Discrimination

Note to Reader:

My story is about discrimination, a very important topic that’s affect millions of people over a long period of time.  Discrimination is “the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people, especially on the grounds of race, age, or sex”.   Some of the first discrimination in history is towards women.  Woman had no rights or votes.  They were mostly house servants or were simply used for having children.  Although this has changed in many countries they are still very isolated in other countries.  Another type of discrimination that goes back to ancient Egypt is slavery.  In ancient Egypt slaves were used to build pyramids and in houses.  In the United States, slaves were first brought in 1619.  They were mostly used in plantations.  In 1859 slavery was finally abolished after over 200 years, and in 1920 the 19^th amendment granted women the right to vote in the United States.  Another type of discrimination is only India and involves their castes (each of the hereditary classes of Hindu society, distinguished by relative degrees of ritual purity or pollution and of social status).  The lowest caste is the “untouchables” who are basically born into slavery and there’s very little that can change for them. One obvious example of discrimination is World War II.  The Nazis fought against Jews (among other things) for no concrete reasons.

I chose this topic because it’s a very important issue that all children need to be aware of.  In general, it’s a very heavy subject, but told through a picture book it is a good way to introduce discrimination to smaller children.  For most kids they won’t realize the bigger picture issue, but they can at least understand that in this case, excluding the family wasn’t right.  I also chose this story because the more stories they read about discrimination and other topics like such, the more they’ll know that being prejudice isn’t the right way to look at people.  Personally, I grew up around hundreds of people of different “shapes and sizes”, colors, races, cultures and backgrounds.  When I was little it shocked me that in other times some of those wonderful people would be seen differently just because of how they looked.  All my friends are completely different but they mean a lot to my just the same.  Sharing this story and it’s lesson is my way to try to ensure that some children won’t miss out on a best friend, because the people that influence them told them other wise.  So in general I chose this topic to inform young children about a very relevant topic that will influence the way they live and whom they know.

There are many ways to deal with discrimination but the one that everyone should remember is to be tolerant.  In my story for example if the town had been more tolerant of new comers at first, the triangle family would never have been so excluded.  In our everyday life it’s very crucial to remember that everyone is different.  If your first impression isn’t what you see from afar, but rather what you know once you’ve connected with that person it could lead to much less intolerance.  Of course you can’t like everyone that you meet but you can’t let their looks influence your impression on them.  As the reader you should recognize this issue, apply it to your life in a positive way, and talk about it with other people.