I Spoke My Voice

As I was trying to find a clever topic for my first blog and I came across the topic of discrimination. The Memorial to the Murdered Jews caught my attention since the discrimination of Jews started the fire and hatred which lead to the Holocaust . Not only was discrimination shown to the Jews but to all types of people at many different time periods throughout humanity.

The topic of discrimination is often looked over since it happens frequently. Yes you see it on social media, yes you see it on the news, but has it ever appeared in your life? If so, then you would understand why it is such a big problem in our day to day society and Trump is not helping. In the Declaration of Sentiments it states, “He has compelled her to submit to laws, in the formation of which she had no voice” (Stanton). As it shows in the Declaration of Sentiments, women are being mistreated and discriminated. They want to have their own rights and so does every other person in the world. Everyone is equal no matter what shoes they wear, whether they have money or not, and regardless of their pigmentation.

People do not realize after years of discrimination problems are going to arise. People who get upset at the fact that others are going to speak their voice should not get mad since they most likely haven’t experienced discrimination. Yes, the actions of others do affect how a group as a whole is presented. It does not mean that if someone did something wrong you are at fault with them. If ISIS is going around killing people and you are Muslim that doesn’t mean that you are killing people. If the Bloods and Crips are wreaking havoc around cities and you are African American that does not have anything to do with you. People are limited on previous profiling and perceptions rather than their personalities and how they are as a person. We all read The Adventures of  Huckleberry Finn and that is a great example of how discrimination and racism is not true. Who knows the problems people face that influence their actions and make them do what they do. You do not know what’s going on in the mind of a policeman trying to tell whether or not a person is dangerous. Although I do not agree to what the police are necessarily doing, I do not know what is going on in their minds. I haven't stepped into their shoes.

In the book, The Things They Carried, a soldier placed himself into the shoes of the enemy after killing him. The soldier did not know anything about the young man but he could dig deep enough to feel what the other man may have felt. That is what we as a group of people have to realize. If we do not understand what is going on with people and how they feel there is absolutely no reason to discriminate. Do not hate on a football player for speaking his voice against what is wrong.  Colin Kaepernick explains why he did not stand during the National Anthem in an interview, "I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder" (Kaepernick). As you can see he is taking a stand and showing his voice. He has enough money to stay to himself and not say a word about any discrimination… but does he? NO. Did Martin Luther King Jr. not speak his voice? NO. Did Rosa Parks not speak her voice? NO.  Did Muhammad Ali not speak his voice? NO. They all took a stand and none of them quit. We need more people to take a stand and help stop all the discrimination and problems in the world. The only way we can find peace is together. If there is hate how are we going to move further?

(LOOK AT THE LETTERS IN BOLD)