Relating Better to Others - Essay Example

Relating Better to Others The United s is home to locals and foreigners from various countries around the world. This diversity has socially defined the United States in a whole new way. In other words, the social setting of the U.S is rich in social diversity. One of the general conceptions upheld by many U.S citizens is that all Mexicans are illegal. That is to say that their presence in the United States is not legal. Although there are possibilities of illegal Mexicans in the U.S, it is not necessarily true that all Mexicans are in the U.

S illegally. The act of viewing all Mexicans as being in the U.S illegally is not automatic. Rather, it is a conscious choice. This is due to the fact that the belief is based on individual decision and belief. It is normal to have people of different nationalities in a country. On the same note, it is obvious that while foreigners get into the U.S through legal processes, others bypass these processes and are therefore termed illegal since they have not met all requirements needed to be in the U.S. The act is therefore a conception or judgment that purely relies on personal opinion (Devine 12).

The individual who undertakes this conception or judgment is not bound to any benefit. This is because his or her stereotype or prejudice to the Mexicans does not change the fact that there are both legal and illegal Mexicans in the U.S. Therefore, the situation remains unchanged even with a continued stereotyping. In this case, there is no benefit to reap. This is because there is no action taken on that conception or judgment (Sussman 363).Cultural differences might have contributed to the incident in one way or another.

Cultural diversity triggers distinctive thinking and analysis of social settings. Cultures are based on beliefs and over time generational practices (Markus & Kitayama 234). The American culture therefore may have treated Mexicans as illegal immigrants even when all legal processes have been followed. On the other hand, a significant number of Mexicans might have migrated to the U.S illegally, exceeding the legal numbers. The Mexican culture might also cling to illegal entry into the U.S, thereby triggering this stereotyping.

Drawing from the readings, this situation could have been prevented by reviewing the entry and exit requirements of foreigners into and out of the U.S. On the same note, assessing the relationship between U.S and Mexico throughout history might have changed the individual’s perspective altogether. Works CitedDevine, Patricia. (1989). Stereotypes and prejudice: Their automatic and controlled components. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56(1), 5-18.Markus, Richard & Kitayama, Shinobu. (1991). Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion and motivation.

Psychological Review, 98(2), 224-253.Sussman, Nan. (2000). The dynamic nature of cultural identity throughout cultural transitions: Why home is not so sweet. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 4(4), 355-373.