An Argumentative Investigation into Determinants of Race and Racism - Report Example

Section/# An Argumentative Essay into Determinants of Race and Racism Within the realm of politics and an interpretation of race, prejudice and discrimination are two terms that are invariably carelessly used. As such, a fundamental question that should be considered is with regards to how both of these terms are related and unrelated to one another. As a function of seeking to understand this differential, the following analysis will not only engage the reader with an understanding of the relevance, similarity, and dissimilarity that exists between prejudice and discrimination, it will also seeks to exploit the following quote: “race is not a simple matter of skin color and ethnicity is not only about nationality, instead they are socially constructed categories”. Through such a level of discussion and analysis, it is the hope of this author that the reader will gain a more informed understanding of race and the manner through which social constructs are understood, engaged, and implemented throughout society. Firstly, it is necessary to understand the fact that both prejudice and discrimination, although having similar definitions are in fact unique. For instance, a very basic definition of prejudice is contingent upon an unjustified or otherwise incorrect approach towards an individual that is predicated upon a person’s adherents, or perceived adherence, to a particular social group. In this way, an individual might be prejudiced with regards to the fact that a particular workplace is, in their mind, no place for an individual of a particular social construct. By means of comparison and contrast, discrimination can be defined as actual behavior, invariably negative, that is directed towards an individual based upon the social group that they are perceived to belong to (Fegin 19). In such a manner, the interrelationship that exists between these two terms is powerful. Ultimately, and less an individual is prejudice, they cannot exhibit a level of discriminatory treatment for an individual or group of individuals. By much the same token, an individual cannot necessarily discriminate against someone unless they already have a certain level of prejudice within their own mind/within their own worldview. Within such an understanding and definition, the reader can come to the realization of the fact that seeking to understand and define these two terms is an effective manner through which prejudice and discrimination can be reduced (Nadel 16). As stakeholders in society understand the fact that prejudice is the seed from which discrimination grows, seeking to engage individuals within society, educate young people, and generally reduce the level of prejudice is an applicable means through which discrimination can be diminished over time. However, such an approach in and of itself is not wholly efficient. Instead, it must also be realized that there are many individuals that are already deeply prejudiced and this prejudice must be blocked from actively creating a level of discrimination (Pearson et al. 319). As a result of this, effective legislation, workplace code of ethics, and other practices have been created that seeks to block these individuals from actively translating their prejudice these into discriminatory/retaliatory actions against an unsuspecting/innocent member of a particular social group. A secondary issue that should be discussed with regards to this particular analysis is with respect to the quote that was provided within the introduction: “race is not a simple matter of skin color and ethnicity is not only about nationality, instead they are socially constructed categories”. From a cursory analysis of this particular quote, the reader is instantly engaged with the realize nation that race is not something that can simplistically be defined based upon the skin tone of an individual (Hoyt 34). Moreover, a further understanding would have one believe that race is as much about culture and norms as it is about any other aspect. In such a manner, the means through which an individual can be influenced, raised, or identify with a particular race is not necessarily constrain them to be defined as “black”, “white”, “Latino”, or any other racial definition. Furthermore, even more stark example exists with respect to the fact that ethnicity cannot be determined based upon nationality (Silva 233). Taking the case of South Africa as an example, one can easily see that a South Africa an individual might be assumed to be black African; however, they may in fact be a descendent of a Boer. In this way, nationality is predicated not upon ethnic lines but instead upon the origin of a particular region in which an individual hails. With regard to institutional racism at its broadest levels, the segregation into distinct neighborhoods and the lack of empathy and understanding that a criminal justice stakeholder might have with respect to this is a solid sociological construct that has existed since the dawn of time. This reality can be understood historically. Due to the fact that the United States has been heavily influenced by the impacts of immigration, the power of this influx of “new” people into the United States has created a need for a high level of housing space for them to live (Esposito and Romano 15). Naturally, as immigrants from all over the world began to arrive in the United States, they found themselves at a distinct disadvantage; oftentimes not speaking the language and having few if any opportunities. As a function of this, and the level of rejection that they received by clannish groups of more established ghettos began to pop up all over the nation. Looking further back in history, the freedom from slavery and the dissolution of the colonies brought a situation to the United States in which tens of thousands of new immigrants flocked to a racially and culturally distinct corner of the globe in the hope of finding a better life. Sadly, this search oftentimes led to a dead end; as these individuals could not afford the type of lifestyle they hoped for, could not find gainful employment that could satisfy their needs, and were largely shunned by the residents of the communities they sought to integrate with (Souhami 14). One of the more nebulous of the concepts which has been discussed above is necessarily that of race. Ultimately, race has been used as means of categorizing humans by cultural, genetic, geographic, anatomical, linguistic, social, religious, or historical means. As a function of this, the very definition of race is something that sociologists and anthropologists continue to argue about. Due to the many determinants of race that exist, is oftentimes been decided that since no working and firm definition of what defines one and what defines another can readily be agreed upon, ethnicity, or the means by which an individual is defined as a result of culture and geographic origin, is a far better identifier of people. Broadly speaking, race, and racial definitions is something that the stakeholder within the criminal justice system must integrate with; whether or not they are of the opinion that such a definition is ultimately helpful. Due to the fact that the stakeholder within the criminal justice system is responsible not only for integrating directly with the society but also with explicating and defining the means by which past history has taken place and continues impact upon the stakeholders within the classroom, race is not a topic that can merely be brushed aside and deemed as a prior an unsuccessful method of grouping individuals. The fact of the matter is that even as academia and society as a whole differs upon an approach and appreciation for such a concept, it remains incumbent upon the stakeholder within the criminal justice system, and educational process by extension, to continue to place a level and degree of focus upon the importance that race necessarily engenders. This fallacy and hardship that exists within this understanding has to do with the fact that individuals are daily encouraged to make broad and stereotypical assumptions based upon little information. As a direct result of these broad and stereotypical generalizations, the overall degree and extent to which the world can effectively be understood and personality traits of an individual can be appreciated is greatly diminished. Further, the reader can and should note that these socially constructed categories are only as useful as the information that they contain. Merely assuming that a person can be understood based upon the ethnicity from which they hail, or the color of their skin, or the geographic region from which their parents were born is a gross and mind bogglingly ignorant approach to defining an increasingly diverse and complicated world. Ultimately, a unique set of variables, all of which are socially constructed, goes into determining what defines an individual. Moreover, as the majority of these socially constructed norms are subjective, the overall fairness and their means of application causes a very high potential for both discrimination and prejudice. In such a way, individuals involved in civil rights movement have long warned against the dangers of broadly generalizing or stereotyping a particular group based upon core expected/perceived commonalities. At such a point in time as racism is understood to involve both hate filled and derogatory language directed towards another, stereotyping can be included within this rubric and derided accordingly. Yet, in order for this to happen, individuals must be aware of the fact that even though they might not consider themselves as racist, they inherently stereotype much more often than they would wish to admit. Works Cited Esposito, Luigi, and Victor Romano. "Benevolent Racism: Upholding Racial Inequality In The Name Of Black Empowerment." Western Journal of Black Studies 38.2 (2014): 69-83. Academic Search Premier. Web. 15 Oct. 2014. Feagin, Joe R.. Systematic racism: a theory of oppression. New york: Routledge, 2006. Print. Hoyt, Carlos, Jr. "The Pedagogy of the Meaning of Racism: Reconciling a Discordant Discourse." Journal of National Association of Social Work 3 (2012): 225. Academic OneFile. Web. 15 Oct. 2014. Nadel, Mark. "Retargeting Affirmative Action: A Program To Serve Those Most Harmed By Past Racism And Avoid Intractable Problems Triggered By Per Se Racial Preferences." St. Johns Law Review 80.1 (2006): 323-388. Business Source Complete. Web. 16 Oct. 2014. Pearson, Adam R., John F. Dovidio, and Samuel L. Gaertner. “The Nature of Contemporary Prejudice: Insights from Aversive Racism.” Social and Personality Psychology Compass 3.3 (2009): 314-338. Print. Silva, Eduardo. “Racism without racists’ color-blind racism and the racial inequality in contemporary America” Western Journal of Black Studies. 37.1 (2013): 218-234. Print. Souhami, Anna. "Institutional Racism And Police Reform: An Empirical Critique." Policing & Society 24.1 (2014): 1-21. Academic Search Complete. Web. 19 Oct. 2014. Read More