How are Minorities Portrayed in Today's Society?

Racial injustice in the US has come along way, but it is still a reoccurring and relevant issue today. Just walking through the lunchroom of Troy High, I tend to notice that different ethnic groups and genders always sit together. There is scientific evidence that we tend to gravitate towards people that have the same physical features as us.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/15/friends-look-alike_n_959145.html

This social phenomenon is also portrayed in popular films and TV shows. For example, in Orange is the New Black, the separation is a reoccurring theme throughout every episode. The minorities in the jail tend to stick together, just like the scientific evidence concluded. In the TV show, every ethnic group has their own separate bathrooms and claimed territories of their jail. The show provides a lot of diversity in the jail, ranging from; african american, white, asian, and different sexualities. It is very interesting to see how all of these different personalities get along under the poor conditions they are in. These different races are forced to acknowledge each other when they are in such a confined space. Of course, this causes tensions to be high when they don’t see eye to eye. They have to learn to cope with their racial stereotypes while still trying to create a safe community with so much diversity.

Popular entertainment like Orange is the New Black, and The Lone Ranger have a huge impact on how society looks at race. Their influences force society to make a biased judgement on the treatment of minorities. In this particular series, the show pokes fun at the stereotypes society tends to joke about.

In these particular GIFs, white women are implying that other minorities are subordinate to their own race. Unfortunately, to some, these racist ideals apply to the “real world” today. It seems like almost every time I turn on the TV, the unnecessary violence of a white police officer against an african american is being debated or protested against. If you consciously notice it or not, the media has influenced us to create an unfair judgement about minorities in today’s society.

Mimicking Style of Writing

(O'Brien 55).

Lying there in the middle of the street, looking at my parents running towards me, I felt a sudden rush of panic come over me, as if I were drowning in fear. Chunks of my own life had flashed by. I saw a five-year-old girl dressed as a cheerleader trick or treating for the first time; an eight-year-old girl running and twirling around her backyard in her ballet shoes; and ten-year-old girl lacing up her basketball shoes for a big tryout. My whole life seems to rush through my thoughts and onto the bloody pavement, running away from me, everything I had ever wanted to be.

When mimicking O'Briens style of writing, I am talking about the time I was in a really bad bike crash when I was in the seventh grade. Today, I still have to deal with the not only physical effects of the accident, but the guilt that I carry over the amount of bills and anxiety I put my family through.

Although my bike crash barely compares to the devastating mental effects of war,  I felt like my life had flashed before my eyes and this certain event in my life has changed me forever, just like Tim O'Brien's emotional breakdown on the rainy river.

In this paragraph, Tim O'Brien's grammar and syntax help to develop the deeper meaning of what he is trying to convey. To show the overwhelming feeling of fear he uses multiple semi colons instead of making his different memories into complete sentences. This creates, what feels like, a never ending sentence that represents his life. When the reader reads this, they can't help but to feel bombarded with all of his memories as well.