Wrong or right, black or white?
Isolation and fear are the roots of racism. Especially when the racism occurs in the job force. A job I once had was working as a lifeguard. I did not feel any racism during the summer at the public swimming pool. Once I left to go work at a club swimming pool I felt it right away. The way things were different not only showed in the way people behave, but also how everybody viewed certain issues.
In the summer time most people want something cold to battle the heat. Some people go and get ice cream or cone shaped snowballs and others might stay indoors playing video games with the air conditioner blasted on high. I get the people who like to take a nice little dip.
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The first sign of racism was when my boss sent a couple of the black janitors to go change a light bulb in one of the light poles. The light pole was so high that you have to use a special vehicle to reach it. The black lifeguard and I were watching them work, since it was right by the pool when our boss came outside to see the progress. I jokingly said, “it is a good thing that us lifeguards are trained to help save people just in case they fall”. He then replied, “ if they fall there won’t be much to save’’, because they were so high up. He said it in such a calm manner. It was as if he was already planning on who to hire next just in case things went wrong. I started noticing other things as well with my white coworkers. I asked if any of them ever worked in the public swimming pools, which they replied no. I also asked if they would ever work there and they replied no. Their response was,” that’s where the black hood children stay and I don’t want to get mugged”. They did not know that I grew up in areas like that Ghost Town, but because of how the way I spoke they figured that I grew up in some suburban area. I was offended because they judged how a person looks, not on how they …show more content…
The company never did one before, and they felt that now was the best time to do it. I did not have a problem with taking the drug test except for the fact that only the black people were selected to do it. Some of my coworkers smoked weed and the bosses knew which one did. I was surprised that my white co-worker who smokes did not get it. The black workers and I realized what was going on and we wanted to do something about it. Some were discussing signing a petition against the drug test. I realized that it did not matter what we did because it would not make a difference. I refused to take the drug test and was fired the next
Racism exists all around the world and is a big part of our society today. From schools, to work places, to even restaurants, racism is there because we, ourselves have constructed it but, not everyone can see it through their own eyes because we were all born with different perceptions. In Racism Without Racists by Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, racism is described in a variety of different ways whether it is due to biological factors or simply by saying that racism does not exist and people just need to work harder. Bonilla-Silva has experienced discrimination himself and he wrote this book to show that even though it is not extremely visible like before, such as segregation, it is subtler but still plays just as big of a role in our society as before.
Racism has existed through the world for centuries and has been the primary reason for numerous conflicts, wars and other human tragedies all over the planet. From 16th to 19th-century blacks were taken from their homes and families and taken for the slave trade. They were often overworked, beaten and killed. Being black was not the best thing you could be in 1950’s. Racism is not something that is inborn, it is what people created. In the article, “We’re all racist. But racism by white people matters more”, Mona Chalabi says “I don’t think white people are born with some sort of racism gene – the main thing that explains those different scores is the way that society has geared up our brains differently.” It is our society that is ignorant,
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.
As human beings, each person might consider himself as unique because we have certain common yet very distinctive structures in our anatomy. The human physiology and basic anatomy are unchanging for all people. However, there are differences in color of the skin, appearance, adaptability, physical viability and many other factors. From generation to generation there is a transformation that shapes and changes all of our traits, and some of the characteristics are greatly influenced by variations in geography and also the environment. Humans have so many similarities, but not all individuals have respect and solidarity towards others. The idea behind this is the feeling that one is better than someone else solidly based on race, and this is what creates and enhances the idea of racism. The reason for choosing racism is to better understand the development of racism and the existing theories that have explained this issue. It is true that racism continues to persist in our current world even after so much research has been done and laws set to guard individuals from racism in all day-to-day sectors of life. With the introduction of modern technology and social media, people started to communicate more with each other and possibly understand other people's perspective. There are several theories that analyze racism.
Racism plays a big role when society is labeled. Racism comes from simply people not liking others just for the simple reason of how they look or where they come from; but we cannot place all the blame on society for being racist. For the most part, it comes from our own upbringing. As children grow, parents instill in them values and beliefs. So if a parent teaches their children to be racist they will learn it and use it as they grow up. “Upbringing is the largest cause of racism”-Anonymous. Even if we allow yourself to get to know some of them, this will always be in the back of your mind” (laurenmay123).
Racism is the mistreatment of a group of people on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, place of origin, or ancestry. The term racism may also denote a blind and unreasoning hatred, envy, or prejudice (Dimensions of Racism). Racism has had a strong effect on society. Despite the many efforts made to alleviate racism, what is the future of African Americans' Racism's long history, important leaders, current status, and future outlook will be the main factors in determining how to combat racism. Racism is still present in many societies, although many people are doing their best to put an end to racism and its somewhat tragic ordeals.
The Development of Racism Slavery's twin legacies to the present are the social and economic inferiority it conferred upon blacks and the cultural racism it instilled in whites. Both continue to haunt our society. Therefore, treating slavery's enduring legacy is necessarily controversial. Unlike slavery, racism is not over yet. Loewen 143.
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.
Racism and discrimination in the work place is still a very common issue, unfortunately. However, in most of the cases it can go unnoticed unless the employer or a person who is discriminating admits; no one can say for sure why the employer made a particular decision to hire a certain individual or gave another person a promotion. Some the examples to this are when employer fails to hire or promote someone because to their race, gender, age and sexual orientation. Whichever the case maybe, any form of racial discrimination in the workplace is strictly prohibited by federal and state laws. Regardless of these laws, numbers of people are still experiencing racial discrimination. In one of the articles by The Guardian, according to the survey conducted by The Guardian research team, “the 30% of the employees in the UK had witness or experienced racial harassment in the workplace firsthand in last year (2014).” The article also states that “a British-born,
The reason why I know racism exists is because I’ve been called names and have seen it happen to others before. Throughout my high school experiences and being out in the world lets me know that it’s out there. I used to think African Americans were the only targets but I’ve seen and read about other races also. I was reading an article in Vibe magazine a twenty-two year old male was shot 41 times by police for being accused of committing a crime he didn’t do. Him and his family were from New Guinea. I’ve seen the foreign exchange students get picked on at school just for being different than all the other students at my high school.
Segregation has and still affects perceptions of Blackness inside and outside the Black community by making Black people see themselves as White people see them. Many of Black people have accepted the fallacy that they were inferior to White people at a young age, and Whites learned that Blacks were lower then Whites at a young age as well.
Within all of the texts mentioned, the theme of racism is present, just like in most of today’s societies. All of the researched sources deal with the effects of racism, the foolishness of it and the fact that it still exists in today’s modern and so-called advanced world. No matter how much social attitudes evolve, prejudice, hatred and racism will still exist within aspects of society, whether it be in the heart, in the mind or in the souls of those too ignorant to realize the damaging consequences. While technologically today’s world has advanced, if society cannot overcome issues such as racism and prejudice, it has not evolved at all.
Racism is one of the world’s major issues today. Many people are not aware of how much racism still exists in our schools workforces, and anywhere else where social lives are occurring. It is obvious that racism is bad as it was many decades ago but it sure has not gone away. Racism very much exists and it is about time that people need to start thinking about the instigations and solutions to this matter. Many people believe that it depends on if a person was brought into the world as a racist or not but that is not the case at all. In fact, an individual cannot be born a racist but only learn to become one as they grow from child to adulthood. Basic causes, mainstream, institutions, government, anti racism groups, and even some hidden events in Canada’s past are a few of the possible instigations and solutions to racism.
Racism is a very “touchy” or an emotional topic for some individuals including myself. Author Beverly Daniel Tatum makes for interesting and valid points in “Defining Racism: Can We Talk?”. She states, “the impact of racism begins early. Even in our preschool years,
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.