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We Are All Guilty If you are reading this paper you are guilty of being prejudice or racist. Though you might be in denial and have just scoffed at my opening accusation, there is no denying that you hold racially charged views with in. Worry not, for you are like most humans in this supposed colorless age. Even in 2013 people are still stereotyped and classified by their skin color and ethnicity. No matter your position politically or financially, in todays society you have your own stereotypes for people. As I read the article by Dr. Kasongo, I never thought I could feel more misanthropic. The racism and misogynistic views of the patients she treated were transparent and it wasnt just white people giving her the look, members of her race also seemed skeptical of her Doctorate status. In modern society we have become too comfortable with racial stereotypes, although not all stereotypes sound bad, that doesnt make them ok. People might assume that an Asian person is better at math, a black person is more athletic and that I white person is wealthy. These dont seem like bad attributes to have assumed about ones racial identity but that doesnt make them right. When people are force fed stereotypes enough they become shackled by them, often putting limitations on themselves based upon made up or assumed expectations. This makes me extremely irate because it goes directly against what America stands for; the ability to live life outside of social and economic incarceration. There is a huge market for comedians who joke about stereotypes of different races or ethnicities, comedians such as Dave Chappelle and Daniel Tosh. Could it be that even though they are trying to laugh at our differences and make light of a social issue that they are fanning

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the racial flames? Maybe even adding to the skepticism people have when entering the office of Dr. Kasongo? I myself am guilty of watching those shows and finding them humorous, but I am educated and cultured enough to not actually buy into the depictions portrayed by the comedians. I wonder if the same could be said about the rest of America. Its unfortunate Dr. Kasongo will continue to receive stares and skepticism throughout the remainder of her career but she must fight through the adversity of her race and gender. If she can persevere, future generations will look back upon her legacy with pride. It is human beings like Dr. Kasongo that help our society evolve so that one day, people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. In truth, as long as Mana Kasongo is a good doctor than I would have no quarrels about being treated by her. America has had a long history of oppression and even some genocide. We cant allow this blemish in our past to mar the direction of our bright future. We have struggled through much and still have many more battles to fight, as we exorcise the racial demons from our society. I have never been more proud of being American than I am today as we keep making social progress. I dont think anyone said it better then Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.