US minority Politics - Essay Example

US minority politics Racism is the belief that each and every member of a specific race possesses characteristics or abilities that define that race. This leads to discrimination directed towards someone of a different race based on the belief that they are different. Racism is the belief that the primary determinants of human traits and capacities produce an inherent superiority of a particular race. Racism leads people to believe that one group is more desirable than another or one is inferior to another. This discrimination is normally on ethnic or cultural basis. This term usually gets used negatively and gets associated with race based prejudice, discrimination, violence or oppression (Bonilla 63). US politics gets affected by the way citizens have continued to view themselves racially through the years. This in turn affects them socially, economically, and, culturally. Racial theories Racism began way back in the 19th century when many scientists began to believe that human populations got divided into separate races. At this time, the idea of racism had fully matured (Spielberger 59). They used this to justify the belief that some races were less than others and deserved to get differential treatment. This theory got termed as the scientific racism. Scientific racism is a technique or hypotheses used to classify individuals into different phenotypes into discrete races or ethnicities. There is also proof that in the 18th century race existed. It became invented to magnify the differences between people during the American slavery (Egelman 46). They used this to get Africans to function as slaves. Authority at this time got based on reason rather than superstition or religion. The scientific racism got further supported by a German professor who created a science called craniology. This tried to use shape and dimensions of human skulls to measure intelligent ratios. He came up with the conclusion that the shape of the human skull limited his capacity for intelligence. He then placed the European at the top of all the civilized beings (Balogh 105). Another theory of racism is institutional racism. This is the treating certain groups preferentially or withholding benefits to certain groups based on racial characteristics gets institutionalized. It takes into account the belief that humans get divided into separate biological entities called races (Karim and Solomos 78). This causes people to think that inherited physical traits, traits of personality, morality, intellect, and other cultural behavioral features are linked. Institutional racism gets displayed in nation states that become grounded in the racist ideology. This played a crucial role in colonialist times. It also came into picture in the fascist and Nazi regimes in Europe. The Marxist theory is the most common theory of racism. Racism directed towards African Americans, and other people of color has been the key and continuing feature of the U.S society. Its forms have changed from the obvious maltreatment to indirect inequalities. It is this sector of people that experience the highest rates of life expectancies, infant mortality rates, unemployment, poverty rates and stereotypes in the mass media. This outlines the Marxist theory that states that racism serves the interests of capitalist or employer class. This gets done by dividing black and white workers reducing their potential unity thus bargaining power (Egelman 120). The fact that the colored people in society suffer most injustices of life clearly shows that the Marxist class system still carries through. Much of the social analysis that focuses on the inequalities and injustices in the U.S society has become influenced by the ideas of Karl Marx. There are jobs which get reserved for the whites who control production, capital and continually try to increase their profits. There are also psychological theories, which argue that, racism is a form of prejudice on the extreme. Psychologists also argue that it is an expression of the psychological process perception. It is an extreme form of stereotype. Prejudices are types of collective stereotypes, and the development of these stereotypes is a result of the formation of attitudes. These attitudes become adopted to exalt personal self esteem of individuals. Psychologists also argue that there is a certain personality type that gets inclined to adopt racist attitudes (Spielberger 53). Racialization This refers to the production of racial identities. It shows the dehumanizing and racial meanings given to formerly unclassified relationship, group or social practice. A group of people simply gets seen as a race. This is when a community or a group of people informally becomes assigned characteristics in the imagination of culture whether or not members of that group share in those characteristics. This racialization automatically extends to the descendants of that group even though these descendants may at times convert from these groups. These groups normally get downright singled out for unique treatment on the basis of these imagined characteristics (Chan and Hune 210). Racialization leads to placing of a mark of disgrace on an individual by other individuals or a social group. Negative sanctions get a place on a group of individuals which leads to differentiation that disqualifies them from total social acceptance. Sociologist derived this term to show how humans seek to control the physical world and social world. Racialization is the act of racism. It is when one portrays negative feelings that they behold towards a certain ethnic minority (Karim and Solomos 79). How racial thinking gets applied to ethnic minorities The term ethnic minority came to birth at around the same time when racism began. It gets used to refer to a group that has a different national or cultural tradition from what gets considered the majority of the population. A minority group is a social categorization within a demographic. It normally gets defined by the social majority. Social majority means those who hold more positions of social power in a society (Bonilla 26). This differentiation gets based on observable human characteristics like sexual orientation, wealth, ethnicity, gender and race. Members of minority groups are likely to get different treatment in the countries and societies which they live in. Every vast society contains ethnic minorities. The style of language, culture life and origin differ from the majority. The ethnic minorities normally get recognized but not accepted by the larger society in which its members live (Parillo 88). The nature of the relationship between the larger society and the ethnic minority normally determines whether there will be assimilation or self segregation of the ethnic minority. In some instances ethnic minorities have become simply excluded by the majority. For example, the African Americans in the American south got totally segregated during the 19th and 20th centuries. Being white does not get defined as having a racial status. Most whites do not think of themselves in racial terms. This is because they believe race is for people of color. They become depicted as people having no race, and as such whiteness is the normal or natural condition of every human being. Different racial and ethnic groups are unequal in resources, power, prestige and presumed worth. Racial privilege reaches far back into the past. The racial hierarchy got arranged in a way that the white groups of European backgrounds came at the top and the people of color at the bottom. This differentiation ensures that some people are available to do society’s dirty work at meager wages. There are four main ethnic groups listed in America. These include; African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanics and Asian and Pacific islanders. Racism towards the African Americans began way back in the 19th century with the slavery. Segregation and white supremacy increased as did violence towards the blacks. It primarily got viewed as a southern states problem until most of them relocated to the North after the world war. In history, we view many like Martin Luther King who fought against racism way back in the 1950s (Balogh 59). As much as these fights bore fruits and laws got enacted to protect the African Americans, the poverty and education inequalities among them continue and have deepened in the post industrial era. Many African Americans have returned to the southern states in the recent years. This gets referred to as reverse migration, which in itself is a racist connotation. This is due to, the increasing unemployment in the traditional industries in the North. Almost 60% of African Americans live in the inner city ghettos. The financially successful African Americans have started to buy properties in the up market ‘gilded ghettos’. Blacks suffer the highest form of racism because they are the furthest from white. They have the distinct opposite of the color that gets defined as the natural form of human (Wilkins 66). Spanish speaking immigrants are a rapidly increasing racial group in the United States. They make up most of the illegal immigrants who easily get exploited as they do not have similar rights as the US citizens. Hispanic Americans like many other ethnic minorities have long suffered from the racialization (Hero 41). They get referred to as; the Mamacita, slum dwellers, gang bangers, drug addicts, maids, the Latin lover, the exotica, feisty Latinas and the lazy Mexican. All these are typical stereotypes towards them simply because they are Hispanic. Hispanics get portrayed in the media as aliens, greasy, lazy, criminal and unintelligent. Their contributions within the society economically, culturally and historically have never been considered influential enough to become to be documented or appreciated. Their land got grabbed, and they continuously get exploited as cheap and expendable labor (Hero 169). All the Hispanics who migrated into America whether US citizens or not became thought of as lesser humans. Over the years of their life in America, their success gets intimidated by violence and intimidation. A lot of racial thinking has become applied to this ethnic minority, and they have not had a chance to overcome the stereotypes connoted to them. The original Americans have now become a tiny ethnic minority within their own country. Very few have moved into the cities like New York. Many still live in or near the reservations in Alaska, Oklahoma and Arizona. Discrimination against Native Americans has been going on for the longest time in the United States. There are stereotypes that Native Americans are merciless Indian savages. Their land became taken away from them after a series of wars, and they got sent to the reservations (Wilkins 119). They are the most harshly affected by the institutionalized racism. They are also the most economically disadvantaged group in the country and suffer high levels of alcoholism and suicide. Native American women stand a high risk of sexual and physical abuse from non Native American men. Most of these cases go unreported because the Native American women distrust the police. Native Americans suffer most racialization. This is because they do not expect it, but they get treated differently. Asians who have migrated to the United States also experience a lot of racism. The main factor that attracts them to migrate is to escape from persecution at home and in search of an opportunity to succeed economically (Molina 86). Most of the Asians get considered illegal immigrants in the country. Several immigration laws are discriminatory against the Asians. Some of the Asian groups even got banned from entering the United States. These immigrants systematically got victimized and accused of crimes that they were innocent from. White perpetrators of crimes against the Asians got acquitted or received light punishments. Asians get totally treated as less human by the white. They are also cities in the states where they do not thrive and get restricted to the small jobs. Strengths and weaknesses of the various definitions as applied in understanding ethnicity The various definitions and theories employed in the understanding of racism have some strengths and limitations. The scientific understanding of racism does not help us understand clearly the beginning of ethnicity as it talks about the size of the human brain and phenotype as a basis of classifying people into race. As much as some scientists proved that the African brain had limited mental capacity as compared to the white brain this has been proven wrong over time. This has not been a good place to base ethnicity because it has loop holes. Majority also consider ethnic minority on the basis of skin color and certain stereotypes that they develop towards a certain group of individuals (Balogh 33). The Marxist theory has more support in its description of the basis of racism. Karl Marx argued that racism got forwarded by the class system that took over the world. An intent look at the practice of racialization clearly brings out what Marx was arguing. Racism deals with classes. This is where those thought of to be less than others do low jobs. Whites have for long thought of themselves as the senior ones in the society (Parillo 93). They feel that they deserve to hold the finest jobs in a society that require more production mentally. Many of the manual and dirty jobs got left for the ethnic minorities. This clearly comes out when we look at the areas where the African Americans, Asians and Hispanic have to live. The worst living areas got reserved for them. The Native Americans got pushed away from the city into the reservations outside of the city. This theory strongly demonstrates the meaning of racism and supports it with evidence of what happens. Conclusion Most biologists and anthropologists view race as a political grouping with roots in slavery and colonialism way back in the 19th century. The number of races and who belongs in each race has shifted over time and nations. It is a direct response to political purposes. Every single race wants to be on top and device new ways to bring the other one below them (Stubben 60). Works Cited Balogh, Brian. Integrating the Sixties. Pennsylvania: Penn State Press, 2004. Print Bonilla, Eduardo. Racism Without Racists. New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2010. Print Chan, k & Hune, s. "Racialization and Panethnicity." From Asians in America to Asian- Americans (1995): 205-233. Print Egelman, William. Understanding racial and ethnic groups. New York: Allyn and Bacon, 2002. Print Hero, Rodney. Latinos in the United States Political System. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1992. Print Huntington, Samuel P. Who are we? New York: Simon & Schuster, 2005. Print Karim Murji, John Solomos. Racialization. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005. Print Lipset, Martin. American Exceptionalism. New York: Norton, 1997. Print Molina, Natalia. Fit to Be Citizens? California: University of California Press, 2006. Print Parrillo, Vincent N. Strangers to these shores. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1980. Print Spielberger, Charles Donald. Encyclopedia of Applied Psychology. New Jersey: Academic Press, 2004. Print Stubben, Jerry D. Native Americans and Political Participation. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2006. Print Wilkins, David. Measured Sovereignity. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009. Print Read More