Story written by Staff Writer Ashley Romero
Racial slurs fuel fan brawl at Wrigley Field
America has been known as a melting pot of cultures for more than 200 years. With that being said, it is disappointing to see that we, as citizens of the same country, still cannot coexist with one another.
During Hispanic Heritage Night an ugly, racially fueled brawl unfolded in the stands amongst Cubs fans at Wrigley Field. After security broke the fight, a group of White men shouted racial slurs towards a group of Hispanic fans.
Witness Danny Rockett caught the fight on video and took to social media with it.
Although the true nature of what started the fight is unknown, when asked about how it started on Twitter, Rockett responded with a single word: “Racism.”
Rockett also tweeted, “Dudes were racist. Didn’t see the first punch. But I saw the 3rd-56th.”
As the fight fizzled out, a Hispanic female victim yelled to security, who appeared to all be White, “You, you, and you will never know what it’s like,” alluding to racial issues minorities predominately face in America today.
The Cubs organization has a zero tolerance policy for violence and all parties involved were escorted out of the park and barred from Wrigley Field for the remainder of 2018.
This of course was not the first altercation involving racism and it certainly will not be the last. To be a minority in America is terrifying to most.
They say violence is never the answer and most of us can agree that we stand somewhere in between the philosophies of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X when it comes to discrimination. But when adrenaline kicks in violence can become an externality. In this case it was a response of defense against racism. As a minority myself I can understand why.
It is mentally exhausting to always have your guard up especially in day-to-day moments like going to the grocery store, getting coffee or watching your favorite sports team.
What was said at the game would have never been said to another white person. If the Hispanic victims were African-American, Middle Eastern or another ethnicity the racial slurs wouldn’t go unsaid, they’d just be interchanged. Racism has become a reality of life in America for many minorities but it shouldn’t be a norm of our society.
It doesn’t help that our own president refers to Hispanics as rapists and criminals. Despite backgrounds, minorities in this country work for a better tomorrow. But it’s hard to see that better tomorrow when you constantly feel like you are under the White man’s magnifying glass.
I am not saying every White person in America is racist but they do not have to spend much of their mental energy worrying about this happening to them. They do not get mentally exhausted wondering how they are perceived by other races because it’s not something they get faced with on a daily basis.
To not be White in America is to constantly feel wrong. There is never a right time or place for us. In a poll done by Gallup news 46% of African Americans and 36% of Hispanics said they personally experienced discrimination in the month prior because of their ethnic background.
We want respect and rights just like everyone else who is seen as an individual. We do not want to be looked at different because of the color our skin or how thick our accents are. Is that really asking for much?
The belief that one day the country could somehow move past racism is sadly an unrealistic dream for many in today’s society. Something so complex and historically layered does not magically dissolve into the air one day. If we really want to stop this confront others. Openly talk about and educate others on the obscured forms of discrimination happening every day that have been superseded.
No matter the race we need to ask ourselves how it would feel to be publicly humiliated for the color of our skin or the way that we look. To dehumanize a person, especially in a time where culture is being celebrated, is immoral.