Alloy.com

What's the Best Way to Promote Tolerance?

We're living in the 21st century, but bigotry and intolerance still infects our society. It's time to get motivated, come together, and encourage tolerance.

It's not just one racial group that is discriminated against -- people who are black, white, Hispanic, Asian, or otherwise face prejudice. Take the movie Freedom Writers: the students in Ms. Gruwell (Hilary Swank)'s class live in a very diverse community, so you'd think they'd be more open-minded when it comes to people of different cultures, right? Wrong. In fact, the presence of racial and ethnic gangs seems to further divide the students in the movie. But after two racially charged events, they submit to understanding and follow their idealistic teacher to a more compassionate way of life.

But what happens if you don't have a concerned teacher like Ms. Gruwell? You can step up and be an example of tolerance. Here are some ways we thought of: A lot of prejudice stems from being defensiveness about your own identity, so start by educating yourself about your own cultural identity and find pride in who you are. Look at yourself and honestly assess your own biases -- that way, you can learn to correct those preconceptions. Spending time getting to know people of other races will also help you replace your prejudice with understanding. Finally, speak out against racism! Being vocal (without criticizing) will help educate others about this important issue.

Now it's your turn: what do you think is the best way to promote tolerance? Sound off now!



You Say!