Going Through the Impacts of a Social Evil - Research Paper Example

Racism and Society: Going Through the Impacts of a Social Evil Have you ever experienced once in your life being singled out from a group or being the last chosen in a group of people with similarities such as gender, skin color or group? Even if some people have not experienced such incidents, just by feeling the thought or idea, one can tell that the feeling is never pleasant. And for those people that have experienced being singled out, they have actually experienced racism. Racism is a term people often hear, especially in a multicultural community. During the early years of human existence, people were living together in groups, but as the years have gone on and civilizations travelled the road to modernization, socialization has emerged, and humanity has expanded in more complex communities. But because people have differing beliefs, cultures and attitudes, the idea of togetherness in a complex social structure paves the way for a social evil known today as the concept of racism. To review the concept of racism is to appreciate social difference. People in any society are all different. People have different ideas and enjoy different things. This is where prejudice can appear. Some people are prejudiced against others who have different skin tone or belong to a different ethnic group or race in favor of their own. This is racism, which is the belief that characteristics and abilities can be attributed to people simply on the basis of their race and that some racial groups are superior to others. Racism and discrimination have been used as powerful weapons, encouraging fear or hatred of others in times of conflict and war, and even during an economic downturn (Shah). UNESCO’s 1978 “Declaration on Race” defines racism as any theory claiming the intrinsic superiority or inferiority of racial or ethnic groups which would give to some the right to dominate or even eliminate others, presumed inferior, or basing value judgments on racial differences (De Benoist 13). Racism affects different aspects of society with varied implications. Racism can affect educational opportunities and experiences. A school is a very good example of a complex community where different types of people meet and interact every day. The diversity in such common grounds often leads to prejudice especially in a multicultural community where clash of ideas happen all the time. A very common example of racism in school is the act of underestimating or bullying the minority group of students such as Asians or African-Americans most often by White American students (Senker 4-5). This bullying contributes to an increasing number of student drop-outs, thus, leading to increasing number illiteracy, stripping minorities out of education and reducing their chances of having a good job in the future. Racism not only hinders a student from enjoying school at its best while learning, but it also it increases the chances of having no belief in oneself leading to poor attention and poor school performance. Above all these effects, the most alarming issue that can be attributed to racism in the educational system is the increasing number of high-profile school shootings and related incidents of violence in recent years involving students of minority groups (Trump). The mere prejudice individuals have about others can cost people: their education, their jobs, and even their lives. For the targets of racism, that experience can significantly affect their health. Health is an important factor of human life and with the social reform the world has been through, the global aim for health is directed to achieving health for all regardless of status. But since racism has not totally disappeared, the effect of racism in health can still be felt. Several studies have tried to examine the effect of racism in the healthcare today. In a study made by Rodney Clark, Norman B. Anderson, Vernessa R. Clark, and David R. Williams, the authors have proven the effects of racism as a stressor for African-Americans (805). This study perceived that exposure to racism is stressful and has biophysical effects on individuals with differing coping mechanisms; this fact explains the differences in health outcome between minority groups and the mainstream population. If a person is exposed to racism often, then the chance of stress exposure is likewise the same. Stress is internal or external influences that disrupt an individual’s normal state of well-being. These influences are capable of affecting health by causing emotional distress and leading to a variety of physiological changes. These changes include increased heart rate, elevated blood pressure, and a dramatic rise in hormone levels. Hence, stress is perceived as a health hazard that doubles the likelihood of poor health outcomes and the acquisition of diseases (Middlebrooks1). Racism has an adverse impact on the health care environment and on the people receiving health care services. Racism can also manifest in the attitudes of health care providers toward patients and fellow professionals of different ethnic groups. In the health care arena, differential access to resources limits basic and preventive health care to members of some groups. Unequal distribution of health care resources results in morbidity and mortality rates that vary substantially among racial and ethnic categories and economic classes. Health care, as a resource, must be distributed fairly and equitably, but sadly, some nurses and other health care providers can be victims as well as perpetrators of racial discrimination (American Nurses Association). A modern day example of healthcare disparity is the racism against African-American’s over American Europeans in the allocation of transplantable kidneys. Despite having a greater incidence of kidney failure than European Americans, African-Americans are less likely to be the recipients of transplantable kidneys and spend considerably longer periods of time on kidney allocation waiting lists than European Americans. This is a clear example that even until today skin color still matters for some discriminate people (Fauci 35). Thus, the direct impact of racism on health behaviors includes resorting to high risk health behaviors, such as substance abuse and self-harm and other negative coping responses, as well as delays in seeking healthcare that results to poor health outcomes (Hyman 9). Therefore, racism is a clear hindrance in distributing equal health care and health opportunities for every individual, not just in the sense of race or ethnicity, but even in the concept of social class wherein the rich gets the best while the poor gets the least. The influence of racism on crime and violence is not insignificant. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, there were 8,336 victims of crimes in 2009 targeted because of a bias against race, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity or national origin and disability. 4,057 of the total number comprise hate crimes against race while 1,575 and 1,109 comprise hate crimes against religion and ethnicity respectively. These figures show how violent people can be towards other people who differ in their race, belief or ethnicity. Additionally, these figures may also represent how violent people can be in protecting their culture against other cultures. The numbers indicate that though racism has become subtle over the years the effect still lingers and can be statistically proven. The subtle form of racism nowadays is even more frightening because many do not take it in consideration, believing that the modern socially reformed world has pacified the conflict already, but the contrary can be seen on minor groups’ conflict. Group differences in perceived criminal injustice may produce political conflict, divergent interests, and competing ideologies. This is particularly likely when group boundaries reflect existing factions that have a long history of conflict (Citation needed please). Racial differences create a bias in the legal system. In research conducted by Matsueda and Drakulich, the authors analyzed that whites may be less likely to have negative experiences with the police while African Americans may be more likely to experience racial bias by the police and to have friends and family who have been treated unfairly by authorities. This obvious bias against the African-American is a clear racist action among the people of the community. Racism can lead to obstruction of malpractice in the justice system, where one race can be suspected more than another race which is a clear prejudice within the justice system. And greater implications of this prejudice can lead to outrage in the culture as individuals learn of the injustice and believe less in the justice system. As a result, many people, mostly from the oppressed group, will put justice in their own hands resulting to more hate crimes and violence towards other ethnic or racial groups. Today the mere fact of thinking less of another culture is racism that defies equality of every person. Racism has been both an instrument of discrimination and manifests itself as a cultural phenomenon, susceptible to cultural solutions, such as multicultural education and the promotion and acknowledgment of ethnic identities (Shah). The evolution of human being took millions of years to occur, and during that long process, people have acquired beliefs and cultures. It is never really easy to incorporate thoughts to other people’s minds, but the key is never to conquer other people’s belief but rather accept each other’s differences. Through acceptance, conflicts of whether who is better are out of the question and can even result in healthy competition. Equality of treatment and equality of opportunities lifts barricades among groups that lead to social unity and the eventual growth of the community. Works Cited American Nurses Association. Discrimination and Racism in Healthcare. 2012. Web. 14 May 2012 Clark, Rodney et al. “Racism as a Stressor for African Americans: A Biophysical Model.” American Psychologist 54.10 (1999): 805-816. Print. De Benoist, Alain. “What is Racism?” 2008. Web. 14 May. 2012. Fauci, Cara. “Racism and Health Care in America: Legal Responses to Racial Disparities in the Allocation of Kidneys.” Boston College Third World Law Journal 21.1 (2001): 35-67. Print. “Latest Hate Crime Statistics.” The Federal Bureau of Investigation. The U.S. Federal Government, U.S. Department of Justice, 22 Nov. 2010. Web. 14 May. 2012. Hyman, Ilene. Racism as a Determinant of Immigrant Health. Public health Agency of Canada, 2009, pp. 1-13. Print Matsueda, Ross and Drakulich Kevin (2007) Perceptions of Criminal Injustice, Symbolic Racism, and Racial Politics. Department of Sociology, University of Washington, 2007. Print Middlebrooks, Jennifer & Natalie Audage. The Effects of Childhood Stress on Health Across the Lifespan. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2008. Print Senker, Cath. Taking actions against racism. The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. New York, USA, 2010, pp. 1-48. Print Shah, Anup. Racism. Global Issues. 8 August 2010. Web. 14 May 2012 Trump K. (2012) Bullying and School safety. National Safety and Security Services. n.d. Web. 14 May 2012 Read More