Written by Nadia Salazar
Growing up as a Chicana in a half White community, I’ve noticed the high tolerance PoC (People of Color) have for racism. When I was younger I never really noticed how White people treated those of color. I’m not saying that they all treat PoC this way, but this is just what I and some others have experienced.
Many White people since they were young, have been taught that their racist “jokes” or slurs are funny and they have taken the praise or silence of their peers to justify their behavior. They can’t wrap their heads around the fact that the silence of people does not mean that what they said was okay. Maybe those people just don’t have enough confidence to speak up and tell them it’s wrong, or just lack basic exposure to conversations about what racism really is. Most people who come from White communities have never really acknowledged that racism is a real life problem that exists since they have assimilated to a community where it’s considered normal for people to act on their prejudice.
I remember sitting in my testing room last school year with a teacher who was telling us all about her worst classes. She brought up how there was this White student who would always tease this student from Mexico. She said he would repeatedly ask him “Hey, when are you going to come over and do my yard work?” Apparently both students thought that this “joke” was funny as well as everyone else in the room including the teacher. It then came to my attention how this isn’t the first time I’ve heard or seen this happen at my school. Many of the students who are anything but White go through this on the daily, and I have yet to see anyone speak up about it. Plenty of it has to do with the fact that most PoC in my community aren’t educated on how to recognize racism when it is going on.
It’s important for people to be able to identify when someone is going into “racist territory” whether it is directed towards them or someone else. In what world is it right to let people make “jokes” about your people’s struggles and make them think that it’s okay to continue with that behavior? I for one am glad I’m finally educated on everything I need to know so I can set these people straight so they know their racist behavior will not be tolerated anymore. Every day I see someone who is at the center of a racist comment and just brushes it off because they’re used to it and have learned to get over it and it truly breaks my heart. No one deserves to be treated with such disrespect and let people continue doing that to others.
For a little under a year I lived in a town that bordered Mexico, it was literally 20 minutes away. Obviously I was surrounded by people just like me and for once I felt like people actually stood up for themselves since they had such strong ties to their culture, it was truly a beautiful thing to see. If anyone even dared to say anything racist towards someone, they would be put in their place because almost everyone there was aware that their culture was nothing to be ashamed and made fun of.
Ever since I moved back to a more “diverse” city, everything has been put into perspective.
I see PoC who are scared to talk about their issues because they don’t want to be made fun of.
I see people not speaking their native language because they want to fit in. I see people everyday losing a piece of themselves just so they can be apart of a community that is open to many, but isn’t really. It’s insane to think that a place that’s supposed to be welcoming for everyone, just takes away from their culture so they can fit the status quo. If anyone dared to actually talk about anything serious in class, you bet there would be some White student who felt entitled enough to say “Yeah well what about 9/11? What about OUR issues? What about the racism I face when I get called a cracker? You don’t think OUR issues matter?”. It’s repulsive to see someone who sees themselves as “superior” completely shut down someone’s voice.
It isn’t right for people to be in a place where they are scared to be themselves because whoever they are isn’t the “norm”. So many teenagers face racism every day at school and don’t even recognize it anymore because they are taught to just ignore it. Racism should be taken seriously and isn’t something people should take lightly. I constantly hear people saying “I’m not racist I have black friends!” as if it justifies them calling someone a from the Middle East a terrorist. It’s not okay to let your “friends” put you down with racial slurs. It’s not okay to let your peers insult your culture. It’s not okay to let people make you feel inferior to them. And IT’S DEFINITELY NOT OKAY to let them go on doing that to others. I cannot express how important it is for young people to be educated on these issues and correct people when they see these situations. It’s something people need to speak out about and make sure everyone knows how much words can truly affect someone.
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