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How to Reduce Prejudice and Discrimination
How prejudice and stereotyping can be avoided
Racism throughout history
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It is not difficult to imagine that the dominant traits of humanity leans more toward vices rather than virtues based on the controversial issues that keeps recurring in our society. In the article “The Dying Girl That No One Helped”, Loudon Wainwright highlights the consequences of homophobic hate crimes. Other supporting articles about racial and religious discrimination, as well as my personal experiences, build on the negative traits of humanity. Someone being close-minded negatively plagues their judgment of people’s differences such as sexual orientation, ethnicity, or religion. Virtues like kindness and respectfulness build relationships within our community. However, vices like racism and sexism disconnect our relationships with others. …show more content…
Despite the progress that our society has made from degrading opinions to encouraging comments, some still live with the shortsighted mindset. Firstly, close-mindedness is the inability to accept someone’s sexual orientation.
In “The Dying Girl That No One Helped”, Wainwright writes about Catherine Genovese who died as a result of a hate crime directed toward her sexual orientation. The neighbors “saw enough of the killer to provide a good description of his appearance and clothing…[and they were] crouching in darkened windows like watchers of a Late Show, looked on until the play had passed beyond their view” (Wainwright). This quote accurately describes the “attempts” that the neighbors took to save an innocent life. Instead of alerting the authorities or taking matter into their own hands, the neighbors turned a blind eye to the event unfolding in front of them. Another hate crime involved the Pulse Nightclub and forty-nine lives. According to Maya Rhodan, “Omar Mateen, the shooter who authorities say killed 49 people and wounded 53 at the Pulse nightclub early Sunday morning”. In Genovese’s and the Pulse Nightclub incident, discrimination toward sexual identity encouraged the murderers to take innocent …show more content…
lives. Secondly, close-mindedness is the inability to accept someone’s ethnicity. The article “How Emmett Till’s Murder Changed the World” describes the injustice of Emmett Till. Two white men “accused him of having whistled at a white woman in a grocery store” and decided to attack the Till (Jennifer Latson). The falsely accused man only regain his innocence after he died when the murderers confessed that their actions were only to put the man in his place. To this day, this event remains an example of the injustice toward African Americans. One racist remark that I encountered firsthand happened between my mother and a group of girls. As we proceeded down the cashier line, my mother spoke to me in her native language. Immediately, the girls began to mock and laugh at her accent behind our backs. My mother was oblivious to the racist comments, but I noticed. The two previous scenarios, both major and minor, impacted our lives in similar ways. Racism will always be present our society regardless to the developments that we might make to create an accepting community until we learn to be open-minded. Thirdly, close-mindedness is the inability to accept someone’s religion.
The author notes, “Since Trump's election, there's been an increase in the number of hate crimes reported against immigrants and minorities, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center and others. Muslim-Americans in particular are on edge. They haven't forgotten that Trump talked during the campaign about banning all Muslims from coming into the country” (Joel Rose). In this quote, Muslims are receiving increasing hate crimes because Trump normalizes discrimination for them. Furthermore, some terrorist attacks linking to Muslims has created the stereotype that all Muslims are terrorists. The author states, “It only took 14 handwritten words — delivered last week on a sheet of paper taped to their front door — to shatter their peace and make the Muslim family wonder how well they know the country they now call home” (Peter Holley). Amar Samel and his wife, Muna Abdalla, received hate-filled notes that threatened their lives and their comfort. Religious intolerance in some communities does not only threaten the lives of Muslims, but also threatens the safety of the
community. Although positive traits of humanity are often found in society, there are negative traits of humanity that outweigh the positive. Negative traits like homophobia, racism, and religious intolerance destroys the safe environment that our neighbors have established. “The Dying Girl No One Helped” is a wake-up call for those who believe that hatred toward sexual orientation should not be taken seriously. Racist hate crimes, especially, should never be taken lightly. In order to establish an intertwined community, we have to support each other in times of need. Unlike Kitty’s neighbors, we should not be bystanders, but rather, take action. Most importantly, we should never turn a blind eye to the discrimination in front of our eyes.
The author mainly appeales to pathos. She tells a story of a woman being stabbed while her neighbors look on and also, of a man, named Rodney King, who was beaten by a few police offices while ten other officers looked on. These are good examples for her argument but, she uses these infrequent instances to try and sway her audience into thinking that they are common occurrences.
In today’s society, people are taught to conform to the masses in order to fit in; however, it is imperative that one’s individuality is maintained, as it preserves their identity and encourages uniqueness. For example, in the song, “Outside of a Small Circle of Friends”, Phil Ochs discusses the social norm where people are too afraid to stand out, often times, leading them to pay little to no attention to the wellbeing of others. Instead of adhering to their own judgment and moral values, the person in the song continues to abide by the notions of the rest of the group. In addition, in “The Dying Girl that No One Helped”, Loudon Wainright describes the brutal murder of a young 28 year old women, while over 38 of
Gone are the days of legalized slavery, of Nazi Germany, of women being incapable of having a notable opinion. No longer is there a system of racial segregation adopted by an entire country, complete white supremacy or lynchings performed by the Ku Klux Klan. Yet, although we are no longer exposed to such past experiences and despite us living in a world where diversity is embraced more than ever, the existence of prejudice remains. Today we have universally come to accept multiculturalism, varied ethnic backgrounds and those populations who historically were forever stigmatized. But in spite of these developments prejudice has manifested itself in other, more subtle ways and no matter how modernized society become such unfavourable attitudes
The media only showcased the event and the public failed to bring justice to this tragedy. However, it was disappointing to see that the government couldn’t do the same. In a similar matter to how Shepard’s death influenced several gay rights movement’s, Romaine Patterson was “ gonna be honored in Washington, D.C., by the Anti-Defamation League. Matthew [is guiding] this little path with his light for me to walk down” (Kaufman 96).
The article “The Murder They Heard” written by Stanley Milgram and Paul Hollander is a response to the article that Martin Gansberg “38 Who Saw Murder Didn’t Call the Police”. Milgram and Hollander explain why they do not agree that the neighbors of Catherine Genovese should have called the police. Milgram and Hollander give reasons why they disagree with Gansberg, and why I should agree with what they are saying. After reading both articles, I felt very conflicted with who I agree with, but after much deliberation, I realized that I agree more with Milgram and Hollander. The neighbors should not be blamed for Genovese’s death. We should try to understand why they did not call the police. There are a few things you need to take into consideration,
. Spaid argues that hate crime laws, sometimes referred to as “reform laws,” are ultimately ineffective, harmful, and maintain an oppressive and violent system in which it claims to resist. These laws “include crimes motivated by the gender identity and/or expression of the victim,” (79) implicated in seven states across the country, such as the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, created after the hate murders of these two men fueled by bigotry and hate. Proponents of these laws argue that they would work as “preventative messages,” and increase the regard in which these crimes are considered, under the terms of preserving the humanity of these victims, often trans women, while increasing their visibility. These
On September 11, 2001, since the terrorist attacks, many American Muslims have been stereotyped negatively in the United States. Salma, a Muslim woman, says that the way Muslims have been recognized in the media has played a big role in the antagonisms directed to her. “I don’t know how many time I heard my classmates accuse me of being al-Qaeda or a terrorist” (Mayton 2013). Salma, along with other Muslims, even after a decade, are still struggling with trying to find their “American” and “Islamic” identities, while facing verbal attacks for their ethnicity. Too often, the general Muslin population gets lumped in with the immoral acts of a few because of the lack of knowledge about their culture.
‘The Laramie Project’ is a play written by Moises Kaufman about the murder of University of Wyoming gay student Matthew Shepard. It was interesting to see the outrage that this caused. The murder of Shepard was considered a hate crime and I agree with this. I can see the hostility that this murder caused because of the amount of questions it left. The scary thing is that we live in a culture where hate crimes exist. This murder was a reminder to the country that being “different” is something that people do not accept. This put “hate” crimes on the map and made people realize how serious hatred was. Being yourself can cause you to become murdered because someone else doesn’t agree with who you are. Hate crimes are a serious problem and Shepard was killed because he was homosexual. His murderers hated gays and that is the only reason a college student was murdered. A few observations I have that came out of this play was prejudice and the culture of hate.
Sherman Alexie’s Flight Patterns, which discusses racial stereotypes, relates to the effects of 9/11 on American citizens, who tend to inappropriately judge Muslim and other cultures in the world today. Although 9/11 was a horrible day, it still should not be used to categorize and stereotype people. Stereotypes do nothing but harm to the people who receive it and to the people who dish it out.
"Hate Crimes up in Wake of Terrorist Attacks." CNN.com. Cable News Newtwork, 16 Sept. 2001.
Islam in America has historically been misunderstood, and this is due to the misconception of culture and religion as well as lack of education and incorrect portrayal in the media, which gives a skewed idea of Islam. Especially in the United States, Islam has been seen as the “terrorist religion” or a religion for the extremists and a religion in which freedom is not an option. Among the countless misconceptions, the basis of stereotypes by Americans is due to the mix up between religion and culture. Furthermore, the media only fuels fire to these misunderstandings and lack of factual information about Islam causing Americans to lash out on American Muslims without reason.
If an individual is familiar with their surrounding “they are more likely to help” (Altruism and Helping Behavior. Print). In the essay, the authors state “the scene of the crime, the streets, in middle class society “represents all the vulgar and perilous in life” (Milgram, Stanley, and Paul Hollander. Paralyzed Witnesses: The Murder They Heard. Print.). In society, the streets, especially at night, represents the dangerous and negative sides of society due to the crimes and chaos that occur on the streets (gangs, drive-by shootings, robberies, murders, large crowds walking, etc.). The crimes and dangers of the streets cause many people to fear being on the streets alone which leads to external conflicts. When the murder was occurring, the witnesses’ attitudes of the streets prevented them from calling the police due to the fear of the streets and since the witnesses were middle-class, they believed that Genovese was poor, a criminal, or someone who has nothing else to do and was expecting for the=is to eventually
In the essay, the writer acknowledges the misunderstandings that come from media images by explaining the contrasts between these images and the teachings of the faith to support her claim that fear is the reason for this misconception. The conception that many people have of Muslims is that they are terrorists, anti-Semites, and fanatics. This conception exsists because television news and newspapers support that stereotype. The broadcast of such stereotypes encourages fear and accusations of the Islamic relegion's teachings. The writer explains that Islam teaches peace, tolerance, and equality. She further states that Muslims shown in the media have violated these teachings ...
After 9/11 has induced negative attitudes towards Muslim peoples who tend to be strongly associated with any act of terrorism. The media has played a colossal role in developing such negative association wherein it constantly portrays Muslim people in combination with violent terrorist acts. It does so in a way that they both go hand-and-hand. In other words, it has made it as though the Islamic religion is synonymous with terrorism. The media has perpetuated Muslim stereotypes over the years that followed the 9/11 incident. Because of this, society has developed, and still has developed, this prejudiced mindset about the Islamic religion and the Muslim communities around the world. People immediately assume that any violent act being depicted through the media is the direct result of Muslims. They automatically generate this idea that the act was performed by a Muslim terrorist even when they were not involved whatsoever. Regardless of whether it was true or not, Islamic religion and its Muslim adherents are at the top of societies’ agenda just waiting for the evidence to be generated so that they can then safely blame them for such world affairs. Again, this has led to the attack on the Islamic religion itself wherein people have come to postulate Islam as an act of oppression, violence and hatred towards non-Muslims. Anti-Muslim sentiments and campaigns have resulted from such misinformation the media has been generating and feeding its viewers.
The rise of terrorism and extremism in the Middle East during the time this piece was composed prompted Mohi-Ud Din to engage in a passionate argument about how these terrorists have ruined the image of Muslims. He explicitly highlights the main points of his argument by using transitional words such as firstly, secondly, and thirdly. He initiates his argument by proposing that the media’s one-sided focus on Muslim extremists prevent the viewers from recognizing that the majority of Muslims are not violent. Next, he debunks the stereotypes Americans have about Muslims and then he shifts his concern to how America’s political and military actions have exploited Muslim countries. He concludes his argument by explaining why Islam is not a threat to