Causes of Prejudice by Perillo and Terkel - Literature review Example

Race and dis are critical elements that have literally transformed the dynamics of the America society. Race is defined as “having a system of distinctions in the human race.” Race Discourse is defined as an “institutionalized way of speaking that determines our reality.” Racism and prejudice have been vital aspects that have been plagued the society of the United States of America. The root causes of racism and anti-Semitism are derived from the ideology of the white man’s burden that continues to be the hallmark of white supremacy. In addition, one cannot diminish the fact that America was founded upon the idea of “melting pot.” Even prominent figures such as Albert Einstein, called racism Americas "worst disease.” Prejudice has been the norm and the dream of “free spirit” of liberty has been obliterated. The country has literally shed blood of innocent civilians to fight for few basic rights that are God-given. Racism and prejudice are clearly present through Terkel’s narration of Ellis as he projects his emotional level of prejudice, his self-justification, and his displaced aggression. One of the main concepts of prejudice and racism that is outlined in Ellis’s narration is his level of prejudice that is prevalent throughout his life. Vincent Parillo, author of Causes of Prejudices questions the whole essence of social categories of racism, which is then depicted in Terkel’s work. When people are nurtured in an environment where they are biased culturally against a group of individuals; they naturally assume that those views are correct. This can be no doubt detrimental as these perspectives are embraced and become the foundation for hatred. Prejudicial attitudes are prevalent amongst many groups and are a key catalyst towards conducing hatred. In this particular scenario, the narrator shows his hostility towards African Americans as he terrifies the young African American kid with a gun. The whole narration is brilliantly captured in this scenario below: Clearly, here his emotions got the best of him as he traumatized the African American kid without any remorse. Undoubtedly, his anger got the best of him as he held a hostile attitude for no logical reasoning. Clearly one cannot conduct an analysis of the root causes of prejudices without understanding the true cognitive roots of the psychology that individuals possess regarding this issue. The psychological approach to this issue tends to mainly focus on the levels of prejudice, self-justification, personality and frustrations that become key components of this issue. Again, Ellis is the remarkable example of that as he joins the KKK to self-justify his actions. The human nature undoubtedly in many matters is to self-justify their actions from their own reasoning. Self-justifying hatred and racism is derived to logical thinking that humans are blessed with. However, philosophers argue that humans although have the great capacity of justifying the wrong reasoning for our actions. A brilliant example of this is prevalent throughout history. The genocide of Jews that occurred during World War II serves as a dark reminder of how an extremist group can rally for support and modify the perspective of a huge society. Another classical example can be seen throughout the reign of the Crusaders in which the Muslims and the Jews suddenly were public enemies for the name of Christ. Sociologists tend to emphasize the fact that self-justification can work the other way too.  A great example of a self-justifying group can be clearly seen through the rise and the terror caused by the KKK. The re-enlightenment of the second era had many different views than its predecessors. Post 1920, the Klan grew a strong membership of 4 to 5 million. Unlike the first Klan movement in the reconstruction era, it extended beyond the traditional motives. The second wave of the Klan continued to focus national agendas at hand that went beyond the agrarian economy. Since the Klan compromised majority of white and Protestant, it was vital that they elaborated on array of social and political issues. The macro focus was on civil issues such as Prohibition, employment, immigration restriction. One might even insist that it was a reformation movement. However, this movement did have many ramifications as it propagated violence and publicly humiliated the status of minorities. According to Ellis, the KKK was necessary for him to belong and to point out the flaws that plagued the system. He clearly insists as he states, “Deep down inside, we want to be part of this great society.” (Terkel, 402). Ellis persists on the fact that he certainly believed in the Klan as he states, “I felt we were getting old and our generation was going to die…At that time I believed Martin Luther King had communist connections” (Terkel, 401). Ellis had no insight knowledge about what the true intentions of the KKK were. Clearly, he rallied behind the Klan’s supreme strength was unpredictable as it held strong ground in Indiana, Oregon, and Colorado. The Klan played a huge role in politics according to Jackson as it affected the Democratic convention in 1924. The Klan was fed up from the fact that black workers on the domestic front earned decent wages and were being accepted in this new America. According to scholars, the Klan made its moral duty to halt this new type of African American growth in society. As mentioned above, the theory of from a psychological perspective tends to focus on the persons perception of prejudice. Here the concept of ethnocentrism becomes vital. Ethnocentrism is defined as general refutation of certain group or people. Consequently, prejudice is defined as rejection of a group or individuals because of their tendency to associate themselves with certain group. Historically speaking, racism and prejudice have plagued the African American race for centuries and decades. Ellis himself as the example of that as he states, “ I still couldn’t sleep at night. I still didn’t like blacks. I don’t want them to associate myself with Blacks, Catholics, or Jews…My father told me not to associate myself with them ” (Terkel, 403). Here the sociology of prejudice is derived since the nurturing environment of narrator is dangerous towards his upbringing. Since he was such a devout son, he would undoubtedly listen to his dad for advice and forming opinions on any other issues. Although the narrator grew up during the era of the World War II, he does not recognize the sacrifice of those black soldiers. Without a doubt, World War II was one of the most critical wars fought in the European front that literally changed the dynamics of the politics in the international sphere. All enlisted men ninety-first division were Negroes and that became controversial for many factors. First and foremost was the fact that all the men enlisted in this division were poor black individuals, who were illiterate and labor workers. They possessed no official military training and were up against an army which had prior experience. The division possessed around 600 military black officers, most of them which came from the Southern states. The 92nd Division comprised of 12,000 officers, in which 200 of them were white and 600 black officers. A major flaw that plagued this division was the fact that racial and prejudice haunted the infantry. The whole experience for these black men was bitter sweet as no chance of error was given to these men. Any training mistakes would be overblown by the media as the reports went back across the nation initiating a scream of hatred and racism. In essence, there was no respect for these brave warriors who were putting their lives in the front lines for their country. The emotional level of prejudice tends to aim and understand the true components behind why individuals hold these strong beliefs. One of the key causes can be due to a violent memory or a dramatic event that shaped the individuals perspective. These emotional attitudes can be triggered by a certain type of interaction in which fear and anger were the end result. Many individuals have faced these events. Hence, prejudice and racism that are derived from emotional level are complicated to dissolve. Ellis’s clearly displays his joy as he states, “When the news of MLK’s assassination, I got on the phone and began to Klansmen. We just had at a real party at the service stations” (Terkel, 405). Here the emotional levels of prejudice slowly surface. Clearly, he is happy and has no remorse for a death of an innocent civilian. His self-justification of believing in killing another individual is due to the fact that his emotional level is deeply impacted. In another instance, Ellis displays his anger and hostility as he states, “This was the time when the Civil rights movement. I will never forget this black old lady that I hated with purple passion” (Terkel, 402). Now one cannot acknowledge but the question remains; where was the hatred stemming from? That black woman never offended or defamed him. Yet, he holds this special grudge against her only because she has black. Emotional level of prejudice is clearly prevalent at this scenario. All these factors accumulate to define and understand the root causes of discrimination and prejudice. The true elements are further emphasized in Terkel’s personal narration, in which he tends to self-justify his reasoning for becoming a racist and a leader of the KKK. The story gives a bleak description of a poor childhood of the author. As a child, Terkel was never fortunate enough to buy any clothes or foods that were required for survival even though his father was an extremely hard worker. The story of his personal struggle is the hallmark of why Terkel even considered joining the KKK. As a bitter man, Terkel never was never happy about life. He was poor throughout his life and although he was a God-fearing man, he was cursed to have a child that was mentally challenged. With all these frustrations mounting, he wanted to express his frustrations of life towards someone. Clearly, it had a detrimental effect in his emotional behavior. Here the concept of emotional level of prejudice is a clear indicator of how Ellis seems to blame a group for his flaws in his life. The emotional attitudes that he embraced throughout his life became the vital component as he began to have the feelings of distrust for African Americans as he saw them more successful in life than he was. Undoubtedly, that became an uncontrollable monster in which he began to self-justify his heinous crimes as a leader. What made the matters worse was the fact that the economy really took a financially hit during the 1930’s. The Great Depression took all the self-confidence out from the white workers, who took pride in achieving the American dream. When White Americans realized that their dream had become obsolete, they needed a group that can define their true pride and exerted their prejudice towards African Americans. Prejudices are also sprung when one group feels attached to an idea that fulfills their need to belong in a community. Some White Americans originally felt that the KKK was a group that would allow them to express their individuality as an American. However, that intention evolved to something more dangerous and violent that most people expected. Lastly, the story depicts of a troubled child that seems to fight his fears through the utilization of being accepted by a larger group. Clearly, he feels more protected and confident when he is able to exert his anger over other individuals. Although that is extremely harmful for his emotional health, it clearly depicted his displaced aggression. Works Cited Studs Terkel. (n.d.). Spartacus Educational. Retrieved September 13, 2011, from http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co Vincent Perillo. Causes or Prejudice.   Read More