Acceptance

I talked a lot about race and ethnicity, but the point I want to make is that everyone wants to be accepted. No one wants to feel awkward or excluded due to their race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, or social class. Some people think that my hurting others due to their differences makes them superior, but in actuality it makes them look ignorant. If everyone takes the time to get to know a person before judging them it would make things a lot better. Everyone is so quick to judge when in reality we are all trying to do the same thing, fit in. We want to be accepted and know that are differences make us unique not unintelligent or inferior. I found this poem online and i think it describes how we all feel in terms of how we want to world to see and understand us.

Accept Me

Diversity,
Differences,
Individual.

I am who I am.
Whoever you are,
that is who you will be.

To the countries,
we are all people.

To the people of countries,
we all have the same purpose,
to live.

To you,
accept the countries,
accept the people of the countries,
accept me.
- Anonymous

This poem is simple but it is strong becuase it portrays how we all feel. If we learn to accept others they will do the same. I do not think that this is the easiest thing to do but it wil help our world tremendously if we just put in the effort. We need to put aside our hate and judgements so that we can work together and develop a society we can be proud of.

Intelligence is Power

In the beginning of the school year I had a conversation with one of my classmates we introduced oursleves and then he asked me my race. I told him that I was Guyanese and he sid he had some friends who were also guyanese and he knew a little bit about the culture. I was happy that I did not have to explain what Guyanese meant becuase it seems like i always have to give a geography lesson when i talk about my ethnicity. He went on to tell me a funny story about his confusion with Ghanaian and Guyanese. When he was younger his friend asked him what his race was. He replied by saying that parents were from Ghana. His friend said "oh so your Guyanese" and he replied "Yeah I guess". When he got older he realized that Guyanese refered to people in Guyana which is a country on South America, North of Brazil. This is a common mistake and since Guyana is a small country not many people know about it.

They say that ingorance is bliss, but intelligence is power. If people took the time to learn about other countries then we would all be aware of our surroundings which includes people, cultures, languages and religions places. To be uninformed about others is the reason for war, misunderstandings, prejudice and racism. It would help to learn more about eachother and our world, which connect us all. It is our job to be knowledgeable and we need to educate eachother so that people of different backgrounds can be known and heard. School may not teach children about many countries other than the usual Spain, England, France, and India, but that does not mean that they have to stay in the dark. Children can learn outside of the class if they are provided with programs and activites. Our future lies in the hand of the new generation and if they are able to learn about others they will probably help out with many issues we face in society today. By learning about others people can communicate and work together becuase they will be able go work out differences. We can create a better world with one simple thing, an open mind. It will take time but as the years go by people have become more accepting of change.

Inequality of Races

Why is it that people are so quick to judge and stereotype when they know nothing about a person? We are all human beings and although we share different likes, dislikes, religions and races, there is no reason why we can not get along. Just because we see a Hijab that does not mean that someone is a terrorist and a teenage mother is not always a reckless young girl. Everyone has a story and it is not fair to discredit their thought, ideas and belief based on what you have heard or seen. Getting to know someone is the best way to find out who a person is, not looking at the color of their skin, their clothes or their religion.
Canadian writer Margaret Atwood once said “I hope that people will finally come to realize that there is only one 'race' - the human race - and that we are all members of it.” I think this is a very strong quote because we live in a world where people work against each other rather than work together due to insignificant differences. We need to learn about all the different cultures and people that live in America, for that is the only way that we can understand ourselves as individuals. All different people make up this “melting pot” and each person has goals and a reason for what that do. By stereotyping and ridiculing people we discourage them from there dreams which is unjust and unacceptable.
This behavior bewilders me because I can not understand why people, who live in an organized society, are unable to live in peace; yet animals, in the wild, have a sense or order and respect for one another and they are less developed mentally, emotionally and socially. There are many rules and regulations in terms of society and yet people are being mistreated by those who are ignorant to the concepts of equality and individualism. Everyone needs to learn to be open minded and not settle upon what is said or heard, they have to experience and walk in other people’s shoes to understand their point of view.