Maz Jobrani Quotes

Discrimination still exists. Some people feel that their own beliefs are being threatened. Some are unhappy about unfamiliar cultures. They all need to be reassured that there is so much to be gained by reaching out to others; that diversity is indeed a strength and not a threat.

Racism is about education. Racism is ignorance.

People were nicer to me when I was in the arts. I experienced extreme racism in small-town New Zealand. Racism which really went away when I got into the arts.

I want the white people to understand my people.

Race prejudice can't be talked down, it must be lived down.

Racism is beyond common sense and has no place in our society.

For me, literature is a way of enlarging myself by learning about people who are not like me.

When I was growing up, I never heard the word 'racism.' It was only in Paris I encountered that.

Latinos come from different countries, and they tend to segregate with only their country instead of embracing all the other countries, because in reality, all the Latinos are going through the same experiences of discrimination and racism.

I just feel like we as a human race tend to fear that which we don't understand. It's cause for a lot of bad things and bad behavior to exist on the planet. Artists have a way of touching people and changing minds in a way that sometimes other mediums don't.

In England, I've never really had a problem with racism.

I tell my students, it's not difficult to identify with somebody like yourself, somebody next door who looks like you. What's more difficult is to identify with someone you don't see, who's very far away, who's a different color, who eats a different kind of food. When you begin to do that then literature is really performing its wonders.

The fact is that racism, despite all the doomsayers, has diminished.

Culture makes people understand each other better. And if they understand each other better in their soul, it is easier to overcome the economic and political barriers. But first they have to understand that their neighbour is, in the end, just like them, with the same problems, the same questions.

Racism is a sign of ignorance, in my opinion. It's people who haven't been anywhere, haven't seen the world.

Racial tolerance was not possible on American television in the early 1960s

IMMIGRANTS, NOT AUSTRALIANS, MUST ADAPT. Take It Or Leave It. I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we are offending some individual or their culture…. We speak mainly ENGLISH, not Spanish, Lebanese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society. Learn the language! …. If you aren't happy here then LEAVE. We didn't force you to come here. You asked to be here. So accept the country YOU accepted.

Being offended is the natural consequence of leaving one’s home. I do not like after- shave lotion, adults who roller-skate, children who speak French, or anyone who is unduly tan. I do not, however, go around enacting legislation …

Racism has a very quick expiration date when exposed to actual contact with people.

If you have any racist friends, it's on you to stop that immediately and let them know why that's not right, or what's wrong with the way they think or just opening their eyes and allowing them to understand what's wrong with their thought process because, to be honest, I mean, we're all human.

My father is German; my mother is African-American. Growing up, I visited my grandparents in Berlin a lot. I would not see any other person of color for three weeks. People would stare. They would say things like, 'Oh, you look like chocolate - I want to eat you up!'

The growth of race relations management, diversity training and 'promoting good relations' has come at a cost. We are more sensitized to racism, yet far less confident in talking to each other as human beings with similar hopes, problems and aspirations.

Racism exists, but it is far less rampant than ignorance, and ignorance can be cured through experience.

The world only makes sense to me given my life and my background if, in fact, we're not just an assortment of tribes that can never understand each other, but that we're, rather, one common humanity that can meet and learn and love each other.

The heart never knows the colour of the skin