Racism in America

The other day, I watched a youtube video, in which a team of people were trying to prove racist thoughts still present in society. Within the video, two cars were parked in a public park. One car contained 3 white teenage boys completely destroying a car with spray paint while jumping on the roof of the car as well. The experiment was to see if anyone would call the cops on the three boys. It was amazing to see the reactions people had. As people walked by the vandalized car, almost not bystanders said a word. In fact, one older woman joked about how they hoped it was there car and that they wouldn't do that to hers. The boys just continued to laugh and destroy the car. After hours of vandalization, only one passerby decided to approach the boys and threaten to call the police. However, while all of this was going on.. a second car of three black teenage boys were in the same lot, all sleeping in the car. While the white boys were vandalizing what could have been any ones car, no calls to the police were made, were as two calls were made to report suspicious behavior of boys sleeping within a car.

After a couple of hours, the positions were then reversed, and three black boys began to vandalize a car, while three white boys slept in an adjacent car in that same park. Within minutes, three calls were made to the police by passerby's, and two other men approached the kids and told them to stop. When interviewed, those who called the police said they were just looking out for the good of the neighborhood.

This experiment greatly shocked me. It was crazy to see how people could report crime only when it was done by those who were "fit to do crime". This showed how prevalent racism still is in America. People are deterred to report crime if they believe someone of their "own kind" is being the perpetrator.

However, I don't think people realize that they are committing acts of racism. I think people think of racism and discrimination as something of the past, and don't see why it still needs to be combatted. These racist acts are fully adding to the disparities in society as large institutions, such as the criminal justice system, continue to unconsciously or consciously target people of color. I think by having people first realize that they are committing acts of racism, it can really bring about change. People inherently see racism and discrimination as bad, so by pointing out these actions, maybe it can enlighten people to do something about the issue. Maybe asking people if they would be scared to drive in a white neighborhood versus as a black one, and then ask why they feel this way. Or asking if people would mind if blacks or minority groups moved into their neighborhood, how they would react. Maybe, once people see that racism still exists, they will be more willing to try and combat it.