Our society is racist. No matter how many people argue otherwise, it is a fact of life and human nature. As long as the term “race” is used, as long as there are names for each race, we will be racists. You might ask, “What’s wrong with naming the race? It’s very natural to label different kinds and variety of a thing, correct?” You are right, there is nothing wrong with it, and it is precisely my point.

Think about this: we label because we believe there are differences between the things that we are labeling. Inherently, we label each race with a name to indicate that there are differences between each one of them. Whether it is skin color, language or culture, there are differences. Ask yourself a question: Is it not logical to say that you treat difference things with different attitudes? If your answer is yes, then you agree that our society is racist.

Can you truly answer no to the above question? I certainly do not believe any person on this planet can. At one point in our lives, we must have had to make decisions based on the differences among several things. For example, there are different brands of orange juice. How do you choose among the brand names? You do so by forming opinions on each brand. You may form your opinion based on the difference in taste, the difference in prices, or the difference in volume. No matter which area of difference you base your opinion on; you are still forming opinions (and criticizing while you are at it) because of the differences between the “brands” of orange juice. Can we apply this on human beings as well? Certainly. Notice that I did not say you choose and treat the brands of orange juice differently because they are different. I only stated that you have different opinions on each brand.

The real question here is: do we favor one brand over the other ones? It is apparent that we do. That is the whole point of forming opinions on things in our life. By admitting that you do form opinions based on the differences, you inevitably will, be it consciously or subconsciously, rank the desirability of each choice.

Objection: People are not orange juice bags. Orange juice of the same brand tastes the same all the time. Therefore, you can choose an orange juice by forming opinions on the brands. I treat people differently. I understand that people of the same race are not the same all the time. Therefore, although I do form opinions based on the differences in people, I do not favor, nor do I dislike, any race.

Response: Do the orange juice bags from the same brand really do taste the same all the time? You might have tried Brand A and Brand B and decided you don’t like Brand B because it tasted so awful to you. However, the manufacturer of Brand B can decide to use a new formula at any time. They can modify and enhance the taste of it without you knowing it. If you try Brand B now, it is likely that you may now prefer it to Brand A. Nevertheless, because of previously formed opinions on Brand B, you will not try it again. Now your opinions on Brand B are wrong and thus you are now mistreating it. Take a look at another possibility. What if the Brand B orange juice bag that you tried before was a defective one? Applying that to people, it is very likely that your opinions on different races of people can be very wrong.

Moreover, forming opinions and not making conscious or subconscious choices is to say the least, illogical. You do not form opinions for the sake of forming opinions. The very existence of opinions is to help making choices. That is the natural desire seeking and survival preserving nature of human beings.

Now take a step back and take a look at the society. Take a look at the people in the society when they are dealing with people of different races. Have you ever heard a racist comment before? I am certain that you have seen racist materials used in television shows or by stand-up comedians. Why do you think they are used? You certainly would not think that it is because our society is not racist and thus they are using it. I hope you don’t.

Let me give you a concrete example from personal experiences. Once I walked into a restaurant. It was one of those very high class and expensive steak houses. The minute I walked in, I noticed that all the people sitting in the visible area of the restaurant are mostly middle-aged Caucasian couples, and the rest were although not couples but still Caucasians (some of them my age). There were plenty of tables left in that area. Nonetheless, the hostess decided that my Asian friend and me should be seated in an area away from the main area. When asked why we were led to such area, the reply was that the main area was full. This is certainly not true. As I previously mentioned, there were plenty of tables left in that area (around eight to ten).

Why was I treated like this? Age? It is unlikely, because there were young Caucasian patrons around my age seated in the main area. My attire? I was wearing a business suit, so was my Asian friend. The only reason left is my skin color. To reinforce my argument, there were several other patrons in the remote area that we were seated in. Not to my surprise, they appeared to be non-Caucasians (Hispanics and African Americas).

To sum it up, racism is inevitable. Until the day that human kind unites and disregard our skin colors all together, dropping the labels of each race, racism will still exist. How should we deal with this is the pressing question that we have to answer. Measures such as affirmative action may be helpful, but that is another article.