Say NO to Racism (by Beatriz 10ºA)

This time, I decided to talk about a thing that I don't understand yet. I mean.. Racism. What is Racism? Why do people do those bad things? Well, I can't find an explanation or a reason to explain acts of racist people. So I tried to go to the beginning to figure it out. Let's see what I found.
We don't need to go back many years to find an example of racism or racial discrimination. I'm talking about Hitler. It was nothing more than pure racism. The idea that exists a master race that has the right to make the others do what they want, was kept in the mind of society for a few years.
But now it is different. In reality, not too much. Racism is still quite common. Most of us know a case of racism present in our life and even knowing that it is wrong, we don't accuse the situation because we are afraid.

At work, at school, in the streets, everywhere. People of another race are like enemies just because they are different. Even people of the same race are also discriminated against. It's so stupid. Nobody is perfect. We are all humans so we must accept everyone!

In fact, teenagers are not so racist as adults. Who doesn't have a black or any different friend? 

So, judging people by their look, sexual orientation, way of speaking or dressing, tastes, weight, whatever.. is also a way of discrimination. 

Well, with the Internet racism spreads across the digital world. In comments, photos, videos, racism is present too. 

The victims of racism suffer and the majority wants to stop living. But, Racism is a crime. We can change it. 

Now, I will give you a stupid example but it makes sense. It's an example of racism in a animal. Pandas.. I like pandas not because they are cute, but at the same time, they are anti-racism. They are black, white, and asian too. And everyone likes them just the way they are. We should do the same with people and accept differences. Let's stop hating and start loving. 

Another example: As you know, the President of the United States is black. So.. a black man in a White House! It sounds stupid. Even that, in America, racism is everywhere. You know that I am a white girl.. Yes, my skin colour is white.. And of course I'm being a racist now because I used the word "black" to talk about an individual. Nowadays, the skin colour is extremely important. But why? On the inside, we are all the same. And now I'll ask you.. (Paper) What is that? It's a piece of paper. But, what colour is that? It's white sure.. This is the same colour for you? Of course not.. "Colour", personally I don't like this word because people don't use it correctly. 

One day, in a video on Youtube, I saw a comment, which left me thinking seriously. It was made by a black man. Yes, I'm being a racist again, but the comment said: "God, forgive for not being able to say the word "black", because you're white, and we are different. I'm an actor, but the papers I can get are just thugs and bad boys, just because of the colour of my skin. Think in all the movies you watch now.. How many have black people with white people? We have no Titanic, Spider Man, Star Wars, Harry Potter... I think the majority of you couldn't even imagine a movie of all blacks. It's sad living in this world."
I agree with him. It's really sad. 

Racism... We see it everyday... We use it everyday...

But there is ONLY ONE RACE: and that is the HUMAN RACE. 

SAY NO TO RACISM!

Students' wishes... 10.C

Students' wishes... 10.A

love

Love is about dreaming. It is about everything. It is about nothing.
Love means giving everything we have to the one we like: our heart, our soul, our body.
Love is about chemistry, about sex, about belonging to each other.
Love is also about passion, passion that burns so much that can almost kill.
Love is present in every smile, every tear, every laugh.
Love was created by nature, shaped by every element, produced by each flower.
Love is fire that burns our soul, water that cleans our body, earth that breaks our heart and wind that takes the pieces of who we used to be away.
Love gives us nothing. Love takes us everything.

Inês Rodrigues

The film "Crash" and students' opinions on it

"Crash" is a 2005 American drama film co-written, produced, and directed by Paul Haggis. The film is about racial and social tensions in Los Angeles, California. A self-described "passion piece" for Haggis,

Crash was inspired by a real life incident in which his Porsche was carjacked outside a video store on Wilshire Boulevard in 1991. It won three Oscars: Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay and Best Editing in 2005 at the 78th Academy Awards.

Several characters' stories interweave during two days in Los Angeles; a black LAPD detective estranged from his mother, his criminal younger brother and gang associate, the white District Attorney and his irritated and pampered wife, a racist white police officer who disgusts his more idealistic younger partner, an African American Hollywood director and his wife who must deal with the officer, a Persian-immigrant father who is wary of others, and a Hispanic locksmith and his young daughter.

STUDENTS' OPINIONS ON THE FILM:

In my opinion the film was very good. In this film we see what the world is like and it shows us the racial problems that we face everyday. We watched many different people's lives. They were all affected by racial problems and they had to learn how to deal with them. "Crash" is a film that teaches us and makes us aware of our own way of seeing the world.

Ana Catarina nº2 11º C

I think the movie is important to show the present racism in our society. Through this movie we can understand many and different aspects of racism, the relations between people and we can see strong things that can change the life of a person. The movie makes us change our minds if we are racist and makes us think about what we can do or what we have to do to solve these problems.

Carlos Santos nº7 11ºC

This film is very up-to-date. It makes us think about important things such as racism and human dignity. The characters are forced to test their limits and it shows us what we could possibly do if we were in the same situation - we can choose to do the things or we can be selfish and not see the real problems.

Ana Rita 11ºC

I think "Crash" is a good film that shows us the reality of America. It brings us closer to the real problems that are happening while we are completely out of the issue. I like the film because it involves different lives, putting them together; it shows us what really happens without being much sentimental. It shows that every step we take can change what is around us.
Isaura Pinto nº17 11ºC

The movie gave me a whole new perspective about racism problems that affect the world and especially the United States. "Crash" showed me that we can´t think about people of other races as our inferiors and that we must try to redeem our actions and just try to make it better the best as we can.
André nº5 11ºC

I liked the film very much because it shows all the problems about racism in America. I think that the best part of the film is when all of the movie's characters learn that everyone deserves to be treated as a "normal" person.
Francisca nº15 11ºC

This movie is the truth! Nowadays racism and racist people are still here, even closer than we think. The movie makes us think about the life coloured people have and what they still suffer. And more important, it shows that coloured people are also racist, sometimes even more than white people.
Carlos Barbosa nº8 11ºC

The film was very inspiring, yet I think we should get to see the detective catch the brother's murderer. I liked the way the mivie started (by the end) and then developed so we could understand why the movie began like that. I found the little girl scene particularly hilarious.
Rui Moura n~31 11ºC

I think the film "Crash" portraits really well the racism we live nowadays. I wasn't aware that racism was so present in our society. The film makes us aware of our world, which isn't so perfect as we think and many people are neglected and the cause of it is racism.
Ana Rafael Teixeira nº3 11ºC

The movie was all about racism and objection to other races and cultures. It was a very nice film, because we learnt with it; we learnt that we can't judge anybody just because he or she is from a different race. The people in this movie learnt with their mistakes and learnt to be nicer human beings and to do the right thing without being evil and mean to others.
Luís André nº29 11ºC

After watching the film "Crash" we look at the problems of racism in another perspective. The film is about how people feel about different people. Everyone learns a lesson about racism.
Flávia Martins nº14  11ºC

This film transmits the reality of present times. It's like a mixture os emotions and sensations from different points of view. Unfortunately racism is a big problem, sometimes an involuntary attitude, almost a natural instinct.
Liliana Martins nº24 11ºC

In my opinion the film "Crash" is real, because it shows society nowadays. It is ridiculous to differentiate black people, hispanic, chinese and other people in the world. People are irracional, impulsive, bad and selfish. The mentality of the people has to change radically.
Rafaela Vieira 11ºC

I think this film is interesting. It is about racism, a very common theme in our society. Sometimes people are unfairly discriminated against. We live in a very prejudiced society.
José Carlos nº23 11ºC

The film "Crash" is about racism in our society. It shows people can change. The film shows diferent people with different lives.
Eduardo Rodrigues nº13 11ºC

This film shows that our actions have consequences and that we are equal. It has some black humour and it is about people from different origins that are somehow connected in the USA. My favourite part was when the little girl was shot and didn't have any injury.
Jorge Neto nº21 11ºC

The film "Crash" shows the racial problems in our society. White people don't like black people. The film shows different lives of different people and all of different races. The story of each person connects to the other. The movie shows that people can change in stressful moments.
Albertino Vieira nº1 11ºC

The film shows us the real problems of society and racist people. The people involved in the story in the course of the movie keep changing their attitude because of the situations that they are facing.
Carina Aires nº6 11ºC

The movie is very interesting. It's about racism and the people in this movie learn about their mistakes and learn to be better people.
Carlos Teixeira nº9 11ºC

The film was very interesting. It is about racism and the wrong judgement that people make about the appearance of other people.
Cristiano Alves nº11 11ºC

While watching the film we find out about the problems of racism. We are confronted with how people feel for being racist targets. It makes people aware of the different acts of racism towards other races.
Cátia Cunha nº10 11ºC

The film is about racism, discrimination and other problems in America. By watchin the film we can understand better the problems of black people.
Pedro Xavier nº27 11ºC

Road to Nowhere, by Beatriz Moreira 8ºB

 Feelings have failed me
Left me cold
On this road to nowhere
(Road to Nowhere)
Dreams are my saviors,
Save me now,
'Cause I know I'm fallin'

Farewell, I'll miss you
I'm sick of these goodbyes
'Cause it tore us apart right from the start
I miss you

*_*_*_*_*_*

I was sitting in my bedroom with our photo album on my legs. Each page was full of pain that once was happiness.

I can’t help but miss you. Miss every inch of your body, every word you could say, every hug you could give me, well, everything of you.

On the day you left you took my feelings, leaving me heartless, cold, rude…

I’m tired, lonely and I keep walking to an unknown destiny, not really caring for anything and just knowing that nothing but my dreams can save me now. The dreams that I have of being by your side again. The dreams that I would not be this affected by our goodbyes.

I’m sick of our many goodbyes. I’m sick of sitting here and watching you leave without any chances of keeping you here. I’m sick of the thoughts that I’ll never see you again. I’m sick of the tears that don’t stop falling from my eyes. I’m sick of just imagining your smile and don’t seeing it. I’m sick of many times that I try to smile but I can’t. I’m sick of not being happy. But most of all, I’m sick of me.

You were the only one that could make me feel wanted and important. Now I just feel like a piece of trash.

Now, everything is black and white. The world doesn’t seem to have colour anymore without you here. One day seems like years. Time seems to pass very slowly now.

Every morning I look at the end of the road, hoping that I’ll see you coming back, with your bags at your back, with that smile you said you’d have in your return.

Fool. I believed that you’d come back and I still do, but I just wish that you didn’t leave, or that you didn’t fool  me and said that you’d never come back. Fool, I repeat.

I still believe because every time you’ve left, you came again. You came again to hold me in your arms and pull me to your chest, making me hear your smooth heartbeat. But this time you didn’t.

I can’t help but think that you’re not alive anymore, simply dead, and no-one cared enough to tell me. Or that you have found someone else and you don’t want to come back.

If you didn’t, you could just call me and face it. But you didn’t.

I miss you. I can’t have a normal life anymore. I wish I just could know where and how are you.

I call you every insult that exists, but still I love you more than I should. Jerk, idiot, stupid and many others.

You don’t know how I feel. That strange feeling I have in my belly when I see your smile on photos, when I remember the sound of your voice, even when I imagine you.

Your smile, the sparkle of your yes, your voice, your laughter, your sense of humor, your everything! It’s perfect, and I miss it. You were everything I dreamed in a man, and now you’re gone.

Do you still love me the way I do? I don’t know, but I don’t dare to ask, afraid of the answer, afraid of the rejection.

Unfortunately, my love for you is way too much. Why the ‘Unfortunately’? ‘Cause it’s painful  not to have the person I love here.

It’s just, too much pain for only one person.

I was lost on my thoughts as the only tears that were left on my system rolled down my cheeks. I laid down on my bed looking at the ceiling, watching things turning out black as I lost consciousness.

In some minutes I was in a garden. The sky was blue, the clouds were white, the trees were green and there were no sights of humans. Nothing was humanized, no benches, no paths, just nature.

I kept walking, looking around until I saw a little, white house. I decided that I should investigate it.

As I got closer I noticed that it wasn’t little at all.

I opened the door and started looking around. It had two floors. Downstairs there was  a living room with red walls and black couches; a huge black and white kitchen and a dining room whose walls were painted, each one with a different colour, just as I always wanted. There were three bedrooms upstairs, with a bathroom for everyone. The house of my dreams.

I went to one room and jumped to the bed. I felt… I don’t know… in peace… I wasn’t sad or angry, just in peace.

“Lilly?” I heard a familiar voice coming from downstairs and I immediately woke up from my trance. In a hasty move I got up and ran to see if I was really hearing his voice.

“J-James?” I said as I saw the tall man, in a black leather jacket and black jeans in front of the door. I started to cry, but this timeit was tears of happiness. I almost flew downstairs, hugging him, to make sure that he was here. “Y-You’re r-really here?”

“Well… unfortunately, yes…”

“U-Unfortunately? You didn’t want to be with me?”

“No! That’s not that darling… Of course I want to be with you, but not…”

“Not what?”

“…Not dead…”

“Dead? What are you talking about?” and then all around me started to fade away.

“Remember, I love you Lilly! Don’t wait for me…”

“Are you dead?”And then I woke up as the doorbell rang.

I got up and slowly went downstairs.  I opened the door. And saw a man that looked exactly like the one on my previous dream.

“James!” I said as I jumped to his neck. “I missed you baby!”

“I missed you too my love.” And I smiled, for the first time in two years.

Have a very happy Christmas!

A solution to your life?

Being a 16 year-old teenager always asking myself what I should do, what I'm doing here and thinking that I'm here and I'm going to die sooner or later, I came up with an idea, something funny for some, stressful for others and quite stupid for some others. In my opinion, religion was made and it is so much followed because people just don't want to think that they are here for nothing. With religion they have someone or something to follow, a purpose. I respect every belief of course, but I just can't believe in this and like I said, this is just my opinion.

So, I came up with this idea: what if we are just supposed to live and be happy?

What if we are here just to leave our footprint?

I think that we are here to be born, be taken care of by our family, learn and fulfill our dream so our children, grandchildren, etc can do the same, changing the world.

What I say is that the meaning of life is to fulfill your dream even if it is hard, you will have to struggle but that's just how it works, just like that.

                              Pedro Mendes, 11ºD