Racism & Stereotypes, the Incurable Social Disease

In 1986, a young boy born in the Philippines was told by his parents that they would be moving to the US. 1986 was a turbulent time for the Philippines, a time when the Filipinos wanted change, they were growing tired of the corrupt system, a corrupt President, and a corrupt government. His parents thought it would be a good start, and since they were petitioned by a family member, they thought it would be a great opportunity for the whole family. At first the boy was excited, happy, at the same time he was curious what life would be like in an unfamiliar land. 30 years later and already a US citizen, he questions that decision, if it was the right thing to do. He realizes that he has no time to regret, no chance of turning back time, only time to reflect on his past experiences, Unfortunately for him, racism was a big part of that experience. This is his story...

Fifth grade was the starting point; when he arrived he had no problems understanding English, since English was a second language to him, but because of his accent, he was frowned upon by younger kids who spoke "proper English." He made friends, composed of mostly some classmates and neighbors, & he grew to love and respect those friends like his own siblings. Because of the transition from a different country, different school, he had a hard time trying to fit in. Forced to change schools, by the time was 13 he was already enrolled in a second school, but this is where the problem got bigger. In sixth grade, he had to deal with racism in a big way, so much that it changed his point of view forever. A boy by the name of Greg would torture him for years until they graduated from grade school, calling him names after names like "Gook," "Slant Eye," "Jap," "Chink," among other names. Now put yourself in this boy's shoes and imagine being subjected to hateful rhetoric everyday, just because of his skin color? Greg couldn't mess with the "African Americans" that were there because there were too many of them to mess with, so he chose to mess with one person he thought was weak...until that person, that one kid, started to learn to fight back... At first that kid tried so hard to take his parent's and his teacher's advice to ignore it, but it got so bad that he was forced to be cold hearted. But his story doesn't end there; he has yet to encounter racism after grade school, but this time it was from someone unexpected.

During his high school years he experienced racism again; this time it was from someone colored... just like him. After being stuck in a private school for almost four years, his parents decided to put him in a "public school." It was a few incidents he never told his parents or anyone else. While working on a project in class, he was told by an African American female to shut his "Asian ass up," to which he responded back with "Get cancer and die!" He was learning to fight back and fight back harder than ever before. There was one incident that he will never forget, the one that bothered him for so many years... It happened before school started. As usual he would smoke cigs before going to school; it helped him relax. So he went for a cig across the school because of the "smoking zone," which was 400 feet away from the school. As he was about to light up, an elderly African American man began shouting at him and waving his cane like he was going to attack. Then the elderly man said something that made the boy angry: "Get your fucking Gook ass off my property!!" Shocked, he stood his ground and tried to explain to the elderly man that the sidewalk was not his property... but with no avail, the elderly man still kept shouting racist slurs at him. With the help of a few friends, the boy finally decided it was best to just let it go. Later on that day he was called to the office because of the incident. He was fortunate the Principal had a lot of empathy for him and his situation, and he graduated from high school without any further incidents.

Grade school and high school weren't the only times he encountered racism; he encountered racism once again on his way home from college, when an elderly African American man was arguing with him about "Asians taking the jobs away from Black people." He also encountered racism from a police officer who harassed him and kept asking him if he belonged to an "Asian gang" just because he was Asian. He nearly got into a fight with a Neo Nazi at a party because of the racist slurs he heard... but overall, after being in the US, he learned five important life lessons: a.) To try and still show compassion but be cold hearted when he has to be; b.) To educate himself, and immerse himself into other cultures instead of being judgemental; c.) To be proud of who he is but not to be too prideful, because being to prideful and nationalistic about race is not good; d.) To learn to trust that there are still good people in this world, and not everyone will hate him for the color of his skin; e.) To keep fighting with all his heart and conviction for the most important part of all... Equality for everyone.

Deep in his heart he ponders if society will ever change. Will society accept the way things are and is there really a cure for such an incurable social disease like racism? It's not only in the US but the whole world... Being hateful to someone who is different, a different skin color, different language, different culture... he hopes that one day, at least before he dies, that the world will at least change for the better, and that society will someday be more educated instead of being hateful.

P.S. My name is Joe, and yes, this is my story, and I'm a human being just like you! Hope to hear from you! I'd love to hear your input on my story.