We live in the largest melting pot in the world. This is a country of immigrants. The only people native to this land are the native Americans. The rest of us are immigrants — some emigrated earlier than others. Yet some people who immigrated early on seem to think that they are entitled to more rights because they got here before those who emigrated after them.
I am a 13-year-old middle school student of Indian heritage, born and raised in this country. I have witnessed racism in many places — from the jokes at school like “A Mexican fell off a cliff. Which part of him do you think fell first? His lawn mower!” Or, when people make the generalization that if a driver is bad, he must be Chinese! While seemingly harmless, these remarks are racist, show people’s ignorance, and are stereotyping. Nowadays we let most racist remarks roll off our backs until we’re confronted by it directly like I was at an upscale mall in Princeton.
While exiting the parking lot, my mother and I were yelled at by a Caucasian driver who wanted our parking spot. He was just pulling up as we were trying to leave. Without waiting a minute, he started honking, blocking our exit, opened his window and shouted “Go back to India, go back to India!” We were outraged by this remark, especially as it had no relevance to the situation. Since he had blocked our ability to pull out, my mother got out of the car to confront the man. Without even listening to what she had to say, he responded by waving his hands and mimicking an Indian accent.
A couple of passersby witnessed the situation and tried to calm him down, but to no avail. He smirked and walked away with a righteous expression. His elderly mother, who was with him, said nothing.
We had to make a decision — ignore his racist comment or report the incident to the police. We decided to report the incident to the police as we had his license plate number. It was disappointing that the police weren’t interested in talking to the man and instead wanted us to do tons of paperwork. Nothing has come of it since. It simply ruined our evening. But it left a strong impression in my mind. I decided I would write about it to raise people’s awareness.
I feel very fortunate to live in this diverse country. I am proud to be an American of Indian heritage. Our diversity is our strength, but it can only be advantageous if we tap into the best of all people — the good qualities, cultural norms, and ideas from a wide spectrum of backgrounds. The constant flow of immigrants is what feeds America’s entrepreneurial spirit. Irrespective of when we melted in the pot — earlier or later — each of us contributes to making this country unique. As a land of immigrants, we have built the most prosperous democracy in the world. But every now and then we need to stir the pot and remind ourselves that our strength is in our diversity, lest intolerance erode our uniqueness as a nation.
Anusha Iyer
Iyer is a rising eighth grader at Community Middle School.
