Response paper - Ethnic Notions - Essay Example

Teacher Critique Even in art and film, race imposes its prejudice as it tend to group and judge people based on their ethni rather than their custom, culture or racialization of law. Also, we are prejudiced to judge that a particular race is superior or better such as the traditional case of the white people to be deemed superior over colored people. This is so because it is easier for us to subscribe to our prejudices because that is how we are conditioned by such prejudice by society. Since we are little kids, we are conditioned by society and media that white is superior and beautiful and this is reinforced everywhere we go as illustrated by Moodle.

Which is why it is easier for us to classify race as color because that is how we are conditioned by society. When we racialized the categorization of people, we are merely acting on our instincts that is conditioned by society.Brown try to enlighten us by explaining the dynamics of colorblindness that made it so difficult for us to name the problematic visualization of race that it is easier for us to talk in racialized other than the systematic process of racialization through law, custom and popular culture.

We do not need to go far to cite for examples. In the university alone, there is a growing prejudice that the race “Asian” are good in math. That every time we see somebody with slanted eyes, we automatically distinguish them as Asian and not through their categorization as a people, custom or culture. We do not say they are Koreans, Japanese, Chinese or Filipinos, we just lump them into one singular race as Asians.This is unfair and dangerous because it deprives people of their history, uniqueness, individuality, humanity and other positive aspects and instead, they are relegated to a group of people that can be summarized by few words or sentences that are often full of bias and prejudice.

These prejudices and labels do not also accurately portray the group of people being described. Often, this causes misrepresentation leading to misunderstanding that breeds to conflict.It is not farfetched to think that the proposition raised by Moodle and Brown was the one responsible for major conflicts around the world that cost us lives, limbs and properties. Color of the skin is not really the enemy because underneath it, we are all the same. What is the enemy is the racialization that breeds misunderstanding, conflict, worst, wars.

I need not expound how racism can breed hate. History is replete with ethnic cleansing and genocide which can be traced back to racialization and prejudice. Hitler attempted to kill an entire race while Eastern Europe attempted to do the same and added a novelty to that cruelty through a systematic rape of Serbs. Ideally, people should not be categorized by color, even race but with their individuality and uniqueness as a person. Better if they will be judged by character as what Martin Luther King has said.