Generally, United States citizens subscribe to the idea that its people are not treated equally. Our population originates from abundantly diverse genealogies and environments, thus, producing an environment that is challenging for us to all be equal, and to be content with the way we are treated. Prejudice unquestionably exists in American society today, and I submit that it continues as evidenced by authoritarian personalities and normative behavior. The video, “Single Story”, depicts the existence of prejudice by means of a true story. The United States is comprised of a plethora of races, social classes, and ethnicities. I postulate that as a country, we consciously attempt to ameliorate negative effects of the environment, and assist …show more content…
According to the article “Authoritarianism, socioethnic diversity and political participation across countries”; “Authoritarians are more likely to display intolerant and punitive attitudes when they perceive a threat to the social cohesion of the in-group” (Singh). This identifies that authoritarian behavior occurs when someone does not understand when something goes wrong, that they are more likely to become very upset over the situation. “Stenner (2005), for example, finds that authoritarians become more intolerant and punitive when exposed to threats to the values and institutions that characterize the in-group, while non-authoritarians tend to become more tolerant and understanding” (SINGH). This quote establishes the actions of an authoritarian; identifying their respective lack of understanding if something goes wrong, and that they are unsure of how to cope with the situation that is placed in front of them. Authoritarian personalities play a role with prejudice, in that they are judgmental of others, they perceive themselves to decidedly be right, and do not allow themselves to get to know others. This theory is very significant to American society because it does not allow people to strive to their full potential. “The normative theory of racial prejudice holds that such prejudice is a
Authoritarian submission: A high level of respect and submission to perceived legitimate authority figures or establishments. Authoritarian aggression: Aggressiveness directed against targets identified by the established authorities. Conventionalism: The aversion to new ideas with a preference towards social norms which should be adhered to by all of the individual’s society (Bobbio et al 2007).
The primary focal point of the authoritarian style is on respect rather than parent-child relationships. Authoritarian parents are known for being strict. They lay out rules and expect their children to follow them without question, even if the child has a valid reason for questioning a decision. They establish many rules for the household and leave little or no room for negotiation on policies. Authoritarian parents also fail to explain why the rules exist because they believe that, as the parent, they are the authority on all decisions and shouldn’t be questioned.
The speech “The Danger of a Single Story” narrated and written by Chimamanda Adichie is a series of overlapping stories and thoughts predominately discussing prejudice around the world. Though it is not our fault that we are only shown a single side of a topic, what we are exposed to is usually biased or lacking in full detail. Many people use what media may say or what they hear around them about a subject to make up their resolved opinion on the matter. Adichie's argument is effective because she overturns all that established knowledge and presents unique views on old ones to create an open minded take on the issue; moreover, Adichie uses humor, significant life experiences, and typical day-to-day discrimination to support her argument.
Those who are in power are not accountable to constituencies and public policy does not derive from social consent. Within sociology and political science, particularly within comparative politics, authoritarianism has been understood as a modern type of political regime. Therefore, the concept focuses on the way of accessing, exercising, and organizing power, on the nature of the belief system, and the role of citizens in the political
The article, “The Authoritarian Personality,” written by Erich Fromm discusses the common and different characteristics between the two forms of an authoritarian personality. He starts to explain how one becomes a mature person. He states that to become a mature person, said person needs to have developed love and reason. He then states that an authoritarian character has not reached maturity, and therefore, has not developed love or reason. Erich Fromm continues to explain that the difference between the ruler and the ruled is how they start to feel “greater.” The way the ruled feels “greater” is by depending on their ruler for guidance and by following the ruler to become a part of the larger group. The way the ruler feels “greater” is by depending on the ruled to continue to look at them as strong and powerful. He then points out that one person can hold both the ruler and the ruled characteristics. Erich Fromm continues to explain the differences between rational and irrational authority and where these two forms of authority are found. He ends by saying that the understanding of love and reason, and developing said characteristics is the foundation to a person’s own authority and political democracy. While reading this article, it brought me back to all the times I have dealt with people who have authoritative personalities and how it affected me. As stated by Erich Fromm, all people with authority personalities contain components of both the ruler and the ruled.
This article presents the history of the “authoritarian personality trait”, from the moment it was “revealed/coined” to its modern use as well as the main studies designed to measure it. We then focus on the effects of social conformity and obedience have on people who score high on authoritarian scales, trying to see if there is a correlation. With empirical findings, this paper argues that XXX, which can be explained by XXXX This paper further develop that the results cannot predict political orientation and behaviors as the answers given can be influenced by the XXX (media/news/fear of threat for people with low authoritarian VS high authoritarian affected by fear of social deviance)
However, he claimed that this is not as prevalent today because people are more accepting of other races. Viewing this video through a policy lens was an interesting experience because I was able to really think about how the policies that were created actually affected people’s everyday lives. Something new that I learned from this video was the idea of “whiteness” and how people had to prove themselves white to be accepted in America and become citizens. This is something that I will integrate into my life and work because it is wrong that race has taken such a toll on American and it is time to stop seeing race as something that defines you. We all need to
Authoritarian parents normally do not interact with their children in positive ways and usually install fear into the child. Punishment is usually harsh and given without explanation. Children with authoritarian parents are often anxiety- ridden. Studies have shown that these children have lower self- esteem, show high aggressiveness and typically do less well in school. Permissive parenting consists of high nurture and acceptance, but these parents lack structure and control. These parents look at their children as “free spirits” who need space to learn and grow. Permissive parents are usually inconsistent with discipline. Children with permissive parents normally are impulsive and irresponsible. These children also lack any self- control since none was expected (Sclafani 47).
The population of the United States of America has been one of mixed race since its very beginning. Boatload upon boatload of enslaved Africans provided a labor force which would fuel the American South’s economy for many years, until national abolition and the subsequent civil rights movement created a primarily biracial population of blacks and whites. The US has come a long way since those days, and today every child born into the US is taught from an early age the evils of racism and the shameful actions committed by slave-owning US citizens in the past. From textbooks to televisions, the modern USA seemingly works tirelessly to teach its population that discrimination by race is wrong and that all races are equal. This has led to a great national complacence among whites, and a widespread belief that the US has mostly eradicated racial prejudices. But it is not so, and despite a population almost entirely composed of people who would not consider themselves racists, racism still pervades in the US. In many cases modern racism occurs at the hands of whites who almost absolutely are completely unaware of their discriminatory actions. In the films “Frozen River” and “The Visitor” racism was touched on repeatedly and played an evident part in the messages they were trying to portray.
I was very shocked to see how the video showed how the movie Birth of Nation and how race opporates in the U.S are still prevelant today. We are still living a place where people of color are still thrown under the bus for things either they did'nt commit or just because it can be done to them because they are considered a minority and are known as second class citizens. An yes Jim Crows Laws still exsist today in a more discrete form, however, alot of people see it as well. Only difference is now people can join together as a movement to seek some sort of justice. That will probably never happen, since issues such as them ones shown in the video have been going on for years and may still go on for years to come. I believe out of all the information
An authoritarian society exists to benefit authority, or the leaders in power. They achieve this by political and economic submission to authority, In an authoritarian societies, citizens exist to serve the leaders of the society or the state.
This video relates to several chapters in our sociology book, the main chapter being chapter ten, race and ethnicity. This movie focused on the struggle in our country with discrimination of those
Authoritarianism is pessimistic about human reason. Many Kings used this style as a way to suppress people’s opinions. One king that was known for this was the king of Scotland, King James VII. Anyone who disagreed with the king was to be punished. The government could not be reasoned with or challenged because of this.
Some Americans thinks this country is perfect and we do not have flaws, but they are sadly mistaken because of all of the hatred and violence we have toward one another, just because their skin tone may not be the same. The video is a mixture between a narrative and conceptual video. It tells the story of how much racism and other societal problems this county have, and that we need
Therefore, the study indicated that individuals with a strict upbringing by pushy parents were most likely to develop an authoritarian personality. It was believed that this was because the individual was not able to express hostility towards their parents (for being strict and critical). Consequently, the person would then displace their hostility to other people, namely those who are in a minority. Adorno et al. concluded that people with authoritarian traits, as identified by the F-Scale, were predisposed to having 'fascistic' characteristics such as ethnocentrism (the tendency to favour one's own ethnic group), respect for authority figures and obsession with power (McAvoy 2010).