Is it possible that someday racism won't exist in our society? As an ex-racist, I believe it could happen. Some of us don't mean to be the way we are -- it is taught to us as youngsters. Children don't have a prejudiced bone in their bodies. They are innocent and impressionable. As a result, sterotypes are passed on, sometimes unintentionally.

I had to leave my hometown, join the service and learn on my own to accept people for who they are -- not how they look.

Well, I didn't learn entirely on my own. My fisrt supervisor in the Air Force was a burly master sergeant named Jake, who intimidated you with one look. I hated him the day I met him becasue he was black. One day Jake had me do some "shit work" because, as he put it, all new recruits "had to do their share." As I swept, I quietly cursed him.

I turned around and before I could say a word, Jake got right in my face and asked why I hated niggers. Word for word, just like that. I was shocked. I didn't know what to say, because I didn't know why!

Jake knew that, and he made me realize I had no reason for being racist. He asked if I ever had a bad experience involving someone black. I said I had never even met anyone black before I met him. We talked, and he left me with a new attitude. I realized that each person should be judged individually.

At Penn State, people make racial comments, and I ask them why. Usually they don't have a reason, so I try to set them straight. The Collegian's March 26 editorial "Brutal Bullies" really hit home.

Los Angeles police chief Daryl F. Gates is a disgrace to his position, as are the policemen involved in Rodney King's beating -- not just the three officers who did the beating; the other 12 officers on the scene should be punished for not intervening. Regardless of whether this was a racially-motivated incident, the cops were wrong. The fact that it was a racial incident makes matters worse. Gates and the rest of his thugs should pay.

Ask yourself, why are you prejudiced? Do you really have a reason for your feelings or were they taught by you parents, relatives or friends? You may find yourself in the situation I did after Jake and I had our little talk. I was embarassed, but I admire Jake's courage to face me. I've met a lot of people of different races since that day, and I've made a lot of them my friends. Because of Jake, my life is that much richer and that much less misguided.