Prejudice

Do you hate someone just because they’re different from you? If you do, you are prejudiced. To be prejudiced, you prejudge and disrespect people because they’re a different race, gender, or religion than you. You can also be prejudiced against someone’s physical condition, or ability to do something. People can become prejudiced for all sorts of reasons, but one thing is always the same; people are not born prejudiced but taught to be that way. There are a lot of different ways to become prejudiced. Role models, like parents, teachers, etc, can influence you. Friends, peers, and the media, television, music, books, the Internet, have a big influence too. I think people become prejudiced because they want to fit in. If your friend dislikes Asians, you don’t want to loose them so you start disrespecting Asians too. And it starts a chain reaction of hate and prejudice.

I learned several new facts about myself and others while studying prejudice. 100,0000 years ago, in the time of Neanderthal, there were only three races of people, Negroid (black), Caucasoid (white), and Mongoloid (Asian). However, all the skin colors are made from the same three chemicals. The clear chemical, keratin, makes your skin waterproof. Carotene makes your skin yellow and melanin gives your skin a brown shade. Caucasoids originally lived in a colder climate to let more vitamin D in. Negroid peoples lived closer to the equator and have darker skin to protect them from the sun. Asians, or Mongoloids, have more carotene in their skin that gives them a yellowish tint to their skin. Mongoloids are known for having “slanted eyes”, but that’s not right. Asians have larger upper eyelids, to protect them from cold, dust and wind, but have the same size eyes everyone else has. Today we have about 2,000 different races of people. Some, like Native Americans, were Mongoloids but turned darker after adjusting to the climate of the Americas. But whatever race you are, you are a shade of brown.

Prejudice has affected my life in a personal way. I remember last year, at my old school, I would always play soccer at lunchtime. One day I went out and asked an African-American kid if I could join their game. He said no, because it was blacks vs. Mexicans and no “crackers” were allowed. I thought he was joking. Nobody at my school had ever done that before, so I asked a Mexican kid if I could play. He said no, too. This was really awkward and so out of desperation, I asked a kid I always played with. Again the answer was no, and he added that little white girls don’t know how to play “his” game. I left, running.

I think this incident was prejudice because I asked if I could play a game and I couldn’t because of my skin color and gender. That time I walked away after being insulted, but next time I know I should tell someone because no one has the right to prejudge me, or anyone, about skin.

I feel I can make a difference in helping solve the problem of prejudice by standing up for what is right. I will try to always defend myself or someone else if they are being made fun of because of their skin. And I will definitely not become a prejudicial person. Being a good role model could make a big difference in how people see an anti-prejudicial lifestyle. I should not be embarrassed to say what’s right and I should be more outgoing in stopping prejudicial people and thoughts. For instance, I could post this essay on the Internet or in a local newspaper so more people could be aware of this sickness many people have in their hearts. I know prejudice is wrong, and nobody, anywhere, has the right to hate someone because of his or her natural skin.