Sarah Colegrove September 25, 2012 Journal 3 The readings for this week highlighted the issues of discrimination

among ethnicity and gender as well as racism. The article by Jeremiah Torres, Label Us Angry, was interesting. In the article he talked about how he and his friend where blamed for crimes just because they were from a minority group. His friend even faced unfair treatment by law enforcement and the criminal justice (or rather unjust) system. For throwing a rock through a window, his friend received a felony conviction. It is stories like Jeremiah Torres that is upsetting. It highlights how far away we are from equal treatment and application of the laws. Healy, in Race, Ethnicity and Gender, talks about the various forms of discrimination that is both attitudinal and institutional. As a female, I have experienced both. For a long time when I was growing up, I wanted to be a lawyer. However, my family and friends were not so sure. I remember one time when I told my uncle that I wanted to be a lawyer; he told me that it was not worth my time. He asked me what the point of wasting all that money on college when I would be taking care of my husband and kids whenever I got married. I have experienced institutional discrimination from the church. When I was younger, I attended a very conservative church. At first, I did not even notice that anything was wrong. However, I noticed one Sunday that a woman was asked to leave because she had the audacity to wear pants to church. Later, when I wanted to help out with the childrens ministry, I was turned down. It wasnt until after I had left the church that I was told the reason the church did not allow women to teach children because

it apparently says in the Bible that women are to submit to men. The church included this to involve young boys. Something that I have noticed growing up in a very religious, very conservative area is that many people who claim to Christians are themselves racist and discriminate. They seem to be forgetting that we are called to love our neighbors as ourselves. Jesus certainly did not discriminate between Jews, Gentiles (even Samaritans), women, men, prostitutes, and religious leaders. He loved everyone and it showed in the way he talked and the actions he took. We need to follow in Jesus footsteps and eradicate all thoughts, actions, language, practices, and laws that allow racism and discrimination to still exist in our society.