Racism Persuasive Essay

507 Words3 Pages
Racism has always been a problem in this world and in the United States. When I think of racism in the States the first thing that comes to mind is the mistreatment of blacks by whites. Through all of the history classes I have taken in my life I have learned about slavery, segregation, and the Jim Crow laws among other things, all of which were practiced and enforced by white people in America. Perhaps it is this perception of America’s past that has caused many to ignorantly believe that only white people are capable of racism. This could not be further from the truth. Every race is capable of racism, and it is racist in itself to say that it is a “white person’s disease”. Ironically, to say that only white people are capable of racism is racist in itself. UCLA Sociologist Michael Bumstock finds it amusing when people call racism a white person’s disease. He says, “To be racist is to stereotype an entire race based on observation. So to say that all white people or all black people are racist is actually quite racist in itself. It amuses me how people actually think that way.” In a survey conducted by the American Opinions Network, it is seen approximately 21% of the African-Americans surveyed believed that all white people are naturally racist. Those numbers dropped to only 7% when Hispanics and Asian-Americans were surveyed. This shows that perhaps some blacks still hold a grudge against whites for all they have put them through in the last century. The fact of the matter is; however, that in saying only white people are racist, they are being racist themselves, therefore disproving their statement. To say that racism is a “white person’s disease” is also factually incorrect. All of us, as humans, discriminate; it is a natural instinct which we all share. Psychologist Larry A. Days explains that, “… as humans we all discriminate people who are different from
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