Roots of Racism

Remember your high school cafeteria? Most of the kids who didn't speak English very well sat together, away from everyone else. It was probably the easiest thing for them to do. It takes a lot of courage to interact with people in a language other than your own. Sometimes it's nice to just hang out with people who understand you for awhile.

It was also very easy for the rest of us, who were born into this culture, to let those kids be isolated. It takes a lot of effort to try to understand someone who is so different from you.

So... both groups failed to initiate interactions with the "other," and continued to perpetuate segregation. We all knew in our heads that racism is wrong. In fact, we most likely never thought of ourselves as racist. We were just taking the easy road of non-interaction.

Thinking back, I wish we had done things differently. You see, it is that innocent separation that allows the fear of the "other" to sprout. Why is it so easy to create stereotypes? Why is it so easy to blame the "other" for societal problems that we are all responsible for? If we were to make an effort to engage; if we were to learn to care, we would soon see that all our fears are unfounded. People are people, no matter what the differences. Dare we be different? Dare we step outside of ourselves and extend our hands toward the "other?"