I am sure this article will definitely get many readers attention. I hope so because it would be an opportunity for individual self-reflection. As an African female I have experienced many racial events in my life.
The first unforgettable racial event was as a teenager working as a cashier in a department store. Upon paying for items, many Caucasian people would place their cash or credit card on the counter instead of my hand.
Another event was also amongst clients in the workplace. Due to my facial features and accent, many African American clients would ask me where I am from. Once I tell them I am a Ghanaian, I am often asked if it is true Africans live in trees, are destitute, and walk around naked.
Lastly, I was in the home of an associate and I saw insects coming through the door. Personally I am deathly afraid of insects. As a result, I screamed and ran to hide. The associate came running as I told her that there were insects in her home. In response, she asks me “Aren’t you African?” I was so upset I left.
In my infuriation, I pondered if I have ever discriminated towards an individual or people. Unfortunately, I was guilty. I was ashamed of myself as I remembered the times I would tell my friends that Asians are the worse drivers and that Africans are smarter than other ethnicities.
It was worse when I remembered that I never corrected my friends for their racial comments as they would say that all African Americans are lazy, uneducated, welfare recipients.
Despite living in a world that racism is a terrible disease and inevitable; I am determined to transform my mind regarding my thoughts and kill hate with kindness.
So far I have been doing very well. We are all part of the human race; a colorful rainbow of people. Are you racist?
Racism (race discrimination) in simply terms refers to treating a person or group of persons less favorable than others in similar circumstances because of their race. It stretches to comments and even omission to act.
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DIFFERENT COLOURS, ONE PEOPLE.
cool article any way ,i have many white friends and i dont think any one of them has abuse me in any way unless they say it by kidding and i dont consider it as an abuse cos i also joke with them as well and i have never been abuse by a stranger racially before till a time i travelled.
i did travelled to one of the european countries and as soon i entered one of tthe super market with my girl friend majority of the whites in the market started looking at us till we went out i was soo worried and i never try to enter into any super market in that country till we travelled back home):
my girl friend asked me a question and i laugh like crazy she asked me why my palms are fair and my skin is BLACK (: WTF
@27calibre, I also have white friends and co-workers, some of them are nice others are not so nice. My white co-worker actually abused me to the highest level. I could have sue him and the company but, I try to approach it in a diplomatic manner. when i first started working with him i thought he was just joking with me but I later found out that, Dude is a racist bigot. I can’t even begin to tell you what he did because it’s so rude and inhumane. His cup is getting full though. If he dare try me again this will be his last. @27calibre, the fact that your white friends never abused you doesn’t mean others don’t get abused. I agree with you though that, it is much worst in Europe.
@King kweku Quincy,yes you are right bro ,
@27calibre,i understand where you coming from bro its not nice to witness things like that especially when your with your girl but I realise that we all discriminate in our own way no matter if your black , Asian, white or whatever even though we witness how many white people discriminate against us black people you got black people who discriminate against whites as well especially when a sister is going on with a white boy and on the otherwise u got so many Asian who discriminate against black as well at the and of the day our skin colours might be different but one thing allot of people needs to know is that we care the same blood colour which is RED some people should understand that racism is a reality, but we have no one to blame but ourselves and that is because racism is socially constructed we as individuals look at other people as different if they are not the same color skin, do not speak the same language or have the same religious beliefs we should not be quick to judge, but instead learn from one another
@Dr. Miyagi,am sure some of the whites are just ignorant hats all ,including my girl friend til i prove her wrong that every race is made up of good and bad.
it just the whites are trying to brand us as bad people ): in their eyes of their kids
That’s so true and I am happy you put that girl in her place as well @27calibre (O_0 ),
@27calibre, why would you be with someone as ignorant as your girl??? is it because of HER skin color? or are you desperate for papers? i think it’s all of the above. Black men like you always turn a blind eye to racist comments even if you can laugh it off the fact is, it’s still a racist comment. The low levels black men like you would scoop to and the abuse you will take just for acceptance in white society is a dusgrace.
@rayQ,ahaha what is your problem any way , in regards to what you said AM SORRY THAT NUN OF THE ABOVE .
and any way what your problem at all?
@rayQ,Come back and explain what dusgrace , i just dont get it .
I wish we could all be one people regardless of race, color, ethnicity, tribe, religion or political affiliation. unfortunately that is not the case. And i don’t see that happening in donkey years. I have been discriminated against by white people as well as people from my own country. We as black people or Ghanaians have a long way to go as far as race and discrimination is concern. I have been a victim of racial profiling, a victim of outright discrimination because of my african ancestry. Dear Author, you are not the only one that face such an ordeal, most us of did. I believe it is Ignorance. An American girl once asked me if there are cars in Africa? I was puzzled and at the same time angry, not sure whether to insult her or give her a little bit of education about Africans, I opted for the latter. After educating her, she thanked me for opening her eyes. Honestly speaking, A lot of Black people in America that have never travel outside the United States, have been misled by the media to believe that Africa is a big jungle, a county stricken with poverty and disease. Because all that they see on TV is african children laying on the floor malnourished with flies all over them. However, their perception about Africa is changing nowadays, thank God for African movies.
@King kweku Quincy,You make allot of sense but let me ask. You this question, If a black guy makes monkey noises at another black guy, is that racist?
@Dr. Miyagi,ahahah i think is an insult bro
Lmao your too smart for your age I wanted to trick king kweku and see what he would have said hahaha @27calibre (O_0 ),
@Dr. Miyagi, of course it’s discriminatory. A black guy called me a nigga before, I seriously warned him never to call me with any kind of derogatory name again. If a white man cannot call me nigga then it’s not cool for a black guy to address me with such name.
@King kweku Quincy, People believe that saying offensive words like the N” is a nice word that will not hurt anyone’s feelings well guess what? it hurts everyone in some way so I totally agree with you on way you handle it but let me ask you this now when he called you the “N” what went inside you coming from another black men do you see this as a culture discrimination or lack of up bringing in the black society I mean as for me I have no problem living, working, socializing among other races. But I do believe that races are supposed to stay together
@Dr. Miyagi, A black person calling me the “N” word does not make it less offensive. I feel offended regardless of who call me the “N” word. By the way, to answer your question, I think it is lack of proper up bringing in the black community. It is also cultural difference. for example, the “N” word has now become a common word in the black community and it’s widely accepted among blacks which is totally wrong. Anyway, working with other races is not a bad idea at all, as I have enjoyed working with all kinds of nice people from different parts of the world. So far, I’d say people from Sri Lanka and Nepal are the nicest people. I have the opportunity to work with them. I have worked with Indians as well but, unfortunately most of the Indians I have work with are not so nice, I must confess though that, some of them are nice but it’s just a handful.
@King kweku Quincy,Thank you for your feedback I appriciate
That I totally agree with you Sri Lanka people are quite nice people yeah 3 of my workers are from there and one thing I like about them is they got respect do what you tell them to do as for Nepal haven’t really met them yet but I believe they are good people as well Hears allot of positive things about them
People believe that saying offensive words like Black, white, Asian or Native is a nice word that will not hurt anyone’s feelings. well guess what? it hurts everyone in some way
@King kweku Quincy,wtf ghanain abusing you ? this is a drama for real .
i quiet remember when my aunty ask me why i am dating some one not from my race ,i think that is an abuse from my aunty right ?
I don’t think Africans should take it bad when other race ask about Africa, if we have houses, cars, clothes… You need to know that the media is the one to blame. By painting the kind of pic about Africa. But when you get aked simple inform people how things are in the real life of Africa. # One thing I get mad about though is, when western B- C-list celebs (Kim K. Paris Hilton) use Africa to gain more statuse. That I don’t like. But then who opens the doors to dose childrens home? Africans!!!
@Amoah, I get asked that question even in 2012 and I simply laugh first before answering. Most of these people feel ashamed afterwards. what I hear most is ” do you see lions all the time”?. And yes the media has and continue to perpetuate this negative image of Africa. Its a sad reality.
this is a sad reality but racism seem not to be going anywhere. i got my first share of racism in my first year in America. and it hurt so bad cos it was a black person who called me an African fool w/out a cause. as the years pass by i’ve come to realize that, even some of the pple from the carribean think they r better than African.
@`madam social,man if u face such an abuse from a carribean dnt worry just call dat person a slave cuz they’re slaves frm africa and i promise he or she will never do dat again
@`madam social,Well , to sad it can from your own race as Denilson has got a big point there they all from Africa as well
@Dr. Miyagi, lol@ richardo. and @ miyagi i knw its the low lifes who refused to stay in skul r the most racist cos they r just ignorant. they definitely don’t knw their history.
Totally agree with you@`madam social,
man i sometyms feel very bad wen i hear some black people complaining abt racism or some white people abusing dem of their color… it’s tym we acknowledge dat they envy our skin cuz they ain’t got dat healthy skin we got…mann i’m a very big racist cuz i do clean ma body anytym a white man touches me…LOOOL
@denilson riccardo,Looooool
NO am not RACIST! I believe we are all equal as human and no one is better than the other. however, I treat people differently, it doesnt matter your race, if you are nice to me, i will be nice to you.
@B.B,Short and simple good one
This just seems like stereotyping to me. I mean people generalize about everything. Thats human nature. For example when ever i see a huge dog i start to back away because i assume that it will bite me. That does not mean that the dog will indeed bite me but i just assume so. So i don’t think that i am a racist when i see any Asian guy and assume that he is a smart because that is the general perception. However i do agree that i should not think so because obviously not all Asians are smart. Same with the people who ask me about lions and the such in Africa. They are not racists. They just genuinely want to know the truth since that’s all they hear from the media. I don’t think that they believe that they are superior to us as human beings.
“a.s.s.u.m.e”
@Abena,that nice explanation from you majority of them believes wat they see in the media just as the way you say ,so the good thing is you break it down for them to know what is going on …
Honestly, I am racist. I do mingled wit mny people frm other races n respect them bt wen they do smthing wrong, I harshly condemn them than I wld hv done 2 my fellow ghanaian. I wish I cld avoid dat it jst happens automatic .