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Project  3 revision

Page history last edited by Anisa 12 years, 3 months ago

Have you ever been in a room full of people and still felt very alone? The issue isn’t the number, rather acceptance. Discrimination itself is and has always been a big issue in our country. Although over the years laws have been passed to ensure equal rights for all citizens, one can’t help but wonder if acts of discrimination still occur. Your religion, race, weight, nationality, and even your gender are factors that most people make quick judgments about. Unfortunately, many of these judgments are based on biases and assumptions. Under the Federal law, many types of employment discrimination are illegal. These types of discrimination such as racial, religious, gender, ethnic, and color discrimination are prohibited by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The law protects people from discrimination but unlawful acts by people tend to violate the law. For example, discrimination on the basis of an ‘immutable characteristic’ associated with race, such as skin color, hair texture, or certain facial features violates Title VII”.               Discrimination or hateful tactics against someone at work, school, or in a public place can turn into hateful thoughts, that can eventually lead into hateful and dangerous acts. Thus, in order to rise up with our societies, people need to recognize these behaviors in order to put an end to them.  This paper is going to differentiate racism, define discrimination based on religion, and explain gender suppressing. Through personal experiences, facts and research by the end of this essay one will have a better understanding and learn a deeper meaning for the word “Discrimination”.

                To create this definition I will first argue that racism and discrimination have important similarities but yet different.  To help one have a better understanding of these uneducated doings, I will briefly define the meanings of both racism and discrimination to differentiate the two.  According to Mariam Webster dictionary, discrimination “is the process by which two stimuli differing in some aspect are responded to differently”, and Racism “is a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial difference produce an inherent superiority of a particular race”.  In other words, racism differs from discrimination by the victim that it targets.   Racism is outright hatred and encourages people to engage in acts of violence, where an innocent human being can be killed or bullied. Discrimination is very broad; it’s also a form of hatred that is formed when one is discriminating against another. People need to come to the realization that there is so much more to love in person, much more than where they came from, or their skin color. Some might look different, dress different, act different, talk differently but no one has the right to hate or discriminate when we are all alike within.  

            Personal experiences in particular are the best illustration to capture racism. Coming to America at such a young age, I have been the target to be discriminated against based on my race. From the language barrier, to the way I was dressed and the way I acted, people viewed me as a different race from theirs, as a different breed. In addition, people have that instinct to judge at first sight. As communication was a barrier I always felt like I did not fit in. For example, one day at the lunch table in high school one of the girls I was sitting with asked me a question. She asked if America was a “better” place than Albania, and I responded with “Albania”. Another girl sitting not too far way said “Well, go back to where you came from”, to this day I still hear comments like that. That moment right there made me realize that teenagers are now more than ever prone to discriminate just because one is from a different country. Although my perception to that question has changed and I will never move back, I will always follow the path of my countries traditional ways, yet still want that “fitting in” feeling.

             Coming to America without knowing the language was the worst experiences that I have encountered with.  But, being here for so long and being surrounded with Americans I was kind of forced to learn English, now in many occasions I have found myself being a translator. For example, one discriminatory act that just recently happened has left me speechless.  I was trying to talk to my uncle at his place of employment when a lady interrupts me to only say “if you speak English to him, then maybe we can understand what he is saying and we can ask him questions too”, in which she implied that he needs to learn English. I personally think that one should make an effort to communicate with others, sometimes through learning their language, and others through a mutual language out of respect and kindness to humanity as a whole.

Discrimination is also explicit with gender oppression. Above all, the workplace is the foundation for this particular discrimination.  Gender oppression is defined as “oppression associated with the gender norms relations and stratification of a giving society”.  It basically assigns specific roles in the society according to gender qualifications and traits. However, these traits and qualifications are not gender –specific. For example, strength is not specific to men and conversely nurturing is not specific to women.  Yet, in a larger scale, women are pushed aside to the private sphere, whereas men are leading the workforce and handling the superior positions.  For example, “In the House, there are currently 362 men and 76 women. In the Senate, there are 17 women and 83 men”. This is a clear case in which women are oppressed based on their gender only. 

            To consider this furthermore, a look at a typical work place such as retail companies adds much more clarity to this issue. Working as a customer service representative at a retail business I have witnessed gender bias. Every management team the store had over the years consisted of two thirds men. This store always had fewer women in a management positions. Moreover, through my connection with retail businesses, this has always been the case. This specifically worries me as a woman majoring in this particular career, business management. Looking ahead to my future job interviews, I deserve to be evaluated based on my experience and job qualifications rather than my gender. Unquestionably, the struggling present economy compiles even more to this dispute. As a result of gender roles specifying the man as the head of the household, more jobs are given to men, ignoring the women contribution to the household, and to the society.

Ignoring the women’s contributions has led to the collapse of the basic foundations of the society. Some are blaming this on certain religions, accusing them of the destruction of women and their crucial role in the every aspect of life. This is one of the main causes that lead to discrimination against individuals practicing these religions. This leads me to my third point: discrimination against religion. Gender discrimination is happening against women or a gay, lesbian, transgender person.

Religion, according to Merriam-Webster dictionary, is a “personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices”. To elaborate, religion is a personal relationship between the individual and his/her creator. As a result, religions differ based on different cultures, diverse ethnicities, and complex belief systems. Moreover, people especially take pride in their religion, because it represents their most inner fears, hopes, and their need of belongingness. Thus, it is easier to take offend to their religion, and take it a step further to attack the opposite’s religion. This case is especially obvious here in America because of the wide diversity of religions.

Generally all the religions have their flaws that people discriminate against. However, one of the religions that have taken more attentions is Islam. Muslims have been especially discriminated against based on their religious beliefs and practices.  To be a Muslim in America you are automatically viewed as terrorist. Because of a certain act that has been done in the name of Islam, individual Muslims are accused of these acts, 9/11 is a vivid example. Without a doubt, people that wear the “hijab” are looked upon with bitterness and even hatred. However, one person’s doings are not a representation of the whole population, and you cannot judge a person by what she/he is wearing or has over their face.  We need to realize that respecting others’ beliefs is essential, if we want that respect back.

            Overall, by researching whether discrimination still exists in the world, we need to follow the path of eliminating this altogether. Even though we like to deny the fact that one is racist or is discriminating it is in fact true. I speak from experience when I say I have been discriminated against but I also see it and experience it at a work place and in other different situation when one is discriminating or is being racist because they fall in the category as minority group or African Americans.  For example, African Americans are looked upon as lazy, or do not want to work, or loud. Such discriminatory slurs and other racism comments are thrown at them every day.  As I previously mentioned I am an immigrant and I did get discriminated against for many things, one of them being the language.  Even after 10 years in America my parents still do not speak English. The workforce is diverse now more than ever, and being employed in a retail store I have come in contact with many different people, from African Americans to Asians to Indians and people from my country.

People need to realize that we are alike within, there is no need to judge, nor does anybody have that power to judge someone else’s life. Although many do not make direct comments you can see it in their face.  Cultural traditions between Americans and foreigners are very different; for example the dating and partying scene in America differs from my country because they like to get involved in relationships at such a young, they like to go out on a Friday night and in my country we do not. We date only once and get married, we don’t feel the need that we need to drink to be happy or feel the need that is a must to go out on a Friday night.  Speaking from experience because I did not have a boyfriend and did not party in High school I was always discriminated against, because I was different and because my values and beliefs are different. All the comments and looks I have gotten from fellow classmates I have indeed experienced that discrimination is visibly shown and it still occurs.

Throughout this paper the differentiating of racism and discrimination, hopefully made one have a better understanding of the two. They are not similar, but alike. Without doubt racism, discrimination based on religion and gender oppression is still going on, and still affects one’s life in a negative way.  It seems that as times go by people have lost sight to what is really important and focus on the nonsense. In final words, I hope that people look past ones differences and treat one the same way they want to be treated.  If all of us could follow a path and support this change against racism and discrimination this world would be a better place.

Work Cited Page.

"ThisNation.com--The U.S. Congress Quick Facts." ThisNation.com-American Government & Politics Online. 07 Dec. 2011. Web. 07 Dec. 2011. <http://www.thisnation.com/congress-facts.html>.

""Mutable Characteristics and the Definition of Discrimination under Tit" by Peter Brandon Bayer." Scholarly Commons @ UNLV Law | University of Nevada, Las Vegas -- William S. Boyd School of Law Research. Web. 07 Dec. 2011. <http://scholars.law.unlv.edu/facpub/336/>.

"Facts About Race/Color Discrimination." US EEOC Home Page. Web. 07 Dec. 2011. <http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/fs-race.html>.

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