Hypocrites

When I was a bit younger, I used to sat in English class with a whole bunch of white kids. We would read those American classics like To Kill a Mockingbird or the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Those stories would always dig up the emotional side of me, causing me tears and empathy for the horrendous experiences our heroines are going through. In class, the more extroverted students would praise the author's intertwined story plot, and the more scholarly students would comment on the deeper social issues addressed from the book. I would normally remain quiet in those discussions, since a foreigner judging the American majority based on their history might sound a bit too confrontational.

It's already out of place for a new over-the-sea immigrant to sit in a room full of upper class american born teenagers, let alone the discussion on racism and inequality.

We are all prejudiced in some ways, and should feel ignorant if we claim that we are not. Yet when statements such as "Racism is bad and should've been banned at the time" or "Look at the horrible things those slave-owners have done to the poor blacks" were being thrown around the room, everyone was avoiding troublesome eye-contacts with the only African American sitting in the room. He was quiet, and doesn't really socialize with other students. I was sure he felt as awkward as I was, I was also sure that he was bullied in middle school. Yet those students kept on voicing their seemingly-righteous opinions without even thinking about what they were subconsciously doing.

It always attacks the more sensitive side of the American majority when it comes to racism, and it seems so clear everywhere: in classrooms, on the streets, etc. When will there be equality? When people throw away their feel-good mechanisms. Not gonna happen.