Racism applies to more than minorities
Yin Yang – universal symbol of peace – photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons and used under Fair Use.
Racism has never fully dissipated despite legal desegregation in the 1960’s; over the last decade, it has resurfaced as a prominent problem.
The common misconception is that derogatory actions and words towards people of color are the only form of racism. By definition, racism is the discrimination aimed towards a person or group of a different race than one’s own because of the belief in racial superiority. These racist tendencies are also due to the racial demographics of different areas. Therefore, it is also possible to have white victims of racism.
Although there are far more hate crimes against black people than white people, statistically speaking, hate crimes against white people do happen. A trending torture video is the most prominent instance to date.
A mentally disabled, 18-year-old white man was discovered on Jan. 3 in Chicago looking disoriented. There was a live Facebook broadcast of four black adults torturing him, shouting, “[expletive] Donald Trump,” and “[expletive] white people.”
The 30-minute long video shows the victim being beaten while tied up with his mouth covered. The torturers even cut into his head. He was kidnapped and beaten for several days and was even forced to drink toilet water, according to CNN.
This isn’t the only example of a white hate crime. In 2012, a 13-year-old boy was doused in gasoline and lit on fire by two black teens saying, “You get what you deserve, white boy,” according to CBS News.
Since the attackers were black and the victim was white, police are still trying to determine if it was a hate crime. They didn’t believe it was politically motivated.
Racist tendencies can be displayed from any race towards any race, and confining people to roles based on race causes racism in the first place.
