Race On Race

Chapter 3 : Prejudice

•Prejudice
Rigid and unfair generalization about an entire category of people, mainly brought about by stereotypes

N a t h a n. P O V

I woke up to Liam's horrible alarm again and walked out of our room without sparing him a glance . Liam and I haven't talked since our little argument and one question has been on my mind , is Liam racist? I know that's a far fetched thought , I mean he could possibly just be racially ignorant but it just bothered me . I have a morning class today and Yeri and I are planning to walk to the west wing , reason being both of us are mad at Liam and we know that if we were in the same vehicle with him we would end up having an argument about race and how that guy from yesterday was wrong but I know for a fact Liam would STILL defend him . I know it may seem petty but considering what I've been through just because of the colour of my skin , I believe I have every right to be angry .

After last night , Yeri and I were now more comfortable next to eachother and I was happy about it.

Amitola wanted to join us , but she didn't want Liam to feel neglected so she let him drop her off . Yeri and I on the other hand had already left , one thing I absolutely love about Princeton is how everyone minds their own business, you do what you want and no one will bother you ..........well most times . As Yeri and I were walking by the library , someone randomly came up to us ,pulled his eyes back and Started speaking gibberish in an attempt to imitate a foreign language, he then left, but before he could he yelled"bye China!" , That made me realize he was making fun of Yeri , I looked at her and she looked unfazed as if nothing happened , I personally didn't want to involve myself with that person but deep down I felt the responsibility to defend her , I was about to walk towards the guy when Yeri stopped me , "it's okay Nate , it's not a big deal , with the rise of Asian hate crimes and how severe they now are , getting made fun of isn't that serious compared to what others are facing" ,"that doesn't mean that we should let Prejudice flourish though" I replied , mustered up all my courage and walked towards him .

It took me a while to posture myself , but I finally I approached him and his friends, "Excuse me , but what you just did was disrespectful and offensive to say the least , it's best you apologize" I demanded trying to look as intimidating as I possibly could ,"why should I?" He replied as he told his friends to record , was he doing this for views? ,"Because it would be the most decent thing you could possibly do? Look man, what you did was not right and was really rude , now apologize or else" I said , but he didn't look that frightened, infact he looked excited , ,"and what if I don't what will you do?" , he wasn't going to apologize huh? An idea then popped into my head as I smirked "Nothing, I'll let the gang handle it " I coldly replied , though I do hate the idea of associating myself with a gang , especially considering my past , I just had to do something . I cracked my knuckles and thank goodness I wore my silver chrome-hearts ring , it had skull engravings on it that made it look like a gang ring , I did my best to intentionally but not obviously show it. After doing that and him noticing it, I know he got scared ,"I'm ....I'm sorry for being so insensitive" , he said before walking away with his posy.

Yeri and I left and she looked at me with a smirk on her face "I thought you said we shouldn't let Prejudice flourish, being in a gang is a black stereotype" , "sometimes we can use prejudice to our advantage" I said as I winked at her , "so are you really in gang?" , "oh no , I'm not! Do I look like someone who would be in a gang?!" I defended myself as I looked offended and shocked at the same time , all that Yeri did was giggle ,"not at all , you look too innocent" it was now my turn to laugh . We were then covered by comfortable silence, simply just enjoying each other's company without speaking .

Today wasn't as hectic as it usually was and so it was already night time and we invited the girls over for dinner again, it was awkward yes , but not as awkward as last night , we were done eating and I was helping out Jeremiah with the dishes as the others where watching TV , we were planning on having a movie night . "So what's up with you and Liam?" ," What do you mean?" I don't know why I said that but I guess I will just have to act oblivious for the rest of our conversation ,"you know what I mean Nate , you guys are close , don't let this tiny matter destroy years of friendship" ," it's not a tiny matter Jeremiah...... you should understand" I said , I know how petty this whole ignoring thing might be but I have my reasons ," you know I'm an orphan right?" , "Yeah I do" Jeremiah and I are close mainly because we are both of black descent, with him being purely African and me being African American , we know each other's struggles and it hurts sometimes , he's so open with me but I'm not , "imagine if I held a grudge on those who took my parents away from me , I would probably be so anti white Liam would hate me , but considering the people I met , it made me realize that they aren't all bad, you have to understand that certain people will be ........ certain people , racism has been in their blood since forever . I know I sound a bit racist myself by saying that , but what can I do?" He shrugged , "fix things up with him , don't let your relationship go down the drain like this " it always shocked me how playful , loud , annoying , obnoxious even Jeremiah was but yet so .........wise? Though not that deep , it hit me , though usually we would let time heal us , it's best that we start to properly talk whenever we have arguments, y'know, grow up a little ,"I just have this weird feeling about him , do you think his racist?" , "I doubt that , he would avoid me , you and the others if he was" Jeremiah said as I continued to think it through .

Nights on the east coast were usually cool , it was soothing and spending time with eachother just made it better, the six of us would spend our free time together and every time we were together we were covered with an enjoyable atmosphere . I walked over to the couch and saw a spot next to Liam , might as well get this done with and enjoy the night . I took a deep breath and just when I was about to take a seat on the couch , our door burst open and masked men came in with guns . We were being attacked. "Hands up!, Give us all your money" I saw the panic in Yeri and Amitola's faces , I looked at the guys and we all knew that we needed to protect eachother . I've faced situations like this before , if anything I would be anxious but I still knew how to handle myself "hey! You're not taking anything from us!" I yelled as one of the dudes come to me and pointed his gun at my head " brave are we?give me your money before I blow your brains out!" He demanded , if I didn't notice his hand shaking, I would've been a panicking mess by now . His hand shaking was a sign that he was an amateur and nervous , I looked at the others and now that fear wasn't controlling me , I could see all of them look tense and nervous and then I noticed another thing , there guns weren't even cocked , I rolled my eyes at these guys and it didn't go unnoticed by the dude in front of me , he hit my head with his gun as I landed on the carpet, I touched my head and saw blood on my fingers . "Don't worry guys , these guys won't harm us" ,"yes we will if you don't give us your money!" ,One of them said ,"then shoot me" I said , I just know that the others think I'm crazy right now, I turned to look at them and I was right, their faces right now were priceless. I let out a small laugh as I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialled "911" ,"you guys are dumb for not taking our phones first, at one tap I can call 911 and have you all arrested , there is a police station just minutes away from here, so leave now or lose your freedom" I tried my best to stand , but the pain I felt on my head was excruciating , any more pressure or movement and I would probably pass out ,"let's........let's go guys" one of them said and they all left , everyone heaved a sigh of relief and Yeri and Amitola soon Rushed over to me to aid my injury .

My head was bandaged up and I felt a bit better , it was silent until Liam whispered , "black people" , I didn't say anything because I saw Jeremiah look in disbelief . This will be interesting .