Racism the mere mention of the topic usually results in quiet murmurs as people pretend to ignore the discussion or it devolves into a shouting match leaving the whole room pissed off. To a certain extent, these are understandably reactions racism has always been a sensitive nerve worldwide but especially in America the land of the immigrants. For most people talking about racism is like tiptoeing through a minefield, but some are utterly alright with discussing the topic however rarely get the chance to and often fall into a religious zeal that would put Hitler’s auditory talents to shame; which often results in people falling back into the first category terrified of incurring wrath for being “racist” or having the wrong mentality. Why have we given such power to a little two syllable word? History has given us plenty of reasons to fear the word, with the long list atrocities attributed to race; but by failing to have open discussions free of fear of the topic aren’t we just allowing another trail of tears or holocaust to happen?
The Functionalist perspective believes that the solution to the social problem of race is assimilation where an ethnic minority loses its cultural identity to join the dominant group. Which according to them is consistent with America’s image as the melting pot; assimilation they state allows a society to maintain its equilibrium if all members of society regardless of their racial or ethnic identity adopt one dominant culture. When I hear the Functionalist perspective’s theory all I can think of is the word cult. The idea of any group being forced to give up their cultural identity in order to conform to the norm is not the America I know and love. America without its diversity without its countless b...
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...rts at the smallest link in the chain. It starts with us, it starts with us tackling these issues head-on, understanding them and integrating small-scale solutions into our everyday lives. Too often with social problems, we believe the only power for change lies in the government but as Obama said during a speech to congress “our predecessors understood that government could not, and should not, solve every problem” it is a lesson we have lost but must recover if we hope to progress as a society. Humans often view society as a single point in time but in actuality it is a long line stretching from the first human beings to the unforeseeable future and in our hands we have the option of turning the dot on the line we occupy into a high or low point. Progress is slow and hard, but every bit of progress we complete today makes the lives of the next generation easier.
According to the Institute on Race and Poverty (IRP) in 2000 a white individual making the same income annually as any other race has a 78-percent chance of owning a home, and only a 22-percent chance of having their credit denied on a loan, however, minorities like Blacks and Hispanics have a significantly lower chance of both. (Lawrence, and Keleher 3). In fact, Blacks with those same specifications only have a 48-percent chance to own a home, and an astounding 45-percent chance to have their credit denied on a loan. Meanwhile, Hispanics have a 46-percent chance to own a home, and a 31-percent chance of having their credit denied. While this may seem overtly discriminatory with just a glance, one must first delve into what those numbers actually mean, and the details went into creating those numbers, as well as take a peek into the institution that created those numbers before jumping to the conclusion that it is empirically racist. Recently, racism has exploded into the spotlight worldwide, and especially in the United States of America with stories of racially motivated police brutality and a supposed “race war” taking center stage. All this coming 47 years after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. sought to end racial tension and racist government policies with the African-American Civil Rights Movement in the 1960’s, only to be gunned down in 1968 by James Earl Ray in Memphis, Tennessee (Martin Luther King Jr. 2015). With all these facts in mind, the United States is still and will always be plagued by both structural and institutional racism.
While browsing through articles on the internet, I came across many related to the topic of racism. I am beginning to feel as if I am surrounded by stories of racism. From the KKK’s aggressive campaign against immigrants, to the police violence against black people in cites throughout our nation, racism and discrimination continue to be problems. One story stood out to me and continues to make me uncomfortable. Malachi Wilson, a five year-old boy, could not attend his first day of kindergarten in Seminole, Texas. What could he have done to warrant the principal’s rejection? His hair was simply too long.
Racism (n): the prejudice that members of one race are intrinsically superior to members of other race (Wordnet search, 1), a controversial topic in today’s society, a subject that many people try to sweep under the rug, but yet a detrimental problem that has been present in America since the colonial era. Will this dilemma come to a halt? Can all Americans see each other as equals despite their skin color and nationality; and what role has it played in past generations versus today’s generations and how will it affect our future? Has this on going way of thinking gotten better or worse? These are questions raised when many think about the subject; especially members of American ethnic groups and backgrounds, because most have dealt with racial discrimination in their life time.
It appear that we have been investigating the cause and effects of race and racism for quick some time, as middle age adult in the year 2015, I feel that we have run into a brick wall which seems too hard to break though, to wide to get around and runs to deep to get under.
In the dictionary the word racism is defined as a belief in, or set of
Around 12,000 B.C., human beings in Asia moved north in search wooly mammoths and made their way across the Bering Straight to Alaska. Over the next several hundred years, they made their way to the Great Plains where they hunted huge mammals to the point of extinction. During the Archaic Period (9000 B.C. 1000 B.C.), bands of hunters moved constantly from one area to another in constant search of a suitable food supply. By 1000 B.C. the first sedentary communities were developed near rich fishing areas along the coasts and large rivers. Sedentary people created complex mound communities along the Mississippi River and in the Ohio Valley. When improvements in corn reached the land north of the Mexican desert, there was a marked boom in sedentary city development. Corn cultivation influenced peoples' religions and improved their health, helping to spawn a population growth after 800 A.D. These urban centers declined in the 13th and 14th centuries because of warfare, soil exhaustion and the disruption of inter-regional trade. In Europe, forces of social change were creating unrest; unrest which would prompt hundreds of people to explore the Atlantic Ocean and reshape the relationship between peoples of the world.
Racist and racism are provocative words in American society. To some, they become curse words. They are descriptive words of reality that cannot be denied. Some people believe that race is the primary determinant of human abilities and capacities and behave as if racial differences produce inherent superiorities. People of color are often injured by these judgements and actions whether they are directly or indirectly racist. Just as individuals can act in racist ways, so can institutions. Institutions can be overtly or inherently racist. Institutions can also injure people. The outcome is nonetheless racist, if not intentional (Randall).
The Existence of Racism Racism is a term that is often used to describe a variety of social, culture and economic problems, but has, unfortunately, acquired “so many contradictory meanings that it takes on the aura of a myth,” it has become increasingly difficult to define (de Benoist, 1999, p. 11). Although the term wasn’t officially featured in the Larousse Dictionary until 1932, racism had been a dark cloud hanging over the global horizon for centuries (de Benoist, 1999). Before delving into the complex concept of racism, it is recommended that the student who is writing on this topic first consider the notion of race, which has been described as “a group of people with the same physical characteristics and with notable cultural and social similarities” (Vorster, 2002, p. 296). Whenever there are people of different cultural and social characteristics introduced into the mix, a recipe for racism and the hostilities it generates is created. Because racism defies a singular definition but is usually represented by the categorizing of people according to certain criteria, it can perhaps best be understood by discussing the issue itself in terms of such categories as the reasons for racism, its causes, why it continues, and how its meaning is ever-changing.
The topic of race has always been a touchy subject due to the history behind it. The color of the skin tone determined the superior from the inferior and the dominant from the subservient, according to history. The presentation on 01/28, defines race as, “a socially constructed set of categories outlining a group of people who share a set of characteristics—typically, but not always, physical ones—and are said to share a common bloodline.” Race does not only consist of physical attributes but also socially constructed ones too. Race is much more than skin color. The statement, “Obama’s presidency is proof that racism no longer exists in the US,” I do not consider this to be true, therefore I disagree with the statement. Racism is still in existence and is prominent within the United States, whether people want to admit to it or not. Appointing Obama as the president does not prove that the issue of racism has completely vanished. The existence of racism is evident within institutions such as employment, economics, segregation, education, and the justice system.
Dating back to the beginning of times people have always been looked at different depending on the color of their skin or what your religion, race, or beliefs may be. It is in our human nature to not like people for certain things that they are. Many will argue that in this day in age we are no longer at a race war but how can you be so sure when you actually open your eyes and see reality. Rapper Kanye West once said “racism is still alive, they just be concealing it” and these words are everything but false. You must ask yourself the real question about racism and it is how could you ever cure such a thing in people’s minds? People are free to think and believe what ever they would like and old habits such as racism will never change in people.
In the United States and internationally, there is a multitude of indicators that the racial environment is changing. Environmental pollution and racism are connected in more ways than one. The world is unconsciously aware of environmental intolerances, yet continues to expose the poor and minorities to physical hazards. Furthermore, sociologist continue to study “whether racial disparities are largely a function of socioeconomic disparities or whether other factors associated with race are also related to the distribution of environmental hazards” (Mohai and Saha 2007: 345). Many of these factors include economic positions, health disparities, social and political affairs, as well as racial inequalities.
Racism and prejudice has been present in almost every civilization and society throughout history. Even though the world has progressed greatly in the last couple of decades, both socially and technologically, racism, hatred and prejudice still exists today, deeply embedded in old-fashioned, narrow-minded traditions and values.
Racism as a Common Problem in the 21st Century Racism has been a problem since the very first day that two men of different races met in the past. Racism is defined as belief in the superiority of one race over all others. Often racism is a belief that one type of person has better physical attributes, or is more. intelligent. The snares are a lot of fun.
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.
Racism is a huge social problem in the world today. Many races today are being discriminated for being a certain race. Racism has been a social problem for a quite long time now, and it is still a social problem. The vast majority are being discriminated because of a certain group of a race, or person, done something that was awful, but this does not mean the whole race is to blame for the actions of others. Other races are looked down upon because of the color of their skin or maybe because they look very different. Racism has led up to genocide because one group fears another, or because of the way a race looks. A person who is racist is not born racist, they are taught to be racist or they see other people being racist, and they want to