WARNING: THE FOLLOWING POST MAY CONTAIN OFFENSIVE CONTENT AND SHOULD BE READ WITH CAUTION. EVERYTHING SAID IN THIS POST IS BASED OFF OF OPINION AND IS BASED OFF OF TRUE STORIES AND ACTUAL HAPPENINGS IN PREVIOUS EVENTS. NO HARM WAS MEANT BY THE CONTENT OF THIS POST (ON MY PART).
There was an incident that happened in class a while ago. Some classmates in my group were talking amongst themselves and suddenly a white girl says to an Asian girl, "[girl's name], go suck a tiny Asian cock."
Appalled, I turn around and look at her. Everyone in the group started laughing. Out of sheer anger, I say, "[white girl's name], what in the motherfuck did you say that for?!"
At that moment, the teacher was standing right beside me. Everyone was alluding to his presence, but I say, "I really do not care" motioning to the teacher. "What did you say that for?" The teacher tells me that is improper language to use in school. He didn't even hear what she said. I say nothing to his statement. The white girl then proceeds to saying she "feels like a bitch," causing her friends to comfort like she said nothing wrong. The Asian girl even says she wasn't offended and goes to hug her. I'm just sitting there thinking, "...what is this alternate universe of disrespect?"
After class, the teacher calls me over to explain what happened. I didn't tell him what she said, but I did say that she said something racist and I acted out of offense, so he didn't write me up. I don't know what he said to the girl (who was standing in the class after everyone left as well), but that was the end of that.
I was still upset about the conflict afterwards. I couldn't believe that the fact that the area I'm in is so predominantly white that they can say something so offensive and vulgar, and get away with it with no consequence. It doesn't even matter that the Asian girl didn't bother to defend herself (and from my understanding, this happens to her a lot), because I used to live in a multicultural environment. A comment like that would have caused so much more of an issue than me speaking out in class. I'm talking race wars (it wasn't a non violent area at all).
I shared the story on this app I have called MeToo aka The Experience Project (it's kind of like a forum where you share experiences you've had). Most people commented rewarding my speaking out. Some said I overreacted and that it was just a joke amongst friends. And I would have taken it as an inside joke if that girl didn't have a reputation of making racist comments like that often.
One person said something very interesting, regarding the constant need for categorization amongst social groups. In this case, she was referring to black people and some terms we use to describe one another (a new one they introduced me to was 'peanut butter Oreo' and I hope I never meet a person audacious enough to call anyone that) that just constantly reminds you of how messed up people can be (the name-callers, not the accused). A few of the other comments were so irrelevant that I couldn't even try to say anything. It just didn't make sense.
Nonetheless, racism still exists. Whether it's indirect and passive, or plainly put in your face, a lot of people have little to no respect for culture. But from my experience, a person's ability to discriminate mainly depends on the ratio of individuals dominating the area, because some people are less likely to defend themselves when they're outnumbered (if you can't beat 'em, join 'em). I feel slightly outnumbered, so I have to constantly defend an entire race more than myself as a person. But ultimately, I plan to do what is right no matter what.
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