When I think about a time that I confronted a seemingly unsurmountable moment of adversity, one situation comes straight into my mind. At the time, the incident did not seem much bigger than me or the small town that I live in. However, after telling my family what happened and paying more attention to the news, I have come to realize that it was much bigger. This is the story of my job as a Dairy Queen cashier, my confrontation with racism, and its impact on my mind. To begin with, I picked up a job at Dairy Queen my senior year of high school. My parents had surprised me with a brand-new truck so I wanted to give back to them. Every paycheck I earned went straight to them. Obviously, it was not the greatest job ever, but I got promoted from …show more content…
Next, a couple stepped up and quickly started stating their order so fast that I could not keep up. It also did not help that they kept changing their minds. So as respectfully as I could, I said, “I’m sorry sir can you slow it down and repeat the order for me.” Then, the elderly, Caucasian man, who I had never met, said “Come on now you crossed the border to get a job like this you should at least be able to do it right." I paused for a moment. Then, confused, angry, and with my feelings hurt, I just turned around and found my manager. I do not know exactly why I did, but at the moment it I did not even have to think twice if walking off was the right thing to do. I explained to my manager what had just occurred and let her know that I needed to go home. She replied, "I do not want you to but I completely understand why." So, I got my stuff, walked passed the counter where the elderly people and the man were still standing, with my chin up, got in my truck and left home. I could feel them staring at me as I walked out. From my peripherals, I could see a couple of them with their jaws dropped. Even though I knew walking off was the right thing, it was not easy and it did not take away from the hurt that this stranger's words had caused me. On my way home I just kept seeing his face in my head when I walked off. He was confused and looked as if he did not know he said anything wrong. I kept asking myself, "Should I have said something to him?
Brent Staples and Richard Rodriguez’s autobiographical essays both start out with a problem, but they deal with it in different ways. Brent Staples’ “Just Walk on By” deals with the issue of racism and social judgment he faces because he is African-American, while Rodriguez’s essay “Complexion,” details the self-hatred and shame he felt in his childhood because of his skin color. Both of these essays deal with race, appearance, and self-acceptance, but the authors write about them in different ways. When looking at the similarities and differences together, the points of these essays have a much stronger message about how to deal with discrimination.
The author illustrates the struggle of an average black male during his daily routine through many personal stories and relatable anecdotes. Through the actions of mentally discriminating against foreign races in America, we see in the writing, it makes them feel they are lower than everyone else. One example of this is when the proprietor got her dog as a precautionary action when he entered a jewelry store to just take a look , “She stood, the dog extended toward me, silent to my questions, her eyes nearly bulging out of her head.” The man was repetitively rejected when he questioned the dog, who wouldn’t feel less of themselves. We pity him because he was blatantly getting unconsciously discriminated by a precautionary store owner. Another example of this was when a different black male was mistaken as the killer, of a story he was working on, “ Police hauled him from his car at gunpoint and but for his press credentials would probably have tried to book him.” This man was being accused of someone he never was and was being treated with a gun. We pity him because he was abruptly hauled from his vehicle, handled as a criminal, and being discriminated at all the same
In Brent Staples’ narrative, he asserts the fact that society has stereotypical and discriminatory views towards black males, which has caused him to experience distasteful encounters leading him to behave in a very careful and docile manner around others in public spaces. Personally I agree with Brent Staples, the misjudgment and stereotypes that are enforced on certain races has caused there to be an unnecessary disruption and uneasiness in the daily life and activities of such people. I have also found myself in situations that are similar to Brent Staples’ experiences, all of which were caused by the stigma surrounding immigrants and people of color. Author Brent Staples begins the essay by addressing an experience he had when he was younger,
Racism is not only a crime against humanity, but a daily burden that weighs down many shoulders. Racism has haunted America ever since the founding of the United States, and has eerily followed us to this very day. As an intimidating looking black man living in a country composed of mostly white people, Brent Staples is a classic victim of prejudice. The typical effect of racism on an African American man such as Staples, is a growing feeling of alienation and inferiority; the typical effect of racism on a white person is fear and a feeling of superiority. While Brent Staples could be seen as a victim of prejudice because of the discrimination he suffers, he claims that the victim and the perpetrator are both harmed in the vicious cycle that is racism. Staples employs his reader to recognize the value of his thesis through his stylistic use of anecdotes, repetition and the contrast of his characterization.
Both stories show contrasting views on African American people living in fear of racial terrorism, physical harm, housing inequality, and dangerous life in segregated black neighborhoods. However, they share similar views on racism in the form of economic oppression and the experience of racial injustice in both authors' lives, which are expressed through their respective stories. In the 1950s, racism was at its peak, and racial conflict was a common occurrence throughout the USA. Black people were living in fear of racial terrorism and physical harm. The determination of white people to deny equal rights to black people frequently resulted in violent clashes, leading to racial terrorism and physical attacks on black people.
Institutionalized racism has been a major factor in how the United States operate huge corporations today. This type of racism is found in many places which include schools, court of laws, job places and governmental organizations. Institutionalized racism affects many factors in the lives of African Americans, including the way they may interact with white individuals. In the book “Drinking Coffee Elsewhere Stories” ZZ Packer uses her short stories to emphasize the how institutionalized racism plays in the lives of the characters in her stories. Almost all her characters experience the effects of institutionalized racism, and therefore change how they view their lives to adapt. Because institutionalized racism is a factor that affects how
The effects of racism can cause an individual to be subjected to unfair treatment and can cause one to suffer psychological damage and harbor anger and resentment towards the oppressor. Bigger is a twenty year old man who lives in a cramped rat infested apartment with his mother and 2 younger siblings. Due to the racist real estate market, Bigger's family has only beat down dilapidated projects in south Chicago. poor and uneducated, bigger has little options to make a better life for him and his family. Having been brought up in the 1930's in the racially prejudiced America, Bigger is burdened with the reality that he has no control over his life and that he cannot aspire to anything more than menial labor as a servant.
Prior to writing this essay, I really had not noticed the effect that race had on my life. That is, not until I was forced to look race straight in the eye. This was a very difficult thing to do because it brought back some unpleasant memories I thought I had locked away in permanent storage. I had to be brutally honest with myself and examine my inner most feelings on how race affected my life. Only then did I truly realize how race impacted my attitude, behavior, education, employment, and privileges
John had been looking for a job, but John was not having any luck with finding one. One thing had hit him pretty hard. While looking for a job in Mobile, John had meet a foreman and he asked for a job. The foreman was not budging even when John had said he would work for less money than a white man. That was when the foreman snapped he had said, “I’ll tell you… we don’t want you people. Don’t you understand that?” (Griffin 100) The Foreman had said it was nothing against him, but it was the fact he was colored. John had also experienced a moment when he was riding the bus. The bus driver had not said a word, but when Johns stop had come along, john had rang the bell and the bus driver did stop, but he did not let him off, the bus driver had deliberately slammed it shut right in John’s face (Griffin 44). These 2 acts had shown John that it was not aggressive action to the person, yet actions to the color of their skin. It made him realize that the black community had it rough. John even says that it was not an act against him, but an act against his color (Griffin
As I reflect back on my childhood years, and utilizing a Critical Race Study lens, I can see both positive and negative aspects of my early onset experiences. In this paper, I will focus on both the negative and positive aspects of Internalized oppression/racism, as well as, identifying experiences in my life in which I was considered ‘privileged’ and how my different intersectionalities shaped and molded my views in my current helping profession role.
During English class this year, we studied and explored through literature and film, how racism and prejudice have affected and shaped our past, present and near future. Through books such as To Kill a Mockingbird, American Born Chinese, House on Mango Street and movies like White/Black, my perspective on the topic of racism opened up and changed. Before this study, I had not realized how so much of American history has been shaped by racism and prejudice and how it continues to impact present times. By reading House on Mango Street, and To Kill a Mocking Bird I was exposed to how racism impacted the lives of the characters and by reading and watching American Born Chinese, and White/Black I was made aware of how racism still occurs today. I found it shocking how serious and complex the problem of racism continues to be, and how many people are affected by it daily. An example of the media that really altered my perspective was when our class watched the documentary called White/Black. In this documentary, they found a white family and a black family willing to have makeup artists change their looks so that the white family looked like a black family and the black family, a white one. One of the requirements was that each family had to live with the other for the duration of the documentary. When the white family came into the shared house, the mother said that they should make sure they protect their personal belongings, because she feared the black family might steal them. By doing so, she revealed deep prejudices and a racist misconception that being black is associated with being a criminal. Another example was when the father of the black family, who looked “white” went into a golf store to buy shoes and play golf. Afterward he said that he was treated so differently because he appeared “white”. Both these scenes shocked me because I had never realized how large of a problem racism continues to be today and how it affects almost everyone.
In life, everyone experiences hardships - this is only to be expected; it’s our ability to overcome these hardships, however, that makes us human. Conquering these challenges that are set before us can be difficult, but it is never impossible. Not everyone can say that they have witnessed first-hand the negative impacts microaggressions (in regards to: gender, class, race, national origin, etc.) and racism inevitably causes in the lives of individuals and their families but I, for one, can. The film “the Color of Fear: A film” (Wah et al., 1994) gave me the opportunity to challenge my understanding and character as an individual. It gave me a sense of purpose to continue educating others, to fight social injustice, and to be as humane as possible.
Racism is a powerful world in societies all over the world today. Regardless of where someone goes, racism in an inevitable act that is inflicted on a person whether they like it or not. In the essay, “Two Ways to Belong in America”, Bharati Mukherjee shares a personal experience that gives a sneak peek on how racism can impact one individual as her and her sister face the new laws on immigration in America. Brent Staples’ essay, “Just Walk on By”, also shares a personal experience of Staples, though he mainly addresses the quick assumptions people make about him just based off of his color. In his article, “Shooting an Elephant”, George Orwell tells of a man who faces an inner conflict between two races, and how it can affect the way a person
... made the story go in my favor when I should have called earlier to tell them that I would arrive late because of what happened. Instead, I waited for them to call me on my way up. All of the effort I had put into the past three months at work are now diminished by my one ignorant action of not calling and lying when I arrived. I could have simplified the situation by just calling in when I knew I would be late and come clean up front, instead, I blew the whole situation out of proportion and tried to make myself seem like a victim. I have lost the trust of my peers and superiors that were involved.
Before, I had a sense of how I identified in terms of many different factors. With this class, I was able to realize that my racial and overall identity is composed of a mixture of the factors not considering these factors independently from one another. I believe that my strong sense of self has always remained the same, the great difference is that I now know why I think the way I do and I am now also able to see why people think the way they do. My story tells a lot about me; it says that I have always had a strong sense of self and have always tried to live according to that sense of self. It also says that I have not always known how to interpret myself or make sense of why I am the way I am. It has definitely shown that I struggled with understanding other people’s perspectives, especially when they conflicted with mine but I am now working on maintaining an open mind instead of becoming immediately defensive. My story also shows that although I have always been well aware of racism and have always felt against it, I have not done what is necessary of me to stand up against racism. The resources I can rely on within me to fight against racism are the coping skills I have internalized for so long. Some resources I have outside myself include the skills I am learning in my Master’s program at Simmons as well as some local community outreach programs that strive to advocate and end racism and other oppressive