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Someone once asked me how I felt about prejudice. “In contrast to what?”, or should I say, “shocking in all its forms.” Initially my response was puzzling. Let me explain. If you were to ask me how I felt about prejudice in the United States I would have to say, “Here, I am very aware of my skin color.” It is no secret that the US has had a long historical battle with racism. I am able to be educated at the collegiate level, due wholly, or in part, to the Civil Rights movement of the 1960’s. It is the reason I am allowed to vote in this country. The reason I can walk in any public arena and claim what is equally, or rightfully mine, subjected to law. It does not mean there is always equal application based on the right(s). I can recall in grade school, a conversation my fourth grade teacher and her assistant were having on the playground, during recess, in regards to the class’ overall progress. The assistant made mention of the fine progress a particular African American student was making and how surprised she was at a Caucasian student’s poor progress. The teacher’s response was surprise as well. She thought the Caucasian child should be excelling because the child was from “proper breeding”, as she so plainly stated. “Proper Breeding”, because the child is Caucasian the child should be excelling! This would not be the last time I would encounter this mentality. In my formative years, it was disturbing, the words and the expectation. It made me plainly aware of my skin color. Unfortunately, preparing for college was not any different. My high school counselor was hosting an information session on the college application process. My then best friend, a Caucasian female, posed a question to the counselor about ... ... middle of paper ... ...gotiation because the rugs this vendor offered were exquisite. I went back to the vendor to show the rug to my male friend. I reached down to touch the rug and the vendor slapped my hand. He slapped me hard. This abrupt behavior was not only shocking but incited my male counterpart to anger. It incited me to tears. The vendor was shouting , “a woman does not have the right to touch such things.” The civil authorities got involved. There was mass confusion, a lot of screaming, some insults being exchanged in foreign languages, by the locals and the visitors alike, on my part, mostly fear. Mostly Shock. Prejudice comes in many forms. It can be based on race, gender, or nationality to name a few. I think the kind of prejudice you experience is relative to the situation and can be in sharp contrast to one another. I am always in shock when I experience it.
Prejudice is an issue that cannot be easily avoided in today's society. It has and always will have a huge impact on the discrimination that some people face based on religion, appearance, background, mental/physical disabilities and etc.
Across the nation, millions of Americans of all races turn on the television or open a newspaper and are bombarded with images of well dressed, articulate, attractive black people advertising different products and representing respected companies. The population of black professionals in all arenas of work has risen to the point where seeing a black physician, attorney, or a college professor are becoming more a common sight. More and more black people are holding positions of respect and authority throughout America today, such as Barack Obama, Colin Powell, Condelezza Rice and many other prominent black executives. As a result of their apparent success, these black people are seen as role models for many Americans, despite their race. However, these groups of black people are exceptions to the rule and consist of only a tiny fraction of all black Americans. These black people in turn actually help to reinforce the inequality of black Americans by allowing Americans of other races to focus on their success. A common thought is, "They made it, why can't you do the same?" The direct and truthful answer to that question is Racism.
Prejudice: is an unjustified or incorrect attitude (usually negative) towards an individual based solely on the individual’s membership of a social group, for example a person may hold prejudiced views towards a certain race or gender. A prejudiced person may not act on their attitude. So that means someone can be prejudice towards a certain group but not discrimate against them, an example of this was in the scene when the couple was walking down the street and as the two black man walked towards them she clinched her purse and held her husband even tighter. She judged them without even knowing what their intentions were. The interesting part was she was right and they need up carjacking them
The word prejudice is derived from the Latin word " praejudicium" and refers to prejudging without any factual evidence. Being prejudiced usually means having preconceived beliefs about groups of people or cultural practices. Discrimination is the "differential and unequal treatment of other groups of people, usually along racial, religious or ethnic lines." The distinction is that prejudice then refers to people's attitudes and beliefs, and discrimination to their overt behavior directed at another group. (Parrillo 76)
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.
There are many examples throughout “The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street” that show that prejudice is a human flaw. According to Les Goodman, “You were so quick to kill, Charlie, and you were so quick to tell us who we had to be careful off. Well maybe you had to kill. Maybe Peter there was trying to tell us something. Maybe he’d found out something
Classifying oneself to be the object of prejudice or discrimination has demonstrable, negative impact upon the individual (Dion, 2002). Prejudice is a mixture of preconceived beliefs and negative attitudes towards a certain group of people. Whereas discrimination involves physical action and unequal treatment towards a particular group. Research indicates prejudice and discrimination are more or less interchangeably, with altered referents and slightly different meanings (Zastrow, 2007).
him or kicking him. One guy was kicking at his spine. Another guy hitting on
Over the past four-hundred plus years, racism has plagued the history of American society. The idea that one person is inherently better than another because of the color of their skin has always been present from our founding to today. During the rise of the Civil Rights movement in the mid 1900’s, racism was repeatedly being dealt blows by those brave enough to stand up for the rights they felt belonged to citizens of all shapes and colors. One important event that led to progress for people of color was the desegregation of the schooling systems. From young girls walking into all-white schools to black men being selected to participate in different academies, the Civil Rights movement to desegregate schools was influential in how progress
Family, friends, work environment or media can be a factor in promoting prejudice against others. A certain individual can learn discrimination, plus prejudice, in the factors I illustrated. In the ...
Since the beginning of mankind, greed, hatred, jealousy and prejudice has plagued the hearts of countless lives. Behind some of the worst events in history lies these avoidable inner burdens. Prejudice and greed have created enormous issues throughout America's history and the world's. Slavery, the Holocaust, and the treatment of Native Americans, some of the more well known issues are just a few that could be named.
Most of the time individuals are taught to be prejudiced or to discriminate against certain groups, because that is how they were raised or were told to be. Prejudice is more often learned then inherent; therefore, individuals should be more aware of hidden implicit biases they have and try to learn from them.
“Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future and renders the present inaccessible.” -Maya Angelou. Preconceived opinions and unreasonable thoughts are what determine one’s actions and path in life. Everything one does and is surrounded by develops some kind of prejudices in one’s mind and therefore resolves how people act in certain situations. Prejudices are the causes for discrimination and as people have developed unfavorable stereotypes from past experiences, this greatly affects decision making and creating a more ideal society for people of all kinds to thrive in. Prejudice, or judging and making decisions based on personal experiences force people to draw rash and hostile conclusions about people who fall into
Everyone is prejudice in some way or another. From a young age individuals observe, or are taught discrimination against others. Whether it is because of religion, sexuality, race, gender, personality, or just someone’s way of life, everyone is biased. In many ways, who we are today, is influenced by our race, ethnicity, and culture, and overall our individual identities. Every experience, positive or negative, has an impact on how we react to something in the future. Decisions others make, can impact the way we interact with others, our personal beliefs, and all together our life experiences. Along our path of life, we meet people with different goals and circumstances they’ve encountered which make them who they are and why they do certain things a certain way. But our experiences
Prejudice and discrimination push people apart instead of bringing us together. Our religion, race, height, nationality, and even our gender are factors that most people make quick judgments about. Unfortunately, many of these judgments are based on biases and assumptions and it is among all of us. Every country, state, city discriminate among themselves even their own kinds.