Personal Narrative Essay: Racism

📌Category: Experience, Life, Myself, Race and Ethnicity, Racism, Social Issues, Sociology
📌Words: 650
📌Pages: 3
📌Published: 15 January 2022

Racism has been in our implanted in our society for such a long time to the point where toward Asians and Asian Americans face just as much racism as any other race. Even to the point of where individuals think it’s acceptable for condoning such behavior and even using the phrase “it’s just a joke” as a means of justifying themselves. As it still an occurring thing in today’s society that many individuals still deal with while others have built a tolerance towards it. From my personal experiences of racism that I have delt with in the past we see it demonstrating the problems associated with race and/or ethnicity in the U.S. through the concepts of discrimination and xenophobia. 

Back in 2017 my family and a family friend of ours were all ready to make the long drive back to California from our trip in Canada. On our way back towards California as we were driving through Idaho we decided to make a pit stop at a gas station that was nearby so that we could use fill up gas, use the bathroom and stretch before heading out again. Upon arriving at the gas station the moment that I stepped inside the store I was already getting an uncomfortable/negative vibe from the place considering how me and my family were the only Asians at the store. As I walked up and asked one of the clerks where their restrooms were located at I was then told by the clerk that I had to buy something in order for me to use the restroom. Considering how I was going to buy a snack or something anyways I didn’t seem to think too much about it. Up until as I was going to make a purchase I noticed an older white male that came inside the store had asked the clerk the same question that I asked of “where is the restroom located at?” and the clerks to the direction of the bathroom and doesn’t say anything. I started questioning the clerk as to why I had to buy something in order to use the restroom when the older white man who just came in wasn’t told he had to buy something to use the bathroom. As me and the clerk are arguing back and forth my family friend walks in and ask me in Chinese where is the restroom located at and I point to him the direction of where it was at. The clerk sees me pointing to the restroom then runs to the restroom and is standing in front of it blocking us from going in. It wasn’t until I had put two and two together that me and my family friend were being discriminated against. Still trying to get a response from the clerk as his reason for why we can’t use a restroom like the other individual he then tells us that we have to leave the store and says “Your kind is not welcomed there. Go back to where you came from”. Not trying to cause even more of a scene than it already was my family friend and I ended up leaving the store and using the restroom outside before heading back on the road. 

This personal experience demonstrates the consequences associated with race and ethnicity in the U.S. through the concept of discrimination. As discrimination is the unequal treatment of an individual or group on the basis of their status. Such that from this experience it relates to discrimination because the moment that I had stepped inside the store I was already being treated unfairly upon asking the clerk “where was the restroom located at?”. As his response of me having to buy something in order to use the restroom. Whereas, the older white male who had entered the store minutes after I did comes inside asks the clerk the same question and gets to use their restroom and doesn’t get told about having to buy anything to use their restroom. With me, my family and family friend being the only minorities at the store it was pretty clear that we were being discriminated against since we were the only Asians in the entire store.

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