Youth Rebel

Here lies my CommonWealth Essay. Almost naked from editing, true opinions and I finish.

I love living in Canada. Canada is known for its peaceful international transactions and for its natural beauty. Although both of these characteristics are excellent, my favourite part of Canada is its diversified population. When I go on a mode of public transportation whether it be the bus or the subway (or the Metro here in Canada) I can sit down with someone from nearly every ethnic race, religious background or cultural association. I am grateful to those who stand up whenever a person from a different background attempts to sit beside them because I get a seat. I realize, while writing this, that this saddens me. People have the nerve to step away from someone because they believe in different opinions. It would be like not talking to someone because one person likes hotdogs and the other doesn’t. This may not be the best of examples but that is what it boils down to. People change their actions depending on racial, ethnic, religious and cultural circumstances.

As a high school student, I am faced with several cultural prejudices. Luckily, people with different intellectual beliefs are grouped together into cliques. In my opinion, high school could be interpreted as a small scale model of the world. There are people from every background, but there are also ethnic rivalries. In high school the most common rivalry is between the jocks and the nerds. The jocks are mainly composed of males, always athletic and usually good looking. Being very athletic, they nearly have no time for their studies so they usually aren’t very smart but on the other hand are considered “chick magnets” because the Cheer Leader counter part is attracted to them. The nerds on the other side are compiled of the opposite of the jocks. Most of them are terrible at sports but compensate for that by having excellent grades. They have excellent abilities in computers and other pieces of technology. This rivalry extends itself to other cultural associations creating a cultural war. Included in this war are those who have a weird style in clothes and hair, and known to listen to very loud and obscene music known as the Punks. Goths, who are often misinterpreted for punks, are distinct by usually wearing black leather or denim clothing. This matches there depressed and often suicidal thoughts. The opposite of the Goths are the Preps. Those who are known to have a lot of money and aren’t afraid to show it. They are usually snobby and don’t mind showing that they are on top of the social ladder. Preps are usually hated by several social groups but especially by the Gangsters. Gangsters are usually portrayed wearing outlandishly big clothing and ironically with very small bags on their backs. Gangsters are often characterized by having their own dialect of English or other language. So with who does the Chief Bromden of all this associate him self? This is a hard question to answer because I consider myself normal. The term normal is very hypothetical. Wouldn’t all cultural groups consider themselves normal? Is normal considered to be someone who is white and catholic? Or would a Protestant African-American be considered average? This would then be considered a paradox, because it seems that today’s standard is to runaway from average and strive for originality.

How is a high school a miniaturized model of the global population? The prejudices found in high school are also found in the “real world”. Interestingly enough, the rivalry seems pretty consistent. African Americans are often portrayed as people who have had a rough life. They were born in a ghetto and managed to end up in a developed suburban area. Seeing that they were born in the ghetto, the younger white population tend to believe that they are all gangsters. Sadly the African American population get the underhand by the White population by taking away good jobs and giving it to other fellow white people. Fortunately, this isn’t the case with all people seeing that there are African-Americans in politics (out of all places) like Nelson Mandela and Colin Powell. The Gangsters could be considered as a scale model of African Americans. The Nerds could represent Asians in general on a high school level. Asians are usually prejudged for being very hard working and being very intelligent. They are often characterized by having an uncanny ability with mathematics and are very adept with computers. Jews could easily be interpreted as Preps on a smaller scale. The biggest prejudice against Jews is that they are rich. Homeless people can be seen as Goths or Punks, seeing that they are forced to dress in a particular way and may be depressed in their current state. Is there a normal at this scale? The answer again is no, but there is an “ideal” where it seems that the stereotype is the least harsh. That stereotype would be the white race. The high school warfare is just a measly representation of cultural, ethnic and religious differences.

Warfare has never had a positive meaning in any circumstance. Writing this, I realize how terrible our world sounds. Everything that goes up must come down. There must be something we can do. It would be impossible to completely stop the war. This war involves everyone living on the planet whether they like it or not. A few solutions include starting the population from scratch or making everyone the same. The first of the possible solutions is impossible and the second is very hard to attain. Anyways who would want to live on a planet where everyone is the same? But there are solutions that can minimize the participants in this war. The starting point of this solution concerns me and you. We must first eliminate all prejudices out of our minds. This could mean to walk on the same side of the street as a bunch of Gangsters walking in the opposite direction or sitting beside a Goth on a mode of public transportation. We must then preach the idiocy of prejudging someone because of their stereotypes. Hopefully, this message will extend itself to several people and minimizing the casualties of the war.

I love Canada because the participation in the war is quite minimal. The country itself its right to everyone. All people are born equal, and my country enforces that throughout your entire lifetime. When you are born you are born with a clean slate. If you have stained your slate it is possible to redeem yourself. The cultural diversity is very wide, extending to people from every race. The bus much like a high school is home to people from every ethnical background, religious belief and social association. The subway is one of the best places to learn about people. You could learn about several different stand points on the same subject because there are so many different types of people. Just imagine the possibilities that burst if everyone forgot the stereotypes existed. The world would become a greater place. Hate crimes would cease to exist. The word racism, prejudice, stereotype, difference would be removed from our dictionaries. The entire world’s mood and karma points would go up. When such a day arises, the world will truly be beautiful. Love will actually be in the air. “If the human race wishes to have a prolonged and indefinite period of material prosperity, they have only got to behave in a peaceful and helpful way toward one another.” -Winston Churchill

This entry was posted on Monday, November 20, 2006 at 8:10 PM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.