Racism and Anti-Semitism are dead?
Racism and Anti-Semitism are a very serious issue in many parts of the world. The hatred directed toward others simply for being of a different race and religion has been the focus of many wars and minor military conflicts. The United State is not exempt from this type of conflict. With organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan, Skinheads, American Nazis, Black Panther Party, and The Nation of Islam are just a few of the racist and anti-Semitic groups that can be found all throughout the United States. So when the question is asked, “Is racism and anti-Semitism still a problem in the United States?” The answer is clearly yes. There are many that would choose to disagree with that assertion, but we shall address my reasons for this argument.
First and foremost, any and all racism and anti-Semitic acts are unacceptable in today’s society. This argument is considered to be a hasty generalization. It is groups and organization that take a race or religion of people and mark them ass as the same. Our text states, “We are probably familiar both with having generalized a bit too quickly ourselves and having heard others do so. The fallacy of hasty generalization is committed when the conclusion is based on insufficient information: a generalization is made too quickly.”(Mosser, K., 2011) This can be proven by the simple fact that if you commit an act of racism or anti- Semitic act against someone or a group of people you will be prosecuted by the law. Racism and anti-Semitism have been an issue in the United States for a very long time and it is still a persistent issue. Racism is a particular form of oppression. It stems from discrimination against a group of people based on the idea that some inherited characteristic, such as skin color, makes them inferior to the ones that are being the oppressors. If we look back at slavery in America, Africans were considered inferior to the white men and they were treated as the property, no different from am farm animal. A slave’s only real job was to obey the orders and directions given to them by their owner, or slave master. If a slave did not obey they were beaten, whipped, maimed, imprisoned, or even murdered. States such as Louisiana not only had laws that governed slaves and the treatment of them, but the extent of punishment that could be issued. “The governing document which was introduced in the year 1724 was called, Louisiana’s Code Noir, or the Louisiana Black Code. This 54 article code regulates the relations between colonists and slaves.” (New York: D. Appleton, 1851)
Ironically, the first article pertains to people of the Jewish religion followed by three more articles on religion, and a slave master’s responsibility when it comes to the religion of their slaves. The first four articles read:
Louisiana Code Noir I. Decrees the expulsion of Jews from the colony II. Permits the exercise of the Roman Catholic creed only. III. Every other mode of worship is prohibited. IV. Negroes placed under the direction or supervision of any other person than a Catholic, are liable to confiscation V. …
So as we can see even during the early years of American colonization not only was racism and slavery an issue, but anti-Semitism. These two issues have been hand in hand before out countries constitution was signed. As we move forward in American history we can see that the issue of racism and anti-Semitism not only still existed, but continued to evolve and be more publicized, with the introduction of newspapers and radio. If we look at the World War I era, Jews were blamed for much of the hardships that America was going through. Jews were seen as greedy and dishonest, and even blamed for the great depression. This was not only the thoughts of a select few people at the time, but an American way of thinking. In an Army Manual targeted for recruits it stated, "The foreign born, and especially Jews, are more apt to malinger than the native-born." Racism also reached new heights after slavery was abolished, as if in slaving an entire race of people because of the color of their skin wasn’t enough. African Americans were in pursuit of equality, and voting rights, but many whites in America were reluctant to allow it. The Civil Rights Movement began and peaked from 1955-1965, African Americans held rallies, marches, and sit-ins. Eventually Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, guaranteeing basic civil rights for all Americans, regardless of race, after nearly a decade of nonviolent protests and marches. During this time Blacks were beaten, tortured, hung, and even had the churches fire bombed. If we step forward to more recent times, particularly the 2008 Presidential Elections, there were many people who were very adamant in their opposition of an African American President. Not only hate groups were especially vocal. There were news reports saying members of the Ku Klux Klan saying that if Barak Obama were to be elected he would be assassinated. There is no other known reason for a group saying this, other than because Barak Obama is African American. Now this section of the paper is supposed to contain a counter-argument, there are those that may feel that racism and anti-Semitism don’t exist anymore in the United States. The fact of the matter is that it does. As stated with organization such as the Ku Klux Klan, Skinheads, American Nazis, Black Panther Party, and The Nation of Islam still in existence racism and anti-Semitism will continue to be a major issue in the United States. Many Americans are blind to the fact that these organizations are very active in the world today, and there are those who ignore the fact that they are because they only represent a small percentage of Americans. The truth is although they are only a small percentage these organizations have a big impact on many people, their messages are hurtful, degrading, and senseless, and as much as people would like to live in a world without them, chances are it will never happen. There will always be differences between people, be it race, religion, or creed, and there will always be though that have an issue with others.

References
Mosser, K., (2011) An Introduction to Logic. Bridgepoint Education Inc. San Diego, CA.
Anti-Defamation League. (2001). History of The Anti-Defamation League 1913-2000 . In ADL.ORG. Retrieved July 5, 2012, from http://www.adl.org/ADLHistory/print_adl_history.asp.
B. F. FRENCH. (no date). Louisiana's Code Noir(1742). In Black Past. Retrieved July 10, 2012, from http://www.blackpast.org/?q=primary/louisianas-code-noir-1724.