Rejecting bias in the US

By Mike Eisenstein

According to a recent New York Times survey, only about one in eight Americans consider themselves to be racist or prejudice. However, in the same survey a majority of Americans say that both racism and prejudice are still present in the United States. How does that work? The sad truth is that most of us, myself included, stereotype sometimes without meaning to, and are still, on some level, prejudiced toward others.

Perhaps the most consistent problem we have in today's culture is not bigotry toward a specific race, but against those of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or questioning (LGBTQ) community. The LGBTQ community is one that is still forced to hide who they truly are. Those who are open about their sexuality are almost always forced into an uncomfortable situation, either by family or friends who feel like their loved one is a different person somehow.

The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP), a group that supports those of the LGBTQ who have been abused, conducted a study from 2009 to 2011 and the findings are alarming. From 2009 to 2011 there has been more than a 15 percent jump in violence and intimidation toward members of the LGBTQ community.
More than 20 members of the LGBTQ community have been murdered this year alone, and these are just the reported cases. Around 50 percent of those who have been abused have not reported it to authorities and 61 percent of those who did report it said they experienced hostilitiy from the police. A large majority of these attacks on those of the LGBTQ community have been perpetrated by white males, most of whom have no real connection to their victim.

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