Most people may think that most racism and most stereotypes go towards minorities such as blacks and Hispanics, but I believe this is not true. I think that the biggest stereotype goes against white people. I believe that the stereotype is that “all white people are racist.” Examples of this are the types of conversations that the people I sit with have at the lunch table. Sometimes the Hispanics at my table are telling racist jokes about themselves and that is their choice, but sometimes they also have told racist jokes about blacks or Asians, and the table just kind of goes with the flow and nothing is seen as wrong. However, if a white person would say any jokes about black people or black culture, some people might make a bigger deal about it. I am not saying that anyone is going to stand up and punch someone in the face over it, but the whole conversation has tended to turn a little bit awkward. For some reason, people at the table think it is right if Hispanics tell racist jokes about blacks, but it is not okay for white people to do the same. Is this because of the distant history that white people have with slavery?Another example from my personal experience, was when I rode the bus during freshman year. Juan and I were standing next to each other in front of the Peterson bus. We started talking to each other about our day, until Juan viewed a sign by one of the CTA stops. (The CTA is the system of transportation Chicago uses with buses, trains, etc.) The sign said “stop the violence,” with two black men in formal attire. Juan pointed at one of them and said, “Stop the Violence, Hey look, that's you.” I am not sure why he said that. It was probably just some dumb joke he thought of at the top of his head because he was being sarcastic, but that was beside the point. I responded, “But I’m not black.” I said this because the men in the ad were black, and I obviously did not look like them. There was an older black woman sitting in the front of the bus. She said, “Not only black people are violent!” I was shocked and had no idea of what I had just said. I had not interpreted it that way at all and she was already screaming at me and giving me hell. I started think to myself “What have I done!?” I tried telling her that I did not mean it that way, but it was too late. She would not believe me. I got off the bus at my stop and was so mad at myself for saying that, but then I thought to myself, “She was trying to make me the accuser of being racist against blacks when I wasn’t, but am I actually the victim of her falsely accusing me and thinking that I was racist just because I’m white?” I think so. What do you think?
In conclusion, there are many questions that I need answered. People often overlook stereotypes against whites because most people think whites are the ones stereotyping others. However, this in fact, is one of the biggest stereotypes of all.