Racial Discrimination

Racial discrimination occurs when an individual from one race views another as inferior. Racism has existed during the 19th century and is still present in the 21st century but not in as cruel a form as it was back then. Some racist ideologies have been widely discredited after World War Two and the Holocaust but the phenomena of racism and of racial discrimination have remained widespread all over the world.

Racial discrimination has occurred in many multi-cultured societies. There is still some racial discrimination happening in our society. I think that racial discrimination has been such a big part of people’s present life and history that in our future we will still be discriminated against at some point in our life. In spite of the fact that there is strong public opinion against racial discrimination, it continues to exist in several minds. It may not exhibit itself openly, but it can be certainly felt in various corners of the world.

Many racial and ethnic groups in the United States, including blacks, Hispanics, Asians, American Indians, and others, have historically faced severe discrimination and open denial of civil, social, political, educational, and economic opportunities. The history of racial discrimination in America shows that when it comes to race, relations between African Americans and white people, many African Americans have often been discriminated against.

All human beings share a common yet distinctive anatomical structure. The basic anatomy and physiology is uniform among the different individuals. Yet there are differences in the appearance, colour of the skin, physical viability and adaptability, cranial structure and numerous other such factors. These traits are transformed from one generation to another. These characteristics are also influenced by the environmental and geographical variations. Despite sharing such striking uniformity, not all the individuals showcase solidarity and respect towards other human beings. The idea or notion that a certain race of people is better than the other defines the term ‘racism’. The fundamental changes in the appearance of the individuals of a particular race are only due to geographical and environmental factors. Over the time, these traits are passed from one generation to another which makes these characteristics even more noticeable and peculiar. But in the whole description nowhere it is found that due to any of the cited reasons, a particular race of people is better than others.

Still, one cannot deny the fact that racism does persist in the modern world. According to various researches, it has been evident that the practice got its origin way back in the 18th century in the European continent. From there, it spread to rest of the world, wherever, the influence of Europeans grew and flourished. Claiming to be the most civilized and leading race of the modern world, Europeans treated the Africans and Asians like ‘sub-humans’. This was important in the context that Europeans were the rulers and were treating others as labour. This workforce was made available to them by the inhabitants of these continents as slaves. Due to poverty and particular tribal lifestyle, the slave class, in turn, accepted the ‘inferiority status’ granted by their bread givers. It was the mentality of racial discrimination or apartheid that forced Mahatma Gandhi to raise a voice against it in South Africa.

In the modern times, however, a lot has changed. No one is treated like a slave. The international and local law is strict and prohibits any kind of slavery. The wages are paid on the basis of work and not the ethnicity. Strong laws have been made and implemented throughout the globe. The governments of America, Africa and Asian countries have made deliberate efforts to abolish any kind of racial discrimination in the society. The results are encouraging. The scenario has improved a lot. But in certain countries racism does exist is one form or the other.

The governing bodies are not the culprits. It is the people’ who constitute the structure of any society. There is still a large section of society in developed countries that treat the immigrants from other countries as ‘lesser humans’. Sometimes, the expression of dissent is so high that such incidents make the headlines of national journals. But the matter of concern is that most of the cases of racist behaviour go unnoticed. Those who become victims of such behaviour are terribly devastated and develop a feeling of fear and hatred towards the assailant and the society he represents. This leads to the vicious cycle of hatred and revenge. There have been numerous violent and unexpected repercussions in the past that denote nothing but the ill effects of racism.

Even the most famous historians have proved scientifically that all the humans had a common descent. So, there is no point in treating anyone with discrimination on the basis of physical traits. This is an insult to the humanity and our whole existence. All races are equal and all individuals deserve to be dealt with equality only. Every man/woman is an image of God and deserves to be treated with equal respect and dignity.