Social Inequality - Essay Example

SOCIAL INEQUALITY It has aptly been d that all human societies have been divided into groups on the basis of clan, race, ethni gender, religion and socio-economic status since the known history of the world. Every group existing in a social set up views itself superior to others and maintains feelings of prejudice and biased ness towards the members of out-groups, which has given birth to conflict and disorder. The situation is particularly grave in nature in the most advanced societies, where individuals belonging to divergent racial and ethnic background migrate and settle in order to seek wider work opportunities as well as better education, trade and health facilities. The same is applied in the contemporary multicultural US society, where people belonging to all races and ethnic groups of the world have settled and have observed the process of acculturation. Richard T. Schaefer has discussed the intensity of racial discrimination in his book under the title “Sociology- a Brief Introduction.” The author argues the very reality that racial discrimination has been in vogue in the USA for the last five centuries since the advent of European nations in America. Schaefer observes that there were hundred percent American Indians in the USA by the beginning of sixteenth century, but within less than three centuries. White non-Hispanic obtained the control over the country. With the passage of time, other races and ethnic groups also found their way in America, which include Africans, Asians, Far Eastern and others, which gave birth to racial and ethnic discrimination. Though modern era seeks social equality but the existence of apartheid and racial as well as ethnic prejudice cannot be eliminated from the USA. Since the White Anglo Saxon Population (WASP) has been in majority in the USA, the minority groups are treated as inferior ones. It is therefore the minority races including the individuals from Central Asia, Far East, Middle East and Africa had been the victim of apartheid and discriminative behavior for decades. The African Americans are the special targets of the WASP hatred and the white population has inflicted every type of pains and sufferings upon them. Before embarking upon the topic, it would be advisable to define race and ethnicity. The term race simply implies the group of people containing some particular physical features, skin complexion, hair color, shape and form of hair on head, presence of hair on body, height and physical appearance, which differentiates the people of one race from the other. The examples of different human racial groups include African Americans, Asians, Caucasians, White people, yellow people of Japan, China and Hong Kong and others. “The term racial group”, Schaefer submits, “refers to those minorities (and the corresponding minority groups) set apart from others by obvious physical differences.” (2003:226) The concepts race and ethnicity are also mistaken as one and the same, though there is significant difference between the two. Since race describes physical characteristics of individuals, ethnicity lays stress on national, religious and ancestral background of the people. In other words, ethnicity refers to the cultural divergence among the people living in the same region or area. “A racial group, unlike a racial group, is set apart from others because of its national origin or distinctive cultural patterns. Among the ethnic groups in the USA are people with a Spanish-speaking background, referred to collectively as Hispanics or Latinos.” (Schaefer, 2003:228) Since every group of people maintains its own literature, language, norms, traditions, mores and cult, it looks different from other groups prevailing in the society. As local, and native communities have their own culture and language, which may be different from other groups of people. The same is the case with the people living in Ireland and Wales, which have their own language other than traditional English language. They have their own patterns of behavior and conventional way of interaction with other members of society. Jews, Muslims, Arabs and Hispanics etc are the example of various ethnic groups living in the USA. Thus, ethnicity is quite different from race, because a Jew may belong to any racial group i.e. he may be African American, Russian or Israeli, but his ethnicity distinguishes him from other groups of the society on the basis of his ancestry. The United States of America has witnessed racial prejudice for centuries. “In United States, skin color is an obvious difference. On a cold winter day when one has clothing covering all, but ones head however, skin color may be less obvious than hair color.” (Schaefer, 2006:5) Thus, race specifies the origin of the people living as minority in a great country like USA, which cannot lose its identity even after living for many decades in the region other than and outside their own. The white majority population conquered African states during the colonial era, and captured the African blacks and made them their slaves. It is therefore the descendants of black slaves make up significant part of the contemporary US population. In the same way, Asian, European, Australian and Arab nations have also become the part of social, cultural, economic and political set up of America. This all has given birth to the idea of multi-cultural society where individuals belonging to various regions and races of the world practicing divergent religious practices are living as one single nation. Since America has become a multicultural country, there exists competition, conflict and even serious feelings of alienation and hatred among different races and ethnic groups. “For nearly 30 years,” Schaefer quotes, “new events have fueled anti-Arab and anti-Muslim feelings within the United States and contributing to stereotyping.” (2003: 230) The co-operation and understanding between them all is essential for the peace and solidarity of various groups and communities. It may surely be supportive in developing of a progressive and prosperous America at large. History is replete with the examples of apartheid and racial discrimination in the USA. The literature produced by the African American writers and poets, gave birth to the famous Harlem Renaissance Movement. The motive behind these writers was not mere expressing of their grief; rather, the aims of such writing material appeared as receiving additional gains out of the so-called miseries their previous generations suffered for decades. Though situation has taken an imperative change during the contemporary US society, yet the country witnesses the grave racial discrimination, which is particularly prominent in the health, education, sports and job sectors, where minority groups undergo prejudiced behavior due to limited and inferior facilities, which is strictly against the provisions of the US constitution. Schaefer indicates the feelings of the white population towards the minority groups, which are still humiliating and devastating ones. He views that the Jews and blacks think that by winning titles in sports and showing exceptional talent by rendering their services to the USA may win the hearts of the white majority, which is, according to Schaefer, mere a misconception and delusion on their part. “Sociologist Harry Edwards”, Schaefer notes, “aggress that the self-fulfilling prophecy of innate black athletic superiority can have damaging consequences. Edwards points out that although this perception of athletic prowess may channel many African Americans into sports, only about 2,500 of them at best currently make a living in professional sports.” (2003: 228) Hence, the Blacks seek socioeconomic salvation by performing extraordinary talents in sports, which is as fruitless as their efforts in other fields of life. The protest literature, created by the Blacks, signifies the concept of double consciousness articulated by W. E. B. Du Bois. Du Bois presents the idea of double consciousness among the African Americans and maintains the very reality that the African Americans think, feel, perceive and feel in two different ways. On the one hand, they take everything like an American, and on the other hand, they meditate and ponder on every matter with a black perspective. “It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. One ever feels his two-ness,—an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder.” (Retrieved from 2xconsciousness.blogspot.com) Thus the entire struggle made by the minority groups of the USA ratifies the Du Bois’s idea of double consciousness, which has also given birth to identity politics in America. The sociologists including Professor Todd Gitlin and Hobsbawm view it as a constant threat to the unity of the American society, which may widen the gulf between various strata of society. Identity Politics, Gitlin states, may drag the social life towards the activities that have been erected on the grounds of racism and ethnocentrism. Preferring the member of one’s own racial group severely hits the concept of nationalism. The US history reveals the very fact that among the minority groups the African Americans have made rapid progress and made a sure headway in all fields of life including art, literature, sports, science, technology, communications, social reforms and politics. Now a Kenya-based African American has won the US presidential elections, which can be declared as the historic incident for all minority groups, yet, according to Schaefer, the prevalence of complete social equality and justice in the USA requires long and unabated struggle by the minority groups of the USA. BIBLIOGRAPHY Montemayor, Carlo & Stephens, Jack. (2007) Double Consciousness of W. E. B. Du Bois (Retrieved from http://2xconsciousness.blogspot.com/2007/05/web-du-bois-and-double-consciousness.html) Schaefer, Richard T. (2006) Racial and Ethnic Groups. Tenth Edition Prentice-Hall Pearson Education, Inc. Read More

Since race describes physical characteristics of individuals, ethnicity lays stress on national, religious and ancestral background of the people. In other words, ethnicity refers to the cultural divergence among the people living in the same region or area. “A racial group, unlike a racial group, is set apart from others because of its national origin or distinctive cultural patterns. Among the ethnic groups in the USA are people with a Spanish-speaking background, referred to collectively as Hispanics or Latinos.

” (Schaefer, 2003:228) Since every group of people maintains its own literature, language, norms, traditions, mores and cult, it looks different from other groups prevailing in the society. As local, and native communities have their own culture and language, which may be different from other groups of people. The same is the case with the people living in Ireland and Wales, which have their own language other than traditional English language. They have their own patterns of behavior and conventional way of interaction with other members of society.

Jews, Muslims, Arabs and Hispanics etc are the example of various ethnic groups living in the USA. Thus, ethnicity is quite different from race, because a Jew may belong to any racial group i.e. he may be African American, Russian or Israeli, but his ethnicity distinguishes him from other groups of the society on the basis of his ancestry. The United States of America has witnessed racial prejudice for centuries. “In United States, skin color is an obvious difference. On a cold winter day when one has clothing covering all, but ones head however, skin color may be less obvious than hair color.

” (Schaefer, 2006:5) Thus, race specifies the origin of the people living as minority in a great country like USA, which cannot lose its identity even after living for many decades in the region other than and outside their own. The white majority population conquered African states during the colonial era, and captured the African blacks and made them their slaves. It is therefore the descendants of black slaves make up significant part of the contemporary US population. In the same way, Asian, European, Australian and Arab nations have also become the part of social, cultural, economic and political set up of America.

This all has given birth to the idea of multi-cultural society where individuals belonging to various regions and races of the world practicing divergent religious practices are living as one single nation. Since America has become a multicultural country, there exists competition, conflict and even serious feelings of alienation and hatred among different races and ethnic groups. “For nearly 30 years,” Schaefer quotes, “new events have fueled anti-Arab and anti-Muslim feelings within the United States and contributing to stereotyping.

” (2003: 230) The co-operation and understanding between them all is essential for the peace and solidarity of various groups and communities. It may surely be supportive in developing of a progressive and prosperous America at large. History is replete with the examples of apartheid and racial discrimination in the USA. The literature produced by the African American writers and poets, gave birth to the famous Harlem Renaissance Movement. The motive behind these writers was not mere expressing of their grief; rather, the aims of such writing material appeared as receiving additional gains out of the so-called miseries their previous generations suffered for decades.

Though situation has taken an imperative change during the contemporary US society, yet the country witnesses the grave racial discrimination, which is particularly prominent in the health, education, sports and job sectors, where minority groups undergo prejudiced behavior due to limited and inferior facilities, which is strictly against the provisions of the US constitution. Schaefer indicates the feelings of the white population towards the minority groups, which are still humiliating and devastating ones.

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