1.
People have been racially grouped, isolated and
discriminated against since the beginning of time. Race is defined as “a
grouping of people who share common biological features that society deems to
be important (Textbook Page 320).” To have included in a textbook definition of
race that it is determined by what we find to be important speaks loudly of the
society we’ve developed and the values it holds. People judge others on a scale
of skin tone and facial features because, as seen throughout history, this is
what seems to be the deciding factor concerning a person’s intelligence and
ability, as well as their value. A commonly made mistake is interchanging the
words race and ethnicity. The two have a relation, but are not the same thing.
While race has to do with biology, a person’s ethnicity is their “shared
cultural heritage (Textbook Page 322).” Ethnicity is inclusive of a culture’s
customs and values, while race is a physical, biological set of traits that one
can see.
During no span of time has there
been an equality and respect amongst all races. One racial group is and always
has been ranked at a higher level, resulting in tension and historically and
currently, violence and upset. This is a result of the social definition of
“race”. Defining races only created
caged sections and divide between people and communities. This is the cause of
what are commonly referred to as minorities. These groups experience severe
discrimination in all aspects of life: workplace, school, walking outside, by
the police force, etc. It is still true today that those people immune to these
types of discrimination are white people, specifically white males. In the
movie “Crash” we see explicit scenarios in which each racial minority faces the
actions of others resulting from stereotyping. The minority groups showcased in
the film include blacks, Asians, Hispanics, and Middle Easterners. A common
theme throughout the movie was that each minority group was either struggling
to make honest money, or they were involved in illegal activity to make money,
while the white family in the movie consisted of a government representative
and a stay-at-home wife with money to spare. Another point to take into
consideration is that the minority groups are seen working for the white characters.
Sandra Bullock was depicted as the stereotypical white woman, whose biggest
concerns include whether or not her lawn has been mowed or if her Hispanic
cleaning lady has put the dished away before she wakes up. Bullock’s character
is also guilty of stereotyping virtually every single person of a minority
race. For example, when she shied away from the two African American men
walking towards her and her husband on the street before they demonstrating any
threatening behavior, or when she was convinced that the Hispanic handyman had
stolen and sold her house keys. These stereotypes are defined as common
assumptions about certain racial and ethnic groups that are false and taken as
an offense. Another example of the widely socially practiced racism is in the
video shown in class about how employers react to white sounding names versus
black sounding names. This is due up peoples’ implicit bias. They unknowingly
favor white people over black people, even only based on their name. As a
result, the employers were much less likely to accept an identical resume
headed with a black sounding name than a white one. It is sad realities like
these that stimulate and fuel racial tension and discrimination and because of
the patterns seen and supported throughout history, the white population
remains the racial group with the most power.
2.
This
unit has broadened my sociological imagination. I knew the corruption
surrounding the American justice system, but never all of the factors that
played into it. My knowledge of this system however, has been based off of what
I’ve seen on TV and on social media. As a result I haven’t been realistically
informed, similar to what Michelle Alexander described in The Lockdown:
“Television is overloaded with fictional dramas about police, crime, and
prosecutors-shows such as Law & Order. A charismatic police officer,
investigator, or prosecutor—shows
such as Law & Order. A charismatic police officer, investigator, or
prosecutor struggles with his own demons while heroically trying to solve a
horrible crime." This made me realize how ignorant I had been towards the
realities of the justice system. From what I’ve seen on TV, police officers are
genuine and good and therefor glorified, when in actuality there are far too
many officers who abuse their power and get away with it. TV shows also often
romanticize sexual assault and murder cases, while blatantly ignoring drug
crimes. The “war on drugs” in America is present and relevant and deserves to
be a topic of discussion. People should be educated on the situation rather
than shielded from it. Tens of millions od people in America have been put
behind bars on drug charges since this “war” started. Most of these people are
categorized as minority racial groups, only fueling the misconception and
negative connotations. The government is using its power much to frivolously
and as a result minority groups are suffering. Once these individuals are
released form jail, their resume is basically useless with a charge that
serious. This only sets them up for failure financially and socially, thus
giving misconstrued confirmation of people’s misconceptions. The way the system
is set up as of now, it won’t ever change. After this unit I feel much more up
to date and better able to analyze and understand current events as they are
portrayed in the media. I know that what I see on TV is not nearly one hundred percent
accurate. I have also become aware of my own implicit biases and have realized
how false they are. Now I have the means and tools to form my own understanding
and opinions on issues in the justice system that directly affect my
generation.
3.
To
begin to fix this issue we must to begin to act as a unit. Americans need to
pursue in a genuinely united front against discrimination and unjust treatment
of minority groups. These actions people take against one another are powering
what seems like a never-ending cycle of mass incarceration due to factors like
implicit bias, outright racism, and much too widely accepted stereotypes. By
putting belief in such systems, people are only worsening the issues facing
America concerning racial equality, or lack thereof. I think that building form
the bottom is the way to begin solving this issue. Honestly, spending time
trying to convert grown men and women to value equality amongst races if they
don’t already is wasting energy on the wrong people. Although a slow process,
we need to start changing these values by teaching young children not to adopt
the discriminatory traits that they may see in their families or even in people
around them. Showcasing that each racial group is more than and different from
their given stereotypes is the first step. Children should be around other
children of all racial and ethnic groups starting the moment they are
integrated with other children. This eliminates the uncertainty about one
another and builds relationships based on real values rather than physical
appearances. I think that this is the way to develop new values that younger
generations will practice, and carry out and eventually pass down to their
children and theirs and theirs. Again, although a slow process, I think that
this is the way to recovery.
