Causes And Effects Of Racial Discrimination Essays Example

Racism can be defined as viewing other race inferior to one’s own race. This perception results to hatred and discrimination at an individual, social, and even at the level of legislation. Most of the time, it results to violence against those who are perceived as inferior. Today, as people reflect, they ask, what causes racism? In the United States, racism in the form of slavery is the cruellest in history that can be traced in the history of African diaspora due to the slave trade. This kind of racism is deep seated that up until today, it reflects with the kind of living that the African-Americans have in the United States including other minority groups.
According to Catholicism and Racism, one of the causes of racism is instinctive reaction for specie protection. The website explains that human beings have the natural instinct to interact and live harmoniously to other human beings who are similar to them. Anybody who is different from them is immediately perceived as inferior. The perception that the other races are inferior gives those who think they are superior the desire to exploit the inferior.
The Democratic Underground mentioned that this is reflected by the United States enslaving hundreds of thousands of Africans. Slavery has led to available cheap labor for the benefit of the White Americans. Centuries after the slavery, the perception that African-Americans are inferior to the white race still persists. Recently, the world has revolted through the social media because of the killing of a young African-American by a White police. People claim that the crime took place because of the White police perception that a life of a Black American does not count and that young Black Americans are capable of committing crimes. It is one of the hate crimes committed against the Black Americans.
For the part of the African-Americans, racism results to them hating the White Americans all their lives. Moreover, the history of slavery and the persisting racial discrimination against their race lead to the erosion of their self-confidence. On the other hand, according to Penterotto (2006), anti-black sentiments have become a daily routine in the American society. Blacks’ prolonged exposure to the anti-Black sentiments makes them internalize it until it becomes normal as they will accept their subordinate status. Again, the erosion of self-worth occurs among the victims.
Another cause of racial discrimination is ignorance. Catholics and Racism mentioned that if a person grows up in an environment where racial discrimination is thriving, the person will replicate it especially if there is no available information that would discourage the person of doing the same. For example, the white Americans who grew up in a neighbourhood that has prejudice against African-Americans and other minorities think that their perception is morally correct because all of them in the neighbourhood or in the community think and act the same. Catholics and Racism claim that until education against racial prejudice is systematically conducted, racial discrimination will end.
Another effect of racial discrimination is what Ponterotto (2006) call as Anticipatory Racism Reaction. This is manifested in the hyper-vigilance among the racism victims. In the case of the African Americans who have personally witnessed hate crimes, job discrimination, and lynch mobs against them, they have developed a defense mechanism causes them to be vigilant at all times against any act of racial hostility. The time and energy they are devoting to this reaction is huge that it result to significant amount of anxiety that become a burden they are sustaining.
America has quite a huge history on racial discrimination. It only takes education and tolerance to bridge the gap between what they call superior and inferior. Human beings will only create a world free of racial discrimination if the mind-set of racial superiority and inferiority is wiped out.

References

Penterotto (2006). “Causes and Consequences of Racial Prejudice.” SAGE. Retrieved from http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/11557_Chapter_3.pdf
Catholics and Racism. “Racism is so Yesterday.” Catholics and Racism. Retrieved from http://catholicismandracism.weebly.com/causes-and-effects-of-racism.html