Essay, Research Paper
The jokes at the expense of minorities.
The handicapped, mentally slow, and any minority have long been the punch line in
jokes. This is wrong in all respects. It desecrates the value of a human life and
demoralizes the people engaged in the joke. Many variables can account for these
degrading jokes which may include fear of change, fear of learning, fear of tolerance,
and a fear of accepting responsibility.
I have watched from several perspectives the way a joke is presented. Being a
Indigenous American I have seen most jokes and other demoralizing humor come by
way of the Indi?n. Many Indigenous? have pointed the finger at the white man. They
persecute and place all the blame on the white man. Yes, given, the settlement of the
European drastically changed a way of life that the Indigenous was accustomed to.
The white man killed many cultures, languages, and people for the advance of
freedom and increase for all white men. In all respects, the Indigenous was effected.
Whether it be for better or for worse it happened and nothing can change it. With the
white man came many advances, such as guns, grand ships, new mathematics,
Western philosophies and literature, and ideas of politics and treaties. Also came
many bad things like oppression, degradation of life, intolerance, alcoholism, Indian
Reserves, and illness. The list can continue on in both area for a tremendous time. I
have seen the Indi?n been treated badly, but then I have seen the Indi?n return the
same conduct. If the Indi?n wants to act like a victim, then let him. But he?ll get no
where and his life and society are hampered by it. I have seen the Indi?n accuse and
point the finger of blame fully upon the white man. The time of reverting to the ways
before the European discovery of America have long passed. It can?t happen and it
won?t. I feel that it is the Indi?n?s fault if he doesn?t utilize what he has in this day. He
can obtain an education for free and better the conditions of his nation. But all I have
seen recently, especially in October, is the pointing finger and it points at the white
man. Why? Because it?s too difficult to point the finger at himself and say ?What are
you doing to make it better?? The Indigenous American is afraid to change. If they
weren?t, they would excel in school and earn great success. That is the only way to get
back at anyone. True, 65% of the Indigenous population live in Urban areas, but they
cling to the whispers of past failures in their minds and in turn follow the path to their
destruction. They are afraid to change, which is an insult to the Indi?n way of life.
They mock the life they want to lead by not changing.
People are sometimes inclined to mock and fun of a person who is not the same. Who
isn?t normal. Who has a disadvantage in allowing them to perform the same activities
a normal person would. This is because of an intolerance in their minds. These people
who are mentally handicapped or disabled most times do not realise the differences
that exist between a normal person and themselves. I know, I worked with them for a
season of time. People who mock or joke about others infirmities or race is due
because they feel they may be inferior or looked down upon by society if they do not
make a distinction between themselves and the disabled. The poke fun, making them
less of a person, making them feel they are not able to enjoy the same rights as every
one else. Tolerance is missing. They are afraid to learn something new about a
person. Tolerance does not mean you have to like whatever it is. It does mean that
one will give the proper respect of being what it is. People who are of a different race,
or mentally or physically handicapped cannot change that genetic code. People need
to be tolerant of their being. Accept them for who they are. How would it feel to be in
the shoes of a mentally handicapped individual? Or a Mexican immigrant from the
shantytowns of M?xico City, or even a Chinese immigrant from the upper class of
Hong Kong? Before the remark of why a person is different is given, respect the
person as a being first and see if it would be the same.
Accepting responsibility for one?s actions requires strength, courage, and high moral
behaviour. All of which are absent in a person who feels the need to joke of
someone?s inability. A person who makes fun of another doesn?t feel they have to be
accountable to anyone. Not to society, a deity, or even their own self. Taking
responsibility shows that they are ready to back up whatever they hold themselves to.
Whether it be their religious practices, their philosophical values, their word, or even
their self. Someone who does not have the decency to admit that they made fun of
someone due to their ignorance is a burden to their name and a hinderment to society.
I have taken the responsibility of acknowledging I know nothing and learn about it
until I have understood it and tolerated it. I don?t believe, follow, or agree with the
values of some religions, some teachers, some politicians, but I have not been
ignorant in my conclusions. I cast aside the ignorance and learned of it. I respect those
people or practices with appreciation. I tolerate them. I know of them. Those who
cannot or are willing not are the cause of much dissension and contention. It hurts
people, it kills people. And why? Because they are unwilling to change and learn.
If people understood they have the responsibility to learn. To stop being ignorant. To
understand that people are different, those simple jokes would cease. The jokes would
not escalate into propaganda to exterminate a people or forget a type of abnormal
people. The world around us consists of a only few people, but our actions can effect
the whole world. It does not take much brains to hurt someone, it does make the road
of life much more difficult when someone does. The road of acceptance and harmony
is a much easier path to travel on than one who has deliberately put barriers to make
them turn about in all funny directions. It would make me feel a lot happier if people
learned of these simple truths and abided by them.