Ali and Man
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Race and ethnicity are two words that many people have very different opinions on what defines the two. Race indicates biological differences among people such as skin color, facial features, stature, and the like that are transmitted from generation to generation (Aguirre & Turner, 2011). Different races consist of Black, White, Asian, Hispanic and etc. Among all of the different races there are a plethora of subcultures due to the different beliefs, languages, countries of origin, religions, culture characteristics, and family practices. These differences make up a persons ethnicity. For example a person from Africa would be classified racially as Black or African, and their ethnicity could be Gambian, Nigerian, or any of the many countries in Africa. Once you find out what country that person is from most will then inform you of the tribe they are associated with. This definitely is much more specific and breaks down that person so much more than the first label as African or Black. Two people from the same race can have completely different ethnicities but be generally perceived as the same. People with dark skin live across the globe in places people would not imagine. In South America there are people as dark as Africans. If both walked into a building together people would assume they were both black men until they spoke, and their languages would change their label. The word ethnicity is used to describe individuals in detail. Here in America there are many different people from various places in the world, but the physical features are very similar. More importantly some genes in our biological make-up are similar as well, so the term race runs into many particulars. So, people tend to refer to their ethnic group as their definition. This explains the importance of studying humans from a sociological perspective. By their being so many distinctions within every race it is hard to classify people in large groups. Ethnicities are sometimes negatively viewed by society. The sociological approach allows an understanding of the superficial concepts developed in the minds of people to help remove some of the stereotypes formed of certain ethnic groups. When people see differences in appearance, mannerism and mentality they tend to treat those people differently. The study done on all of the different races and ethnicities can help give society a better understanding and tolerance for one another.
The ethnic relations theory that appealed to me as I skimmed the book for this assignment was the Caste Theories. In 1940s a group a sociologists explained black-white relations as a caste system as blacks were kept at lower socioeconomic positions, denied access to power, prevented from intermarriage, and segregated in their own living space (Aguirre & Turner, 2011). Oliver C. Cox contributed to the theory by submitting the argument that the capitalist class owners and managers of industries have been crucial to the caste like subornation of African Americans (Aguirre & Turner, 2011). He suggested that present ideas developed from the legitimization of slavery. To justify the actions of slavery the Europeans developed prejudice beliefs, stereotypes and used religion to erase the immorality of slavery. Low labor cost brought higher profit for the southern plantation owners but when slavery was abolished those beliefs still presided in the United States. The hatred for the descendants of the slaves remained in the descendants of the slave masters. That explains the puzzling dislike for one another. In my opinion there are no two races of people who have a greater history of conflict than blacks and whites. The reason this theory stuck out to me is because I believe that system is still present in American society. Since 1980 the consistency in the unemployment rate of blacks is that it has doubled the number of unemployed whites. In 1980 the unemployment rate of blacks was roughly 12-13% compared to whites 6%. In 2011 the unemployment rate of blacks is 16.7% compared to whites 8% (Censky, 2011). That validates the statement of denied power to blacks by the earlier sociologists whose research was done forty years prior to this study. With no job you have no income and money gives you power to control your conditions including the food you eat, clothing, shelter, and education for yourself and your family. Also low paying jobs deny you certain abilities. The majority of blacks that do have jobs are not paid well. Of course, there are exceptions to every theory so you will have a small percentage of blacks who make good money, but looking at the majority they are uneducated and either unemployed or working a low waging job. The textbook later mentions how blacks are segregated more than any other ethnic population in the United States (Aguirre & Turner, 2011). Black politicians are mostly elected in locations where they are the majority, but they are denied the resources to help improve the condition of the community (Aguirre & Turner, 2011). People say the mentality of slavery is dead but with the facts displaying the ideas of the slave masters prejudiced beliefs and stereotypes towards the blacks in America one has to wonder when that barrier will be broken.
Whites have created ethnic antagonism and discrimination issues in America in many different ways beginning from the foundation of what we call America. First the Native Americans antagonized in ways that have completely shattered their rich culture. All “Americans” know about the Native Americans is of the cheap images and portrayal of them in movies. Now to move to the enslaving of Africans. The slaves were taught differences among them to divide them as a people. The slave masters turned light against the dark, tall against the short, heavy set people against the slimmer people, and young against the old. Any physical feature that could be described was used to create differences. This method was used to break the trust the slaves had for one another so that they would only trust and respect the slave master (“How to keep,” 1712). Like mentioned above the White Anglo-Saxons have demonstrated discriminatory acts in various ways, blatant and under the table. “In 1882 congress passed the Chinese Exclusionary act, which suspended the immigration of Chinese laborers for ten years (Aguirre & Turner, 2011).” Later in 1917 congress passed a law excluding all Asian immigrants from coming to the United States. The reasoning was the same fear that they had with the slaves, jobs. With many people migrating to the United states, immigrants are willing to work for less wages than Americans so that has posed a threat to American society as it does now, in the perspective of the Anglos. In 1954 Attorney General Herbert Brownnell created