Is Race Real?
4 Pages 903 Words
Is Race Real?
I define race as a distinguished group of people that come from the same geographic origin. Race can be a nationality, the color of ones skin or a certain religion. One can be of the Italian race, Black, or Muslim to give a few examples. I define real as anything genuine or authentic, something tangible.
Race is real in our world today and the past. People are judged by the color of their skin and by their nationality. A person’s religion is part of their race in today’s world. In some countries today, even in our so called civilized world, people are looked at by what they worship or the color of their skin instead of the person they are. In the Middle East a person is Jewish or Muslim first and then a friend or an enemy. Not all people in the world look at their peers this way, but many still do.
In early 20th century America the influx of immigrants caused much hatred among the differing nationalities of our melting pot of citizens. People were German or Italian before they were American. This caused for a lot of racism in our country. Many racial lines were drawn, not just black and white. Many people thought Italians were an inferior race and subjected anyone of that nationality to extreme prejudice. This was very much like the racism that blacks were put through, but not as well documented.
Sherman Alexie provides many examples of racism in our country throughout his writings. A passage located in The Only Traffic Signal on the Reservation… Adrian and Victor and talking about the next great ballplayer to come out of the reservation, Julius Windmaker, the next great player on the reservation. When the Indian team goes off the reservation to play a white high school team and beats them badly, the white team’s coach says the following about them: “I didn’t know they’d be riding horses.” This is an obvious stereotype of Native Americans. This comment, although meant to be harmless, this is a rac...