race

Race, a subject which is hard to discuss without offending, is inexorably tied to all of our lives. Whether we like it or not everyone is categorized by race. Much of our angst comes from not knowing how to define race or how it effects our interactions. While a more juvenile, dare I say, European version of race separates people by color. Science has proven that the color of a person’s skin has about as much validity as the color of a person’s hair or eyes. The remaining traits are a combination of features that all races share. Taking this into consideration one may wonder why racism, whether intentional or not, is so prevalent in society.
In an article by Sasha Polakow-Suransky, a person with Arab features was treated poorly by a middle aged black person. While being offended this individual still had the presence of mind to confront the profiler and dispel a possibly volatile situation. Also, as stated by the Zogby International poll, the approval rating for racial profiling of Arab-Americans peaked at sixty percent in September of 2001(Polakow-suransky). At first it may seem that only people of African descent are victims of racism, but the previous examples prove that prejudice can exist in all individuals. Constantly on our minds, the dangers of Muslim radicals seem to have replaced racism against the black minority.