“One home.” We all live under the same sky, we all stand on the same ground and we are all created equally by God. On one thought, yes… it is true. We are equal, we should be equal, we are the same, and we have no differences. Yet let’s face it like it or not inequality, injustice, superior over inferior exist. Especially among people of different races. So why does this so called Racial Prejudice exist?
”Racial prejudice is any action practice or belief that reflects the racial world view the ideology that humans are divided into separate groups because of their skin color” as what wiki.answers.com defines it. On Wikipedia, “Racism is the belief that there are inherent differences in people's traits and capacities that are entirely due to their race, however defined, and that, as a consequence, justify the different treatment of those people, both socially and legally. Moreover, racism is the practice of the different treatment of certain a group or groups, which is then justified by recourse to racial stereotyping or pseudo-science.” The term there is “difference”, difference that creates inequality. It’s an “insidious moral and social disease affecting peoples and populations all over the world.” (allaboutpopularissues.org), furthermore, It is diagnosed by the cataloguing of its various symptoms and manifestations which include fear, intolerance, separation, segregation, discrimination, and hatred. While all of these symptoms of racial prejudice may be manifest, the single underlying cause of racial prejudice is ignorance. Historically, a race of people is defined as a population with distinguishable biological features. Although we are of the same kind, our races differ. Maybe it’s the country your from, or your traits, your color, your eyes or your appearance. According to a research conducted by Dartmouth College, ‘Racial prejudice makes you stupider’ and the scientists are now adding a new one: Racism can make you stupid. So it really has a great impact. UN or United Nations on one of their conference said that racial discrimination and ethnicity discrimination no distinction. The story “A Meeting in the Dark” revolves on a boy named John, a young and well-educated man that will soon go to study college. The whole village likes him, in fact they admire him. His father Stanly, a local preacher whom he is very afraid of has converted to Calvinism. His father is so strict; he didn’t want him to commit any sin, although his father ones committed a big sin, John is the fruit of a sin, which means that Stanley had "sinned" before he and his wife Susana were married. Stanley wants his son to “grow with the Lord”, and that he wants to control his son’s life in nearly every aspect. John’s girlfriend Wamuhu is a native girl from the village whom he admired. John knows that his father would never accept his relationship with the girl because she is circumcised. Because converted people in the village separate their selves among people who practice same belief. One night John and Wamuhu walk together talking about a serious thing; this is where they declared to the reader that they will be having a baby. He is afraid because of his future, especially of his father’s reaction. He was so confused because whatever he will choose will be always wrong. His father will be angry if he chooses to disobey him, and if he chooses his father and his study he will left a fatherless child. John thinks that if only new region and teaching never arrived to their village it will just be ok; it will just be fine to sleep with a girl outside marriage, their will be no differences and most of all he could marry a circumcised girl. In the end John offers Wamuhu money. The offer went higher and higher and suddenly John losses control of his self, and with despair he kills her…a tragic end to boy with lots of burden.
Connecting with Racial Prejudice, the story “A Meeting in the Dark” by James Ngugi, showed that John’s tribe differ their selves from the whites (Europeans). In the story they criticize man who came home from other places to their village bringing a mate of different color, white or black. They feel that people outside their tribe is different because of opposing belief, different color, and customs. Even in their tribe, converted people like John’s family separate their selves among other who still practicing in their old belief and way like circumcised girl, but its about tribe differences.
Racial prejudice is a product of fear. “Racial prejudice is a product of our fear based existence designed to perpetuate our fear based existence….” (eaglespiritministry.com). It’s a result of fear therefore it could be cured, it could be overcome. Never allow fear to rule you, we couldn’t avoid fear but we could ignore it. It’s a scenario found all over the world, that’s why most people want to stop it. One of those is the media- specifically movies. I just want to add this, even though it’s a little bit far from the topic, in the movie “THE LION KING 2”, one of their song states that “we are one” that song contains good message. Even they are different animals from each other they are still united. And I think that’s the purpose of the movie- to show unity from different things. So why couldn’t we make it possible. Let’s start now and treat others how we want us to be treated.
