Racism in Chapter 5

The definition of racism is as follows: “the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races” (google.com). Many people misuse the word racism in situations where the word racism isn’t the right word. Most people are just racially insensitive. However, Paton describes the realities of racism in the real world. He shows the world, through literature, that racism isn’t just a joke. It is part of our society. His description could be no clearer as he says, “white Johannesburg was afraid of black crime” (22). These words speak for themselves. Even if a white person committed a crime, it does not weigh as much as an African American’s crime. The preconceived notion that white people had toward the whole race of African Americans is what is defined as racism. A crime is a crime. A white man committing murder is the same as a black man committing murder. There is no difference. However in a dominantly white town, the crime of a black man weighs more. There is no equality in that. There is no humanity in that. All that accounts to a form of superior race when all people on this earth were created equally. People just have different ethical backgrounds. If different races can overcome the racial barriers between each other, the world would be a better place. There would be real equality in between races. There would be no racism. There would be nothing to worry about.