Kambo’s Korner: Racism in Youth
Oh haii, This is my first official posting of Kambo’s Korner.
To this day, it baffles my mind how some people can be sooo ignorant ! I don’t understand. Is one uneducated? How is one influenced? How does one come to draw such racist conclusion and make such racist comments? Is it the parents? Is it society? Racism is still very prominent, even in youth and this is my proof..
As I was standing outside during my break at summer school I over heard a conversation that a group of guys were having. “Dude, there was this chic wearing the arab thing inside. she’s gonna like bomb the place.”
I turned away and said to myself “that was soo racist.” Looking back now I should’ve said something out loud, not just mumble it under my breath. But thinking, can someone that talks/thinks that way be educated? would one of that mindset be open to hearing what i had to say?, especially someone of my age group.
I am left with many questions but not with any answers. society still does nothing but reinforce and perpetuate racist, sexist, heteronormative, class standard stereotypes.
hey kambo, thanks for sharing!
it’s sad to see these days that, in a world where people say we’re living in a post-racist world, that so discrimination still continues to happen. i still this a lot in my everyday wanderings too – especially towards people that are others think are visibly muslim. since 9/11 it’s been so normalized and, in a lot of ways, encouraged by the media and government to believe that if you appear to be muslim you are automatically a threat to society. there are so many instances when i think to myself, what’s up with all these bigots today?! but then i look back to images that i see in movies that target people of colour as being the enemies, i look back to my text books in social studies and see that the past and the present is shaped by the people in power who want to this school of thought to continue.
boo! uncool right? well, i’m glad people like you are standing up, spotting these issues, and vocalizing it!
does anyone else have any similar stories?
p.s. you’re a smarty pants, kambo 🙂
Kamboooo!
Great post gurl.
I’ve heard of some invisible theatre stuff, where groups of people go around cities and stage interventions about racism and other kinds of oppression. It’d go something like thus: a group of three figures out something to say and then goes on a bus … person 1 and person 2 start having a conversation with lots of racism and ignorance in it. Person 3 steps in and is like “yo what’s up, you need to be smarter”. Sometimes it’s hard to do interventions on the fly, but maybe if they’re practiced, it’d be easier … and THEN it’d be easier to do it spontaneously when the time comes.
My story isn’t so similar but it made me mad anyways. As some of you know, I’m in Saskatoon at the Native Law Centre. I’m staying in a residence building with a few people and it’s been going really well, except there’s this one guy (who isn’t in the program) that makes me so mad that I can’t even look at him. One time, we were all out for dinner, and he turned to me and said “You know … I think it’s interesting that all you guys are doing this program and none of you are Native.” Presumably, he was making this observation because I’m white, one of the guys we were with is black, and the other is white-ish (I think he looks Native). Anyways, this ignorance just really bothered me.
Missing you gurlz and women like crazy.
Thanks for sharing Kambo!
Your post is a great reminder to continually set an example and to have these conversations. I can admit that I catagorize people everyday with out really realizing it (i.e. that person looks fun, that person looks philipino, etc). I think our minds do it naturally. However I have often been wrong with the categories I have put people in. Once we label someone, it is like putting them in this small box which does not incorporate all aspects of who they are. Thanks for your reminder of this. You’re great. Keep it up!!!