Sunday, April 18, 2010

Defining Racism (Definition Essay)

Racism is a word that many people do not fully understand or have many perceptions of. It is being considered as a term for stereotyping people. Racism has also affected society and some organizations and paople have dona actions against it. It also has different types namely: racial discrimination, institutional, and economic. Through this essay, the readers would be eable to know what racism truly is. There are different definitions of this word and some of them will be cited.

Believing that a certain race is more dominant than other races in terms of traits, abilities, and appearance is considered as racism. Many people would consult the dictionary to find out what the meaning of the word is. The Oxford English Dictionary defines racism as a belief or ideology that all members of each race have characteristics or skills specific to that race, especially to distinguish it as being superior or inferior to another race (2010). Another definition of racism is that it is a belief that race is the one that determines a person's traits and capacities and that the difference in race produce superiority or inferiority of a racial group. That definition came from the Merriam - Webster's Dictionary (2010). Both definitions of racism in those dictionaries seem quite similar and does say what racism generally means.

Some people, on the other hand, would prefer listening or reading what prominent people or organizations have to say about a topic for them to know its meaning. The United Nations is a well respected and known organization and it does not define racism. However it does define it as racial discrimination. Based on the UN Convention on the Elimination f All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the term "racial discrimination" means: "any distinction,exclusion, restriction, or preference based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment, or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights, and fundamental freedoms in political, economic, social, cultural, or any other field of public life" (1996).

Since the UN has written definitions about racism, it is clear to say that it has already affected society and its people. A number of sociologists define racism as a system from which a group benefits. A person's colour is the main topic of racism. In David Wellman;s book, Portraits of White Racism, he defines it as "culturally sanctioned beliefs, which, regardless of intentions involved, defend the advantages whites have because of the subordinated position of racial minorities" (Racism, http://en.wiki.com/racism, 2010). This shows that "white" people are more superior than the "black" people, especially in the United States.

There are different examples of low racism affects society. One can be taken from Barbara Trepagnier's research. It showed that almost all white Americans hold some negative stereotypes and assumptions about African Americans and other races or ethnic minorities, which she calls silent racism (2006). With that example, it is quite clear that colour is a primary determinant of how people would socialize with a person or a group of people.

There are three types of racism. One of them is racial discrimination. Racial discrimination is dividing society into groups not necessarily related to races and treating them according to it (Racism, http://en.wiki.com/racism). This is the most common type of racism and it is usually connected to stereotyping. Dean Karlan and Marianne Bertland, together with other researchers from the MIT and the University of Chicago did a study and found out that in the workplace, there was a widespread discrimination against job applicants who seemed to have "black-sounding names". The people in that category have less than 50% chance of landing a job interview. The researchers see the results as strong evidence of the biases done by the people of the United States without even realizing that they are doing it (2003). Not only Americans, but other people from different countries do that, too.

Another type of racism is institutional. Institutional racism, according to Wikipedia, can be also called as structural, state or systematic racism. It is the type of racial discrimination done by governments, companies, religious groups, or educational institutions who have the power to influence many people (2010). The example on racial discrimination can also be considered as institutional. Even though a lot organizations would admit it, some, if not most of them practice institutional racism through their policies or through the people working for them.

The last type of racism is economic. Economic racism is caused by past racism and historical reasons which affect the present generation due to the lack of formal education, the lack of preparation during the parents' generation, and through the racist attitudes and actions done without them even knowing it. There are some people who run the economy which practices this type of racism. This type of racism is slowly being decreased because it is becoming unpractical.

Because of the big impact of racism in society, there have been people, institutions, and governments that have made policies or laws against it. Examples of these institutions are the UN, UNESCO and the European Union. These institutions have enough power to influence many people. The UN held the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and discussed what racism is and what are the results of it in hopes that it could open the minds of people and eliminate racism (1996). The UNESCO, on the other hand, suggested in The Race Question to "drop the term race altogether and instead speak of ethnic groups". It aimed at both debunking different scientific racist theories and morally condemned racism as an assumption of equal rights for all. The European Union strictly banned racism and many other types of social discrimination in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (2001). Since governments and institutions have done actions against it, it just goes to show that they really want to erase racism from society.

Based on the definitions and examples of racism, I think it was made clear that although racism is somehow related to stereotyping, both are not equally the same. People should be more informed about what racism is and the outcomes of it so that it could be slowly removed from society. The belief that a certain race can produce better people in terms of skills and physical appearance is already racism. Whether we may know it or not, every single person has a racist side, even if he or she is conscious or serious about it or not. Everyone should take part in slowly stopping racism because we are all being victims of racism or the other way around. Practicing racism results to even more racism. To stop the cycle, we should start with ourselves.

2 comments:

  1. ~ you defined Racism very well; it's understandable and the flow of thoughts is in the right order for a definition essay.

    ~ excellent word choice, although some might be complex for some readers.

    ~ some citations are incomplete or has wrong format, and you lack the list of references.

    ~ good definition essay overall. Keep it up! ^^

    [jDaryl47(^_-\m/)]

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  2. -appropriate word choice
    -ideas were well connected
    -helpful examples were used as supporting details in the essay

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