Racism by Thomas Mahoney

Racism

Oxford Dictionary describes racism as “1) the belief that there are characteristics, abilities, or qualities specific to each race, 2) discrimination against or antagonism towards other races.” The term has however become known as hate word. People who are called “racists” are usually looked down upon in society. I feel that everyone is racist though. Those who are open to admit to being racist are not afraid to show their real self are just true humans. Everyone makes racial jokes among their own race in their own house, people like me and others that can make racial jokes in public are just honest. There is nothing wrong with a little racism to me anyway; it’s when you take it to the extreme like the KKK when it becomes a problem in society.

The Ku Klux Klan or KKK was formed in 1866 by a group of veteran Confederate soldiers. The main purpose of the KKK was to resist the Reconstruction that President Lincoln talked about for the nation after the Civil War. The Klan stated in Tennessee and soon spread throughout all of the Southern States. The main focus of the Ku Klux Klan was to keep freed slaves from having the same rights as the white men down in America. This was in regard to the right to bear arms, education, voting rights, and even economic advancement. The Ku Klux Klan also wanted to keep the Republican Party down too, because they were sympathetic to African Americans. The Klan resorted to violence and terrorism to get the results they wanted. In one county in Florida during the height of the Klan’s terror 150 African Americans were killed, along with hundreds of other in other counties. You may wonder to yourself why people would want to join a terrorists group in the south, Plato suggests it’s because it’s what they grow up understanding. In an essay entitled Allegory of the Cave, Plato talks about people in a cave staring at shadows on the wall. In the essay one person gets out of the cave and sees the light outside. When he returns and tells the others what he has seen, they mock him and tell him it doesn’t exist. I think this applies to the KKK because they are all just seeing the violent acts and are used to seeing the freed slaves and republicans as they were that they didn’t know anything else.

The KKK is an example of extreme racism the kind that is not funny. There are some light hearted racist jokes and stereotypes that can be amusing. All throughout my four years at Port Richmond High School I learned a lot about the stereotypes of other cultures, especially on the football team. My high school was very diverse, more diverse then Old Westbury. I learned stereotypes about the Spanish, blacks and all the European countries. We would joke around in the locker room and in school about why this kid was better in athletics but could not perform academically. Joking amongst friends I don’t even like to consider racism. Everyone does it. I took a lot of jokes about drinking and potatoes. I even have an Italian friend who fulfilled a stereotype by not attending college in order to become a plumber. I don’t know about you but I find that funny. The best way to describe this I think is using Nasser as a field of examples. Picture if you will that instead of all the drivers being white guys, there were drivers from different ethnic groups. There is a driver from Mexico, an African American from the inner city, one from Italy and one from Ireland. Now that in its self may not be funny, but now imagine that the Mexican driver drives a car sponsored by “Home Depot,” the African American’s car is sponsored by “Kool-Aid,” the Italian’s car by a “Papa John’s Pizza,” and the Irish drivers car is sponsored by “Guinness.” All of the sudden to me those drivers become a little more humorous. As long as the stereotypes are kept like this and you don’t take it too far, you can have fun with races and stereotypes.

Throughout history there have been a lot of people that have stood up and spoke out about racism and discrimination. As far back as Moses in the Old Testament who led the Jews out of religious persecution by the people of Egypt. Some of the most influential people came out of the Civil Rights Movement in America during the 1960s. People like Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, and everyone’s favorite Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. During the 1960s in America there was a movement toward equality. All over America, though mostly in the south, segregation was common. African-Americans were not allowed to use simple things such as water fountains and public bathrooms as white people. Needless to say this made a lot of people unhappy. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led the African Americans in a revolution that led to equality in America. King really showed how people can overcome racism and change the world. He rounded people together and led marches, protests, and boycotts. His most famous moment comes from his speech I have a Dream. A speech he made on the stairs on the Lincoln Memorial. King also wrote a famous letter from a jail in Birmingham Alabama. In the letter he explains his goals for the Civil Rights movement and how to achieve them. He also talks about what they have already done. He writes the letter in response to a statement made by another man of the time who feels that Civil Rights movement is not necessary. The remarks made by Dr. King were made patiently but got his point across very clearly.

The Civil Rights Movement was very successful and equality reigned over the nation. Unfortunately, some say it did not last though. Even today people are accusing whites feel they are superior to blacks. A recent example of this is the Jena 6. The story goes that some black students sat under what was called the “white tree.” The next day some nooses were hung from the tree to send a message to those students. A small race war followed and it ended up with six African-American students arrested for attempted murder. The crime weapon in the crime was a sneaker which outraged a lot of people. The six men right now as far as I know are out of prison right now, although they did all serve some time. The majority of Americans feel that this may have been an issue of race, again the not funny kind, because no charges were ever brought up against any of the white students. There were petitions in order to get the students free and raise awareness about the racism still in America. Even here at Old Westbury there was a speech given and people showing up in support of the Jena 6. The men all received money from the NAACP to help pay for their college. I found it amusing that the whole nation now looks upon these six men as Civil Rights heroes, yet most of the six have criminal records prior to the arrest. I know criminal records are paid more mind then they should be, but in a case where people have records for assault, then they assault somebody else and are let off the hook because they are black is absurd to me. They were charged with attempted murder originally which I agree may have been harsh for the crime. The man they assaulted was only in the hospital for two hours. The fact that he had to go to the hospital is the problem I have. Even if it is not attempted murder it is still assault and it is also a hate crime. A hate crime is a crime committed because someone was of a different race then that of the person committing the crime. Well in the case of the Jena 6 the man they assaulted was white and they were black. The crimes are supposed to be giving harsher punishment but the Jena 6 are still out scot-free and with money for college.

I was asked to sign a petition on campus to help the Jena 6. I declined because I felt that if the situation was reversed that many African-Americans would not sign the petition to help six white men get out of jail. The reason I say this is because to me it seems like whenever race comes up in any topic, white people seem to be at fault. African-Americans never seem to get blamed or accused of being racist in as wide of a scope. I have never heard of a black teacher being accused of calling her white students “cracker” or “honky,” but as soon as a white teacher calls a student a “porch monkey” or even worse a “nigger” it’s all over the news. Maybe less black teachers do use those words in the classroom but I do find it hard to believe that it never happens at all. Then I start to think that in every time I heard of any Civil Rights thing recently one name comes up, Al Sharpton. Al Sharpton has done a lot of good for his community without a doubt. However he seems to let the issue of race die. He cares more about the fact that people are black then anyone. It seems to me from seeing him in the public eye that he is first to throw the race card, for example, if a black man is served last at a restaurant when he is there with his three white friends, Al Sharpton would be the one to say it’s because he is black. Likewise though if those same four friends were eating out and the black guy gets he’s food first it’s again because he is black. What do you want from us Sharpton?

Racism has existed in America before the slaves even arrived. The Native Americans were also discriminated against.
“The white man came across the sea,
He brought us pain and misery,
He killed our tribe,
He killed our creed,
He took our game for his own need.”
(Harris, 4)
This quote says the same thing that Plenty-Coups or Aleek-chea-ahoosh says in his essay in the document Native American Voices. Plenty-Coups said how he sees his world around him changing and there are less and less buffalo because the white men use them for everything. He also said that “Their Wise Ones said might have their religion…” (Plenty-Coups 5) I think that the Native Americans had it worse than anyone else. In 1838 the Native Americans were forced to relocate to reservations. Many died on the long journey to Oklahoma from their original homes on the Eastern Seaboard.

“We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness…” (Jefferson 6) This is a line straight out of the Declaration of Independence, which in no way promotes racism. Racism is however another invention of mankind. Only with time and understanding can man separate the comical and extreme racism that tore this country in two pieces. Sure every once in a while it is ok to make a joke about another race, culture, gender, and even religion, just make sure you know when to draw the line and make sure not to offend anyone with your humor. Racism has ripped America apart on several occasions, The Civil War, Civil Rights, and The O.J. Simpson trail. Gangs like the KKK have been in America for years and are a racist part of our history. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said “lukewarm acceptance is more bewildering then out right rejection,” and I agree with him. Racism and hatred are both confusing topics; let’s not make it more confusing by sending mixed messages. We can all learn from history and hindsight is always 20/20, we saw the mistakes people have made in the past. Let us move forward in our world free of extreme racism but keep the laughter alive.


Works Cited

1. Anonymous. First-Year Reader the Ethics of Engagement: Educating Leaders for a Just World. Copley Custom Textbooks An imprint of XanEdu Publishing, 2007
2. Plato. “Allegory of the Cave” First-Year Reader the Ethics of Engagement: Educating Leaders for a Just World. Copley Custom Textbooks An imprint of XanEdu Publishing, 2007. Page 3-6.
3. Martin Luther King Jr. “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” First-Year Reader the Ethics of Engagement: Educating Leaders for a Just World. Copley Custom Textbooks An imprint of XanEdu Publishing, 2007. Page 454-469.
4. Harris, Steve. Run to the Hills Iron Maiden Album: The Number of the Beast Harvest Records/Capitol Records, 1982
5. Aleek-chea-ahoosh. “Native American Voices Plenty-Coups” First-Year Reader The Ethics of Engagement: Educating Leaders for a Just World. Copley Custom Textbooks An imprint of XanEdu Publishing, 2007. Page 15.
6. Thomas Jefferson. “The Declaration of Independence” First-Year Reader the Ethics of Engagement: Educating Leaders for a Just World. Copley Custom Textbooks An imprint of XanEdu Publishing, 2007. Page 399-402.
7. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Tension

A feeling of wrath emerges from my decaying soul
With nothing in this world that could keep me whole
This chaotic sense of self, driven toward insanity
Would not allow me to open my eyes to see
Losing will to push forward through this dark time
And witnesses the others who are left behind
Wanting joy to overcome my dark state
The damage is done and the light is too late
The craving for my own blood lingers throughout
Caused by the utmost depressing drought
Gashes and scars are remains of my tension
Aware that this fate is no illusion

Destroyed Paradise

Thousands of years ago, a man was sent here from God to redeem us, but instead it turned into pure pandemonium. The one who would have been known as the messiah was never to be allowed to fulfill his duties and, in doing so, never freed us from the wrath of the unholy one. Years after that chaotic moment in time, mortals have feared death with a passion and done whatever it took to remain alive. This, then, provided breakthroughs in science and technology making this modern world seem somewhat robotic. Everything was directed toward expanding the human life and preventing the fall to hell.

January 1, 2007: Robotic parts were being created to replace human parts that fail. The humans were living in a world where it feels like there is no God controlling it. Waking up everyday, where people are always in fear and awaiting the apocalypse. Since they are the ones who prevented the savior from dying on the cross, they must then suffer for it. Now that there is no means to heaven, the apocalypse will be worse than before.

There is no democracy; there never was one, only pure chaos through the streets. Everyone knowing of what they had done those many years ago, how they altered the world. People are burning everything around them, and people are being killing because they have lost their conscience. Blood is throughout the streets and there is barely any nature left. People have completely lost it and have forgotten about each other and life and focus on preventing death from happening. In doing so, they are destroying themselves.

Nothing in this world has a purpose except to prevent the apocalypse and to expand life. Even though people are aimlessly roaming the streets. Day and night have combined into one and time has no concept. God has forsaken the humans as they scream everyday for forgiveness, yet he is unresponsive. They live every day in wonder and confusion, with no control over their actions, only involving themselves in their science. Half robotic and faithless people roam the dirt roads around this once lively world.

People are living their lives looking over their shoulders. The earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, and other disasters foreshadowing the end, they cry inside. The world is no longer a fruitful land, but a barren place. Buildings have been torn down and are decomposed. There is no hope for anyone.

Their years of torture are finally coming to an end. They apocalypse is ultimately here, where the earth will be engulfed into itself, and the living will no longer see. They will be forced to survive in hell for all eternity, with the fire and brimstone that surrounds. Sitting in the shadows, with heat melting their flesh. It is the end, and they deserved their fate.

Boogeyman by Stephen King

One of my favorite stories by Stephen King is his short story called the Boogeyman. It taps into everyones childhood fear of the shadows in the night.

The story takes place in a psychiatrist's office, as a disturbed man nervously explains to the doctor how his three children were killed one by one by what the man is convinced is a "boogeyman", a murderous creature that he believes hides in bedroom closets (as evidenced by the slightly-open closet door after each of their deaths).

The man is shown to be genuinely distraught by the deaths of his children, and visits the psychiatrist not in an effort to seek help, but just to tell his story. His first child, a boy, was killed after his father refused to get a nightlight, explaining it'd turn him into a 'sissy'. His second child, a female, was put into the same crib, the same room, as her dead brother. Months later she was killed the same way, even though he knew she would be, because it'd prove he was 'wrong' to his wife. His wife became pregnant a year after their daughters death and they moved into a different house far away. They had a good happy year together with their new son. Soon after, he knew the boogyman was back in his house, but this time his son still slept with him and his wife. When his wife must go and tend to her fatally sick mother, the man and his son are alone.

It's night time and the man knows that the boogyman will strike again, he sacrifices his son and when he is throttled to death by the boogyman, he runs away from the house. After the psychiatrist offers to prescribe him medication and longterm help, the man leaves for a short while and returns to find a mask of the psychiatrist's face resting on the couch and the Boogeyman stepping out of the closet wearing the psychiatrist's clothing and attacking the disturbed man.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Boogeyman

Eyes of Hell

Swallowed by the dark rays that beamed from hell
All glowing to the sound of a ringing bell
The demons have crawled from under the surface
To attack the one who will be hallow yet fragile
They crawled their way up and through the ground
And as they gaze forward and their victim they had found
For that moment in time I awaited their leader
The one from whom they announced as the creature
They made a straight path directly to me
And finally I saw what the creature could be
It slowly stepped forward at the sounding of the bell
And I suddenly gazed into the eyes of hell
Scared my body went into a state of shock
And my body fell through the earth and onto the rock
My body is now bruised and battered from it
And still the creature has not finished his fit
He follows me down and claws at my skin
And I hear the demons in the distance turn to sin
Blood leaks from my flesh and falls onto the floor
And suddenly I look at the creature as I saw it before
My soul arises from my battered body at the sound of the bell
And I walk down the grimy staircase and to my gruesome hell

Lenore by Edgar Allan Poe

Ah, broken is the golden bowl! the spirit flown forever!
Let the bell toll! -a saintly soul floats on the Stygian river -
And, Guy De Vere, hast thou no tear? -weep now or never more!
See! on yon drear and rigid bier low lies thy love, Lenore!C
ome! let the burial rite be read -the funeral song be sung! -
An anthem for the queenliest dead that ever died so young -
A dirge for her, the doubly dead in that she died so young.

"Wretches! ye loved her for her wealth and hated her for her pride,
And when she fell in feeble health, ye blessed her -that she died!
How shall the ritual, then, be read? -the requiem how be sung
By you -by yours, the evil eye, -by yours, the slanderous tongue
That did to death the innocence that died, and died so young?"

Peccavimus; but rave not thus! and let a Sabbath song
Go up to God so solemnly the dead may feel no wrong!
The sweet Lenore hath "gone before," with Hope, that flew beside,
Leaving thee wild for the dear child that should have been thy bride -
For her, the fair and debonnaire, that now so lowly lies,
The life upon her yellow hair but not within her eyes -
The life still there, upon her hair -the death upon her eyes.

Avaunt! tonight my heart is light. No dirge will I upraise,
But waft the angel on her flight with a paean of old days!
Let no bell toll! -lest her sweet soul, amid its hallowed mirth,
Should catch the note, as it doth float up from the damned Earth.
To friends above, from fiends below, the indignant ghost is riven -
From Hell unto a high estate far up within the Heaven -
From grief and groan to a golden throne beside the King of Heaven."

Atheist Quotes =)

"All religion, my friend, is simply evolved out of fraud, fear, greed, imagination, and poetry" - Edgar Allan Poe

"The pioneers and missionaries of religion have been the real cause of more trouble and war than all other classes of mankind." - Edgar Allan Poe

“The Bible and several other self help or enlightenment books cite the Seven Deadly Sins. They are: pride, greed, lust, envy, wrath, sloth, and gluttony. That pretty much covers everything that we do, that is sinful... or fun for that matter.” - Dave Mustaine

"Religions are all alike - founded upon fables and mythologies." - Thomas Jefferson

"Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, & the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people." - Karl Marx


"It would be very nice if there were a God who created the world and was a benevolent providence, and if there were a moral order in the universe and an after-life; but it is a very striking fact that all this is exactly as we are bound to wish it to be." - Sigmund Freud

"I believe in God, only I spell it Nature." - Frank Lloyd Wright

"The beauty of religious mania is that it has the power to explain everything. Once God (or Satan) is accepted as the first cause of everything which happens in the mortal world, nothing is left to chance...logic can be happily tossed out the window." - Stephen King

Memior and Memory

A memior is an account of the most significant times in a person's life. For example, The Diary of Anne Frank is an autobiography about that hard time in her life. Personally, if i was to write a memior it would not be about the happiest times since they are few and far apart. It would be an account on the instances in my life in which i had to overcome discrimination and abuse. My memiors would hopefully become an inspiration to young girls growing up in similar situations.

A memory can be life or death, a thought or idea, joyous or depressing. A memory can be anything that has be imprinted onto someone's mind. It can be the memory of a grandmother who has passed away or a memory of one's past experiences that have flown by. It can be the thought that inspires you to write the novel, or the idea of the painting you would like to create. It could be anything that made you smile, even if it is just a smirk; or it can be depressing, like something that has ended prematurely.

Untitled Story

Sitting lowly on the wooden shelf, she gazes around the large room. Peering into the souls of each of the worthless and shameful beings; wanting them to be somewhat conscience of there impending doom. She keeps her pain and wrath deep inside herself, away from all that could bring out some sort of emotion. She refuses to cry; she refuses to scream. It was not in her nature to be so forthcoming with anything that could bring her closer to any being.

Her intense red hair falls in front of her pale face. Slowly a tear creeps from her light blue eyes. She has failed in her goal to seem like a sociopath. She can’t hold this hatred and depression in much longer. Something has to be done, and soon. She just thinks to herself about the torture they will all endure in the future. It will be a massacre, coming from the depths of hell. The unholy one will come forth and destroy them.

She creeps off the shelf and slowly meanders through the room. She plods past the unaware beings, living in their joyous and pretend world. They don’t know pain or suffering yet. She looks at each being, gazing into each of their souls. They seem positive internally, but that will not be enough to postpone the annihilation.

She reaches the other side of the room and opens the door. Suddenly a flame bursts in front of her. The doom has arrived. The unholy one rises in front of her. The unholy one is overflowing with wrath that it wants to liberate onto these seemingly innocent beings. The unholy one just walks forward. With each step the unholy one made, an imp appeared. Those imps scatter throughout the room, thrashing around into the beings. Blood is dispersed around the room and bodies fall to the ground. Flames appear around the room and maggots swarm around, devouring the now rotting bodies. An odor of decaying permeates.

She stands in the doorframe and watches the brutality unfold. She is in a state of shock considering she thought that the unholy one would have some pity on them for the goodness that sits in their hearts. The liberation of the wrath is atrocious.

After a few hours, all the beings are deceased. She is alone with the unholy one and its imps. She is fearful of being alone with them. Slowly they turn and face her. She screams but no one there to hear or save her. She wants to run but is paralyzed by fear. The unholy one sends commands to the imps to destroy her. She feels the pain of them clawing at her flesh, ripping her open. The blood leaks onto the floor. The unholy one steps forward and grabs her. She is near death. The unholy one stares at her and sends her body into a state of shock. Her heart stops from the pressure and blood loss. The liberation is complete and all is gone.

Blood and Lace

Anger seeps through the very darkened room
As the abhorrence and sorrow made this damned tomb
The torture and abuse became the beginning of this doom
And the death came all but too soon

Images of this anger flashed throughout this space
To prove how great of a danger it was to face
And on the floor lied a trail of blood and lace
That was where the hideous abuse has been traced

As to all the horror that lie inside
There was no place where the abused could hide
Because all of the hate and spite, the homicide
Might have well been enlisted with genocide

Yet the trail of blood and lace, just lie there on the floor
Reminiscing of the horrific abuse and abhor
That made this murderous tension soar
And made the horrific site seem yet adored

The room seemed like a deathly mark
As the trees outside sit with withering bark
And as the blood and lace seem to hark
The room just stands, disturbed in the dark

The anger leans on the remains of the walls
As the image of abuse seems to be stalled
Making the blood and lace want to crumble and fall
As the darkened room stands tall