African-Americans: Prejudice Today

Although African Americans make up just 30% of the total population of the United States, they are accounted for 60% of those imprisoned! That’s an enormous difference! What is the reason behind this? The obvious answer is racism. Maybe it’s because the police officers are racist and more suspicious about African Americans, but then again, maybe it’s because the African Americans commit more crime. Even if they do, it’s quite likely that this criminal attitude is roused when they are treated unfairly and discriminated against. Anyway, racism is the action of setting up unfair differences in between people of different races. The thing in our mind that provokes racism is prejudice. Prejudice is a negative thought that exists inside our mind, and it causes us to treat different people in a different way. But why does prejudice exist in the world? What is the reason behind our inexplicable tendency to differentiate between others?

Some people say prejudice is part of human nature. Others think we learn it from our elders. Either one could be true, as there are various controversial beliefs about why prejudice exists in the world. One interesting theory is that prejudice is an emotional reaction that is triggered in our brain whenever we encounter unknown people, who have different physical characteristics, different personalities, and/or different beliefs. In fact, these unfamiliar people scare us, and we start treating them differently to reassure ourselves that they cannot possibly matter to us. Another possible reason for prejudice could be negative education about others, either direct or indirect. An example of the direct type would be that you are deliberately taught to avoid certain people who are discriminate...

... middle of paper ...

...ce. Although there was nothing wrong about this movement, it failed to get rid of prejudice. To sum up, it would be difficult to free ourselves from the grasps of prejudice.

Overall, prejudice is a pretty controversial topic. Some people keep suggesting ideas on how to control it, others give it up as impossible to abolish, but many are not even aware of the problems it poses to modern society. The best and most effective way to get rid of prejudice is to educate people about it. When everybody is convinced that prejudice bad, there will be nobody to conduct prejudice. If we try our best, we will certainly be able to destroy prejudice, even if it is a learned trait. Prejudice is like walking; we learn both while growing up. But that does not mean we cannot get rid of it. Hopefully, you now have a better understanding of prejudicial issues around the world.