Discrimination Today

           Today I as I was watching the news there were a number of stories addressing the rise of discrimination in the U.S. It instantly occurred to me that discrimination is becoming a major concern today. I don’t understand how in such a diverse country, as the U.S., discrimination is inexorable. Although this country advocates for freedom and equally it does not guarantee relief from discrimination by our peers. In the past several years discrimination towards Hispanics has increased dramatically, this is due to the economic downfall the country had endured. The public has responded to the economic crisis by finding someone to blame. The easy targets are clearly minority groups such as Hispanics, Asians, and Blacks. The view that Hispanics are all immigrants who come to this county only to steal the little jobs and resources of the tax payers is one that many individuals have decided to take and thus resulting in discrimination towards the Hispanic community. I come to this conclusion because as a Hispanic woman I have witnessed many instances of discrimination towards friends, family, and even myself.

The one experience of discrimination that I will never forget is when I had my first job interview. I was 18 years old living in Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz is a mostly white populated city, only a small percent of minority groups) I was called in for a group interview for a position at Macy’s in the mall. I arrived at the interview and found that all eight (8) applicants were White Caucasian girls except for one. I actually didn’t think much of it because I was used to being in a milieu where I was the only Hispanic in my class room. Then the person conduction the interview walked into the room and greeted everyone. We began to have a group discussion and one by one we all said why we would best be suited for the job. In my opinion I believe I was more qualified than most girls there, since I had more experience in retail as oppose to most girls whom this was going to be their first job. Also the other Hispanic girl said she had, had some experience as well. When the group interview was done the person conducting  it stepped out of the room for a couple of minutes then came back and said thank you for your time but only the people whose name I call will be interviewed by a supervisor. She began reading the names and the girls whose names were being called began exiting the room into another room. When this person was done reading the names only me and the other Hispanic girl were left sitting in that room. The interviewer said I’m sorry but right now we don’t have a position available for you guy, thank you.

I remember leaving that room with a naught in my throat having an indescribable feeling. At the time I didn’t know what to do I just went home and cried because I knew this was a racial discrimination that someone had just done to me. I felt shame and I didn’t even know why. This feeling lasted a couple of weeks until I finally spoke to my mother about it. She was furious and wanted to proceed with legal actions but I convinced her otherwise.

Vocabulary Words

Milieu-environment; surroundings ; ambience ; setting ; medium

Inexorable- Impossible to stop or prevent: