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Sept. 24, 2005 Since Hurricane Katrina, there's been a lot of talk about racism. Of course, there was a lot of talk about racism between Useless-knowledge writers prior to Katrina. People seem to refuse to believe that somebody might be racist. The term racist is so commonly associated with a cross-burning member of the Ku Klux Klan. That is not the case. More often than not, it can take the place of a well-to-do teenager raised in a sheltered suburban society. Hey, that sounds familiar! The fact is that teens nowadays are about as racist as you can get. The terms nigger, spic, jap, and just anything else you can think of are commonplace in high school. According to my peers, anyone who is Hispanic is automatically an illegal alien (the television show "Mind of Mencia" has done little to dispel this rumor, however funny it may be). Anyone black MUST be "ghetto." Strangely enough, that principle seems to apply to rich white kids, too. I hate to be pessimistic, but to say that racism has been eradicated from our society only forty years after the civil rights movement is absolutely naive. We have racists, and plenty of 'em. And they're probably going to be in the South, where racism was a particularly potent force for much of our history. To have that force suddenly erased in forty years is simply not realistic. Former nazis still exist--even in seats of power, Ku Klux Klan members, protected by the idea of "double jeopardy," brag proudly of killing black men. There are still plenty of prejudiced men and women living in our country, and it shouldn't take something like Katrina for people to realize that we've got a problem. Just because people are not parading in the streets for something does not mean that it is not an issue that still needs to be addressed--particularly with today's youth, because what happens if they grow up to be racists? So do their children, and their children, and so on. It all comes down to morality and how you teach it to your children. Unfortunately, that is not happening with today's youth. ------------ About the author: Jack Lepiarz is a student at Madison High School in Madison, New Jersey. He has written an unpublished novel, Spencer, which he hopes to publish soon. Email: Jackwuzhere42@aol.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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