Racism as the eternal problem of humanity

Racism: Prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one’s own race is superior. Racism was first defined by the Oxford dictionary in 1989 but was a major problem long before then and is still continuing to be a problem today. Racism causes pain, anger, sadness and increases the chance of mental health issues for those on the receiving end. Racism affects many people across the world, whether it’s because of their skin colour, their nationality or even having an accent.

With a majority of Australians being born overseas or having parents born overseas, there is a wide range of ethnicities from every part of the world. The judgement and hatred that arises towards others happens to be unacceptable, especially when it’s directed towards people that are custodians of this land people that were here before anyone else had stepped foot on this island, or even heard of Australia. Nobody has the right to discriminate against another person based on their heritage or background.

How have people come so far yet are still making assumptions and judgements by the way somebody else looks? It’s simple psychology when you think about it, children are raised around racism, the idea of one person being better than another just because of the colour of their skin is an idea that’s planted into their brains at a young age. Having other bloodlines should not alter your identity, it does not make somebody better or worse. Many pride themselves on their own cultural identity but still continue to try to knock others down. Some people use racism as a defence to their own feelings of inadequacy, as a result of fear of a particular ethnicity or colour, a desire to fit in or it may even be unintentional.

The issue of racism has been getting a lot of attention in the media in recent years in many forms, such as music, online articles, protests and poetry, the more coverage that issues like racism get and the more awareness raised that this is still a continuous issue then there may be a start to solving the issue. People of colour that have experienced racism, especially children and teenagers need as many inspirational and motivational people as they can, especially when the person sharing their own experiences, thoughts and emotions has similar experiences.

Relatability may create a sense of stability, being able to hear that they can overcome the experiences and that they’re not alone would create positive feelings in a time of negativity. An example of this is Steven Olivers ‘ Real’ poem it’s a slamming disquisition to racism and to people that put labels on others due to how dark or lack thereof they are. As he states in his poem “ Believing they have this god given right to tell me what I am” He’s making the implication that others are attempting to dissect his heritage. “ So please understand when I say that I am-A proud Australian, Aboriginal Man-And because I have other bloodlines in me-It does not alter my identity.” He pleads that people will accept that no matter how dark his skin is or isn’t, he is still Aboriginal and that no matter what other heritage he has, he is still him.

Racism hurts the mental health of developing children, teenagers and even adults when they’re receiving hurtful and negative comments, racist criticism and being excluded. Seven in ten school-aged children and one in three people in the workplace are victims of racism. With approximately 97% of Aboriginal people receiving racist comments, jokes or stereotypical slurs directed at them, it increases their levels of psychological distress, aligned with an increased chance of depression and anxiety. Many may say that racism is a thing of the past, with us overcoming segregation and providing equal rights after taking them away but we can’t stop our progress towards a better environment for everyone because of our improvements in the past. We must always strive for a better future, to create a safe environment where people won’t fear for their lives because you don’t think that someone should look that way. Despite the alleged progress that has occurred throughout the last 100 years there have been over 62 million people who have died because of racism.

Wars, beatings, hate crimes, shootings and even suicide are all examples of how racism can be the cause of somebody dying, there is never an excuse, every life is precious, and nobody deserves unnecessary hate just because of who they are and where they come from. Antwon Rose, 17, he was shot and killed by three bullets fired from a police officer, he was unarmed. Stephon Clark, he was shot and killed in his own backyard, he was unarmed. These are imperative examples of police brutality towards people of colour as well as examples of how people in highly respected and authoritative positions may abuse their power. How many people have to die, protest and get harmed before there is change?