"Racism is Still Alive" by Bernardo M.

I was born into a Mexican American family. My father is an immigrant from Mexico, my mother is first generation Mexican American. Growing up in a Mexican household I was never taught hate but rather love and peace. The first neighborhood I grew up in was diverse culturally, it being located in Ontario. I grew up meeting and being friends with people of different ethnic groups. I never saw race as in issue. However, some people didn’t get the privilege I had of being taught love rather than hate. In today’s society, it seems as though we are going backwards rather than forward in the area of race relations. I’ve seen the hatred people have for the other races, it is present in our society, whether it is school, work, government, or everyday life. However it was not until the first time I experienced such prejudice that really opened my eyes.

    Halloween weekend of  last year  my girlfriend invited me to a Halloween party. I was excited to say the least, being a teenager you look for these fun experiences. She said that her friend was throwing it, I asked if I could bring friends, she said yes. On the day of the party I asked three of my friends to come to the party so I could at least enjoy company of people I know.

    It being a Halloween party, it’s obvious we needed Halloween costumes. I had mine, however, my friends didn’t. All day we thought of ideas for each of them. We even went to Goodwill to look for something cheap. While searching for costumes, we were hyped and excited.  Our talks all consisted of “what if’s” and our expectations of what was ahead of us, while we searched. After no luck (except that two of my friends bought sunglasses too small for their head) we went to one of my friends house. There we did inventory of what they could wear. We joked around and they picked random clothes and just threw them on and called it a costume. After an hour so, it was time to leave for the party. On the drive there we were blasting music. We were hyping each other up, talking about how we were going to have a fun time. Entering the neighborhood, it was in the hills of Rancho Cucamonga. Obviously it was of upper middle class. It all seemed intimidating to us. We parked and walked to the door. We knocked the door. The girl who opened the door was a tall white girl. Her first glance was a degrading stare. Now, I tell you it was a degrading stare because we were all of different ethnicities and when the door opened she gave look like she was disgusted.  She asked rudely “ Who are you?” and then I replied in regular tone, “I’m Victoria’s boyfriend and these are my friends, she invited us”. She then yelled for Victoria, and she came down and let us in.

    The girl at the door was the host and it was her house. When we walked in we went to the back yard. The welcome we got wasn’t pleasing so it all felt awkward, especially since we were the first ones there. A couple minutes later Victoria pulled me aside and told me that the host thought me and my friends looked “scary” and “ghetto”. When i first heard this, i thought it was a joke but after a chuckle i figured, it wasn’t. I was angry my first words were “what?” i was in disbelief. I always thought of racism being something low key, I’ve never been subject to it. But here It was, in a time of having fun and being yourself there was this channel of prejudice. I told my friends and they could not believe it either. We didn’t know what to do, how could someone thing this of me and even worse my friends? We are kind people, we didn’t mean any harm, we were just looking for a fun night.

    We walked out of the house and said we forgot something. Victoria’s friends told us “Bye!” in a condescending tone. When we got to the car, i was livid. We talked about what we should do. I said let’s just stay and enjoy it who cares. They didn't seem up for it. They wanted to go to a different party of someone they knew. I told them they could go, I’ll stay. I wasn’t happy about it. I should’ve gone with them. Staying there i felt out of place, considering it being a Los Osos party, everyone was dominantly white. Me and my girlfriend (who is latina) and a couple other people were the only people of color. I could feel people staring at me, judging me. Not only did they not know me, but I was a minority.

    In the end, my friends came back when more people came and we had a good time regardless. It was fun but as well as a life lesson. It saddens me to know there are still people living in such a old fashioned mindset. It’s even getting worse, considering our own president has had his issues with xenophobic, racist comments. His political views, set a bad example on the country and leads people to be more open about their racist mindset. We need to wake up, throw away these nasty misconceptions and stereotypes of other races, throw away such prejudice racist mindset. Spread love and positivity, not hate and bigotry. It it our duty as human beings to welcome others with open minds, do not judge other based on the pigment of their skin. We are the future of this country after all.