Is racism increasing or decreasing? The effect hate crimes have on society.

An editorial by Marina Chong

Racism has been a problem in society for many years, and people are not aware that is
still a major problem nowadays. Racism exists when one ethnic group excludes or
marginalizes another group or person because of their religion, race, ideals, or sexual
orientation. When a racist person acts violently against another group or personal because
they are different, it is called a hate crime.
Hate crimes were a big problem on different years throughout history; during World War
II many Jews were victims of violent acts, they were murdered and locked up because
their religion and ideals were different from Germanys ruler; since the Holocaust the
term hate crime was officially established. This is an example of a hate crime based on
religion and race. Another example is the exclusion and the abuse against African
Americans in the United States. Black people were used as slaves and they were treated
like animals. There were groups like the Ku Klux Klan, that promoted hate against black
people, and this group killed many of people just because they were black. After these
extreme violent acts, some may think that racism would not exist or would have
decreased, but hate crimes are still occurring nowadays and there are many people that
suffer because of racism. One of the most recent hate crimes today that have caught the
attention of the media is the Ferguson Shooting in Missouri. In this case, a white police
officer shot an unarmed black man. Not only was this man the victim but the community
as well when many manifestations were made because there was no justice for the victim.
With this case, I believe that not only are the victims of hate crimes the ones that suffer,

but the community as well because it changes the way society acts and sees the other
people.
Nowadays, we live in a world where the majority of the population accepts other people
not judging other for their religion, race, or sexual orientation. Even when the world has
progressed, some people still believe in the hierarchy of races, where some races are
better than others. I believe this is the reason why we can still see crimes been committed
against other people, because even if each generation is progressing, some communities
still have the ideals as many people had years ago regarding other people that are
different from them.
I believe that this problem still exists due to the fact that some people cant accept people
that are in a way different than them. The society has established certain stereotypes that
make the people view others with a point of view that can create controversy. The answer
may be in accepting others no matter their ideals, religion, race or sexual orientation;
society must not rule the way we think, we have to separate us from those stereotypes
that make us think like we think about others. Not only is it affecting the person we are
criticizing, but we are promoting these stereotypes and affect the community.