Racism: Past, Present and Future Essay -- Racial Issues

Prologue While coming up with a topic for this paper, one of my questions dealt with war and cultural groups. I will be the first to admit, Racism was the last thing on my mind. The original question being, â€Å"How does war affect a Social Culture and how does it stand today?† When I started thinking about Cultures that had been so deeply affected by war, one of the first that came to mind were the Japanese in World War II. Then I recalled what one person had told me of their younger days at college, when they were attending school. Their name will remain anonymous; I do not want to make the victim’s name public as it has a very personal nature. They had told me that they had been beaten because they were Japanese. They told me how the group of people, mostly military brats had called them â€Å"Jap†. How they had beaten them up, some restraining them, some throwing punches or much worse. Knowing this person’s experience made me understand why they acted in the manner that they do now. I was shocked initially, the only types of racism that I had heard of and witnessed firsthand was between Whites and African Americans as well as Whites vs. Hispanics. So to hear that another cultural group had been discriminated against in the past, here in the Mountains where I was attending school was an eye opening experience. While I was hearing this story, my mind kept querying, but my mouth remained silent. The question that has pestered me since then and before when witnessing these acts of hatred was â€Å"Why?† My family, especially the female members are very suspicious of Hispanics. One close family member in particular would interrupt rudely while I was teaching my sisters some Spanish phrases I would say them and they would repeat, â€Å"you a... ...e A. Ito. Storied Lives: Japanese American Students and World War II. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1999. Print. ten Broek J, Edward N. Barnhart, and Floyd W. Matson. Prejudice, War, and the Constitution. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1954. Print. Thomas, Dorothy S. T, and Richard S. Nishimoto. The Spoilage. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1946. Print. â€Æ' Works Cited Dr. Seuss. â€Å"Mental Insecticide† Cartoon. Dr. Seuss Sucks: 7 Racist Cartoons From the Doctor. March 2012. Online. Lotchin, Roger W. "Japanese Relocation in World War II and the Illusion of Universal Racism." Journal of The Historical Society 11.2 (2011): 155-181. Academic Search Complete. Web. 14 Mar. 2012. ten Broek J, Edward N. Barnhart, and Floyd W. Matson. Prejudice, War, and the Constitution. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1954. Print.