Warnings have been issued over the years advising people to avoid investing in this global industry. Still people chose to purchase the stock – some one share at a time, others in large quantities. Each time they invest even one dollar into this corporation, they participate in destroying their own lives as well as the dreams and aspirations of others. Family and friends are even forced into the role of unwitting participants.

The government has taken a stand, as well as various groups around the globe, making it harder for people to invest in this corporation. Still people choose to disregard the signs that will eventually lead to their own demise. They continue their dangerous path of destruction. Why? Why do well educated human beings choose a pathway that is known to cause heartache and utter despair in order to be part of 51 billion dollar industry?

Doesn’t this elusive business have enough of our hard earned money? As well as our personal blood, sweat and tears? I’m sure you’re probably wondering to yourselves, “What industry can she possibly be writing about?” Perhaps you would like to know if you have somehow missed the hundreds of warnings that are issued each year about this industry. Well here is the answer: Have you ever gotten behind the wheel of a vehicle with any alcohol, even one drink in your system? If you have, then you have invested in the 51 billion dollar club.

It is estimated that each year 51 billion dollars is spent on alcohol related crashes. During 2003 (NHTSA 2004a), 17,013 deaths occurred in the U.S. alone because of alcohol-impaired drivers; 2,136 of those deaths were children under the age of 14. These investors have killed the future. This represents nearly ½ of all traffic related deaths in the U.S.

Most of those murdered were unsuspecting bystanders, not the impaired driver. And that is, after all, what this is…murder. Vehicular manslaughter. Vehicular homicide. You can put whatever name you want on this criminal action to help lesson the burden of the offenders, but the fact is they knowingly got behind the wheel of what turned out to be a killing machine and killed.

Although the court system doesn’t define it as such, actions of this sort can even be likened to first-degree murder. Just look at the definitions for a moment. Taken directly from lawforkids.org, first degree murder is defined as: “causing the death of another person with either the intent or knowledge that the conduct will cause death and with premeditation. Premeditation is often described as ‘malice aforethought,’ which basically means that you probably considered the consequence of your conduct for at least a second before you committed the act.”

With all the education available, those who drink and drive know the possible consequences of their actions before they get into their vehicle to drive. Yet, still they turn on the ignition, shift into first gear and off they go.

Why do we allow the death toll from this activity to continue? Several years ago people used the excuse “There but for the grace of God go I” to turn a blind eye to the problem. That’s about the time I discovered that the second member of my family, my sister, had been killed in an alcohol-related crash. (Jurors were sympathetic to the driver of the vehicle, thinking back to times they had gotten behind the wheel of their car after having a “drink or two.”) The drivers in all these cases got off with a warning or a light sentence.

I have since lost another 5 members of my family and friends to these murderers. Lest you think these are mere statistics I am citing for you, let me put names to my data: Rosie (my cousin, 28, and a mother of a newborn in the car at that time), Janet (my sister, “twin” and best friend, 22), Marsha (my cousin, 25, and the mother of a five-year-old in the car at the time), and Lisa (my counselee, 12, as well as her mother, 36, and her brother Jonathan, 8). As if that wasn’t enough, a few weekends ago the tally in my family went up again.

Natasha, 16 years old, was on the way to her winter ball. A drunk driver crashed into the side of her vehicle, killing her instantly and turning her boyfriend into a quadriplegic. Thanks to yet another driver who chose to be part of the 51 billion dollar club. This driver hasn’t had his sentencing hearing yet.

How can we stop the carnage? Law enforcement has doubled efforts to curtail DWI’s, setting up sobriety checks and adding stiffer penalties on both the drivers and the establishments they had been drinking in. Criminal and civil lawsuits have inundated the courts. Education has been tripled and pamphlets are even sent out with our yearly car registration.

There are agencies that offer free rides to any driver who calls them in need of transportation after drinking. There is also the option of sleeping in your car, spending 55 cents on a phone call if you don’t have a cell phone handy, or paying $69.00 at a local motel if all else fails. Yet all of this is obviously still not enough to deter some people from getting behind their wheel and taking the life of another innocent victim.

So what is the answer? To tell you the truth, I don’t know. But I do know what will help. From one heartbroken member of these senseless tragedies, I am going to do what I can to get laws imposed that require every vehicle have Ignition Interlock systems installed on them.

Interlock systems are currently used for repeat offenders in many states around the U.S., but we need a shift from light punishments and warnings into prevention. I believe that installing these units on every new vehicle sold and requiring them to be installed on every used vehicle in U.S. (a check could be made during smog inspections to see that the law was obeyed) would save taxpayers court costs and insurance companies billions of dollars every year. More importantly, it would save family and friends the devastating loss of yet another innocent victim and another trip to the morgue to identify their loved one.

For those of us who don’t drink and drive, it will be a minor nuisance. For those who do drink and drive, they will fight any steps that inconvenience their irresponsible and potentially deadly lifestyle. Think back a little to the seat belt issue. Many opposed the seat belt law when it went into affect.

But why were we forced to wear our seat belts? Because most people didn’t do so voluntarily, and the number of accidental deaths and near fatal injuries that could have been prevented was so staggering that government decided to step in and intervene on our behalf. The deaths and injuries were senseless. The same holds true here. Drinking and driving is a senseless and oftentimes unjustly punished crime.

Won’t you join me in this fight? Don’t let the next phone call you get late at night be from the hospital telling you a loved one was injured in a drunk driving accident. Don’t let the knock at the door at 3 AM be from a policeman telling you someone you loved has just been killed in an alcohol-related death. What price would you be willing to pay for your son or daughter, sister or brother, mother or father? Forever is a long time. Are you willing to pay the price for the 51 billion dollar club? Think about Ignition Interlock systems and contact your state officials – put the pressure on them. Let them know we won’t stand for the rules of the 51 billion dollar club anymore.

To find out more about what an Ignition Interlock system is and how it works, please go to: http://www.acs-corp.com/interloc.htm

One more note: In my recent travels, I came upon a state that publicly brands someone who drinks and drives. How? The person who has committed the crime is required to have each vehicle they drive outfitted with bright yellow / orange license plates. This allows other drivers to identify him / her as someone who may be driving under the influence. This is another great deterrent.

In a recent AP wire story, David Crary and Corey Williams wrote, “Some of the offenders in jail don’t want to be released; some who do get out promptly re-offend to head back where there’s heat, health care and three meals a day.”

It has always seemed that our prison system was a great way to get free food, free housing, free cable, free medical and a free education. When some criminals get out they are given book deals, television shows and other rewards that can make life much easier because of the money that can be involved.

Now it seems that prison is more preferable to the outside world that the rest of us live in. While prison is not an appealing option for anyone in all reality, it is also no longer a deterrent, but a benefit of crime.

Taxpayer’s money are used to pay for these benefits, benefits that most people outside of the prison system cannot afford. What is the benefit of being a law abiding, taxpaying citizen if you cannot afford to pay rent, purchase food for your family or afford much needed medical care? It seems as if crime really does pay during this time of economic turmoil.

Hold on, don’t go out and commit a crime just to receive all the free perks. The point is, if these perks are being offered to those in jail and people who are not citizens of the United States can receive these benefits without being in prison, why aren’t the same benefits being given to everyone?

The Government is bailing out the banks and the auto industry and the taxpayers are bailing out the criminals, who is going to bail the taxpayers out?

Some people believe they have valid arguments with solid conclusions to support their reasons for hating one group of people over another. Are they correct in their convictions? Could you be a person who discriminates with prejudice without even realizing you are participating in the race to hate?

To achieve a better sense of what prejudice and discrimination are, here is how Dictionary.com defines both. “Prejudice…unreasonable feelings, opinions, or attitudes, esp. of a hostile nature, regarding a racial, religious, or national group.”

“Discrimination…treatment or consideration of, or making a distinction in favor of or against, a person or thing based on the group, class, or category to which that person or thing belongs rather than on individual merit.”

Simply put, prejudice is attitudes and hostility based on race, religion, class or physical condition and discrimination is the treatment of an individual based on prejudice because of categories, rather than the quality and worthiness of an individual.

Both prejudice and discrimination are based on ignorance and irrational fear instead of being rooted in facts and knowledge and both include negative judgments, feelings and opinions held about certain groups or individuals. The result is the same, the intent to destroy an individual or group with words or actions.

What are the affects of racism and discrimination and should we embrace racial discrimination as a way of life? To find out the affects of racism and discrimination, we only need to look back in our history books. Prejudice and discrimination can be found as far back as recorded history goes. In the United States, prejudice is documented against Native Americans beginning with their dehumanization and enslavement in the 1400’s.

Women of any race were considered property by law until the turn of the last century and because of that law, were discriminated against. The Woman’s Rights Movement enabled the women of today their freedom’s, but prior to that time, women were jailed for freedom, made to earn wages but were not allowed to keep the wages and put into insane asylums or convents when their husbands wanted to be free of them.

Prejudice enabled the enslavement of African’s, which resulted in the Civil War in the 1800’s as well as the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960’s. Prejudice has also reared its head against Asians with a few examples of such crises as the Yellow Peril, when Americans passed the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, as well as the internment of Asian American’s during WWII.

Italians have suffered at the cruel hands of prejudice and discrimination too. Italian American’s were used to fill the vacancy created by the abolishment of slavery and treated with the same harsh conditions and cruelties. Italians suffered lynching, with one of the largest lynching in American history taking place in 1891. The fear of Italians becoming too prolific played a role in the encouragement of birth control. Congress passed a racially based quota in 1921 to prevent “lowlife undesirablesa” from overwhelming America. That law was not repealed until 1965. In addition, Italian American’s were put into interment camps during WWII.

The Latino community has also suffered from prejudice and discrimination. The famous Zuit Suit Riots in 1943 are well-documented accounts of racial violence that resulted from naval service members being stationed in a Latino neighborhood. During that time, large mobs of service members entered into civilian homes to attack Latino youths.

Irish Americans paid a price at the hands of prejudice and discrimination as well. During the 1860’s, “No Irish need apply” symbolized the discrimination against Irish immigrants in search of employment. It was widely believed and proliferated through newspapers until the early 1900’s that anyone of Irish decent was, “dirty, lazy and stupid.”

More recently, because of the attacks of September 11, 2001, those of Arabic decent or those who looked like they were of Arabic decent, have been unjustly subjected to distrust and violence, including murder.

From their enslavement by Egyptians to the Holocaust of WWII, prejudice and discrimination for those of Jewish decent has been more prolific than with any other race. Violent attacks on entire communities that still occur in vast numbers to this day. The Washington Times reported in June 2007:

“Anti-Semitism, one of the world’s oldest hatreds, has resurged with a vengeance. Around the globe, Jews are being assaulted, some even murdered. Synagogues are being attacked. Jewish gravestones are being desecrated by the hundreds. Even the historical fact of the Holocaust is being questioned. The threat today is not existential. There is no room for complacency.”

According to the Anti-Defamation League, anti-Semitism is on the rise in America. A survey conducted by the ADL showed that 17% more Americans than the previous year held “hardcore” beliefs about people of Jewish descent. Here is a brief table of their findings in 2002:

“Strongly anti-Semitic:
17% of Americans
35% of Hispanics
44% of foreign-born Hispanics
20% of Hispanic Americans born in U.S.
35% of African-Americans
3% of U.S. college and university students” 

There is also discrimination against Caucasians in the United States as well. Reverse discrimination is easily identifiable and includes Black Entertainment Television (BET), United Negro College Fund, Latin Grammy’s, as well as others forms such as these. Conversely, if Caucasians were to hold the White Grammy Awards, White Entertainment Television or have a White College Fund, they would be shut down, protests would most certainly follow and lawsuits would be filed.

Additionally, statistics taken from the FBI databases and gathered from law enforcement agencies from every state in the U.S., showed that 90% of all hate crimes are inflicted upon Caucasian people by people of African or Latino backgrounds. (The FBI includes in their statistics rape, murder and beatings).

Hate crimes are on the rise in America because of the irrational fear known as prejudice and discrimination. The FBI UCRP (Uniform Crime Reporting Program) showed that most hate crimes in 2005 were based on ethnicity.

Their findings were reported in this order: “anti-black, anti-Jewish, anti-white, anti-homosexual, and anti-Hispanic bias. There are more hate crimes against whites than against Hispanics, Asians, American-Indians and multiple-race groups.” The UCRP based their findings on law enforcement agency’s filings across the U.S.

Formal hate groups such as, the Ku Klux Klani, the National Allianceii, National Socialist Movementiii, Aryan Nationsiv, Westboro Baptist Churchv, Nation of Islamvi, New Black Panther Partyvii, Nation of Aztlánviii, Nation of Yahwehviiii, and the White Order of Thulex; still operate in the United States.

The propaganda from these hate groups, helps to spread loathing for a certain race or group from one faction of the population to another. In 2006, SPLCIP (The Southern Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Project) found there were 844 active hate groups based in the United States alone. In addition to the hate groups previously mentioned, the Internet has given people the ability to proliferate racial discrimination and hate at an alarming rate.

Because freedom of speech is a constitutional right for any citizen of the United States under the First Amendment, as well as international law, under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, Cyber Bullying has reached an all time high.

Due to the instantaneous nature of the Internet, it is easier than ever to reach the masses and spread hate around the world anonymously with a click of a button. With social networking sites gaining in popularity over the years, a new and infinite medium for prejudice, hate and discrimination has begun.  Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor for Reuters reported the following:

“Internet bullying has emerged as a new and growing form of social cruelty,” Kirk Williams and Nancy Guerra of the University of California at Riverside wrote in one of a series of reports published in the Journal of Adolescent Health. The reports, from researchers organized by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, show a 50 percent increase in the number of kids aged 10 to 17 who said they were harassed online — from 6 percent in 2000 to 9 percent in 2005.”

All of these examples were a direct result of racism and discrimination. As the evidence clearly shows, all races have experienced prejudice and discrimination in the United Statesb, not to mention around the world. It is a wide spread epidemic.

What is the cause of prejudice and discrimination and where does it come from? Many times prejudice and discrimination begins within a family or group of people and the indoctrination of an individual may begin with the children inside these clusters at a very young age.

Racism of this type is taught and practiced inside a family unit and may be based on the belief that one race is superior to another or the fallacy of All Apples are Bad hypothesis, i.e. that one bad apple makes the entire bunch bad and therefore the entire bunch is judged on the one bad apple. This type of circular logic is often used when attempting to justify prejudice and discrimination.

Often families and groups that proliferate prejudice and discrimination, will use various forms of rationalization to support their false moral justifications. These people may use scare tactics, peer pressure, arguments by force or outrage and the two wrongs make a right fallacy to influence other people, especially their family members, into believing their claim is true.

Prejudicial judgments based on racial superiority would take too much time and space to consider at this time. Suffice it to say that prejudice and discrimination, based on racial superiority, relies heavily on ignorance and is morally wrong. A judgment based on All Apples Are Bad is also wrong and is not only based on ignorance, but irrational fear as well. To help support my claim that the mindset of All Apples Are Bad is wrong, let me use the following example.

Most people would agree that Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini and Joseph Stalin were evil men. These men helped brainwash many people into believing a certain ethnic populace needed to be exterminated and then proceeded with the extermination.

Hitler was German, Mussolini was Italian and Stalin was Russian. If the All Apples Are Bad theory were correct, then every single person of German, Italian and Russian descent would be an evil person. However, it was not an entire race that committed crimes against humanity, but these particular men and their following. Therefore, the All Apples Are Bad claim is not valid.

To prove that one bad apple does not make all the apples bad, here are a few examples of people from these races, who had integrity and accomplished great things for humanity.

Albert Einstein, known as one of the greatest scientific minds of all time, was German.
Albrecht Duerer, known as “The Genius of German Renaissance,” was also German.
Oscar Schindler, known as “The Conscience of German People,” single handedly saved more Jewish people from the gas chambers than anyone else. Schindler is a direct contradiction to the All Apples Are Bad theory because he was German and so was Hitler.
Dmitri Mendeleev, known for his invention of the world-famous periodic system of elements, was Russian.
Ivan Pavlov, a famous Russian biologist and Noble Prize Laureate, was Russian.
General Georgi Zhukov, a famous general who defeated the Nazis, was Russian.
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, a famous Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, poet and engineer, was Italian.
Mother Theresa, known for her charitable works and peace efforts as well as being a Noble Peace Prize Laureate, was Albanian / Italian
Ernesto Teodoro Moneta, a Noble Peace Prize Laureate for Peace and representative on the Commission of the International Peace Bureau, was Italian.

As the preceding examples show, just because one man of a particular race was evil, does not qualify the entire race that Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin each represented as evil.

Which race is really the race to hate and who will determine which race that is? Will society allow the race to hate to continue?  When we relegate ourselves to our own little clicks of acceptable people in our group, we are practicing discrimination. If we can look past what we see externally and stop judging people by the colors that are inside a paint box or Crayola kit, we may be able to stem the tide of hatred and stop the race to hate dead in its tracks.

On the other hand, can prejudice and discrimination really be stopped? It would seem that one the functions of prejudice and discrimination are to help the discriminator feel good about themselves, and therefore, stopping prejudice and discrimination would depend on the state of an individual person’s self-esteem.

Because of that variable, it would take an enormous effort to raise the self-esteem of millions of individuals and then teach them to raise children who also had a high level of self-esteem, coupled with moral values. Therefore, while it is possible, it is also not probable that prejudice will be eradicated with this method.

However, there is a way to begin to quell the tide of prejudice and discrimination one person at a time. In order to wipe out this insidious disease, the layers of internalized images and conditioning from our families as well as our social groups will need to be heavily examined by each person individually.

Questions such as, “Why do I hate this person?”, “What is color really and is their skin really yellow, black or white?” “What is the foundation upon which I base my hatred of one race or individual over another?” need to be intensely examined, dissected and discussed with an open mind.

I challenge you today to think about any prejudices or preconceived notions you have about anyone or any group. Take a deep look, using facts instead of opinions, to find out for yourself what you base your prejudice and discrimination on. Be honest with yourself. Is your bias based on the values that were handed down to you during your childhood or are they based on a hatred that is rooted in ignorance and/or fear?

Alternatively, is your prejudice and discrimination based on personal experience or social acceptance? If your prejudice and discrimination are based on personal experience, then are you judging the many based on the one, therefore using the All Apples Are Bad hypothesis? If your prejudice and discrimination is based on social acceptance, then is hatred a space you really want to spend your life in?

Once you have begun to really exam your belief system, then you can begin to make a change. Educate yourself. Find out the facts. Retrain your brain to use verbal language that is not slanting towards another individual such as, “Oh…she’s a waitress.”; “He’s just a janitor.”; “Hey Honky.” or “What a Chink.”

When this kind of language is used, the inference is that these people are beneath you and that inference will transfer into your subconscious mind, which rules 87% of your thoughts and actions. Once that happens, your response to individuals in the categories you have labeled them in, becomes a conditioned response.

If you really want to make a change, become a mentor to other people in your family or social network. Work side-by-side with those you feared most or discriminated against so you can learn from them. This will help you learn that they are not so very different from you. Become a teacher of tolerance instead of a teacher of hate so you can help end the race to hate. One of the most important things you can do is to raise your children or future children without prejudice and discrimination.

No matter what race or class an individual is in, there may always be bad apples in every bunch. However, there are also good apples planting seeds that will bring forth strong and healthy apple trees. If we can weed out prejudice and discrimination in all societies, we can change the world into a place that is worthy to live in. You decide. Which race is really the race to hate?

If you would like to learn more about how to help stop prejudice and discrimination to make a real change in the world around you, here are a few groups that you can become active in.

Help Win the Race to Hate

Volunteer and Learn about Prejudice and Discrimination