Racism, prejudice, and discrimination are terms that are closely linked together. These terms represent an act of not accepting everyone for who they are by a “dominant” group or individual. “The dominant group naturally wants to protect its privileged position. Among the weapons it uses to do so are prejudice and discrimination” (Kornblum; Pg. 188). Although these terms are closely linked, they each represent different concepts. Racism is a behavior or opinion against another race. Racism occurs when one race feels superior than other races. For example, Adolf Hitler believed that the race of Jews was disgusting, and that they should not be allowed to live. So, Hitler imprisoned and …show more content…
killed millions of Jews, in what is known today, as the Holocaust. Besides racism, there is prejudice, which is an emotional preconceived opinion towards a subordinate group. In other words, prejudice is when a person negatively pre-judges another group or person. For instance, some people are assumed gay because the way they dress or act without even knowing the individual. Discrimination is the unfair judgements of different people or things, especially involving race, age, sex or sexual orientation. For example, women are payed less than men for the same work because it is believed man are smarter and more capable than women.
2.) Do you think some prejudices are acceptable and others not? Explain your position. Why do some people judge others because of their differences? How can we make positive choices that reflect understanding, acceptance, and tolerance?
I do believe some prejudices are acceptable and others are not.
“Prejudice is based on attitude; it is a tendency to think about people in a categorical, predetermined way” (Kornblum; Pg. 189). For example, a lot of coaches, schools, and professional athletics departments all have prejudice against black individuals. It is believed that backs are uneducated, but they make up for this by being super talented in sports. Most of the times schools and coaches recruit black men for their teams. This kind of prejudice is acceptable, but prejudices against women is not. For instance, back then it was believed that women were inferior to men, and all they were good for was house work. Some people judge others for their differences because they are envious they know that certain individuals are superior to them, so they try to bring them down. Others may judge because they do not know nothing about a certain individual or group, so because of fear they try and break them down without getting the full picture. It important that we learn to make positive choices so that we understand, accept, and tolerate everyone. We must learn and explore new things because like it or not we are all in this world
together.