The Outsiders

Journal Prompt: Jews, Gypsies, North Africans, and Mexicans.

Before coming to Italy, I always would get annoyed with people that could not speak our language and were foreign. One of the biggest reasons of this is because I worked in a hotel and helped many customers from other countries. I also admit that I did not oppose the law that was created in Arizona and had many reasons for my decision. However, that all changed when I arrived in Italy. Now I was the outsider and could understand what they were dealing with when they came to America.  I know how it feels to have the people that are not tourists hate you just for being from another country. This constant hatred towards people that are from other countries and cultures has always existed in our world and I feel like the hatred will continue until something extravagant happens to change the way everyone thinks.

Since the Roman Empire, the Jewish religion has been victim to discrimination. The Romans fought against them and Jerusalem. Then Hitler and the Nazi’s attacked their religion and civilization trying to exterminate them all. Both of these eras forced the Jewish people into ghettos that forced them to lose their independence and freedom. Now because of the current laws that are trying to be set up in Arizona, Mexicans are also beginning to face the same discrimination that Jews received. This has created some debate and protest for the actions that are being placed again illegal aliens and against Mexicans.

When walking through Rome, the two groups that are most noticeable to be foreign or Gypsies and North Africans.  At every tourist site there are gypsies that can be found selling items and running away from the local polizia. North Africans can also be found selling the fake Louis Vuitton bags and other items. These two groups do receive discrimination as well from the Italians. The Italians feel that their culture is being taken advantage of and that it is ruining their image that they have created for themselves. As Danillo would say, “These people are invading our country and we need to get them out of here. Don’t give them any money.” However, these two groups have not received the kind of discrimination that Jews and Mexicans have. They still are allowed to walk the streets without getting questioned and they were never forced to live in a ghetto just because they had different eating and living patterns.

I think that our world has a terrible track record with discrimination against race and foreign cultures. When growing up we learn about the civil rights movement and the holocaust. We learn how people were killed for religious practices and how people were forced to use separate facilities because of color. What is surprising though, is that even after learning all of this history, we still continue it. We still continue to discriminate against people that are different. My question that I would like to leave you with is: Do you think that we will ever get rid of racial/religious discrimination in our world?