Personal Narrative: Dehumanization

I always knew this notion existed. I always tried to ignore it. Whenever someone in my social circle made an intolerant remark, I would force myself to calm down reaffirming myself that it’s their ignorance talking, that they are just being immature or that they do not understand how pernicious their statements are. Those brief aggressions, that resentful mindset, I came to a point in which I couldn’t take it anymore. I could not just dismiss it again. At some point, I realized I was sick and tired of the materialistic views some of the people in my social environment had. It ranged from dismissing people who did not manage to amass great wealth as lazy to dehumanizing workers.
I may be quite young, but I have always been exposed to this sort of bigotry and
A couple of months ago my friend Valerie asked me to help her on this project to bring Models of United Nations to kids on the slums. I was a little bit skeptical at first. I thought it was risky and it might not have great impact in them as these children often drop out of school and get involved in gangs or start working to sustain their children and spouses. Valerie insisted and I gave it a try. That day changed my life. I thought I was going to be received by a rather hostile crowd, yet, my audience was warm and welcoming. I thought I would be facing disinterest, but I saw a group of curious, engaged youths. These were the kids of the working class. Some of the girls were pregnant, yet they were determined to keep up on their studies. Some others were seniors and the first ones to ever graduate in their families. In them, I saw a hopeful, working youth that wanted to move forward in life and after meeting them I felt compelled to speak out against the materialistic views that dehumanized them. After seeing these youths face to face and listening to their struggles I realized I could not keep quiet. Soon after I met these teenagers someone in a family reunion started insinuating that