Education In Place of Ignorance

Jessica Suguitan

Eng215W

FD5

Education In Place of Ignorance

Perhaps the most difficult feeling a human being can overcome is the feeling of fear.  Fear can be such a severe emotion that we will do anything in our power to control it.  This desire to control fear leads human beings to be angry, sad, hateful, and self-righteous.  Human beings choose these emotions instead of trying to process their fear and understand it within themselves.  I believe that violence and derogatory speech signify great ignorance of both oneself and humanity.   I believe that the habit of not questioning our actions, of not trying to understand where our beliefs come from and how those beliefs create the world we live in begins in childhood.  [THESIS] The best way to fight hate is to try and understand the source of hate within ourselves, this understanding should begin in early childhood education and continue throughout a child’s education; if an incident of hate occurs in adulthood further education should be included as part of the sentence. [THESIS]

There has been a significant increase in organizations promoting hate according to a study by the Political Research.  The number of hate organizations has grown nearly 38% from 1997 to 2004, totaling in 762 hate organizations according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. (Knickerbocker)  The same study reports a rise in anti-Islamic hate crimes.  In contrast to the rise in hate organizations studies have shown that hate crimes have been on a decrease since the 90’s.  However, there is still a significant amount of incidents involving hate, nearly 7,500 in 2003.  Over 1,000 of these crimes were crimes related to sexual orientation. (Anderson). 

I’m gay.  Though it is not the first thing I share with people when we meet, it is not something that I hide.  I have been lucky to have only experienced a handful of incidents where my sexual orientation caused some kind of insult or action against me.  I was once egged while kissing my then girlfriend.  I have been called a dyke insultingly. I have had friends who were beaten up for being gay, so I really do consider myself lucky.  For some reason being out still does not prevent some people from insulting people of my sexual orientations.  I have had numerous coworkers who have insulted gays in front of me, especially when gay marriage is being discussed. 

It always hurts to discover that a person who you have come to care for holds deep-seeded hate for something that you are.  I also found in curious that a person could know me and still hold prejudice against gays.  It was as if my sexuality and myself were two completely different things.  I always make it a personal project of mine to introduce political-correctness and acceptance into the minds of my ignorant co-workers. I always notice a difference in the way my coworkers act, not only towards me, but also towards one another.  For some reason becoming more aware of one’s hate and feelings of inequality causes a person to act with greater care for the environment in which they are a part of. 

According to Thomas Pettigrew from UCSC hate crimes and prejudice against Arab-Americans can be prevented through understanding.  He suggests getting know Arab-Americans and to learn about their history and culture.  (DeAngelis)  This kind of education with goals of understanding is what I personally applied to my coworkers.  I believe it can be used to prevent all kinds of hate and inequality, but it is important to create a place for discussion at a young age.  I believe that the younger a person learns how to confront their belief system and see it’s effect on people the more effectively they will be able to find compromise and understanding for themselves and the community they live in. 

The argument against education is fair.  Why should the public school system spend time and money educating a child on something like understanding hate?  It is a personal belief and a child should be able to have it.  In the end hate causes our community to be weaker.  Every moment spent thinking of a reason to separate one another is a moment spent on creating a society that does not work.  Hate crimes waste money being solved in the judicial system and the prison system.  Hate breeds hate.  It is a viscous cycle that will only cost more money.  Money aside, hate allows fear and ignorance into our society.  Fear and ignorance are awful things to feel and experience, it is a society in which nobody in their right mind would want to live. 

 Specialists believe that it is through education and understanding that prejudice can be conquered It is important that we educate our children about hate, ignorance, fear, and prejudice.  It is important that a child learns to navigate their minds so that they can be aware of where their beliefs come from and how they are formed.  It is important that a child be able to see how their beliefs will affect not only the people they interact with, but also the society in which they live.  It is also important that adults learn to do the same.

Works Cited

Anderson, Curt. "FBI Reports More Than 7,400 Hate Crimes << ENG 215W." 22 November 2004. ENG 215W. 13 December 2011 <http://eng215kcc.wordpress.com/2008/01/15/fbi-reports-more-than-7400-hate-crimes/>.

DeAngelis, Tori. "Understanding and Preventing Hate Crimes." 9 December 2001. ENG 215W. 13 December 2011 <http://eng215kcc.wordpress.com/2009/01/04/understanding-and-preventing-hate-crimes/>.

Knickerbocker, Brand. "National Acrimony and a Rise in Hate Crimes." 30 June 2005. The Christian Science Monitor. 13 December 2011 <http://eng215kcc.wordpress.com/2008/01/15/national-acrimony-and-a-rise-in-hate-crimes/>.