It's weird how a lot of featured posts on Xanga lately have been about race-oriented topics.
Earlier this week I wrote a post responding to a Korean girl who claims she will never date a white guy. I wrote it because I thought her argument was terribly flawed, hypocritical, full of stereotyping and assumptions, and borderline racist. I took it down later because she made an additional post explaining her opinion more clearly and although I still disagreed with a lot of what she had to say, I removed my post because my tone was too angry and rant-like which I thought overpowered the main points I had to make. Also, I didn't think the topic wasn't as worthy of a rant as I thought it was when I wrote it.
The article I read today however, I have a lot to say about that.
Where to begin? Well for starters, it is entitled "What's wrong with being racist?" (click, read for yourself if you want)
As if that doesn't say enough, the author goes on to actually write a full essay defending racism and trying to convince readers that "hey, it's not so bad". I honestly... HONESTLY... don't think I've ever read anything more ignorant. Or at least for this day in age.
But really, sometimes it's worse to skim through the comments and notice that so many people actually agree with and support this person's view. Oh how I worry about the future of this world.

Anyhow,
To the poster who downplayed racism and to the repliers as well as anyone out there who thinks that racism is not an issue at all, this is what's wrong with being racist:

I never thought I'd ever have to explain why racism is considered unacceptable in modern day society. And maybe it's because I always thought of it as unacceptable in modern day society. Or not even unacceptable, just simply common sense, right?

Racism (noun) - hatred or intolerance of another race or other races.

That's the definition.
Before we get into the racial part, we could start with the first word.

Hatred (noun) - the emotion of intense dislike; a feeling of dislike so strong that it demands action 

Hatred alone is so potent and so hurtful and unfortunately so common. Hatred in ANY form is significant because of the damage it is capable of. Human beings are innately sensitive to being loathed by others. We need each other. We have a psychological dependency on being loved by one another. Of course, it is so much easier to hate than to love. I don’t know why. But regardless, hatred also breeds violence which causes physical harm in addition to the emotional harm. Hatred also often breeds intolerance (noun) - unwillingness or refusal to tolerate or respect contrary opinions or beliefs, persons of different races or backgrounds. Not agreeing with a belief or opinion is one thing, but disrespect is a serious matter especially without a rational foundation for such feeling.

Ultimately, hatred and intolerance are what come between people who want peace and people actually achieving peace. Peace isn’t achieved through one or even a few people; it requires ALL people… of ALL races. (One commenter had something intelligent to say, among a few others of course,: “What's wrong with racism? How about hundreds of years of suppression, slavery, and genocide?” Isn't that enough reason?) Which brings us back to the original definition. Seeing that it is obviously wrong to hate and express intolerance for people in general, why would it be any better to apply this idea to only specific races. It seems like such an old fashioned mentality not being able to understand or comprehend the purely negative connotation of racism. Yes, we all come in different colors. But we always have. And you know what? We’ve always been people too. Just in different colors and with some different customs. But nobody, even within the same ethnicity, is the same. So why treat each other differently based on our races?

The author of the blog also mentions that she is white female who lives in an ethnically homogeneous town. She says she never even sees people of other races and cultures. Therefore, all she has to base her beliefs and racism on is stereotypes and generalizations. Every single example she gives of a different race in her argument has a stereotype attached to it. Likewise, she’s never been faced with racism. She has no idea what it feels like to be ostracized simply for the color of your skin. Who is she to say that there is nothing wrong with racism? The way she downplays racism just repulses me. She compares it to people having preferences in others. In her own words, “That's life; people won't always like parts of you.  Get over it!” So saying that you don’t like the way someone snores at night is the same as hating someone for their race? Saying that you don’t like when other people swear and curse is the same as hating someone for their race? I beg to differ.

I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned anything about my race or heritage in any of my posts. I never thought it was necessary. Actually, it isn’t. My race doesn’t affect my writing or the people who read it in anyway. But for the sake of the subject at hand and for you to gain perspective, I am a 17 year old Mexican-American girl. My parents, sisters, and I all born in America. My first language was English. I’ve grown up almost my entire life in California, which is known to be a huge melting pot, with people of all cultures and beliefs. I have close friends who are Asian, White, Mexican, and Black. And I am lucky to have never ever EVER in my life been personally subject to racism. So how do I know the effects of racism? Through my family’s experiences. Through exploring history. Through studying places beyond my own comfortable life. I know I can't understand how it feels to be personally victimized by racism, but from what I do know, it absolutely sickens me for people to preach that racism is over-hyped and I’m even more offended by the people who give props and buy into this nonsense.  Racism is just… it’s never justifiable. How dare you, without any experience of racism or even any decency to do some research, determine how sensitive the subject is or should be. I thought we had come a long way from this racist mentality. Well it’s getting old beyond irritation and frustration. The ignorance completely baffles me. It's definitely time for a change; time for people to step out of their little bubble once in awhile and open their eyes. I mean how long is it going to take in our society for people to be able to look at one another and just recognize another person rather than a race? How about seeing beyond what meets the eye? How about embracing our diversity? We're all people. Let's start treating one another that way.
I know it's cliché, but the change begins with YOU.

Feature THAT, Xanga.