Internalized Racism

When do words become an insult?

Last week I was waiting for the bus at the school bus station and heard someone say, "He was wearing mascara. He must be gay." The phrase was filled with hatred and ignorance. What if it was because he had a costume party the night before? The person might have said it subconsciously, but how would you feel if someone talked about you in a stereotypical terminology?

Another comment that made me uneasy was when I was watching a program hosted by an African-American man with my friend. Since I found him attractive, I said, "He's somewhat attractive." Then my friend said, "He's too black for you." So I immediately responded, "I didn't know that you are a racist." He replied, "I'm not." I was angry; and I was in complete shock at a loss for words. Because I'm of mixed heritage myself being Indian and Japanese, comments like these cut me like a knife. What's more unfortunate is that he himself didn't recognize his racial comments.

Regardless of what comes to our mind, we should think twice before we speak. Because even if there are no intention to harm others, words or comments can be hurtful and unpleasant. Having a poor impression on others happens to anyone, but there needs to be a courtesy among people. With the rise of negative perception about Islam and Muslims in the United States, the ignorance has overwhelmingly distorting the image of them and has become widespread.

I met a student from Afghanistan who received an aggravating expression at school in Portland. One day while he was praying in class, his female classmate talked to him, but he couldn't talk back to her. Later he apologized her for not responding. Then she asked him why, so he explained to her that he was a Muslim and was praying for God. Her initial reaction was, "Muslim? Oh, terrorists!"

Similarly, I was talking to my friend who is from Pakistan, and he shared a story about his racial experience when he first moved to Corvallis. A man who my friend didn't know, asked him where he was from curiously. After my friend answered the man, he said, "Oh, so are you a terrorist?" in a serious tone of voice. I was surprised by the fact that even in diversified city Corvallis, there are people like this man. (Perhaps the man was from a different city.) I didn't want to believe that this happened in Corvallis, but regrettably, this kind of incident happens anywhere.

Even so why don't we once again put ourselves into other's shoes and think about what it's like to be misunderstood, pre-judged and classified from those who don't know you well? How ignorant would it be to categorize someone at first sight? Words like gay, stupid and retarded may be used casually and without no intention to offend others. However, once those words leave your mouth, they'll remain in others' minds and hearts eternally.