Steroetypes

Racism and Anti-Semitism in the United States Lucy Comstock PHI 103 Informal Logic Doug Stave May 28, 2012 It is easy for many Americans to deny that racism is still an issue in America today. While most people would never openly admit to it, there are those that are quite proud to express their opinions in regards to prejudices against certain races, religions and sexes. Now more than ever there is a trend to be “politically correct” in views towards minorities, cultures and people. However, stereotypes still help form the opinions of those that are judgmental in their views. Today racism and anti-Semitism are still issues that should not be taken lightly or ignored. While racism is not the huge issue it was 50 years ago, it has never gone away and in some cases has taken a completely different form. In the 1950’s and 60’s the main target of discrimination was on African Americans fighting for civil rights. ‘Black’, which up to the 1960s was a derogatory label, has been re-appropriated and revalorized by the civil rights and Black Power movements of the USA (Rattansi, p 91). The black population was deemed not worthy of rights and were not even considered American citizens by many. The treatment they endured was extremely humiliating and often violent. Many white people resisted having to be subjected to desegregation and fought against it. While they have come a long way in their fight, African Americans are still a population that must continually fight to be treated equally. There are white supremacy groups such as the KKK that still hold onto old ideas in regards to the black population and feel they are superior to this race. In recent years the Mexican population has come under fire for crossing the US border illegally to seek work. Those who oppose this often claim that they are taking jobs away from American citizens and using government resources that should only be used for US citizens. There is also the idea that Hispanics have been given preferential treatment under affirmative action programs. While many Mexicans may be guilty of illegal border crossing, most have immigrated legally or been born here. Now populations of Mexican and Latin American origin constitute the largest minority group in the country (Rattansi, p 92). Much of the southwest and California was built by Mexican labor. At one time the California/Mexican border was easily accessible by migrant seasonal workers that came to earn wages. The discrimination of Mexicans can be traced back to the 1940’s when they were portrayed in the media as lazy, murderers and disloyal. These stereotypes helped fuel negative images of Mexicans that are still recognized today. As Arizona has recently passed bills to harass and deport those that have entered the country illegally, it has opened the door for racism by allowing any person with brown skin to be stopped and questioned based on the color of their skin. Today’s armed and combat-camouflaged “Minutemen” in their various factions, who instigate confrontations on the border, or (in their civilian garb) harass day laborers in front of suburban Home Depots, are the latest incarnations of an old character. (Davis, M.; Akers C. J.; Cardona, J. p 14). They have lost some of the clout they initially had but are still active in activities meant to dissuade Mexicans from entering the country illegally. They have been referred to as media savvy neo-vigilantes. While the Minutemen and groups like them have started strong, what they didn’t expect was the strong opposition they encountered. It seems one way to undermine these groups is confronting them with counter groups. The vigilantes have been outnumbered on numerous occasions and were forced to back down. Since 9/11 a new focus has been placed on the Muslim community. Many Americans are afraid and suspicious of this group. It would seem irrational to believe that all people of one belief are terrorists or share all of the same beliefs. It would also be senseless to lash out at people that practice the Islamic faith in America where all are guaranteed freedom of religion. But there are ignorant people that have not only harassed and bullied people that resemble Muslims in dress or skin color, there are also those that have taken it to extreme measure and physically assaulted them or refused services to them. Once again, while many may have come to this country legally or illegally, there are many that have been born here and are loyal Americans. One has to wonder where racism comes from. Can it be taught or is it ignorance' "Little by little we were taught all these things. We grew into them." -- Adolph Eichman, Nazi war criminal. Can neo Nazi groups foster such hate for groups that include children to the point that they are willing to live in extreme situations to get away from them' While they remain fixated on the figure of Adolf Hitler as the lost savior of the Western world, his German nationalist horizons are superseded by their wider vision of a pan-Aryan movement led by the United States as the leading white power of the postwar world (Goodrick-Clarke, Nicholas, p 7). These ideas are very frightening in that they believe it is their duty to keep America as a white nation. They now even have politicians that are willing to represent them and their ideas. One of the great ironies of U.S. history is the way in which freedom and liberty were developed for white Americans on the backs of African Americans and other Americans of color (Feagin, p ix). It is not widely discussed however if one were to think about it, it would become apparent who actually built most of the foundation of America. Enslaved African Americans and indigenous Indians were used for labor and while they were rarely paid wages, their owners did receive compensation. The monuments erected to symbolize freedom were constructed by those that had none. The Freedom statue on top of the Capitol building is of a Native American woman which in another ironic instance was being eliminated, stolen from and sequestered to remote locations to live. It is suggested that Americans prefer to forget about this part of history and the racial oppression that was part of the beginning of American history. While many agree that racism was and still is an ongoing issue, there are also those that feel minorities are now getting preferential treatment due to laws that have been enacted to stop racial discrimination in the work place as well as in housing. Affirmative action was established to enforce a work environment that was diverse and not gender or race biased. In this case it seems women have benefited from this more than any other group. However it is argued by some that there is now reverse discrimination. By having to employee a certain number of minorities, employers had to eliminate prospective white employees to comply with Affirmative Action requirements. While it has helped to diversify the work place, it has also become a source of resentment for those that do not benefit from it, or have felt discriminated against because of it. Proponents of the policy tend to emphasize equality, or more specifically, equality of opportunity for groups historically disadvantaged, while opponents prefer liberty in the sense that employers and others should be free to select whomever they believe is best suited for available positions without special consideration for or against women or any group defined in terms of race or ethnicity (Kellough, p 74). There is also the argument in favor of racism out of concern for keeping blood lines and heritage pure. Many cultures advocate marrying within their race to uphold beliefs and customs. This would seem to be a way of preserving strong cultural traditions and ensuring that a race stays strong. All life is interested in reproducing its genes in the next generation, and marrying genetically similar individuals helps to increase this reproduction. It can then be argued that racism is a humane way to further an individual’s reproductive interests to maintain the strength of their culture. As quoted by President Ulysses S. Grant, “The present difficulty, in bringing all parts of the United States to a happy unity and love of country, grows out of the prejudice to color. The prejudice is a senseless one, but it exists”. While racism has been addressed and laws have been enacted to protect those of color as well as women, disabled and GLTB and there seems to be more racial tolerance, there are many new race related issues that are a direct result of the attacks on 9/11. Racial profiling has become more prevalent. For decades, the question of racial profiling or “biased policing,” has haunted the LAPD. Accusations that the practice was commonplace in minority neighborhoods throughout the 1970s and '80s helped earn the LAPD a reputation for bias and abuse of power. The 1999 Police-Public Contacts Survey showed that black and Latino drivers were more likely than white drivers to be handcuffed during traffic stops (Gumbhir, p 12). Now it is the Muslim community that is being profiled since the terrorist attacks on 9/11. The fear that the attacks placed in Americans on that day were certainly justified. However the reaction to a whole race and religious culture has been extreme. Immediately after the attacks Muslims or people that “looked” Muslim became targets of violence and even death. Citizens that were born in America but had Middle Eastern looks were viewed with great suspicion especially at airports. Arabs and Muslims in general and Arab and Muslim Americans by association and by direct action have been increasingly targeted for discriminatory politics and practices in the United States, fueled by the "war on terrorism" media frenzy. There are several problems with racial profiling as a counterterrorism strategy. The first is that it violates the Fourteenth Amendment--so the only way to institute it is to amend the Constitution. The second is that it is unjust. But the third is that it encourages a false sense of security. Because racial profiling increases the amount of attention given to Middle Easterners, it decreases the amount of attention given to other passengers. In the case of the London subway bombing, the attacker was a non-Arab. There is no evidence that this atmosphere of bigotry prevents terrorism. In conclusion, it would seem that as Americans who have roots that are mostly as immigrants from grandparents and great grandparents, they would be more accepting of different races, cultures and beliefs. Racism can be described as one race claiming to be superior over another. Groups such as the KKK have significantly lost their popularity, however the issue of racism has not gone away. As long as there are people refusing to accept others based on skin color, gender or religious beliefs racism will continue to be an issue. References Davis, Mike; Akers Chacón, Justin; Cardona, Julian (Photographer). No One Is Illegal: Fighting Racism and State Violence on the U.S.-Mexico Border. Chicago, IL, USA: Haymarket Books, 2006. p 13. http://site.ebrary.com/lib/ashford/Doc'id=10282761&ppg=13 Feagin, Joe R.; Vera, Hernan; Batur, Pinar. White Racism. London, GBR: Routledge, 2000. p ix. http://site.ebrary.com/lib/ashford/Doc'id=10053761&ppg=10 Goodrick-Clarke, Nicholas. Black Sun: Aryan Cults, Esoteric Nazism and the Politics of Identity. New York, NY, USA: NYU Press, 2001. p 7. http://site.ebrary.com/lib/ashford/Doc'id=10032490&ppg=14 Gumbhir, Vikas K. But Is It Racial Profiling' : Policing, Pretext Stops, and the Color of Suspicion. New York, NY, USA: LFB Scholarly Publishing LLC, 2007. p 12. http://site.ebrary.com/lib/ashford/Doc'id=10225119&ppg=26 Kellough, J. Edward. Understanding Affirmative Action: Politics, Discrimination, and the Search for Justice. Washington, DC, USA: Georgetown University Press, 2006. p 74. http://site.ebrary.com/lib/ashford/Doc'id=10236728&ppg=75 Rattansi, Ali. Racism: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford, GBR: Oxford University Press, UK, 2007. p 91, 92. http://site.ebrary.com/lib/ashford/Doc'id=10271752&ppg=104