Turner Discrimination Research Paper

Discrimination is taking an action against someone based solely on their sexuality, age, or gender, and racism, more specifically, is unfair treatment of an individual based on their race. The article mentioned in the question, where a man changed his name from Jose to Joe on job applications and received significantly more offers, brought light to the widespread racism still prevalent in the United States.

A clear example of racism in America today is the current Brock Turner rape case. The article attached below writes how Turner received a six-month sentence in county jail with the judge stating that “a longer sentence may have a sever impact on him. He won’t be a danger to others”. Had Turner been a non-white, lower class American

rather than the wealthy, young, white man he is, the judge may have been more likely to give him a longer sentence. A similar case occurred with a black student, and he received six years in jail as opposed to Turners six months, presumably because the judge felt he needed further time to contemplate his actions and, because he is black, may be a danger to society. Functional analysis of this issue shows that this can be functional for society by sparking the current debate of racism and uniting most people to work toward equal treatment for all races. Conflict theory analysis theory argues that the judge and the public are competing for scare resources, or in this case a prison sentence. Many were outraged at the short sentence Brock received when compared to similar cases. Symbolic interactionism analysis argues that because Turner was a wealthy, white student at a prestigious institution, he received a shorter sentence.

https://broadly.vice.com/en_us/article/brock-turner-rape-case-sentencing-racial-bias