Racial Self-Hatred and Self-Destruction Tendencies - Research Paper Example

Racial Self-Hatred and Self-Destruction Tendencies Racial Self-hatred I. Definition Race is a concept used to distinguish human populations and people. Racial is defined as anything relating to race, while hatred is defined as the intense dislike or distaste for anything or anyone. Tolchin (2006) defines racial hatred as those feelings or acts that are directed to a specific ethnic/racial group. Gilman (1990) defines racial self-hatred as to an extreme dislike of oneself or the act of being prejudiced against oneself because of one’s race. How Did It Come About? Racial hatred began with the introduction of slavery in America in the 17th century by the then British colonial masters. John Casor, in 1654, became the first black man to become a slave and this began a stream of events that led to the growth of slavery and the dehumanizing treatment of a black person. The consequential and constant bad treatment of blacks has lowered the perception a black person as a less than perfect person in comparison with the rest. This has led to son black people blaming the color of their skin for their woes to a point of murder. II. How Does Affect Black Men Now 1. Low self-esteem 2. Undermines their progress/development 3. Leads them to crime and hurting situations 4. Self-hurt Family A. Instability Families with a member suffering from self-hatred have problematic situations as these persons try to change themselves to fit the “preferred” racial segmentation. B. Lack of Progress Jimerson (2013) attributes under development among black families to the low self-esteem that was set in motion before the American Revolution to enable the blacks to be normal members of the society. The Martin Luther King era was a significant time to the black in America and all over the world. Lack of equal chances has denied the black families to develop. C. Crime Involvement To escape from themselves they tend to engage in dangerous activities such as drug abuse. Drug-induced behavior mostly leading to crime related activities like brawls, rape incidents and muggings. Education A. Poor Performance Racial self-hatred leads a child away from the concentration of schoolwork as they try to fit in the society. They also believe that they inferior to other race in the school, so they believe they can perfume better than the rest; that lack of self-belief leads them to perform badly. B. Incomplete Schooling Self loathe among these students makes them feel dejected in the school setting they are in, most of them move away to be with themselves or try change themselves. Employment A. Poor Performance A person who spends most of their time trying to be who they cannot be will be concerned with changing his “status” rather than in working. They will post poor records in their work. B. Inconsistency Self-doubt in young black men makes them feel as if they are being looked down upon because of their skin color even when they are being corrected rightfully. It will always make them move away from their jobs to look for others that they consider are fitting for them (Vogel et al, 2011). Financial Stability Michael Jackson, hate for being black pushed him to the extreme of trying to discolor himself. The amount of money he used was staggering. Many musicians, like dancehall star Vybz Cartel, try to bleach themselves into being white, an act that costs them a fortune. The financial status of these young men is always poor and most of them are always in debts as they seek to change their appearance through artificial means. III. What Part Does Society Play The integration of races is an issue not only in the United States but also everywhere in the world. It exists even in communities that are the most liberated and cultured; it does not discriminate. The societies will continue to have an impact especially existence of racial groups like white extremist, Hispanic gangs and black gangs. The basic unit of development, families, plays a great role in instilling belief and pride in one’s own race. Media The percentage of teens having access to or owning a mobile phone is increasing. The amount of time spend by teens is shockingly high on either television or a mobile phone. With so much time spent on the media, it plays the greatest role in influencing racial perspectives. Content Regulation by the government and communication bodies and regulation of internet materials available for the public, is an important way to avert the stigma of race. The government should also ensure race equality in workplaces to ensure balance and provide a pride in the different races and give them hope that they too are superior in their own way. Television According to A.C. Nielsen Co., 99% of households own a TV set box in America, while the average American watches more than 4 hours at any given day. With so much time spent on TV, their effect on what most Americans perceive of other racial perspectives is great. They influence through. What stories they air and what perspective they bias their stories. What kind of interviewees the kind of biasness they present to the story of race. The reporters employed and the racial impartiality within these media houses. What content of material is available for viewing? Control of the material they air and setting strict employment rules goes a long way in averting race stigmatization and creating a non-biased perspective among the population. Hip Hop Music is an influential aspect of passing information among the youth who are fond of listening to all kinds of music. Blacks are “customized” to listening hip-hop as “their” way of music in America. With so many famous black “rap” musicians, in America, hip-hop plays a role in young teen’s minds. The existence of a crop of musicians who propagate racial sentiments through their music, the effects of this kind of music is great. IV. What Should Be Done 1. Advocating for Racial Equality The government should ensure equality in all areas and especially in employment in public offices. All government should be racial-free zone and any racism in the system greatly punished to discourage its occurrence. 2. Curriculum Integration The school system should be integrated with a curriculum that teaches and encourages racial tolerance and pride. This will instill tolerance in the formative years of these students and create a generation that appreciates one another and is proud of it. Such a generation is productive. 3. Awareness The government, through media outlets, should create awareness on the effects of racism and its negative influences not only to the people but also to the economy. 4. Media Sensitivity Should be done by Regulating and controlling the kind of material aired Ensuring racial balanced employment of staff Airing awareness and pride materials 5. Strict Laws on Racism The government should set strict laws on racism and those propagating racism. These laws should discourage anyone intending to instigate racism on any level. Self-Destruction Self-destruction is among one the seven basic character flaws or “dark” personality traits. Each individual has an inbuilt potential to self-destruct but in persons with aggravated fear to lose control, it can became a dominant trait. Self-destruction is defined as the inherent voluntary destruction of something by itself. A person suffering from a condition of self-destruction lacks fundamental sync with life and the person feels their life is jinxed or their soul is “black”. Most of these tendencies occur due to a past occurrence in the person’s childhood. The self-blaming intuition makes them believe that something is wrong with them or there is something about them that attracts ill fate. The most common forms of self-destructive behavior include eating disorder, alcohol abuse, drug abuse and gambling addiction, which are traits famous with celebrities. These celebrities, while trying to explain themselves to the public, produce popular and genuine artwork. Causes of self-destruction tendencies include: 1. Early negative experiences 2. Nature of self, life or others Misconceptions 3. Constant fear and sense of insecurity 4. Maladaptive strategy to protect oneself (Craig, 2013) I. Abandonment It is the act of leaving or forsaking. In the cycle of self-destruction development, especially in a child, abandonment/being ignored/being left out by members of the society, initiates the process. Persons with a persona to self-destruct, have fear of being left or abandoned or ignored and will tend either to inhibit a trait they feel is responsible for their abandonment or they will do self-destructive acts to gain attention. a) Family It forms the basic structure for the development of a Childs behavior and life perceptions. Families that give their children freedom, allow, and encourage them to be the best, develop mentally stable children. In contrast, broken families, or families with relationship issues or fighting among the parents, affect very negatively to children. Families with problems of drunkenness or gambling, always make the children feel abandoned. Due to lack of a proper motivated family, children from these families lack self-esteem and any failure makes them blame it on themselves. b) School A child from a family with issues will normally try fit in. school most of the time develops and enhances self-destructive tendencies in children, as children from a poor background are exposed to a society that is mixed and does not sympathize with their situation. Most of the kids will translate withdrawal to shyness or “weirdness” and hence mock the child. This eventually leads to withdrawal by the child. The child feels that the school has abandoned them to the merciless fate of the world. The child starts developing a coping strategy, which more than not will be one that destroys them, while trying to make themselves “disappear” c) Role of Religion Religion plays a big role in creating a refuge to the children or persons with destructive disorder. Through its teachings, it appeals to their spiritual self to re-evaluate themselves. The recent cases of child molestation in church by the “men of the cloak”, paints a dark picture as to the role religion plays in formation of this disorder among children and adults, especially boys. d) The Government Creation of help centers and homes that cater for the abandoned children and adults who need to reconnect with their self and with their fellow human beings, is the work of the government. The government should not leave the sole responsibility to the parents and Non-Government Organizations to run such homes. It should also provide funds to run such homes. II. Degenerating Lifestyles Degenerating lifestyles are those lifestyles practices that dehumanize a person personality and make them feel unworthy of love. They mostly develop in persons with early background problems or had a traumatic shameful experience. They lead to self-destructive tendencies. a) GANAG It is a student-learning model developed by Jane Pollock and Sharon Ford that aims at instructing, assessing and obtaining feedback. It is used to address issues related to personal problems and how to tackle them. It is an acronym for goal, access prior information, new information and generalizations. Goal One must know what they want to achieve and in what span of time in addressing an issue. Accessing Prior Information The counselor, through talking with the affected individuals, acquires background history. The history allows for the identification of what triggers in their past life have led the formation of such behaviors. New Information By talking to the affected individuals, the counselor acquires new information on developed and coping models achieved by the patient. Generalization The counselor, through putting the patient in a real life situation, shows the patient the widespread of “their” problem among other people and makes them believe it not only them undergoing such a situation. This makes them stops self-blame. b) Imprisonment Imprisonment of people with destructive lifestyle, most of the time, does not help but rather elevates the situation. This is because the persons think they are being punished for their condition, which makes them have a tendency towards those bad behaviors as a coping strategy. The existence of gangs and other more persons with destructive personalities only exhibits their problem and make them put themselves up for harm. c) Death If a condition is left unchecked, it develops to suicidal tendency; a condition that makes those persons lacks the reason to live and hence opt to take their life. Due to the complex nature of these degenerating lifestyle conditions, most of the people with these conditions commit suicide. III. What Part Society Plays In The Destructive Lifestyle a) Media The media are responsible for passing information to the public. The media negatively portray many people dealing with destructive conditions. That makes them initiate a negative coping strategy. The media’s continued to portrayal of such group in a bad light and makes them lose their self-esteem leading to suicidal tendencies. b) Television Through advertisement and broadcasts, television ability to transmit information everywhere to the public plays role in either the healing or the destruction process of this persons. Airing encouraging materials and those that do not show a bad perception of life, creates an escape route that is beneficial to such patients. IV. What Needs To Be Done 1) Recovery Centers Creation of centers that patients with such conditions can be rehabilitated helps families find a center where they can sort help, for their affected member. 2) Educating The Public On Issues That Cause Such Behavior Many people with destructive conditions are pushed to the brim by people around them unknowingly. Educating the public on their role in rehabilitating people with such conditions will make people wary of what they say or behave in front of people who seem to have such a condition. 3) Introducing to the School Curriculum a System that Addresses Such Behaviors It will help teachers identify such students and address their needs individually, also it will teach other students to appreciate and sympathize with students with such a condition 4) Community Involvement and Government Intervention The community and the government should work hand in hand to alleviate vices that provoke such behavior, like unemployment among parents and drinking patterns that are destructive to family. Government should also be involved in creating intervention measures. References Cudney, M. (2010). Self-Defeating Behaviors: Free Yourself from the Habits, Compulsions, Feelings, and Attitudes That Hold You Back. New York: Harper One. Gilman, S.I. (1990). Jewish Self-Hatred: Anti-Semitism and the Hidden Language of the Jews. Baltimore, Maryland: John Hopkins University Press. Nielsen Corporation. (1923). What People Watch, Listen to, and Buy. Retrieved November 23, 2014, from www.nielsen.com. Tolchin, M. (2010). A World Ignited: How Apostles of Ethnic, Religious and Racial Hatred Torch the Globe. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman and Litterfield Publishers. Vogel, J., and Decurtis. A. (2011).Man in the Music: The Creative Life and Work of Michael Jackson. California: Sterling Publishers. Read More