Stereotypes : Discrimination And Inequality In Today's Society

Rosa Parks once said “Racism is still with us. But it is up to us to prepare our children for what they have to meet, and hopefully, we shall overcome.” Racism is a struggle that, to this day, has continued to be a major issue. The color of someone’s skin alters how a person is perceived by society as a whole. Race is a social construct created by humans to categorize the world. (Sullivan 2) The outlook on racism varies from community to community, family to family, and even person to person. Skin color can alter all aspects of an individual’s life, because unlike inner differences and beliefs, skin color is a physical appearance. Social status, perceptions, roles, occupation are just a few of the characteristics of life which can be affected simply by a person’s physical differences. Not long ago somebody could even be discriminated against and their basic rights and freedoms could be altered based on their appearance. Many people believe that the United States is a colorblind nation or is tolerant of people 's race. Racism may go unnoticed by those who believe that it is a thing of the past, but to the people who are directly impacted by racism, it continues to be play a major role in today’s society.

There are approximately 7 billion people in this world. Each person has a unique combination of traits such as skin tone, face shape, body type, eye color, hair color, and other characteristics. These traits vary due to genetics, environmental factors, and much more. An individual 's race is defined by their physical characteristics and how they differ among others. Race is not defined by the way an individual behaves or portrays themselfes; it is based strictly off of their physical traits. Since America was founded, race has played a significant role in the relations of the citizens in this country. For decades, different races have been stereotyped and been prejudice towards one another, without realizing how invalid their judgements are. Specifically, African Americans have been discriminated by caucasians in America since it’s founding. It began by the enslaving of African Americans, and today, the discrimination and inequality is more hidden in society. Although America has made significant progress in overcoming racial inequality in the country, many African Americans are still being subject to hardships that Caucasian Americans do not face, especially in regards to the justice system.

Stereotyping and discrimination are very deeply ingrained in American culture. Even though there have been movements taken to combat stereotyping and discrimination such as the Civil Rights Movement, the Women’s Rights movement, and the Black Lives Matter Movement, it still exists. This raises the question of, how do we end it? While there is no definite answer there is a way to avoid stereotyping and discrimination. The three essayists Bharati Mukherjee, Judith Ortiz Cofer, Brent Staples and show that by learning about stereotyping, people can also learn how to change themselves to avoid discrimination based on stereotypes. By comparing and contrasting these essayists experiences as well as outside research to show the theme of why people

We spend our entire lives trying to figure out who we are, and as much as we all would like to believe we start with a blank slate, that simply isn’t the case. Some of us are born with, albeit slightly hidden, marks of what our history already dictates for us. Racial perception in society has always been a topic of controversy throughout the entire nation. Based on past occurrences, it has been proven that black and brown people as a whole have been oppressed, mistreated, and even wrongfully persecuted based on social stigmas conceived by society. Society today have the wrong ideologies; they believe that a safer environment means locking away individuals that appear to be a menace or danger based on the color of their skin. However, this mentality is flawed because locking up individuals does not promote a change; it only increases hate and eliminates the chance for someone to change their ways and become a better person. In the novel “Citizen” by Claudia Rankins the poem “In Memory of Trayvon Martin”, “The New Jim Crow” by Michelle Alexander, alongside the video situation 6, both conveyed that racism is prevalent in the modern world today as one should take to account the toll of microaggressions on the political and personal standpoint of equality for all colored individuals.

It is common knowledge that the topic of race is being examined all over the world. Frequently, more efforts are made through formation of policies, enactment of laws, and abolition of practices to obliterate racial discrimination. The pace of success of this endeavor is being delayed by the media because the media constantly portrays race in an inappropriate and derogatory manner. A race as described by Yolanda. T. Moses is a group of people who share similar and unique characteristics, while racial stereotypes are automatic and mental pictures held about all members of a particular social group. When people are stereotyped racially, they do not take into account individual differences .The media’s poor understanding of the true meaning of race has been communicated to the general public, making people think race is a biological phenomenon whereas it is socially and culturally constructed (Moses 735) and this has caused the increase in racial stereotypes by media’s continuous portrayal of negative stereotypes of different races all over the world.

Prejudice is the preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience. In

Chimamanda Ngozi once said, “The problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story.” (Stereotypes). Many stereotypes effect us. They can also have a negative effect and those affected by it can feel insecure because they may be judged or treated because of that certain stereotype. Stereotypes are labels that are unfairly placed on people, and they affect all of us.

In America’s society, there are millions of immigrants who make up roughly 15 percent of the population. An immigrant is any individual who comes to live in foreign country permanently where they are not originally born. Even though there are such high population rates for legal immigrants, there is still immigrant bashing that occurs. Which consists of immigrants being constantly tormented and belittled because of their ethical background. Alberto G. Mata and Catalina Herrerias describe immigrant bashing and politicians stereotyping within their story. For instance, the authors explain in depth how politicians “use racial and ethnic groups to win electoral races, and promote racial and ethnic stereotypes that feed discrimination. (Coramae

I commend you for openly saying that you have such bias against that group of people. However, as a police officer, it is your responsibility to serve and protect the people. Meaning, you have to protect everyone regardless of their gender preference. You are on your way to acceptance because you have acknowledged the problem and you can do it. We have biases towards certain groups of people, race you name it. However, it takes a brave person to acknowledged

Stereotypes are a streamlined idea of a certain group which can eventually spread prejudice which is a belief on a group of people. The difference is that stereotypes can be formed by experiences whereas prejudices are people taking a stereotype and believing it, but they do not have experience on a certain group. For example, a person may have seen that some Mexicans act rough and messy, but that person could share their experiences with other people who may not know Mexicans well. As a result, other people will take that stereotype and believe it, forming a prejudice inside their mind. If they were to meet a Mexican person, they would just assume that they are all rough and messy, despite having no prior experiences with Mexicans. Discrimination can consist of actions done to a group of people. Discrimination is not the same as Racism as discrimination is the unequal treatment of a person based on their race. Racism is a stronger type of prejudice that is used to claim that one race is superior to other races. An example of Racism is the Ku Klux Klan as their members believe whites are superior to any other race. They do not discriminate by mistreating other races. Instead, they spread hate speech and commit hate crimes to try to show that whites are better than other races.

The article I found on the website http://www.marketingteacher.com/the-six-living-generations-in-america/) states, “Millennials were raised in a digital environment and prefer to retrieve most of their information from the internet.” I am a member of Generation Y, and I agree with this statement. My generation likes to receive information in real time. I believe that there lies some truth in all stereotypes. My generation has a totally different mindset than our parents did. My parents are Baby Boomers and they placed heavy emphasis on education and working a job for thirty years. In today’s society, that way of thinking is not the best formula for success because the world has changed. My grandparents were from the GI/Mature

When terms such as prejudice and discrimination are used, many often think of race and ethnicity. Many also believe that prejudice and discrimination are things of the past. However, both are still evident in today’s society. People are still set aside from the general population because of sexuality, mental illness, and political orientation. Stereotypes surrounding these people are some of the most demeaning of this time. Stereotypes can cause those affected to lose job opportunities, be refused service, and be treated as inferior. Stereotypes are generalizations of groups of people. Stereotypes are not based on the differences between people within those groups, but are rather judgements made towards all members.

Racial injustice is one of the most pressing issues of our time. Recent publicized events have caused national outcry of the police brutality that African-American’s face everyday. In fact, in the black community, “the talk” is more about how to handle yourself when approached by a police officer then about the birds and the bees. Stereotypes about people of color keep them from equal education, employment, and fair treatment when simply shopping in a grocery store. Furthermore, people assume if you are not following the stereotype then you are not “black enough”. Growing up I was a product of this “not black enough” stigma. At my all black middle school I was mimicked and called an “Oreo” because of my ability to speak proper english. On the

As a society, we have generally become more accepting of different people and minorities in our country have come a long way in their fight for equality. We have made strides leading to serious changes in America in an effort for true equality to exist in our culture. However, racism towards minorities still does exist. Many people in this country believe that minority stereotypes that are seen on television are based on reality, not fiction.

The racial discrimination is a group of people who perceive themselves and are perceived by others as possessing distinctive hereditary traits, where, ethnicity discrimination is a cultural trait such as family customs, food preferences, language, and religion. It is human nature to categorize things to make our reality more edible. Something as simple as the color of one’s skin can denote their place in a hierarchy and can save a conversation. People don’t need to talk to someone to figure out their status if they can just look at them and know according to their skin color. I would not saying we all do this, but realize that ingrained within each one of us is our culture that society has presented to us from birth. No matter who you are looking at, you will make some sort of assumption to that person. It’s not just with skin or people look, but also for a student. A Student is judged based on their intelligence and separated them based on their GPA and number of classes they are taking. School can improve it by putting all students in mind while making the decision.