This I Believe Blog

"Equality is Unity"

The idea of being equal is simple, but it’s very hard to attain. All throughout history one group has been superior to another. As one human race, we have never completely been united. We think that we are better than someone else and this makes us alone. I believe that every person is equal no matter their status. I believe that equality, no matter what others say, is still not achieved. I believe that if we see each other as equals we will all be united.

My mother and I were going to a Chicago Bulls game this past winter. We had gotten the tickets from one of our family friends. These tickets were very good because they were the kind that had an unlimited buffet right by the seats. There was also waitresses that would bring us anything we needed. I was so excited to go there because it seemed so fancy. When we got to our seats a waitress came to us and was very hospitable. My mother and I had never been to this kind of booth before so she told us everything we needed to know. Around an hour later my mom and I realized that we had finished our drinks and needed a refill. The people sitting next to us had their drinks refilled and they didn’t have a dirty plate. We tried to find our waitress but she was nowhere to be seen. My mom had to track her down in order to ask for more drinks. She also had to ask another employee to take our plates. Throughout the whole night we saw our waitress asking the other customers if they needed anything and if they were okay. Not once did she ask my mother and me this. At the end of the game the waitress finally went to where we were sitting and loitered by our seats, hoping for a tip. My mom and I left her without a penny because she had shown us complete disrespect. 

I do not know if that waitress was racist or discriminative, but I do know that she treated my mother and I unfairly. Perhaps because we were dressed in jeans and t-shirts, while everyone else was wearing suits and dresses, she thought that we wouldn’t have left a good tip. Maybe, she was very busy with a lot of other customers. However, she didn’t even ask another waitress to assist us. I even saw her and other employees talking and laughing at the minibar. On my ride home I thought how crazy this was. That a young woman would be so judgemental to my mother and I. I have never felt this way before because I had been so sheltered by where I lived. All around my community we all seemed to have the same status as each other. I have never been the odd man out.

From this experience I have personally seen the discrimination that resides in the world. My personal account was extremely minor compared to others experiences. I am also grateful because this has been my only experience. Now I understand what others go through on a day to day basis. I caught a small glimpse of the pain they endure. In the future I am going to use this to fuel my drive to change the world.

I believe that the world is changing, but not fast enough. Times have changed and I am grateful for that. However, I can see that there is a lot of room for improvement. I encourage all of the people in this world to unite as humans instead of one race, gender, ethnicity, religion, or status. What I ask of you is probably one of the hardest things to do. But, humans are evolving and so are our abilities. This will take time, maybe hundreds of years. When we do this, we will see each other for what we are on the inside not the outside.