Points on Race and Ethnicity - Essay Example

I believe that race is just a modern idea, as one can substantially embark on the scientific concepts that will help us understand the differences between the human species when it comes to the colour of our skin, eyes, hair, and physical structure (PBS.org). Ethnicity on the other hand is an old concept we have from the past when society divided people from various tribes and tongues, beliefs, religions and other related requirements (PBS.org). In other words, race may be a more sophisticated approach to justify differences, and even to the point of identifying an inferiority complex, which at some point ended up with an unprecedented negative image of other racial-related activities. Ethnicity on the other hand might remain a favourable approach in individual groups not based on physical characteristics, but more on the identification of attitudes, values, beliefs, and anything that will lead to the emancipation of social hope, instead of the annihilation of some human groups that might quite simply be the ultimate upshot of the human standards of grouping people. This at some point has become the fundamental basis of racism and other relevant acts.

The extermination of Native Americans, the exclusion of Asian immigrants, and the taking of Mexican lands are just some examples of institutionalized racial practices in the government, laws and society (PBS.org). These practices manifest any form of prejudice, discrimination and stereotyping, at some point or a certain level. Therefore, it is evident that prejudice, discrimination and stereotyping have their basic foundation in racial practices, as ways to oppress and deny the basic rights of those inferior ones. For instance, the eugenics programs may have focused on criminals and mentally ill people (CNN). This sounds good to hear, but the entire application of eugenics may be a sole function of prejudice, discrimination or stereotyping, as long as it literally would want to separate individuals or groups of people and label them. When we have to look deeper at the emancipation of eugenics we can say that it is not just confined in its superficial function. It is even extended to healthy, but poor, uneducated women and children to undergo sterilization procedures apart from their will (CNN). In other words, I believe that to a certain degree, there is no remarkable difference when it comes to the existence of prejudice, discrimination and stereotyping, but what they have in common is the most essential point. I strongly believe that they are all results of the social problem linked to racism.

Based on a functional perspective, the inappropriate use of symbols may lead to the social problem of racism, because face-to-face interaction may provide an essential foundation to stereotype and create bias and prejudice, which eventually are probable consequences of any relevant racial movements. The ultimate solution is therefore to create a more universal symbol that everyone, as much as possible, could relate to. On the other hand, from the point of view of functionalism, the inappropriate relationship that exists within the society may be the potential cause of racism, leading to a maladaptive society. This can only be prevented if each aspect of society should be functional, which means there is a strong motivation to adapt, without even any hint of superiority or inferiority complex. Finally, from the standpoint of conflict theory, racism may be the result of the actual competition for scarce resources, which ultimately has become the reason for social Darwinism, survival of the fittest and eventually rationalizations of inequality (Kevles). These are all potential grounds for racism, which means we have to eliminate them to put any racial acts to a halt. However, this can only be made possible if there is a strong effort to go for equal distribution of wealth.

Racism is skin deep (PBS.org; Kevles). This means that even if the United States voters have elected the first President of color for a second term is not an assurance that America is already free from the scrutiny of racism. The US is said to have had active and substantial involvement in racism in the past. For this matter, electing a President of colour for the second time is not a guarantee that the US is now free from any possible link to racism, because we have to look at this issue from various points of view. Electing Obama has other relevant reasons, and it is not just about the issue of race we are talking about here. Obama has substantial characteristics that might help prove that he is capable of doing or even more of what the previous Presidents were able to perform. This may or may not be racism in the first place, but one might employ the concept of ethnicity. However, racism is more likely a lifestyle act and the US has long been into it starting from its annihilation of the Native Americans, and down to providing policies that may unconsciously put the minority at a highly disadvantaged point. Since racism is a modern idea (PBS.org), its existence is therefore unprecedented today.