We all know William Shakespeare’s, ” Romero and Juliet “, when two individuals fell in love with one another, while at the same time, coming from families who hated, each other. It was a dichotomy which could rip any lovers apart. The Romeo and Juliet Affect, still exist today in many societies around the world, including ours.. This affect can happen when one becomes emotionally involved with a person of a different, race, ethnicity, class, religion, age, education, gender, or sexual orientation. When one falls in love with a person of a different racial background, and one’s family hates that particular racial group, one is experiencing a Romeo and Juliet Affect. If a person comes from a very wealthy family and somehow happens to fall in love with a much poorer person, and his or her family refers to the poor   individual as low-down dirty trash, one is experiencing a Romero and Juliet Affect. For example, I have known several Hispanic girls, whose parents would constantly tell them, that they could bring a white, Asian, or Hispanic guy home, but whatever they did, don’t bring no niggers through their front door. What was interesting about this was, the Hispanics who made such comments, were lower class and poor, and did not have much themselves. Nevertheless, three of the Hispanic females I knew, ended up marrying black guys. One was a barber, the other an engineer, and the third African American male was a vice president of a major cable company. These couples overcame the Romeo and Juliet Affect. Whether they are still married or not, I do not know. The Romeo and Juliet Affect, has caused many to miss out on life, because when one spends his or her life trying to please others, he or she can never develop into what they were created to be. My aunt, who has passed on now, was involved with a white man, and blacks were the ones who gave her the hardest time. I did not realize how racists African Americans could be. This is why I argue that any individual or group can be both racists and sexists. The Romeo and Juliet Affect, has caused some to become very close, while causing others to be emotionally torn apart. The Romeo and Juliet Affect, can make or break a person.

The Bowtie Professor Speaks!

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