I’m sure many of you know that there are certain flaws in society and in people that make life hard for some, and can make life painful for others. Ignorance in people, silence from people, and followers as people can make the world seem unfair and cruel. In this article, I will show why these two things are so horrible and what we can do to change it.
Followers. They are people who may have an opinion of their own, but they don’t share it. They agree with the opinions of those they are with, so they can fit in or avoid conflict. They wish to be liked, so they do not disagree. I call them “sheep,” because they just follow the herd and they don’t think for themselves. These sheep are those who will support gays in one group, and then make cruel jokes and statements about them in another group. They are the ones who love a certain food when with you, and hate that same food with someone else. They change their opinion to match those of the people they are with. Following erases identity and creates clones.
An example of a real life event that shows how being a sheep can be negative is this; A boy, we’ll call him Sam, I knew was friends with many of the gay population in our school, and had a twin brother who was gay. One day, out of chance, this boy came into my study hall, where there were a bunch of students his age sitting near me. He sat with them and they all began to talk. As their conversation progressed, the subject changed from sex to gays. One of the kids sitting across from him said, “Gays are disgusting. How could you even want to do it with someone who has the same parts as you? That’s like doing it with yourself. It’s wrong.” Now, this was his opinion, and he is entitled to it, although he could phrase it much better and be a little less disrespectful and rude. I’d also rather he kept it to himself instead of saying it loud enough for all to hear. Now the boy, Sam, listened to this kid talk bad about the lifestyle of his friends and his brother. I though to myself, well he isn’t going to like this conversation, but low and behold, he laughed and said, “I know. It’s nasty.” This is the same boy, who earlier in the year, even that day, was with his gay friends saying things like, “People should stop ripping down the Gay Straight Alliance posters down,” or “I wish people would understand.” He was always saying to them that he supported them and that he understood them. I was so surprised. And then, to make things even worse, Sam started to talk bad about his friends to the other kids, calling them faggots and such. I don’t know which was his real opinion, but I knew he had changed his original one. This boy, wanted to fit in so much, that he would bash his friends and change his opinions to suit those of others.
This is a problem that should be fixed. Why is it a problem? Because, if everyone agreed with everyone else all the time, and nobody thought outside the norms, then nothing would be accomplished. Being a sheep can ruin friendships too. Especially if one group hears a conflicting opinion from another. People need to express their opinions and be different in order for the world to work. Think. What if all the people in the group you hung out with said they wanted to be chemists, and so, to fit in, you said you wanted to be a chemist. Independence is what makes things interesting and people fun. If you are just there to agree with everyone, than what is the point of even talking. You don’t talk about what you believe, unless the ones you are with have the same beliefs. One needs to have their own opinion and morals in order to be a living human being. To be yourself, you must define who you are.
This problem can be fixed, although it will never go away. People need to let their children be more independent and need to ask for their opinions on certain things. Chances are, a child would be more willing to speak honestly with a parent than a peer group. If children are told that their opinions matter, and that everyone has opinions, then maybe they would be more willing to share theirs. Children need to be told that it’s ok to disagree with someone and still be friends. They need to be taught to disagree in a productive way, and respect the opinions of others.
Ignorance is not bliss. Ignorance hurts you and the people around you. Ignorance makes you look bad in the eyes of some, giving them an impression before they really know you. Spraying words of ignorance can make others see a smart person as dumb. Speaking of something you know nothing about yourself, judging those going through something you haven’t, is ignorance. Being misinformed about a group can cause fights, even wars. People who see all Muslims as terrorists are ignorant. People who think all African Americans can’t speak English well are ignorant. People who judge a girl who is depressed without having been there themselves, are ignorant. Ignorance can hurt feelings and cause problems in relationships. You never know who you will insult with an ignorant remark.
An example of ignorance is this true story. A girl, we’ll call her Tina, is in a deep depression. She self harms. A few boys see her wounds and immediately start calling her stupid and an idiot. “Only someone who is retarded would cut themselves,” they say. These boys have never in their life experienced the kind of depression she is going through, and yet they judge her. Ignorance. There are many other examples that can be used. Stereotypes, such as Preppy, are ignorant, because they group everyone together. Not every girl who wears pink and skirts is stupid and ditzy. They don’t all talk gossip and say the word, “like,” every five seconds. Grouping a bunch of people into one category is ignorant. After 9/11, some people thought that every Muslim person was a terrorist and that they had something to do with the tragedy. Ignorance.
Ignorance is something that really can be changed. If schools, parents, and the media made an effort, there would be less ignorance in the world. If schools made it a priority to make sure that their students were well informed on many different subjects than people wouldn’t be ignorant because they were misinformed. If parents showed kids how to be tolerant and that all people are different, then culture, gender, and race ignorance could be decreased. And if the media didn’t use so many stereotypes in shows and movies, then maybe people would be less apt to group many people into one category. And of course, if kids would just take the time out to think and care, then maybe the world could be made a little less ignorant.
Silence can be good at times, and bad at times. I’m going to talk about how silence can be a bad thing. When one remains silent as someone is cut down, or discriminated against, silence is bad. When a group of people is being demeaned by an outsider, silence is bad. When someone is ignorant, silence is bad. People need to speak up, stand up, and tell someone when what they are doing is wrong. I’m not saying go around and be the hall monitor from hell, but I am saying that when something is clearly hurting another, hurting you, or clearly wrong, tell the person who is causing the hurt that what they are doing is unjust. Don’t listen to a conversation about a group of people that is discriminative or just plain mean, and let the person doing the insulting go on and on. If a person is not told what is wrong, then the person will do it again and again. Parents need to teach kids right from wrong, and teachers need to call out a person who is trashing a certain person or group.
I’ve noticed recently that many teachers will hear kids talking about African Americans, Japanese, Chinese, Muslims, Gays, Depressed people, and other groups of people in a derogatory way, and won’t say a thing. They pretend they didn’t hear it. This is not the proper way to deal with this. Letting these kids get away with this will make them more likely to do it again and more often. They may even say more insulting things the next time.
There are many things in our society that need to be changed. By changing these things, we can build a safer, more peaceful, more interesting, and more fun world to live in. Do your part.
Emily E Mehigan
