Race and Ethnicity; What's the Difference?
Race and ethnicity has been a constant
controversy in the United States. No matter who you are, you have a
race and an ethnicity. Many people take great pride in who they are
and understanding the difference is important as well and
understanding the main controversy and the negative responses.
First of all, the book defines race and
ethnicity and two very different things. Race is considered a
socially constructed category that is composed of people who share
biologically transmitted traits which is considered important by
members of society. Which is basically just a persons biological
traits which they are born with. An example of this is that I was
born in the United States. That make me an American. I will always be
an American because that is where I was born and nothing that I can do in my life
will be able to change that.
On the other hand, there is Ethnicity.
Ethnicity, according to the book, is a shared cultural heritage that
is also socially constructed but is more complex. Which basically
means that ethnicity is traits that you acquire from your culture. An
example of this would be that although I was born in America, Both of
my parents were born in the Ukraine and we celebrate many Ukrainian
traditions therefore I also consider myself Ukrainian. This is my heritage which is an important part of my ethnicity.
The most controversial issue concerning
race and ethnicity is immigration, many people say that immigrants
take American jobs. According to the book, this is not true.
Immigrants do the jobs that no one else in the U.S wants to do and
few immigrants make more than the minimum wage along with not
receiving benefits. Examples of some of these jobs would be housekeepers, gardeners, or restaurant waiters/waitresses. It is important for people to understand that America was born from immigrants and they do not harm our society as much as some people think they do.
An important part of race and ethnicity
is understanding the types of negative reactions to different races.
These would be prejudice, stereotypes and racism. To many people,
these are all the same but in reality, they are very different.
Prejudice, as defined by the book, is a
rigid and unfair generalization about an entire category of people.
An example of this is thinking that all Jewish people are cheap or
that all African Americans eat watermelon and fried chicken. It is obvious that this is not true of every person in that group and is true for even some people outside of that group. This can
be measured by looking at the social distance scale. This scale shows
that there has become a trend of greater social acceptance. It also
shows that people are seeing fewer differences among various
minorities.
Stereotypes on the other hand are an
exaggerated description applied to every person in some category. An
example of this would be meeting a person and saying that they are
cheap because they are Jewish or saying that they eat watermelon and
fried chicken because they are African American. This shows that it is important to get to know a person before assuming that any stereotype is true about them.
The worst type of reaction though is
racism. This is defined as a belief that one racial category is
innately superior or inferior to another. This is saying that one
person is better than another just because of their race not taking
into account their education, personality or anything else. This is a very wrong way to think because one needs to look at a person instead of their race since no person's race defines who they are.
The difference between prejudice, stereotypes and racism is clear. A prejudice is an idea that everyone in a group is the same way. Stereotypes are when you apply these ideas to a person who fits that group. And racism is believing that one race is better than another.
As you can see, race and ethnicity is a
huge part of the United States. It is important to understanding the
difference between the two, the controversies and the negative
reactions. Follow the links below to learn more.
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