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Race, How it Functions, and its Effects
Race, How it Functions, and its Effects
Introduction
Race has been a major issue in the history of human kind. The concept of race, regardless of whether it has a biological or scientific support, is a profound and influential concept (Hall, 2017). Throughout history, human civilizations have used race to build and legitimize power structures, privilege, marginalization, and repression against minorities and women. The definition, in the dictionary, of the word of race is insufficient because it fails to represent the intricacies of race’s effect on people’s daily lives in its most basic forms. Important to remember is that race is a social construct that was created to categorize humans according to arbitrary criteria such as skin color and other physical characteristics such as height (Hage, 2009). In order to comprehend anything, it is important to first acknowledge the effects of race on the identities and experiences of people in order to craft a definition that is comprehensive and real. In this paper, the main purpose is to define race and to expound on how it functions. The paper also addresses its effects in society.
Race and Racism
Race is a notion that does not have a universally accepted definition in the scientific community. The term “race” may be described as a group of individuals who share certain physical characteristics with one another on the one hand, and as a group of people who share certain physical characteristics with one another on the other (Pithouse, 2016). It might also refer to individuals from a certain location or heritage who have common qualities, such as geography, according to another interpretation. In most cases, race is related with biology and physical features such as skin color and hair texture, among other things. Racism is a vague notion that is used to categorize persons based on a variety of factors, including their genetic origin and social identity, among others.
The concept of race leads to other social constructs such as racism. According to Banton (2009), racism refers to the classification of people as belonging to the same race based on their physical qualities such as their skin color and facial characteristics. Contrary to popular belief, despite the fact that genes have an impact on these apparent qualities, the great majority of genetic diversity occurs within ethnic groups rather than between them. Race, as per the assertions of Gordon (2000), should be viewed as a social construct rather than as a biological construct, because race is an idea. Since ancient times, race has been employed to build social hierarchies and to exert dominion over the remaining human population. However, despite the fact that there are no clearly defined borders between racial groups (Wright, 2004), there is an indistinct and unresolved link between racial groupings and human genetic diversity (Goldberg, 2002), as well as demographic groups, throughout the world (Yudell, 2014). In general, race may be described as a culturally organized, systematic manner of perceiving, understanding, and looking at reality that is divided into groups based on their cultural background.
Functioning of Race
Racial discrimination is well-known in most cultures, with race frequently being used to construct and legitimize power structures, as well as to oppress, marginalize, and suppress minorities and other minorities. If racial and ethnic disparities have survived for as long as they have, they must have played a significant role in society, according to the functionalism theory of race and ethnicity (Moreton-Robinson, 2015). Racial discrimination has always been and will continue to be the most important obligation of racism, and this has been and will continue to be the case. For example, slaveholders in the American South justified slavery by claiming that black people were essentially inferior to white people and that, in the long run, enslavement was better to liberty. When we take a functionalist perspective to racism, we can also analyze the ways in which racism may benefit the operation of society in a good way by building relationships between in-group members and ostracizing members of other groups (Hickey, 2016). The unwillingness to accept strangers into a community, for example, may contribute to the strengthening of the bonds that exist amongst members of the community.
Racism and ethnicity serve as important symbols of identification and sources of belonging for individuals of all races and ethnicities, according to the standpoint of symbolic interactionists (Paradies, 2016). The majority of people inside the dominant group would not even hold racist sentiments if they did not come into contact with these individuals on a regular basis. As such, the building of an idealized picture of the minority assists the dominant group in defending their own interpretation of the inferior group, so aiding in the preservation of the status quo as it is now defined (Yudell, 2014). For example, a person whose ideas of a given group are based on pictures communicated through popular culture and who maintains those beliefs despite the fact that the individual has never met someone from that group in person may exemplify this.
Effects of Race in a Society
Racism refers to a social construction that is used to categorize and assign social rank to individuals. In socioeconomic, social, legal, political, economic, and sociocultural context, racism may be defined as a network of institutions and ideas that organize and sustain an uneven distribution of advantages, wealth, and influence in benefit of the dominant racial group(s) at the expense of other racial groups. Racism is defined as an uneven distribution of advantage, wealth, and control that advantages the dominant racial groups at the expense of other racial groups (Banton, 2009). Three separate but connected features of prejudice toward social groups are encompassed by the term racism: predisposition (emotional bias), stereotyping (cognitive bias), and discriminating (legal discrimination) (Hall, 2017). According to the dictionary, prejudice is defined as an emotional response to another person or group based on one’s previously held beliefs about that person or group. When someone projects their own thoughts, beliefs, and expectations onto another person without first acquiring knowledge about that person, this is referred to as projectionism. Discrimination is the denial of equal rights on the basis of preconceived assumptions and prejudices about a person or group of people.
Race and the related concepts of racism develop into other concepts that redefine how a society relates. For example, structural or institutional racism, personal mediated discrimination, and internalized racism emerge in societies where race plays an important role. It is referred to as structural racism when there is an unequal distribution of commodities, services, and opportunities based on race (also known as institutional racism). The development of hereditary disadvantage occurs as a result of organizations embracing discriminatory practices. When it comes to racism, it can be either structural or institutional. Racism refers to the processes, attitudes, and actions that lead to discrimination against minority ethnic groups as a consequence of unconscious prejudice, ignorance, thoughtlessness, and racial stereotyping (Molina and James, 2016). Racism can also be referred to as institutional or systemic racism, depending on who you ask. Historically, racism has been indissolubly related to both institutionalized and structural racism. Institutional racism has a negative impact on educational institutions, the criminal justice system, and the health-care system, among other things. Racism among institutions such as the police or the criminal justice system in a certain country is exemplified by the actions (or inaction) of individuals within those institutions. Economically wealthy nations with high rates of COVID-19 mortality among Black persons are considered to be suffering from structural racism. It is referred to as structural racism when a society’s more major political and economic disadvantages, such as higher poverty rates among Black people and people of Asian descent, are manifested. For lack of a better term, institutional racism has a daily impact on the lives, well-being, and future possibilities of minority groups in a majority of countries in the world. White supremacy is normalized when historical, cultural, and institutional actions that favor white people at the cost of minorities are accepted as standard behavior, especially in institutions and structures of society.
Personally mediated racism is the case of prejudice leading to discrimination. Racist acts can be premeditated, unintentional, committed by commission or omission, and they can be intentional or accidental. In the context of personally mediated racism, prejudice and discrimination are two aspects that must be distinguished. Prejudice refers to differing assessments of others’ abilities and motivations that are based on their race, while discrimination refers to differing acts against others that are based on their race (Graham et al., 2016). People’s actions of racism can be intentional or unintentional, and they can take the form of either commissions or omissions of acts of racism. Poor or non-existent service, failure to clearly explain choices, and distrust are all manifestations of a lack of respect.
Internalized racism is a term used to describe the process through which members of a stigmatized group internalize negative messages about their own abilities and intrinsic value. No one, not even people who look like them, could persuade them to see from a different perspective. A component of this process is accepting limitations on one’s complete humanity, which includes one’s range of ambitions, right to personal determination, and range of allowed self-expression (Sosoo, Bernard, and Neblett, 2020). Racial insults as identifiers, rejection of ancestral culture, and severe violence are all indications of social minority’ feelings of self-devaluation, despair, impotence, and hopelessness, as well as their feelings of powerlessness and hopelessness.
Conclusion
The definition of race today is insufficient because it fails to represent the intricacies of race’s effect on people’s daily lives in its most basic forms. In this discussion, the main purpose was to define race and to expound on how it functions while also addressing its effects in society. It has been defined as a group of individuals who share certain physical characteristics with one another on the one hand, and as a group of people who share certain physical characteristics with one another on the other. On the other hand, racism is the classification of people as belonging to the same race based on their physical qualities such as their skin color and facial characteristics. The most important effect is that racism leads to structural or institutional racism, personal mediated discrimination, and internalized racism emerge in societies.
Reference List
David Theo Goldberg (2002) “Chapter 5: Racial States,” The Racial State. London: Wiley.
Graham, J.R., West, L.M., Martinez, J. and Roemer, L., 2016. The mediating role of internalized racism in the relationship between racist experiences and anxiety symptoms in a Black American sample. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 22(3), p.369.
Ghassan Hage (2009) “Is Australia Racist?”
Hickey, S.D., (2016). ‘They say I’m not a typical Blackfella’: Experiences of racism and ontological insecurity in urban Australia. Journal of Sociology, 52(4), pp.725-740.
Gordon, R., (2000). Critical Race Theory and International Law: Convergence and Divergence. Vill. L. Rev., 45, p.827.
Michael Banton (2009) “The Idiom of Race,” in Les Back and John Solomon (eds.) Theories of Race and Racism: A Reader. New York: Routledge, pp. 55-67.
Michael Yudell (2014) “Biology and the Problem of the Color Line,” in Race Unmasked: Biology and Race in the Twentieth Century. NY: Columbia University Press.
Michelle M. Wright (2004) “The European and American Invention of the Black Other” in Becoming Black: Creating Identity in the African Diaspora. Durham: Duke University Press.
Molina, K.M. and James, D., (2016). Discrimination, internalized racism, and depression: A comparative study of African American and Afro-Caribbean adults in the US. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 19(4), pp.439-461.
Moreton-Robinson, A. (2015). ‘Imagining the Good Indigenous Citizen: Race War and the Pathology of White Sovereignty’. In The White Possessive: Power, Property, and Indigenous Sovereignty (Chapter 11, pp. 153-172).
Paradies, Y., (2016). Colonisation, racism and indigenous health. Journal of Population Research, 33(1), pp.83-96.
Richard Pithouse (2016) “Being Human After 1492.” The Con, 16 November 2016. http://www.theconmag.co.za/2016/11/16/being-human-after-1492/Stuart Hall (2017) The Fateful Triangle: Race, Ethnicity, Nation (Chapter 1, “Race—The Sliding Signifier”). Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press, pp. 31-79.
Sosoo, E.E., Bernard, D.L. and Neblett Jr, E.W., (2020). The influence of internalized racism on the relationship between discrimination and anxiety. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 26(4), p.570.
The Impact of Pandemic Covid-19 on Global Tourism Industry
The Impact of Pandemic Covid-19 on Global Tourism Industry
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The Impact of Pandemic Covid-19 on Global Tourism Industry
Introduction
Covid-19 is a global pandemic that has had a devastating effect on the tourism industry globally. Tourism is among the industries that has been hit the hardest by the structures that governments and international organizations have imposed thanks to the pandemic (Uğur & Akbıyık, 2020). Consequently, restrictions on travel and movements were imposed affecting both local and international tourism. Despite the recent developments and improvements in recovering normal operations across the globe, the pandemic is still taking a toll on every aspect of life and the global economy. Due to this economic crisis, the world witnessed a significant decrease in incomes of a significant percentage of the population (Uğur & Akbıyık, 2020). Firstly, the incomes of local residents who form the basis of local tourism was affected. Secondly, the tourist business owners experienced economic downturns and will have a hard time restoring their normal enterprise operations. As a result, they may attempt to inflate their prices for foreign tourists. This paper discusses and analyzes the impacts that the pandemic has had on the tourism industry on a global scale and provides some suggestions and recommendations that can help the issues encountered by the industry due to the pandemic.
The Travel and Tourism Industry
Within the past decade, the industry of tourism has seen a continuous growth and was considered to be among the fastest growing sectors globally (Horaira, 2021). The tourism industry witnessed a growth of 59% in global arrival of tourists from 2009 to 2019 that is about 880 million in 2009 to about 1.5 billion in 2019. Globally, the industry contributed about $9 trillion to the world GDP in the year 2019 which equaled to a 10.3% contribution. It should also be noted that one in ten jobs across the globe was in the tourism sector in 2019 which equaled 330 million jobs (Pashkus, Pashkus, & Asadulaev, 2021). But all of this changed when the pandemic hit in 2020 and the growth within the industry was halted. With hotels closed, airplanes on the ground, and the implementation of travel restrictions across the world, the tourism industry became the most affected sector in the world economy. The COVID-19 pandemic cut all the international arrivals in the first and second quarters of 2020. In one year of the pandemic’s outbreak, there was an unprecedented damage to the tourism sector globally (Pashkus, Pashkus, & Asadulaev, 2021). Urgent measures were therefore taken to prevent the rapid spread of the virus like social distancing, territorial blockade, school closures, working from home, among other measures.
According to a study conducted by (Harchandani & Shome, 2021), the damage that the COVID-19 pandemic caused is much higher compared to the previous pandemics. The precise estimate of the total loss cannot be conducted the virus is still spreading. The losses faced by the international tourism is through severe declines of global tourists, revenues, and number of closed destinations and interrupted businesses. The adverse effects of COVID-19 on the global tourism is analyzed through the aspects below:
Impact on Destination Performance
Thanks to the pandemic, travel restrictions were implemented in every destination across the globe. This perspective represented a major challenge on international travel because all the destinations across the world had to limit the number of tourists coming in in order to prevent the spread of the disease (Abbas et al., 2021). To combat the dangers of the virus, many countries prioritized community health and that is why travel was restricted entirely or partly between destinations. Still, the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 are increasing as well as deaths related to the virus and that is why for a while, many countries chose to totally implement travel restrictions in order to solve this health crisis. Therefore, all tourism activities were suspended in all areas across the globe.
Number of COVID-19 infections in the top-ten tourist destinations across the globe (Source: Tung, 2021)
According to the statistics above, it shows how the pandemic was high and is affecting tourism in almost all the leading international travel markets. There are eight countries in the top-ten tourist destinations in 2019 that are in the list of twenty countries with the highest number of cases (Tung, 2021). In particular, the top-ten tourist destinations had about 61.8 million infections as of May, 2020 which was approximately 35.9% of the COVID-19 cases worldwide (Tung, 2021). Even though the latest statistics indicate that almost all destinations globally have now reduced the restrictions implemented on global tourism, the COVID-19 pandemic is still causing significant damages to the tourism sector not only in the top ten tourism markets, but in all tourism destinations across the globe.
Impact on international tourism revenue tourists
Since the outbreak of the pandemic, the international tourism system has been facing a risk of collapse as a result of a sharp decline in the number of both local and international tourists.
Figure 1: The decline rate of global tourists in sub regions in 2020 (Source: (Kaushal & Srivastava, 2021)
According to the statistics on the figure above, there was a decline in the number of global tourists in every territory and country across the globe (Kaushal & Srivastava, 2021). At the end of 2020, the Asia-Pacific region saw the highest decline with -80% relative to the same time period in the year 2019. Other counties also witnessed a sharp decrease; Middle-East (-75%), Europe (-70%), Americas (-70%), and Africa (-63%). On average, the number of international tourists decreased by approximately -73% relative to the same time period the previous year (Tung, 2021). This percentage is equivalent to over one billion visitors.
Impact on Employment in the Tourism Industry
The tourism industry is regarded as a leading sector in the economy of many countries. The tourism sector generates not only revenue for the economy but it also employs a significant number of people (Tung, 2021). The International Labor Organization provides that international tourism provided over 319 million both directly and indirectly which accounts for approximately 10% of the international workforce. Because the tourism industry was the hardest hit sector amid the pandemic, approximately 144 million employees working in the tourism sector encountered a major reversal on income and some lost their jobs (Tung, 2021). For instance, 45% of the population in Portuguese island of Madeira lost their jobs and 41,500 people lost their jobs in Hungary. In addition, after lockdowns were enacted in the Caribbean region, approximately 300,000 people were rendered jobless in the tourism sector of Jamaica (Altuntas & Gok, 021).
The adverse effects of the pandemic on employment on the tourism sector is evident. Because of the losses suffered by the industry, it may take a number of years or even decades to regain the growth enjoyed between 2009 and 2019 and recapture the opportunities that were missed (Rahman et al. 2021). Due to the territorial blockade policies imposed in destinations, if specific countries fail to put efforts, it would be extremely hard to overcome the problems that the global tourism industry is facing today. This situation is serious and urgent because there are approximately 120 million tourism employees that can lose their jobs due to this pandemic. This is about 35% of the total number of employees in the tourism sector globally (Rahman et al. 2021). This risk is very huge for both the international tourism sector and the host countries’ social issues.
Impact on Tourism Transportation
The global air travel demand had sharply decreased in the year 2020 relative to 2019. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) stated that the data showed an unmatched decrease of about 75% in the number of flights globally as compared to the previous year (Singh, ET AL., 2021). This indicates an adverse impact of the pandemic on the international tourism sector. Generally, aviation is the number one choice of travelling means globally. But even so, cruise-based tourism has seen a rapid growth in recent years (Rahman et al. 2021). Consequently, this form of tourism has led to an increase in revenue due to the increased number of tourists over the years. But after the pandemic hit, the large- yacht travels were suspended to contain the spread of the coronavirus. This form of tourism was nearly stopping its operations because of the risk of the virus spreading across the world. In addition, bus transport companies also saw an unmatched decline in tourism transportation demands. The instant decline in both domestic and international tourism demands was a shocking for local transport companies that focuses on the transportation of tourists locally (Rahman et al. 2021). Some solutions have been proposed in order to recover the global tourism transportation like the coronavirus vaccine passport but the outbreak of the pandemic in some regions tends to slow these plans.
Impact on the Tourism Industry’s Supply Chain
On normal conditions, units in the supply chain of tourism like airline companies, travel firms, excursion points, and accommodation service providers will smoothly liaise with each other to serve visitors and share profits and revenues (Pham et al., 2021). But after the strong drop in the number of both domestic and foreign tourists, a good financial flow is affected. Moreover, informal businesses within the industry were also affected due to the pandemic. The supply chain units have tried to keep deposit money and prioritized settling their issues. Evidently, the pandemic has led to cracks and disruptions in the global tourism system’s supply chain. Most facilities like hotels, restaurants, entertainment spots, and local tourism destinations are either closed because of sharply reduced wattage or blockade policies (Pham et al., 2021). These situations have resulted in disruptions of the industry’s supply chain and recovering from these disruptions can take a lot of time. If the pandemic prolongs and the decline of international visitors continues over the years, the tourism supply chain units will continue to face issues such as bankruptcies and can also be broken seriously.
Suggestions and Recommendations
The pandemic’s outbreak has obviously led to countries taking unprecedented solutions and has caused tremendous damages to the tourism industry globally. This serious crisis has not ended and the rate of recovery cannot be predicted (Tung, 2021). Even though the coronavirus vaccine campaigns continue to be performed across many countries worldwide, the COVID-19 outbreak is still a very serious issue. This therefore means that international tourism needs not only effective solutions but also huge cooperation from every country globally (Pashkus, Pashkus, & Asadulaev, 2021). Thus, it is necessary that the tourism industry develops effective strategies to develop and reinforce their brand and the countries’ territories in order to influence the attractiveness of the cities for the tourists despite the pandemic. Furthermore, it is necessary to take multiple state regulation’s measures and the industry’s support to avoid overpricing and unreasonable requirements for international tourists. These measures will help avoid subsequent crises in the global tourism industry possibly transform the trends of global tourism in favor of their territories.
Conclusion
The pandemic has had serious effects on the global tourism sector and has caused multiple social and economic losses. Measures put in place to combat this pandemic like closure of national borders, lockdown of economies, mandatory testing especially for travelers, and quarantine has changed the industry’s functioning significantly (Pashkus, Pashkus, & Asadulaev, 2021). The recurrent nature of the pandemic’s wave every now and then has forced the international authorities to continuously modify the regulations that concern sanitary restrictions and security measures which aggravates further the adverse effects of the pandemic on the industry of tourism. As demonstrated in the discussion above, every form of tourism activity has been harmed thanks to the pandemic. Although local tourism has not been affected as much as the international tourism, it has also suffered losses. But from previous experiences with other pandemics, there is hope that international tourism will eventually overcome this difficult situation successfully and a growth period will start (Bouarar, Mouloudj, & Mouloudj, 2020). Furthermore, the crisis brought by the pandemic can be regarded as an opportunity for the restructure of international tourism with regards to the new growth period. Experts have introduced policy implications to help in the process of recovery within the industry. The roll out of the corona virus vaccine also boosts hopes for the industry’s recovery despite the constant challenges experienced. In most regions, the global tourism industry is expected to survive and local tourism in many countries across the world has resumed operations and business and jobs have been restored in some destinations.
References
Abbas, J., Mubeen, R., Iorember, P. T., Raza, S., & Mamirkulova, G. (2021). Exploring the
impact of COVID-19 on tourism: transformational potential and implications for a sustainable recovery of the travel and leisure industry. Current Research in Behavioral Sciences, 2, 100033. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crbeha.2021.100033Altuntas, F., & Gok, M. S. (2021). The effect of COVID-19 pandemic on domestic tourism: A
DEMATEL method analysis on quarantine decisions. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 92, 102719. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2020.102719Bouarar, A. C., Mouloudj, K., & Mouloudj, S. (2020). The impact of coronavirus on tourism sector-an analytical study.
Harchandani, P., & Shome, S. (2021). The effects of COVID-19 on global tourism. AseanJournal on Hospitality and Tourism, 63-82. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.5614/ajht.2021.19.1.06Horaira, M. A. (2021) Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Tourism Industry: Possible
Reconciliation Strategy for Bangladeshi Tourism Industry. http://dx.doi.org/10.37227/ITHJ-2021-03-108Kaushal, V., & Srivastava, S. (2021). Hospitality and tourism industry amid COVID-19
pandemic: Perspectives on challenges and learnings from India. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 92, 102707. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2020.102707Pashkus, V., Pashkus, N., & Asadulaev, A. (2021). Impact of COVID-19 on the Global Tourism Industry and Ways to Ensure High Competitiveness of the Territory in the Global Tourism Market after the Pandemic. In SHS Web of Conferences (Vol. 92). EDP Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1051/shsconf/20219201041
Pham, T. D., Dwyer, L., Su, J. J., & Ngo, T. (2021). COVID-19 impacts of inbound tourism on
Australian economy. Annals of Tourism Research, 88, 103179. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2021.103179Rahman, M. K., Gazi, M. A. I., Bhuiyan, M. A., & Rahaman, M. A. (2021). Effect of Covid-19 pandemic on tourist travel risk and management perceptions. Plos one, 16(9), e0256486.
Singh, A. L., Jamal, S., & Ahmad, W. S. (2021). Impact assessment of Lockdown amid covid-19
pandemic on tourism industry of Kashmir Valley, India. Research in Globalization, 100053. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resglo.2021.100053Tung, L. T. (2021). Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Global Tourism: A Synthetic Analysis. African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure, 727-741. https://doi.org/10.46222/ajhtl.19770720-129
Uğur, N. G., & Akbıyık, A. (2020). Impacts of COVID-19 on global tourism industry: A cross
regional comparison. Tourism Management Perspectives, 36, 100744. Retrieved from HYPERLINK “http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2020.100744” http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2020.100744
Race, Ethnicity, and the United States
Race, Ethnicity, and the United States
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Race, Ethnicity, and the United States
Pastor McPherson’s perspective on color is that human beings are all the same irrespective of their skin color. McPherson posits that there is no difference between white, black, and brown people as their genetic makeup is 99% identical. He puts forth that ethnicity is a social construct and that only one ethnicity exists; the human race. McPherson says that it is human beings that came up with the concept of color and that we are more alike than we are different. He insists that to overcome the racial divide that exists in our culture, we should first understand the potential for unity and the nature of the division. McPherson’s perspective on color ties to the story of the Jesus being fed water by the well by a Samaritan woman. McPherson recognizes that while humans are the same, there are some aspects about our division that we cannot ignore. Like Jesus, McPherson’s sees the varying color of human beings, but that does not change his perspective about our interaction as humans. Jesus was a Jew, but he went ahead to request for water from a Samaritan. The Samaritan woman was surprised and even asked how is that he asked for a drink, as Jews were known to have no dealings with Samaritans. These two groups had a longstanding, fierce and pervasive hatred between them that dated back to the patriarchy within the Christian faith. The hatred ensued after 43, 000 Israelites were taken into captivity in Babylon and later allowed to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the land which had been occupied by Samaritans. The Samaritans refused repatriation of land against their will, and in turn the Jews detested the religion and culture of Samaritans, referring to them as half-breeds and dogs.
There is no doubt that I have encountered racist expressions in my life. While interacting with different people of different races, I have come across comments and phrases that come off as offensive. One of the expressions is eenie meenie miney moe. The expression emanates from a longer version of the children’s play song and is considered offensive. The shortened version comes from a similar phrase that is a bit older; where nigger replaces tiger which is a counting song. Basically, the expression is used as a way to eliminate each other in a game of dice. Growing up, I got used to hearing this phrase especially when playing as kids. Another expression that is common is the term nigger. I have grown up hearing people use this word in their dialect despite it being deemed an offensive racial slur. Another expression that I have encountered in my personal life is the phrase black don’t crack. While the phrase is used as a positive expression of pride for people of color, it is still considered racist when white people use it. I favor my racial in-group in numerous ways. For instance, I feel it is okay for people of color to call each other the n-word, while I find it offensive for a white person to call a black person the same. Similarly, I find it offensive for white people to use the phrase black do not crack as opposed to when a black person uses it. Also, another way in favor of my racial group is that I do not feel very much offended when a black person tells me I am not good enough as opposed to when the remark comes from a white person.
I believe I do not have any racial blind spots when it comes to race. Even the results of the IAT implicit test support this assertion. The results describe me as “having an automatic preference for African Americans over European Americans,” which informs my position on racial blind spots. I think my childhood best friend is best placed to tell whether I have any racial blind spots because she has been with me for majority of my life. Having grown up together and attending the same schools meant that we were always around each other. She knows me more than anybody else, and if there is any person who can reveal my blind spots it would be me.
The time racial blind spots hurt me was a time at a social gathering when someone commented that I was not black enough because I am mixed and hence I am not alive to the full struggles of people of color. This was not the first time to go through the experience and it is nothing out of the ordinary. It is absurd that there are classifications of color and people think that when one is brown, white people will see them as less black, which is far from the truth. One of the nine blind spots I have encountered is the second one in the text; I claim all people are equal, but in my heart, I believe that my ethnicity is superior to others. I have lived the reality depicted in this statement countless times particularly with white people. While some of them will claim to believe in equality of all races, their actions say something else. They act as if they are the superior race just because they are white.
The people whose opinions are different from mine when it comes to matters of race are conservatives and particularly white people. I say this because, in most cases, I have never encountered unequal treatment from black people. It is always the people that are not liberated that will have lots of negative things to say. I cannot say I harbor negative feelings toward them. I try not to hold it against them, but I am shocked by their viewpoints and barbaric mentality in this day and age. The one thing that needs to be communicated so as to bring our hearts closer is that we are more alike than we are different. Just like McPherson’s put it, DNA shows that the races that we think we belong to go deeper than we think. Only one race exists, and that is the human race.
My thoughts about race and ethnicity have always been clear; that all human beings are the same. It does not matter where we come from or what our DNA might say, we are all human beings. I have always maintained that race is a social construct hell-bent on keeping people divided along racial lines. I am alive of the fact that some people, particularly conservative racists, might have a different opinion from mine. While this stance might offend them, it does not change the fact that it is my truth. In my quest to learn more about varying viewpoints concerning race, I would like to have a dialogue with Asian Americans so that I can get their perspective on the race factor in society.
One practice that I have that can hinder me from honoring or knowing the people that are different from me is generalizing and making assumptions. I will admit that I have this bias particularly when dealing with conservatives that they are racists. I used to think that conservatives particularly from the south are the same; racists. But with time, I have let go of this mentality as a result of interacting with them and knowing that there is more to what meets the eye than what I see. Nowadays, I try as much as possible to avoid making generalizations, as I know that not all people are the same. I have learned the culture of appreciating all groups of people regardless of their ethnicity and background. I now realize that people have different abilities and are unique in their own way, and this has nothing to do with race. I can say that my perspective has shifted a lot after interacting with people of various ethnic backgrounds, including Latinos, Hispanics, and Asians. I understand cultures are diverse and so are people and that above all, human beings are the same.
I carried a lot of lessons from Miles McPherson’s book The Third Option. To start with, I have learned to be more appreciative of people of all races. I have learned that race is a social construct that society came up with by themselves. Before any race, we are human beings first. I have also learned about the biases that exist in matters of racial blind spots. I have learned about the issues that brown skin people experience in society. On the one hand, their black counterparts consider them as advantaged and assume they receive better treatment from white people because they are not as black. On the other hand, white people rarely view them as white because according to them they are still white irrespective of being brown skin. This just paints a picture of the extent of racism in society. I have also learned we are all mixed races to some degree as a result of living in a society with immigrants, which makes it rare to find an American that is ethically pure.