Walborn | 1 Brian Walborn 10/5/2011 Professor Lutz Exploratory Essay Racism In Todays World Racism.

Whats the first thing you think of when you read this word? The first thing that comes to my mind is discrimination of African Americans in the time of Martin Luther King Jr. and his valiant attempt to stop it. Little to my knowledge, racism stretches much further than just African Americans in the early 60s, but to every culture and race around the world. There is constant discrimination occurring around the world, which is what propelled me to write this essay. I came into English 151 with a limited amount of knowledge on racial issues, but the class has greatly broadened my scope, yet also left me with some questions. Is racism expanding around the world? Is the general fear of Muslims considered a racial issue since the tragedies of September 11th? Is affirmative action unlawful? All of these questions have to do with the racial issues of today and involve current events and problems in not only the United States, but around the world. Many people take a stance on one side or the other on these issues, and its typically difficult not to, but both sides bring up valid arguments. The first question, which asks if racism is expanding around the world, leads to more questions to explore. Why did racism begin, and what causes racism to occur? In an article on racism written by Anup Shah, he says, Racism and discrimination have been used as powerful weapons encouraging fear or hatred of

Walborn | 2 others in times of conflict and war, and even during economic downturns (Shah, Racism). This particular quotation suggests that racism is used in a broad spectrum of instances from physical conflicts such as war, to economic problems, similar to what is occurring in the United States today. Many people have blamed President Obama, an African American, for the bank bailout known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program, when in reality; the program was originated from George W. Bush, Obamas predecessor (Wilson, How Obama, minorities, and low-income Americans are scapegoats for the economic downturn). This is a prime example of ignorance and racism in America. On the other hand, there are many cases of racism against whites in the United States as well. Many people only focus on the racism against the minority when in reality; it works the other way as well. This argument is proven in an online article entitled Racism Against Whites: the Overlooked Phenomenon by Rodolfo Mendoza-Denton, who has a Ph.D. in social psychology from Columbia University. Mendoza-Denton says in the article, Yet Id venture that the perception that all whites are bigots is one of the stereotypes that elicits the least outcry from our society (Mendoza-Denton, Racism Against Whites: the Overlooked Phenomenon). To me, this statement argues that its not always the majority that are the source of racism, but sometimes the targets, and this is naturally overlooked in todays society due to the history of the minority (African Americans, Muslims, Native Americans, etc.) usually being the victim of the racist acts. Mendoza-Denton goes on to say, The stereotype of whites as racist has real and negative consequences for its targets (Mendoza-Denton, Racism Against Whites: the Overlooked Phenomenon). This statement is also true, adding to the validity of the

Walborn | 3 argument that the majority isnt always the source of the racism. Back to the original question: Is racism expanding around the world? It may be easy to say, Well, obviously, but thats not exactly the truth. With the efforts to stop it contrasting with the ongoing problems, its difficult to say whether or not racism will continue to increase or diminish sometime in the future. The question that asks if the general fear of Muslims is considered a racial issue since the tragic events on September 11th, 2001 is, just as the previous question, difficult to put an exact answer to. I know, like many other people know as well, that after September 11th, heightened security in airports has been a major factor in the attempt to stop terrorism as far as flight goes. Although these efforts to stop terrorism seem to be successful, one thing that needs to be looked at is the racial profiling that occurs. Is it wrong to say that a person of Muslim descent has a greater chance of performing an unlawful or terrorist attack? Our perceptions are skewed since 9/11. Ive heard people from the United States stereotype Muslims as terrorists. In a poem by Suheir Hammad, a respectable Palestinian poet, she says, most Americans do not know the difference between Indians, Afghanis, Syrians, Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus. More than ever, there is no difference (Hammad, First Writing Since). This is an example of Hammad speaking from her heart, but this excerpt has a copious amount of truth behind it. Speaking from a neutral standpoint, a lot of people cannot see a difference between the people of the different Middle Eastern countries. Is this racism? Its quite hard to tell for sure. Another argument that supports Hammads thoughts comes from an article on the website Democracy Now. The article says that while the Justice Department and Homeland Security say

Walborn | 4 they do not practice racial profiling, there are many stories that say otherwise (Democracy Now). Last week a group of Muslim-Americans say they were detained for hours at New Yorks Kennedy Airport when they came back to the United States from trips abroad (Democracy Now). Again, questions may arise asking if the reason they were detained was simply because they were of Muslim descent, or could it be because they were showing suspicious signs? This question leads me into the opposite side of the argument. Asra Q. Nomani, an Indian-American journalist and author was noted saying, Profiling has become a dirty word, synonymous with prejudice, racism and bigotry. But the sad truth is that many terrorists share one common denominator: Many of them are Muslim. Singling out people of different backgrounds isnt about racism, but threat assessment. So, as a Muslim woman, I say, Profile me (Nomani, Airport Screening: Would Profiling Work?). This is an argument from a Muslim woman that is difficult to dispute. The fear of Muslims is a racial issue, but the profiling may not be since the Muslim race is synonymous with terrorist attacks in numerous instances. The third and final question on racial issues is the question that asks whether or not affirmative action is unlawful. Beginning with a definition, affirmative action means positive steps to increase the representation of women and minorities in areas of employment, education, and business from which they have been historically excluded (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). This definition alone persuades me to believe that affirmative action isnt needed because of the fact that they say, from which they have been historically excluded. In my opinion, the history is the history, and the present is the present. Minorities can do things

Walborn | 5 themselves without the help of institutions. In a debate, Joseph Phillips, an AfricanAmerican, quoted Richard Atkinson, the former president of the University of California at Berkley, by saying that Atkinson said that we couldnt achieve racial diversity on college campuses without the usage of affirmative action, or racial preferences. In response to Atkinsons statement, Phillips says, he was saying theres a monopoly on brain power, and that black students dont have it in sufficient quantity to show up in significant numbers in our nations campuses (Phillips). By this retaliation to Atkinson, Phillips shows that just because a student is African-American, they have just as much ability as a white student and that hes offended that people think less of the minority. This is true. The opposition would say that affirmative action makes up for the racial issues that have stained our history. As the American Civil Liberties Union puts it, Affirmative action is one of the most effective tools for redressing the injustices caused by our nation's historic discrimination against people of color for leveling what has long been an uneven playing field. It does make sense to give back to the minorities that have suffered in the past through unlawful acts of racism, but as Joseph Phillips states, minorities dont need the extra help from institutions because they can handle themselves. In conclusion, I have learned the ability to both understand and comprehend the validity of each side of an argument is extremely difficult when you originally have a personal stand or preference on the subject. For the expansion of racism, I was almost completely sure that racism was diminishing by the second, but after researching into it, I found that it wasnt always the case, and racism is technically still a growing problem in the world. The quotes from Suheir Hammad and Asra

Walborn | 6 Nomani pulled me in two different directions. Hammad stated that people profiling Muslims as terrorists was a completely horrible thing, whereas Nomani, also a Muslim, somewhat seemed to agree with profiling, as long as it stopped terrorist actions. With affirmative action, I can say that although its used for the good of the minority, it can also be a negative thing toward them because it makes the minority unequal, which is not appropriate. Without question, however, racism exists in America. Whether its racial profiling or affirmative action, racism exists and through what Ive found in my research, it is difficult or even impossible to completely abolish.

Walborn | 7

Works Cited American Civil Liberties Union. "Affirmative Action - Recent Court Cases, Issues and Articles." American Civil Liberties Union. Web. 07 Oct. 2011. <http://www.aclu.org/racial-justice/affirmative-action>.

Kamat, Anjali. ""I Was Made to Feel Like an Outsider in My Own Country" - MuslimAmericans Say Racial Profiling Led to Detention, Harassment at Airport." A Daily TV/radio News Program, Hosted by Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez, Airing on over 900 Stations, Pioneering the Largest Community Media Collaboration in the United States. 25 Aug. 2006. Web. 07 Oct. 2011. <http://www.democracynow.org/2006/8/25/i_was_made_to_feel_like>.

Mendoza-Denton, Rodolfo. "Racism against Whites: The Overlooked Phenomenon | Psychology Today." Psychology Today: Health, Help, Happiness Find a Therapist. 10 Nov. 2010. Web. 06 Oct. 2011. <http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/are-we-bornracist/201011/racism-against-whites-the-overlooked-phenomenon>.

Phillips, Joseph C. "Affirmative Action Debate: Joseph C. Phillips." Speech. Intelligence Squared, 18 Nov. 2007. Web. 6 Oct. 2011. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hY4fKqOAUZw&feature=related>.

Walborn | 8 Shah, Anup. "Racism Global Issues." Global Issues : Social, Political, Economic and Environmental Issues That Affect Us All Global Issues. 08 Aug. 2008. Web. 06 Oct. 2011. <http://www.globalissues.org/article/165/racism>.

Stanford Encyclopedia. "Affirmative Action (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 28 Dec. 2001. Web. 07 Oct. 2011. <http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/affirmative-action/>.

The Week. "Airport Screening: Would Profiling Work? - The Week." The Week Magazine: Political News and Cartoons, Current Events and Entertainment Online. 30 Nov. 2010. Web. 07 Oct. 2011. <http://theweek.com/article/index/209869/airport-screening-wouldprofiling-work>.

Wilson, Valerie. "The Recession's Racial Tinge | Iamempowered.com." I Am Empowered. Ebony Magazine, 15 Feb. 2011. Web. 06 Oct. 2011. <http://iamempowered.com/article/2011/02/15/recessions-racial-tinge>.