a response i did in regards to an essay in english. AP Language forces such things as these upon us -___-” i think i did rather good with this one though. We had to talk about whether or not what the essay in question (I’m sorry but I cannot remember the name of it), which was a speech given in the 60’s, said was still relevant today and we had to place examples from our own experience into our response. I must say that I am not racist in any way, and I hope you are not offended by anything I say in this essay. thanks.

    Although not all of the problems discussed by James Baldwin are prevalent today, there are still remnants of that racism, that prejudice, in today’s world. Although, looking about me, I see great strides achieved by those of African descent since the time in which this speech was delivered, Barack Obama running for president one example among many, I still see a lot of racism in today’s world. Hundreds of years of hating a group of people just does not disappear as fast as that. There will probably always be remnants, if not violence shown, the memories of the violence. My family, as an example, is not what you would call racist. We are a middle-class, generally conservative (except for a few of us in the younger generations), white family. Gay rights are fine with us, they have the right to do or practice what they want; we are educated and believe what science tells us; and most of all, we believe that everyone has a right to the opportunities presented to them, and to have the same opportunities presented to them as to everyone else, despite skin color or heritage. And yet I know it would be frowned upon for me, for example, to date someone of a different skin color. Some in my family would accept it, it is after all my right to love who I want to. Despite that, it just isn’t done in my family. It’s one of those unspoken rules upheld in my family, like not talking about money or extremely personal matters unless invited to. As I said, hundreds of years of hate and discrimination doesn’t disappear like that.

 even I, one who is the least racist person I know (i live in a world full of racism, I live in a school full of minorities, which, although condoning togetherness and anti-racism, it also condones racism), just feel weird about people of other races. I don’t know what it is. It could be the stereotypes presented me; it could be many things. The black people i see walking down the hallways in my school are just not the people I would date, I suppose. It’s not because of their skin, it’s not that they aren’t nice. It’s just that a good majority of them are the stereotype: people who have terrible grammar, prone to violence and sex and drugs, and many other things I just don’t want to get mixed up in. Then again, a vast majority of the white people in my school are just the same way, and I stay away from them. But for some reason, I don’t know… there’s just this taboo around black people for me. I’m not being racist or anything, I am very open minded and whatever. I think the main thing is that I grew up in a school predominantly white. There were maybe three blacks in the entire school, one asian, and a few hispanics. True, things changed when I went to the other school a town over (It’s a world’s difference between the two towns, but i would rather be here; good people and an amazing art program, not to mention ancient greek, something no other public school around here has) in 6th grade. I was surrounded by a population about 20% black, 15% hispanic, 15% polish (polish town is right in the center of our town, they’re a group within themselves lol) and the rest a motley crew of anglo-saxons and middle europeans, some mediterraneans and some misc. It was a bit of a shock for me, and I was quiet and observed for the first few years. From what I could see, the majority of the blacks where really into rap and the gang scene and whatever, there were a great majority of the whites who were the same way, and there were the preps, jocks, nerds, what have you. But as I went into my art classes, into my Advanced and Honors classes in high school, all I saw were us whites. The upper echelon, the intellectuals, people who I was on the same wavelength as, where dominantly white. Almost to a complete monopoly. There are, in fact, a few blacks, and the few asians of our school are in those classes too. I’m not being stereotypical; these are just the facts presented me in my situation. I’m not saying it is always this way, in fact I know it isn’t always this way. It just happens to be the way things are in my environment.  I just don’t know. There are so many reasons jostling about in my mind for why I feel so uneasy around black people, except for the few who I actually talk to, the ones who are friends with my friends and whatever. One is silly (ah, pierre, you never fail to make me laugh) and the other is a bit of a free spirit, smart and what seems like artistic in nature (I don’t know him well but I see him in Labyrinth, the poem and art journal club, and he has a bit of a hippie look about him and is really calm and just relaxed. all together nice to be around) I therefore know there are black people on the same wavelength as me. Just as I know there are many white people who arent. Quite a few, actually. to name a few, the jocks, preps, and wanna-be gangsters, actual gangsters… The ones who are hedonists at heart and do naught with their lives but complain about school, how idiotic Hamlet is, have sex, do drugs, and smoke. I’m not even exaggerating. that is, from what I know, all they do with their lives. And thats fine, they have the right to do what they want with themselves. It just doesn’t happen to jive well with me.  eh. I am done for tonight. too much thought and thinking-through-typing going on. that giant paragraph right there was just me putting down the thoughts that popped in my head as I thought them /(^__^)” this is my way of thinking.