You Know You're Not in America Anymore When....
Race relations in the United States may not be everything that it can be, but at least mainstream media knows better than to put blatantly racist headlines on the front of their papers or magazines. Even with freedom of speech and the press, restraint in the name of peace and civility is accepted practice in America. Other countries do not have to follow these standards, and sometimes we can be shocked at what shows up in the headlines around the world.
For instance, the book Between the World and Me, the latest contribution by Ta-Nehisi Coates, has received great press in America. In a Dutch paper, the book was featured with the headline "Ni**er, Are You Crazy? (without the asterisks). If
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The tone of the article is pessimistic, and the illustrations, as well as the headline, were meant to reflect that. There is no racist remark to be read in the review because that is not our cup of tea.”
Krielaars said that the headline was not an original, but, in fact, was a quote from an American satirical novel, The Sellout, by Paul Beatty. In the book, the quote was fictitiously assigned to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Krielaars noted that the thought behind this was to highlight even more how many issues there were with American race relations.
The editor also explained that the paper is not written for English speaking Americans, but the Dutch. Ni**er is an English word, and in Dutch does not carry the same vulgarity or offensive value. Dutch readers, black or white, recognize this. Krielaars continued, "We realized the word is offensive, but in the headline it was meant to focus on the pessimistic message of Paul Beatty’s book when he gave the line to his fictional Clarence Thomas. Considering the fuss in your country it would have been better if we had put the headline between quotation
Inequality between different groups of people within the United States is concerning for many sociologists and society in general. One of the main inequalities throughout the United States is gender inequality. Gender inequity is found in all past and present societies. It takes the form of patriarchy. From the patriarchal point of view, gender inequality can be traced back to biological differences in early societies (“Steven Goldberg on Patriarchy” 2006). This inequality is present in society through many different forms, including job segregation, the gender pay gap, and a great difference in women’s political representation (Joan Acker, 1989).
Gender inequality has engulfed the United States and placed copious varying roles onto the male and female sexes. According to Leila Aboulela, Minaret, “All through life there were distinctions - toilets for men, toilets for women; clothes for men, clothes for women - then, at the end, the graves are identical.” Discrimination places women into different roles and takes away numerous privileges. However in America today after more than a century of struggles by dedicated activists who fought to alter these ideals and gain further rights, the perception of women in society and their contributions to society have been greatly transformed.
Immediately in the opening sentence of the article, he appeals to his readers by using emotional appeal. He states that, “the problem of “inequality” looms over America like a storm cloud.” This strong language helps readers picture the severity of the issue, and potentially convinces them that
As Quindlen states, "As Americans read..." that tells us right there that she is trying to reach all Americans. As for her purpose, with her references to the treatment of Afghanistan women I am lead to believe that she is trying to bring light to an existence of an example of women inequality in America. Looking at when it was published, only a couple of months after September 11th, it was perfect timing to throw in on this topic. The possibility of a draft was a reality or at the very least many believe it was a possibility. I would have to agree with her thesis, women should also be required to register for the military draft. I have come to stand against any type of inequality, whether it be (to name a few) race, gender, age, religious
I was asked to leave, and when I and a few others protested, we were threatened and forced out” (417-418). Thomas purposely uses this example to broaden the emotional demographic of her essay. The fact that her dismissal was based on her white racial appearance would affect the emotions of a white reader. Clearly, Thomas is playing both fields by providing emotional examples that appeal to both racial spectrums. This strategy makes her essay even more persuasive because the reader, whether minority or white, can relate to the writer’s experiences. The reader is also more prone to be affected emotionally because he or she can relate to the text. As a result, Thomas effectively uses pathos to demonstrate how society should not prejudge or discriminate based on one’s racial orientation.
For 91 years, the United States of America has become the sole superpower of the world by maintaining its global leadership and competitive position in both military and economic strength. As jobs and companies are being created around the world to improve their infrastructure and economy, the United States of America must also be willing to get back on its feet and continue to become the superpower it is. As the years continue, the future will be different with in advancements in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. For the United States of America according to a 2008 survey by USA Today states that only 26% of the people who were surveyed had a clear understanding of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and the United States citizens ability in math, science, and problem solving has dropped below to
“The US is the largest economy in the world,” yet inequalities within it plague it. Though there are several measures of inequality, some measures of inequality that seem to be especially daunting are gender inequality and wealth inequality.
Feminism and gender inequality are not just issues that women face in the US, but the entire world. Comparatively, women in the US are actually treated much better than women of other countries, such as those in the Middle East, where women have no rights and are seen as property. Talk about objectification! Transnational feminism takes a look at the same women’s issues that we have in the US and how they affect women in other countries. Transnational feminism also takes into account the various cultural difference that might also affect these issues and create other issues that women of different origins might face. Likewise, these cultural differences also affect the social construction of gender and maintain gender inequality. For example, Asian and African countries still abide by the very traditional patriarch lifestyle, in which the men are the “breadwinners” and women do the housework and take care of the children. Because many of these countries have corrupt governments, women remain having no rights due to the fear of punishment they would receive for trying to combat these issues. It is hard to fight for rights when some countries don’t even consider women as humans, but this is where transnational feminists come in. They fight for equal rights for all women, regardless of their ethnicity, race, sexuality, size, age, etc. because women are worthy of fair treatment and shouldn’t have to prove that.
Growing up in the small town of Luverne which housed 4,000 people and a graduating high school class of 80 where my class-mates are not just primarily white, but almost 100 percent white I had a skewed view of the world. I didn’t question the system, I never questioned the dress code rules for girls in my school; I never questioned the sex education we received and I didn’t question the lack of female teachers and advisors of color. I was living in a bubble of ignorance. During my time in high school I knew I looked different from my classmates. They had blonde hair straight, blue eyes and skinny bodies. I had brown hair, brown eyes, and a fuller body. During my high school years, I did many things to try to push away my Hispanic culture and
According to The Declaration of Independence , "All men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable right" (Jefferson) . Does much of that statement holds any truth? America is still recognized as the greatest country in the world, as well as an elite superpower; but has many short comings. Some persons may believe that there has always been inequality in the legal system, since the beginning of time. For instance, we "Americans" are always in the public eye or hold such precedence when it comes to the "American Dream" or image of how we are perceived by the world. Every successful American or the government wants to promote that.
For many years now, women have had to fight for their right to be considered equal human beings in a state of law. Although the Women’s Suffrage movement did incredible things for the female race, did it solve all of America’s gender inequality issues? On a legal stance, yes, but in an everyday practice of social norms, there is still work to be done.
The normal for an American girl is the same as the opposite sex. While young girls in America are preparing to start their education girls in places such as Zimbabwe are getting ready to take care of a family. Gender Inequalities are the so called normal in Zimbabwe, Not all countries are as fortunate as the United States. The difference between the two is unbelievable; education is something we take for granted. While for other countries it is a great privilege especially for girls if they are given the opportunity to attend. Some of the main ways girls are discriminated for is their religion, gender, skin color, and many other things. A Labor Reactions Act was introduced in 1985 stating that “no employer should discriminate
In the United States there are many human equal rights for women but they are insufficient to create equality. Despite of many equality rules gender inequality still exists and that’s the fact. In history women were not allowed to study or work. In modern world women are achieving education goals and also working. Does that mean women are getting equal treatments? The answer is no, women are not treated as equally as men. The graduation rates for women are higher then men, but in workplaces you can not see that ratio. Today women are working in almost every field and defining their selves very well but they are not getting equal payment and recognition as men. Even in society women are expected to take care of child not
While some human development theorists contend that gender inequality is not seen as an area of concern in developing countries due to the improvement of rights, on the other hand some human development theorists contradict these statements as women are still beaten and killed in the third world countries, like Afghanistan, and women in the first world countries, like America, still fight for gender equality today.
To think sociologically is to think about the whole not just one of the parts, a society being the whole and an individual a part. Sociology believes that the individual doesn’t exist outside of his/her society, there is no ‘human nature’ but that every person is merely a reflection of the society to which they belong. Their morals, values, customs, and prejudices reflect what their society believes in and considers important. For example, when looking at an individual’s success of failure at school or work some disciplines would look at the person to learn how/why that happened, sociology however would look at the society of that person for the reason. It would look at the person’s race, gender, socioeconomic status, and other factors that a person has no control over but is simply born into, sociology would then look at how that society views someone in that place in their society for the explanation of why the person succeeded of failed.