After years of fighting for their independence and the opportunity to express their beliefs, hostility persists. Nowadays, most children of this generation are suffering from the actions of those who have learned to hate someone all because of their skin color. On social media, we’ve seen how people from different countries have been attacked and harassed just because of their ethnicity. And as time passes by, this sad truth is truly becoming worse.
Last year, on the 25th of May, we heard the news of a 46-year-old black American named George Floyd, who was arrested by Minneapolis police officers after a convenience store employee called that Floyd bought a cigarette with a counterfeit $20 bill. Floyd was found unconscious and pinned beneath three white police officers seventeen minutes after the first squad car arrived on the site, displaying no signs of life. He kept saying he couldn’t breathe, yet one of those white police officers kept his knee on Floyd’s neck for at least eight minutes and 15 seconds. This police officer didn’t even try to remove his knee even after Floyd lost consciousness. This incident went viral, making Americans protest, saying that black lives matter and even though Floyd committed a crime, he didn’t deserve this kind of tragedy. On that day, people around the world have become more aware of racism.
On social media, especially on Facebook, videos were posted and shared showing how they were discriminated against by racists. In Germany, a female Korean vlogger was also discriminated against by the Germans because of her race. While the vlogger was filming, Germans were caught on camera bothering her, joking with her, and sometimes hitting her. She went to the point of not going out because of the rejection she always felt. Fortunately, she chose to be resilient, decided to keep moving, and continuously searched for friends worth finding. However, not all racist incidents have been recorded and seen on social media.
Even some of our Filipino citizens living and working in other countries were also victims of racism. Is it alarming to see that most people are racists, which causes future generations to adopt this kind of mindset? What was wrong with being black or having monolid eyes? We may differ in appearance, but we should not judge, harm, or even attack someone just because of their ethnicity.
During the previous decade, suicide rates in the United States among racial and ethnic minorities, particularly black Americans, have risen dramatically. Suicide is the third highest cause of death among black young adults aged 15–24 years, with around 3,000 Black Americans dying by suicide annually. This is no longer a shocking issue, as we all know that blacks are more prone to racial discrimination. Yet, it was sad to know that, at a very young age, they chose to end their lives just because of rejection.
We've all heard of Martin Luther King, Jr. He delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech, describing the racial realities of his day with characteristic force and eloquence. During his time, black Americans were not as privileged as white Americans are. Despite living in a society of tremendous wealth, blacks were mostly poor. They did not have equal citizenship because they were denied the right to vote and hold public office. They had been the victims of police brutality and domestic terrorism. Blacks struggled to retain self-respect and self-esteem under constant attack by racist ideology. And without a doubt, the King has fought for equal rights for people of all races. This man had proved that race and ethnicity have nothing to do with how someone should be treated and that equality has been for all.
With the continuous incidents of racism, one of the quickest ways to address this issue is by educating our future generations. Children should be taught not to hate others just because of the melanin in another’s skin. Educating kids at a young age about the value of acceptance and understanding will turn hatred into love instead. No matter how we look, it is just our appearance that sets us apart from each other. We are all still humans breathing and living in this world. Children should be taught not to judge or treat someone due to their ethnicity. Nelson Mandela, the former President of South Africa, famously observed, "No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, his background, or his faith." People may be taught to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can learn to love as well, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than hatred. Prejudice may be taught inside or outside our homes, depending on who the child is around, but it does not mean you can’t replace that hatred with something lovelier, which is compassion and love for one another, regardless of skin color.
Racism has been one of the burning issues until now. This issue will be impossible to heat up like this if people see each other as normal human beings. Action should be undertaken to prevent our younger generations from making the same mistakes as our older generations did. The racial conflict can be resolved by spreading peace, love, and understanding in our environment. Let everyone open their minds and be aware of how much worse racism is.