An Unconsciously Racist America Essay
Living in a diverse country has its advantages. By living in the United States, we get to explore different cultures, try different foods, learn about others’ beliefs and expand our knowledge outside our culture. People become accustomed to different cultures and make really good friends along the way. However, for every advantage there are is a disadvantage. In a country, full of diversity, there are racist individuals who tend to feel superior to other races. These racist individuals help speculate assumptions about other races, which are distributed across the media and help create stereotypes. Without knowing it, we all have unconsciously racist thoughts. The truth is, we all have been subjected to racism, we have all misjudged someone due to their race, and we have all been victims of racism. Due to this, we all run the risk of violence due to the way we are perceived.
Although the United States is very comprehensive on diversity, people continue to have unconscious racist thoughts against others. In his narrative, “Black Men and Public Spaces,” Brent Staples explain the fear women have when they see an African American man out in the community, “they seem to set their faces on neutral and, with their purse straps strung across their chests bandolier style, they forge ahead as though bracing themselves against being tackled.” (166) As a woman, whenever I see an African American man out in the community, my brain immediately sends alert signals. Before I know it, I grip my belongings tighter and assemble my car keys in a weapon formation to prepare myself for an unexpected attack. Ashamed of my unconscious action, I think to myself: “Why did I do this? I am not a racist. Why am I filled with fear when I see an African American man?” My unconscious action is due to the way African American men continue to be perceived in today’s media. African American men are constantly shown as criminals in movies, news broadcasts, and TV shows. This is why, every time I see an African American man approaching me, I am immediately set on alert mode. Although just like other races, there are African American criminals who harm women, that does not mean all African American men are the same. Treating innocent individuals as criminals could provoke them to lower their self-esteem.
I did not realize people’s unconscious thoughts harmed people’s self-esteem until I experienced it on my own. In December 2015, my family and I went on a trip to Lake Tahoe; we rented a cabin, so my sister and I went to a nearby grocery store to go buy the needed groceries. At the grocery store, my sister and I were having a conversation in Spanish, we were laughing and having a good time. Walking through the aisles, I noticed a Caucasian female employee was following us with a suspicious look on her face. My first instinct was because we were being too loud, so my sister and I talked in a lower voice so we would not bother; however, she continues to follow us. I did not think much of it until we reached the registers and talked to the cashier. As we finished paying for our items, the cashier employee stopped us and asked us to wait a moment because the manager was going to come to talk to us. After 15 minutes of waiting, the manager approached us with a police officer by his side. I felt embarrassed as all the customers stopped and stared at us to see what was going on. As we followed the officer and the manager to the office, I asked them, “Is there something wrong?” The officer stated that he received a report from a store employee stating we had shoplifted. As calmly as I could be, I denied the accusations to the officer and showed him our receipt as confirmation that we had purchased our items. The officer stated he needed to see our bags as confirmation. As the officer searched through our bags, I could not help but feel discriminated against. I thought to myself, “If we weren’t speaking Spanish, this would not be happening.” The employee was probably upset she could not understand what we were saying and assumed we were intending to shoplift. After confirming our innocence, the officer apologized for the mistake and let us go. However, the damage was done, as we walked out of the store I heard whispers from people around us. After that incident, I did the same as Brent Staples, “I began to take precautions to make myself less threatening.” (168) After the incident, I was traumatized. I feared walking into shopping centers and standing out. Whenever I walk inside a shopping center, I only speak English, because I am afraid people would feel threatened and treat me as a criminal. I no longer feel comfortable taking a purse with me when I go shopping, I now carry my cards in my pockets because I do not want people to believe I am shoplifting.
The fear of standing out and being perceived as a criminal helped me realize that racist issues continue to occur in America’s society today. Although people state they are not racist, everyone has unconscious racist thoughts due to the stereotypes performed in today’s media. Brent Staples mentioned, “and I soon gathered that being perceived as dangerous is a hazard itself. I only needed to turn a corner into a dicey situation, crowd some frightened, armed person in a foyer somewhere, or make an errant move after being pulled over by a policeman. Where fear and weapons meet – and they often do in urban America – there is always a possibility of death.” (165) Media continues to perceive African American and Latino individuals as criminals, that is why every time we encounter people of these races we cannot help but think that they are threatening us and take this matter out of proportion. For example, Trayvon Martin’s case. In February 2012, Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old African American, was walking through a neighborhood in Sanford, Florida when he was shot by George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old neighborhood watch because he looked suspicious. During the incident, Trayvon Martin was seen wearing a black hoody, which made him a “suspected criminal.” Although George Zimmerman called law enforcement for the “suspected criminal,” he decided to take action and shoot Trayvon Martin.
The United States tends to deny that racism continues to exist today; however, due to stereotypes perceived by the media, people continue to have unconscious thoughts of other races, especially against African Americans. Although people state they are not racist, their unconscious mind perceives caution alert whenever they see an African American or a Latino individual. People immediately make assumptions that they are criminals. As Americans, we need to change the way the United States continues to perceive people of color. As Rosa Parks once said, “Racism is still with us. But it is up to us to prepare our children for what they have to meet, and, hopefully, we shall overcome.” Unfortunately, racism continues to exist, but it is up to us to make a change. It is important to educate people about this issue to prevent incidents, such as feeling discriminated against, falsely accusing others, and even killing others for an unconscious racist though. We need to teach our students how to react to these situations and hopefully be able to overcome them in the future so America will no longer be unconsciously racist.
Works Cited
Staples, Brent. “Black Men and Public Space.” Between Worlds: A Reader, Rhetoric, and Handbook. Ed. Susan Bachmann and Melinda Barth. 7th ed. New York: Longman, 2012. 164-168. Print.
