Affirmative "BLACtion"

After watching the jail scene in "A Different World" in class yesterday, I thought of the dinner scene in "American History X." Both had white people complaining about affirmative action.  In "American History X," the main character, Derek, listens to his father complain about how black people were hired over white people at his police station because of affirmative action. He even calls it affirmative "blaction" to give it a negative connotation. In fact, the white people actually scored higher than the black people on their tests. This really pisses off Derek's father and gives him a negative view of black people in general. Through his father's stories and beliefs, Derek also begins to think of blacks negatively. I think this scene perfectly shows how racism is not something that has never left our society and probably never will. People will always want to blame others for their misfortunes and scapegoat others. This will ultimately lead to racism and stereotyping. By watching the scene, one can see how the media and people's family and friends can lead others to stereotype or be racist. When a young child hears their parents complain about blacks or use the N word, it makes the child think it is okay to say and think those things. Same with the media. Rappers need to stop using the "N" word in their songs, unless they want that word to be utilized more. By black people saying that word, it could make a child believe it was okay to say that word. Racism and stereotyping need to be stopped alltogether for everyone to be treated equal. Because there will always be close-minded people, I do not think this will ever happen.

Here is the scene from "American History X"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlmQStK68rA