Racism in Today’s World
Growing up in
Ireland, the first time I heard the term, ‘racism’, was as a kid at 13 years of
age. We learned about it in history class, reading stories of great men like
Martin Luther King. Back then we thought all that disgusting name calling and
judging people by their skin colour was a thing of the past, something that
only happened in the ‘60s. Boy, was I wrong!
In the past year, we’ve seen it
raise its ugly head again with the killing of George Flyod. One has to wonder
though, has it ever truly gone away? In Ireland there aren’t as many incidents
of racism as in say, England or America, but it’s still here. I’ve heard some
horrific stories from victims and one has to wonder, why is this still
happening in 2021? Are we not supposed to be evolving as a human race instead
of de-volving? Can’t people see that if we’re all equal in God’s eyes, then
shouldn’t that be a strong precedence to follow?
Last year during lockdown, this was
an issue I decided to incorporate into my novella, The Scavenger. The main character, Jared
Duval, a 17 year-old African American, is gay. Most of the people around Jared
accept him for who he is. There are some, however, that mock him because of his
sexual orientation with slight racial undertones. This is something I wanted to
handle with care and make clear to readers that in 2021, abusing people because
of their skin colour and being gay is not acceptable and needs to stop.
Obviously, I’m not a black person but I do know what it’s like to experience
some form of discrimination. As a person with a disability, people look at us
differently, as if we’re not human. They seem to have a lower opinion on such
individuals instead of treating us like equals, and recognising people for
their talents, not for their physical deformities or slight mental
deficiencies. I wanted to inject the emotion one feels when they experience
such cruel abuse into my novella. Jared does have help in his friends and
overcomes the taunting and racial discrimination.
Yes, there have been improvements
over the decades and racial equality has been made a priority in a lot of
countries. Some people, however, didn’t get the memo, continuing to spew out
such hateful bile. Maybe some day in the not-so-distant future, we will evolve
as a species. Racism will be a thing of the past and man will treat his fellow
man with the respect that they deserve. One can only dream that this will
happen anyway.
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Aidan Lucid
Authors Bio: Since 2004, Aidan Lucid’s work
has been published in national and international magazines, as well as various
poetry anthologies. For a period of nine months in 2007, he was a film reviewer
for the award-winning Irish newspaper, The
Kerryman. From 2009 to 2017, Aidan was an assistant editor for Bewildering Stories e-zine. Lucid
began critiquing novels and short stories in 2018 and continues to do so. In
October 2019, his debut YA fantasy novel, The Lost Son, was released.
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Review: 5 STARS!!
Get your spooky on with a heart-wrenching tale of three fast friends, all of whom suffer tremendously in their personal lives, including domestic issues. Jared, Jessica, and Aidan at least have each other. When they unintentionally are deceived into wishing on an abandoned rural well, the three awaken evil and are immediately plagued by the ghost of an evil racist, violent in life and in death. But the evil doesn't stop there!
