The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

Over the years I’ve learned there are still people who for whatever reason choose to be ignorant towards people because of the color of their skin.  By now, 2014, you would think prejudice would be long gone but in all reality, PREJUDICE STILL EXISTS, unfortunately.  A memory of an incident where I saw prejudice firsthand was at the fishing bank.  A group of kids had arrange to meet up down at the fishing bank for a supposedly chit chat.  There were several Caucasian boys jumping off the bank into the river and swimming back only to do it all over again.  A young black boy arrives later at the bank and they were trying to get him to jump off the bank but he kept refusing telling them he did not know how to swim.  They were taunting him calling him a scary cat and even more derogatory names.  Not really paying it no never mind, all of a sudden you could hear a loud scream for help.  The boys were dragging down to the railing and would eventually throw him over causing him his life.  This memory revisits every fishing trip.  

In this particular situation this form of prejudice reduced equity.  There were onlookers such as myself who could have stepped in and stopped the actions of those young boys.  Being that I could not swim I went to the telephone booth up on the corner and called the police (cell phones were not yet in the making).    By the time I got back the ambulance and police were both there and they had radioed the water sheriff to assist but the boys had scattered.  The only one left behind from that group was a young girl approximately fourteen years old who up telling the police they told her to invite this young boy down to river bank for a date.  She stated she did not have any idea they were out to hurt him let alone kill him.  Thankfully, she was scared enough to stay there and tell the police who the boys were and they were arrested and is currently serving time.  

The first feeling this incident brought up for me was to be careful who you call friends because you can’t trust everyone.  The next feeling was a feeling of hopelessness.  Of all those people out there that day somebody should have come to this victim’s rescue but no one did.  It also leaves me questioning their actions; why did they have to go to that extreme to act out their hatred for this individual?  He begged them to stop.  But that wasn’t good enough.  

As an onlooker I knew I couldn’t swim but I knew how to run and where a phone was to get to quickly but there were others who did absolutely nothing while I was there and I’m sure while I was gone.  And to make things even worse we are taught to respect law enforcement but I overheard one of the police officers say, “It looks like that n----- is gone.”  I have since gained respect for law enforcement but at that point I had totally lost it all.  Surely, someone out there knew how to swim and I believe if anybody would have stepped up not only would this incident have turned into an opportunity for greater equity but this young boy’s life would probably have been saved.