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Jocelyn Hernandez
Professor Batty
English 113A
21 October 2014

The Reality in Discrimination

Racism is defined as prejudice or discrimination directed against someone of a different

race based on the belief that ones own race is superior. Racism is a plague that has existed for
centuries, however the core of its existence has been more visible in the past decades.
Experiences in racism, negative actions and/or responses that is caused because of it and the fact
that racism still exists can easily change a persons self-esteem and effect his/her way of living in
fear.

Once people experience racism, doubt can occur in their mind on whether or not they should
be proud of where they come from or try to change in order to be accepted on where they are
recently living, especially if that experience was at a young age. In her story How to Tame a
Wild Tongue, Gloria Anzaldua, gives examples of how she had her own moments of racism as
a child: If you want to be American, speak American. If you dont like it, go back to Mexico
where you belong. Anzaldua was given this comment when she was trying to explain how to
properly pronounce her last name to the teacher. Discrimination is advertised in many ways that
include the media, public and entertainment.

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There was a story in the media about how a Mexican woman hung a Mexican flag in the
front of her house. Once her neighbor Tressy Capps saw the flag, the Mexican women was
confronted by her and felt insulted because of the exposure of a flag that was from a different
country. Capps was angered by seeing the flag and told Mrs. Banuelos that she is living in
America and if she wishes to keep the Mexican flag visible to others then she should move back
to Mexico. Both experiences demonstrate how age does not matter, racism is still prevalent and
will be by people that feel superior than others that come from a different country or show a
slight accent when they speak.
Racism can have a negative effect on peoples lives. They are Hispanics so they must be
Mexican. And They are black so they must like watermelon. are some examples of how these
types of comments can create conflict between different races. These comments can trigger
others to think at some point whether the stereotypes are true or not and then manipulate their
minds to think that it is alright to say it whenever they please. People make racist comments
without thinking and do not realize it until after they had said it. Racism has become a way of
living to some people, to the point that it is now like second nature to them.
Racism still exists in todays society even though many live in denial. The political cartoon
Getting Kicked on Route 66, created by Monte Wolveron in 2010, shows three white Arizona
police officers beating a Latino. The camera is in front of the subject in order to show how the
victim is trying to protect himself from the police officers. It is also far from the subject to show
where this event is taking place. The colors that are brought out in the picture, in my opinion,
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shows that the event is happening in the evening, which is a stereo type since it is saying that
Latinos try to enter the United States illegally at night. The artist is portraying that all Latinos
have a dark skin color when in reality, most Latinos skin color is as light as whites.
The police uniforms the white men are wearing demonstrates the power they have which
they believe have the right and freedom to hurt people since they know that immigrants will not
fight back. The Arizona abbreviation that are on the uniforms gives people the idea that Arizona
is the only path that immigrants use to get to the United States. The purpose of this image is to
show how racism still exists even though some people try to cover it up. Some people still
demonstrate racism against immigrants in a way that they will not get into any trouble due to the
position they hold.
This picture demonstrates how there is still destruction in the world involving racism even
from those who tend to serve and protect us. In reality, it is difficult to believe that people will
be on your side or have hatred towards you because of the ethnicity you happen to be. In
addition, there is no way for people to run away or ignore racism, especially since there will
always be a group that tends to believe it is superior to others.
Racism can cause many problems in a persons life and/or the group they come from. Once a
person experiences racism, whether at a young or old age, it can harm his/her ability to live with
being proud of whom they are. Once a racist comment or action is given to a person, conflicts
occur and do not end until a bigger conflict occurs, whether it is in an emotional or physical way.
Racism exists even now, though people wish to believe it does not so they will not have to worry
about being victimized with the actions or words thrown at them for being different. In my

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opinion, racism will never change in a positive way, not as long as there is one group believing
they are better than the rest.

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Work Citations
http://www.cagle.com/2010/05/getting-kicked-on-route-66/
Gloria Anzaldua-Situating inquiry-Boston-Bedford/St. Martins-20076th Ed.

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Appendix