 Japenese-American Citizens were held in containment. Leading up to 2012 every generation is moving in the right direction, I mean look at our president! Unfortunately we still have a long way to go though. The racism today starts with the stereotyping that most have been taught throughout the years. No child is born with racism. Something that shocked me was  an article published by Forbes magazine which discusses a book called The New Jim Crowe. It is stated that that "Approximately half a million people are in prison or in jail for a drug offense today, compared to around 41,000 in 1980.  Despite the fact that surveys show that whites are just as likely to use illegal drugs as blacks, one out of every 14 black men was behind bars in 2006, compared to one in 106 white men."  I believe this is extremely unfair especially toward the african american community.  Other than that, day to day, I think most people our age at least are stepping away from racism and thinking more in the name of equality.



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