We live in a world where fear overpowers ever move we make, especially in relationships. Whether it is fear of commitment, failure, or fear of connecting outside ones race; we all have experienced fear in our lives at one point. Naturally humans need to bond or connect with one another so therefore it is most important to establish a healthy relationship with everyone regardless of their race or culture. I will discuss what are most Americans afraid of when it comes to the interactions with one another along with what causes fear and lastly what we can do to make a difference and diminish fear once and for all.
I first want to begin with the history of interpersonal connections and how much depression is influenced with that. People naturally
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The top two categories I will be discussing is fear of race, specifically African Americans, and fear of immigrants. Starting off with discussing fear of race, many will probably disagree on the grounds that there is many people who are in interracial relationships. Although that statement is true, not all people are comfortable connecting to others outside their race. Personally I have experienced fear with others outside my race because society put that fear in me. When I am in my car and I see someone who presents themselves as sloppy or what people may describe those of being ghetto, I simply lock my doors and do not make eye-contact with the individual. Is that me being racist or am I taking cautious actions because of fear? According to the article “The Buffering Effects of Emotion Regulation in the Relationship Between Experiences of Racism and Anxiety in a Black American,” African Americans are already being treated differently and that causes the individuals to gain anxiety disorders.(553 Graham). In reality, my fearfulness is being represented as racism and not as fear. People such as myself, go through great lengths to avoid connecting with certain individuals due to personal experiences. Whether the experiences happen in real life or by watching them on the television. In a recent study that was mentioned in Graham’s article, “60 % of the participants reported experiencing racial discrimination in the past 3 years.”(554 Graham). To those that want to argue that African Americans are not a source to what Americans are fearful of; the above statistics prove that African Americans are a huge factor in racial discrimination. Not only are African Americans a key factor of what Americans afraid of, Immigrants also play a huge role in this
Although African Americans make up just 30% of the total population of the United States, they are accounted for 60% of those imprisoned! That’s an enormous difference! What is the reason behind this? The obvious answer is racism. Maybe it’s because the police officers are racist and more suspicious about African Americans, but then again, maybe it’s because the African Americans commit more crime. Even if they do, it’s quite likely that this criminal attitude is roused when they are treated unfairly and discriminated against. Anyway, racism is the action of setting up unfair differences in between people of different races. The thing in our mind that provokes racism is prejudice. Prejudice is a negative thought that exists inside our mind, and it causes us to treat different people in a different way. But why does prejudice exist in the world? What is the reason behind our inexplicable tendency to differentiate between others?
For example, the clearest irregular border between races occurred in educational and economic opportunity, politics, health, and social mobility of people in the US in the 1920s. Racism definitely had an impact on the human life, especially on the race that felt directly discriminated against and treated differently in their environment. Even if they have struggled to get equal treatment and opportunity, especially during economic stringent times, society does not even care and keep the stratification in place. This condition leads to self-esteem decreases in black race because they are forced to feel that they are no way better than another race. Racism also has an impact related to psychological stress, for example, different opportunities in the economic scope will lead to stress condition when people find it hard to get job only because of their skin.
In 2014, Dr. Wallace Best wrote a candid article for the Huffington Post discussing what he deemed as the irrational fear of black bodies. The context surrounding this critique stemmed from the surge of black men dying by white police officers. In the article, Dr. Best provided historical insight into this deeply rooted, unwarranted anxiety that white Americans have used as probable cause to commit violent acts against blacks, as well as systemic control over black men as a means of protection to maintain societal order. With this assertion, Dr. Best offered a critical analysis in understanding the fanatical need to preserve ownership over black movement due to this ubiquitous threat of black skin and the African American male. However, what
Internalized racism will explore the reasons why some minority groups do not like their ethnicity;
In the world today, racism and discrimination is one of the major issues being faced with. Racism has existed throughout the world for centuries and has been the primary reasons for wars, conflicts, and other human calamities all over the planet. It has been a part of America since the European colonization of North America beginning in the 17th century. Many people are not aware of how much racism still exist in our schools, workforces, and anywhere else that social lives are occurring. It started from slavery in America to caste partiality in India, down to the Holocaust in Europe during World War II.
In the United States, the problem of equality has never been more prevalent. Equality between race, age group and gender are some of the most common. One that really catches a lot of attention is race. The problem of race started when people from Africa were slave in the United States. Once President Abraham Lincoln free the slaves, the hatred towards the now free African Americans grew premensdly. This lead to segregation, and eventually the civil rights movement. The book Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? by Beverly Daniel Tatum, discuss many topics regarding racism in the United States currently. One of the most interesting topics was the concept that racist is completely different from prejudice.
Looking back at the history of United States in the 1800s, clearly racism was everywhere, and slavery was a major part of society. In the 1900s, racial discrimination still played a major part in society as White Americans were given the rights which includes right to vote, schooling, employment, or the right to go to certain public places. Colored people, did not have the equal rights and freedom as White Americans, especially African-American who back then were turned into slaves. Despite the fact that formal racial discrimination was largely banned in the mid-20th century, this issue of racism still exist even in today's society. The problem with society is that stereotypical views of various races still play a role, like when people always
Racism in The Color of Fear Let’s start with the definition of racism. Racism refers to the belief that race is the primary determinant of human capacities, that a certain race is inherently superior or inferior to others, and/or that individuals should be treated differently based on their ascribed race. There are two main issues in the movie, the “The Color of Fear” that I will discuss. These two issues include grouping people of color on the basis of the way one looks, and the attitudes of different races towards one another. Including also the idea that the white “do-gooder” feels that subconscious racism is being taken care of, when in all reality it isn’t.
To understand racism, we need to know what is making people act racist. In America, fear is the primary cause of racism. What is fear? It is an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous or a threat. Andrew Smith said “People fear what they
Black youths arrested for drug possession are 48 times more likely to wind up in prison than white youths arrested for the same crime under the same circumstances. Many people are unaware how constant racism has been throughout the years. It is important to understand the problems of racism because it is relevant to society. Racism in America is very real and Americans need to know it.
There are three types of racism. The most visible type is personally mediated racism where say a black man is being beaten due to the color of his skin. The effects on his health are obvious to see, the physical aspect is apparent. When people over a period of time have been subjected to, racial prejudice and discrimination begin to doubt their own worth and abilities they become victims of internalized racism. Constant, numerous instances in their respective environments have all abst...
Self-esteem is a psychological factor of depression, having a low self-esteem can increase chances of developing depression. Having a low self-esteem means viewing yourself in a negative way, not being appreciative of your appearance. A person with a negative attributional style may blame himself when bad things happen in his life, even when those events were of his his control. Over time, this pattern may contribute to depression (Hazen 83). Some social factors can also play a critical role in the development of depression. Having good relationships with family members and friends can help shield against social
Racism itself can be said to be “false linkage between biology and sociocultural behavior to assert the superiority of one race” (ETHN-100 Glossary, UNL,). There are two types of racism individual and also institutional. Xenophobia also according to the ETHN-100 glossary is said to be the “irrational fear of or contempt for strangers or foreigners”. In my interpretation into my own words I would say that racism are beliefs and judgments made based on the society’s standards that lead one to discriminate, and one group either directly or through the use of institutions. I would also say xenophobia to be the using one’s culture by way of ignorance to belittle another’s culture, and ideologies according them inferior. Both xenophobia and racism have been significant to the experience of blacks in the U.S. Xenophobia was essentially the basis of what became racism. The blacks were considered different and othered based on the mere pigment of their skin. This sense of xenophobia was projected to be so largely that large scale racism was than instituted. Racism and xenophobia is the end to all beginnings in the othering of blacks in the U.S. These two concepts are almost always factors in why people discriminate, and hold unto invalid prejudices. This leads me into my next to next two concepts that are important to understand the othering of blacks in the U.S. The two terms are discrimination, and social death. Discrimination is defined as discrimination is the “process by which an individual, group, or subpopulation of individuals act in ways that deny another individual, group, or subpopulation access to valued resources” (Ethn-100 Glossary Spring 2014). Social death also defined by the Ehn-100 glossary is a “concept used by sociologists to describe persons who are dehumanized beyond recognition. In other words, the dehumanizing structures and institutions in which these persons
Racism is a topic that several do not like to discuss due many different scenarios. People, cultures, and beliefs have been torture¬d from past events. Individuals, young and old, within today’s society have experienced racism in some shape or form. The subject of racism is something that people view differently. There are some who view it as okay, and those who are against it. The beginning of racism began during the time of the ancient civilizations which lead to events that caused short term effects such as the depression of those hurt by the September 11, 2001 attacks, and long term effects like Jewish mistreatment. The explanation of while different events happened are hard to come about, although an idea of the reasoning comes down to scientific racism.
According to the Dictionary of Human Geography, “Any act that links tendencies, affinities, behaviors or characteristics to an individual or community based on innate, indelible or physiological attributes, intended or not, is an act of racism.” Indeed, racism is a feeling of discrimination towards minorities that make up a country or a society. These minorities are separated socially from the rest of the community because of historical, economic, and political issues, which do not allow a full integration of these minorities in society. “racism encompasses not only prejudice, but any action or characteristic of social systems that support race privilege, regardless of whether people intend that to be the result.” (Jake Kosek) In the United states some of groups that have been most affected by racism are the African Americans, Latin Americans, and Asian Americans, among others.