Racial Harassment Issues - Essay Example

It is often said that we are all created equal. Regardless of race and nationality, one must keep in mind that respect for others is essential in observing their dignity. However, most of us nowadays claim superiority over the others. Perhaps, we can say that the comparison of races is still evident which in a way affects our interaction with other people of different origins. With this, most of us often feel and think our superior to the other knowingly or unknowingly, we tend to exploit those people whom most of us presume as the “lesser races” in whose rights are being lambasted. During the Nazi invasion in Europe, many Jews were killed because Adolf Hitler insisted that the Jews are of lesser importance than his race. In these times, many were tortured, suffered hunger up to their deaths, suffocated, burned and murdered. If we are to analyze, the basic rights of the Jews were trampled and neglected. They are somewhat like a toy in which Hitler and the rest of his company are playing with. The whole world witnessed this gruesome phenomenon and most of us can’t help but wonder, “Why these things did happen?”.

These fate suffered by the Jews is a sort of pendulum of most of the countries in the world in terms of determining the rights of the people. Well, that is, if we are to delve into the history side. However, in present times, we cannot deny the fact that racism or racial discrimination is still rampant in some countries. In the United States for example, during the early goings of the 19th century, black people were not allowed to dine in restaurants where white people eat, the same thing in transportation where there is an area allotted for the whites and the blacks. These things are not new to us. There are news articles and stories that report incidents of racial discrimination in which people who believe that they are the superior race tend to lambaste or harass people who they presume are lower than them. Even our Muslim brothers are not spared from suffering such a fate as they were more often branded as terrorists in which even those who are not doing terrorist acts are identified as one who brings scare and panic to all people. Is it because the people who believe that they are much greater than the others feel that they have to exploit those whom they presume are the lesser ones to preserve their interests? We cannot help but think of such things because more often than not these people explain why they are greater than those whom they tend to harass and announce that they do all have the license to exploit these people. Aside from the fact that they do assume that they are superior, they also tend to presume that they are more intellectuals than those who belong to the lower level. But again, the question remains the same, “Why do these things happen?”.

It only boils down to one word-Interest. No matter how we try to find the real reason for these things, we cannot deny the fact that interest plays a big role in conditioning the minds of those groups who claim that they are greater. Whether they want to exploit the resources or the people themselves who belong to the lower class, these people do have the intent to use their so-called “superiority” over the other. Unless the people who belong to the lower class will try to assert themselves and the people who are in the “superior” class will understand their equality among all men, these things will not come to an end. These things will only be passed to the other generations. Then we ask, “What is the purpose of racism?” “Does it hurt the lives of the people involved in it?”.

It is a fact that for every action, there is a purpose for why should one do such acts-same thing with racism. There is a purpose or motive for why people who believe that they are much higher than others suppress the rights of those who are in the lower class.

If we are to dig much deeper the next thing that will come into the picture is “selfishness” and it is the reason why people who belong to the upper class feel that they are much greater than others. In doing these things, it nullifies the belief that we exist for the benefit of others. Rick Warren stressed in his best-selling book that Focusing on ourselves will never reveal our life’s purpose (1). If we are to further analyze the conclusion, racism happens because of self-centeredness and if this thing happens, then it would be a gateway for us to exploit the rights and the dignity of the people with whom we presume are lesser than us and we can never fulfil our real purpose here.