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Effects of discrimination and prejudice
Impact of discrimination on individuals
Discrimination and its effects
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Discrimination
Vivienne Ming once said, “Discrimination is not done by villains. It’s done by us.” Many do not recognize or acknowledge discrimination. Most of the time, individuals allow discrimination to be classified as bullying. However, true discrimination is real. It comes in various forms and it is the population’s job to be familiar with it and use that knowledge to destroy it. Racial, appearance-based, sexual, and religious discrimination all hugely affect friendships/relationships, the workplace, and society as a whole.
Discrimination is known as unjust treatment of a particular group. In The Ways We Lie by Stephanie Ericsson, she discusses stereotypes and cliches (Ericsson 478). Discrimination is often a stereotypical device
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It could be disguised as bullying or even as someone’s opinion. Simply saying ¨she is ugly” is considered appearance-based discrimination. Many believe that attractive people are superior in some type of way. This belief contradicts the stereotype of a “nerd” or “geek.” Many believe a nerd to be a very smart, unattractive person. However, if the said nerd is very intelligent, he or she could be superior to the attractive person. In many career fields, employers may not give someone a job because of their appearance. Depending on the job classification, the employer may feel as if the face of the company should be prettier, taller, or skinnier. In the book Patterns for College Writing: A Rhetorical Reading Guide, Deborah L. Rhode states in Why Looks Are the Last Bastion of Discrimination, “In the nineteenth century, many American cities banned public appearances by ‘unsightly’ individuals” (Rhode 246). The government discriminated against certain people because of the way they looked. Even though the government has evolved since this period, certain businesses and individuals still partake in discrimination. Who has the right to say a particular person is attractive or isn’t? Each and every person is beautiful in his or her own way and no one is going to realize this until they look beyond the appearances, cliches, and stereotypes. Actually getting to know a person and learning their interests and hear their thoughts and ideas is when you truly become familiar with that person’s beauty. So before one judges a person by their appearance, let me familiarize you with a phrase that my grandmother so frequently reminds me of: pretty is as pretty does. This is so relevant to the fact that what is on the inside is what makes a person
Are everyday rituals, such as, facades reflected as to being a lie? Simply preparing for a meeting or interview does not come off as lying, although another type of façade such as when someone asks, “Are you okay,” after a death of someone close to you, in reality it is a form of a lie, because you are not being honest. In Stephanie Erricsson’s article “The Ways We Lie,” she discusses many different types of lying, that most wouldn’t even consider. Ericsson claimed, “But façades can be destructive because they are used to seduce others into an illusion” (409). Depending how a façade is used, the outcome can be beneficial or damaging. There are facades that are used to cover up one’s true feelings, in order to protect an individual and then there is a type in which one puts on a mask to cover up how awful of a person they are. Charity, a former friend, deceived me with the qualities of everything she was not, my mom is a great example of when it comes to hiding when she is saddened. In this article “The Ways We Lie,” Stephanie Ericsson has a great point of view on the destructiveness of facades, although, it can very well be used in a good way just as much as in a bad way, in fact, like my protective mother, using facades for mine and my sisters own good and then a conniving friend using facades in
A stereotype is an exaggerated generalization used to describe a group of people. Discrimination is the unequal treatment of different categories of people. An example of a stereotype would be the generalization that a majority of African American youth are gangbangers or criminals. An example of discrimination would be the mocking of an Asian student’s accent each time they spoke in class. Stereotyping and discrimination still take place today whether in minority communities or in the communities of those who hold the majority, though these incidents are not as prevalent in non minority
Of all of the things humans do lying has to be one of the most common. There are many different forms of lying, though the worst, is perhaps, dismissal. Dismissal is used in many situations, but one that comes to mind is abusive relationships. According to Stephanie Ericsson in her essay, “The Ways We Lie”, “ it dismisses feelings, perceptions, or even the raw facts of a situation rank as a kind of lie that can do as much damage to a person as any other kind of lie” (477-28). If it can cause that much damage it must certainly be a very harsh kind of lying.
In the short story The Ways We Lie, Stephanie Ericsson describes many different categories of lies. She first starts out explain the little white lie, describing it as a lie which is told when trying to avoid hurting someone. An example she gives in the text is, “telling a friend he looks great when he looks like hell can be based on a decision that the friend needs a compliment more than a frank opinion”(Ericsson, 2004, 121). Ericsson then describes facades, facades according to the Ericsson is when a person shows you what they want you to see, but it’s not the real them. Stating “facades can be destructive because they are used to seduce others into an illusion” (Ericsson, 2004, 122). A perfect example of facades are when a person has to
Stephanie Ericsson is a seasoned writer who draws from deeply personal experiences to find inspiration for her writing. She has battled with substance abuse for years, and had to deal with the sudden death of her husband while pregnant with their only child. Several pieces of her work have been published by Harpercollins and “The Ways We Lie” was originally published in the Utne Reader, a magazine that offers readers thoughtful writing from many perspectives.
What is discrimination? Discrimination is a combination of representation, stereotyping and ideology set by society to rank different groups of people. In an excerpt of “The Woman in the Window”, Ramona Lowe shows that there is a racial discrimination toward African-Americans in America. The story focuses on Mrs. Jackson, an African-American who lives in the north, and the struggles she faces at her work place. She was hired to cook in front of a restaurant window dressing as a stereotypical “Southern mammy” (Lowe 3) to attract customers. While cooking in front of the restaurant window, Mrs. Jackson was laughed at by a group of white kids who called her “Aunt Jemima and nigger” (Lowe 3). Clearly, Mrs. Jackson was mistreated because the society she lives in ranks her race, Black, lower than her bosses', which is white. Lowe’s short story, “The Woman in the Window”, demonstrates a racial discrimination against Blacks during the 1940s by incorporating representation, stereotyping and ideology in the text.
Overall discrimination is an awful thing. It is like a STD, it can be passed from parent to child, or someone can become infected if you don’t watch out. Discrimination is also like the plague. It sweeps over a large amount of people, infecting most, and most don’t survive. Though today much of the discrimination is gone, just like the plague, but it is still there. Unfortunately for some people, they have to deal with people discrimination from others. Whether it be discrimination of one’s race, age, disability, or gender. Discrimination has numerous damaging effects to someone’s life. In Of Mice and Men the unlucky victims of discrimination also suffer from the same effects. They allow for people to have control of them and walk all over them. Discrimination is like a fire... It hurts.
“Meanings justify the differential treatment that groups receive as some groups are deemed more worthy of, and eligible to receive, society’s valued resources than others. It now serves as a way to treat people unfairly” (Smith, Racilization). Discrimination perpetuates race and leads to racial inequality. Discrimination can be categorical or statistical. Categorical discrimination is unfair treatment from the discriminator of people from a particular social group because he believes this discrimination is mandatory for acceptance into his social group. Statistical discrimination is unfair treatment of an individual because of the preconceived notions that are prevalent surrounding the social group they take part
“Discrimination is the denial of opportunities and equal rights to individuals and groups because of prejudice or for other arbitrary reasons” (Schaefer 35). Discrimination differs from prejudice as it refers to the behavior or action usually based on prejudice rather than just thoughts.
Though racism is a controversial subject, many other subjects have received just as much controversy. One of these is discrimination. Discrimination is the denial of equality based on personal characteristics, such as race and color. Racial jokes and ethnic slurs are obvious examples of racial discrimination. These comments not only leave the victim feeling helpless and fearful, but they have a negative impact on worker productivity and economic performance (Dimensions of Racism).
Modern culture is comfortable with bending the truth. This thought poses the question, “is culture’s comfort with lies leading to a feeling of apathy in other aspects?” If we lose trust we become complacent in matters that seem simple, then escalation occurs and large problems can arise. Apathy is especially disturbing in the example of privacy. Personally, nothing bothers me more than someone complaining about a problem, without trying to look for a solution. This is exactly the case with privacy concerns. I will discuss this concept by discussing how lies lead to apathy, how apathy affects privacy, and how to remedy the situation.
Discrimination is known to exist in all workplaces, sometimes it is too subtle to notice, and other times it is exceedingly obvious. It is known that everyone subconsciously discriminates, dependant on their own beliefs and environments that surround them. However, discrimination can be either positive or negative in their results, and sometimes discrimination is a necessary part of life.
While similar, the terms stereotype, prejudice, and discrimination all have their own distinct meanings. Gorham defines stereotypes as the organization of beliefs and assumptions people have toward social groups (19). Stereotypes can often be misrepresentative of a particular group because people unknowingly make assumptions about other people based on the knowledge they have acquired from media and/or people not in that particular social group. Examples of stereotypes can be beliefs that people of Asian descent are inherently good at math or that all black men are criminals. Unlike stereotypes which are predetermined assumptions people make about social groups, prejudice is holding negative feelings toward a group of people without fairly
In this paper I will discuss what happens when we allow biases and prejudice to affect our actions toward others. I will then conclude my paper with what we can do to prevent or eliminate discrimination.
Prejudice and discrimination have both been prevalent throughout human history. Prejudice deals with the inflexible and irrational attitudes and opinions that are held by others of one group against those of another. Discrimination on the other hand refers to the behaviors directed against another group. Prejudiced individuals have preconceived beliefs about groups of people or cultural practices. There are both positive and negative forms of prejudice, however, the negative form of prejudice leads to discrimination. Individuals that practice discrimination do so to protect opportunities for themselves, by denying access to those whom they believe do not deserve the same treatment as everyone else. An example of discrimination based on prejudice involves the Jews. “Biased sentiments and negative stereotypes of Jews have been a part of Western tradition for centuries and, in fact, have been stronger and more vicious in Europe than in the United States. For nearly two millennia, European Jews have been chastised and persecuted as the “killers of Christ” and stereotyped as materialistic moneylenders and crafty business owners (Healey, p.65). The prejudice against these groups led to the discrimination against them.