Ethics 125 Week 3 Appendix C

University of Phoenix Material

Appendix C

Part I

Define the following terms:

|Term |Definition |
|Discrimination |The denial of opportunities and equal rights in individuals and groups because of prejudice |
| |or for other arbitrary reasons |
|Institutional discrimination |Denial of opportunities and equal rights to individuals and groups that results from the |
| |normal operations of a society |
|Political correctness | Term which denotes languages, ideas, policies, and behaviors seen as seeking to minimize |
| |social and institutional offense in occupational, gender, racial, cultural, sexual |
| |orientation, certain other religions, beliefs or ideologies, disability, and age related |
| |contexts and as purported by the term-doing so to an excessive extent. I also find it |
| |interesting that historically, this term was used in a more literal sense, of actually being|
| |in line with political policy. |

Part II

Write a 150- to 250-word response to each of the following questions:

• How is discrimination different from prejudice and stereotyping? Prejudice is defined as a negative attitude toward a group, which may or may not be a pre-cursor to action based on that attitude. Stereotyping involves generalizing a group of people without considering individuality. Discrimination takes it a step further. Discrimination is acted-upon prejudice. Discrimination is the feet and hands to prejudice and stereotypes. Discrimination actually involved denying opportunities and equal rights to groups and individuals because of prejudice. An example of this; John is in charge of hiring. Personally, he believes that African Americans aren’t hard workers like white people are. Still, he doesn’t let his personal opinion get in the way of work experience and would chose an African American if he felt he was better qualified for the position. If John were to refuse to hire an African American based on his belief, it would be more than just a stereotype. John would be guilty of discrimination.

• What are the causes of discrimination? Discrimination goes hand in hand with stereotypes and prejudice. If there weren’t any stereotypes or prejudice, then there wouldn’t be anything or anyone to discriminate against. Sadly, discrimination is deeply rooted in American history. Discrimination says more about the discriminator than it does about the person or group being discriminated against. I believe that at the root of all discrimination resides fear and hatred. I believe for those that do discriminate, there is the fear of not being a superior. For so long, there has been a racial hierarchy. Throughout history, you can find it in every nook and cranny. To teach an entire country that for so long and then to take that away can leave a part of the population (the “superior race”) feeling very vulnerable. It turns into “right” fighting, except fighting for racial superiority is very wrong. You find the “superior race” having an identity crisis of sorts. It involves rebuilding the whole thought process of an entire country, which is not an easy task. Some people are very connected to their beliefs and the thoughts of racial superiority have been presents in their families for decades. To challenge such a [previously] widely accepted belief can create rage and hatred, causing the “offended” to lash out. I believe that the issue of discrimination has everything to do with slavery and the point of view that white is a supreme color. As far as other forms of discrimination, such as age weight and sex…I believe that once we made discrimination possible between races, that opened the door for discrimination against ANYTHING to be acceptable.

• How is discrimination faced by one identity group (race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, gender, sexual orientation, age, or disability) the same as discrimination faced by another? How are they different? I believe discrimination faced by one identity group is the same as discrimination faced by another in that it’s all hate. It all has more to do with the discriminator than it does with the group being discriminated against. It’s all about feeling superior to the other group. I believe it’s about the need to control-making yourself “feel better” by putting others down. Hate is hate, no matter who the target. It would be stereotypical of me to say that everyone that is discriminated against has the same reaction. While hate is hate, it’s very important to point out the individual battles fought by those different groups being discriminated against. A person who is discriminated against for race might have a different experience than someone discriminated against for sexual orientation and vice versa. Even within a group of individuals, how each person perceives the discrimination will vary. Some people may respond by rising above the oppression, and some people may start to judge themselves by the same standards, no matter how much they despise the discrimination.