Cultural Prejudice

I stop to think and wonder why we are cultural prejudice. I like to say I am not yet every time I stop for coffee at 7-eleven I expect to see someone from the Middle East behind the counter. Or, how at work, when I treat a Persian or Armenian patient I immediately expect them to request royalty treatment as if they all had a sense of entitlement. These are merely thoughts I would never act upon, yet there they are in back on my mind like an old blood stain on my scrub top that I will never be able to get rid of. These are thoughts based on biases and misperception that sometimes I tend to forget about, and sometimes, it takes a good someone else for me to be reminded. The film Crash that came out on 2004 cannot depict any better how many of us, if not most of us, see the other cultures. The location where the story takes place also cannot be any better. It takes place in Los Angeles where the lives of these Angelinos crossed paths causing a collision of race and cultural prejudice. The director, Paul Haggis, did a nice job reminding all of us, especially me, as how we treat each other among cultures letting our judgment be mislead the could be acts of racism. Although the movie may push reality beyond its limits, it is something that to some extend happens every day and cannot be overlooked. Sometimes while reflecting on the film and its message, I found myself drifting away remembering the times that I was judged based on my personal appearance and cultural background. I also recollected those times I have done the same and judge others based on their color or race. My most significant memory is one of a sweet white lady that was a regular patient for the doctor I worked for. She had fractured her lower leg and throughout the weeks of treating her I got to know her. She would ask me questions about myself and without hesitation I would answer. By her last visit, she we wished each other well. Her last words, ones which I will never forget were, "it is nice to see you young Hispanic boys doing something good with your lives". I was shocked yet I realize that by her expression she really meant it as a compliment. It made me wonder what prejudice perception she had of us "Hispanic boys". Unfortunately, that was not the last time I experience someone judging me by my culture and I continue to be a victim of stereotyping simply because I am Mexican. I have to confess that I am not absent of blame and I have also victimized others by making assumptions based on stereotypes. My mother since the first day I planted my feet on U.S. soil warned me about the evil of black people and not to trust the white either because both were out to get us. I was only 12 years old and for many years I did just that, stayed away. it was later in life when I realize that my own mother was been prejudice and a bit racist and that just as not all Hispanic boys are cholos (member of a Latino gang), the same way not all Blacks had to be thugs ( a common criminal) or the White supremacists. On Crash, something similar to what happened to me happens to the main characters. They find themselves not been trusted by those from a different race and culture. They are mistreated and abuse just because they are perceived to be bad or inferior, stereotyping the characters based on their culture. The film not only tackles the usual white against everybody but most importantly, it shows how every culture does not accept the other. There are Black, White, Persian, and Mexican characters that have are involved in stereotyping. The stereotypes that we all help to create upon a race become a chain that is almost impossible to break. Schingel (2006) noted that, "Perhaps stereotypes like that have maintained their prevalence because there are so many people that perpetuate them." Stereotyping is not only a problem in America but it is a problem around the globe. Take Muslims for example, they are labeled as terrorist by many nations. This is not right or remotely correct yet they are treated and looked upon as such. Just because there is one bad apple that does not mean we need to cut down the tree. The problem with prejudice is that once we are chained to a stereotype it becomes extremely difficult to break from it no matter what you do, simply because it is your race, therefore you are. I have learned the difficulty of breaking that chain myself and because of it I would never chain anyone by them. Muller (2014) noted that," the cultural wars take us to the borders of contradiction both at home and abroad" (p.208). At young age, my understanding of global culture was narrowed to White against everyone else. I never stop to think that I too was been prejudice to those other than Mexicans and that I was doings that thing that I was against. I am well aware that Crash is just a film that is far from real life yet there are important lessons to be learned from it. The message seems to be that everyone has racism in them, and prejudice is part of all of us, yet everyone can still be a good person and break from those chains we help to create.

References:
Muller, G.H. 2014. The New World Reader: thinking and writing about the global community (fourth ed).Boston: Houghton Mifflin
Schingel, Rebecca. 2006. How the Movie Crash Illustrates Race and Ethnic Relations in America. Retrieved From: http://voices.yahoo.com/how-movie-crash-illustrates- race-ethnic-relations-14701.html