Racial Disgust

Race and ethnicity have always been topics of controversy. They are very sensitive subjects and have different meanings to different people. Not many people, however, understand what each of these terms mean which can lead to a misunderstanding for the younger generation, which can ultimately shape the way they think for the rest of their lives. Race is a social category that we treat as distinct on the basis of certain characteristics that are primarily based on physical appearance. An ethnic group is a group of people who share a common culture such as a common language or religion.

There are many different steps in order to recognize a certain race that hasn’t already been classified as one. This is called racial formation. There is no need for a law or government to classify a group of people but usually society itself distinguishes them as a race and its set for life. However, just as society can create a racial class, they can also destroy them stereotypically. This can happen because a newly formed race is usually the minority in large social institutions and therefore have very little control over society. Racism is a vital issue that has been hurting society for centuries and it seems there is no intention of getting that negative mind set out of people’s predetermined thoughts.

Racism is the belief that one race is more superior than the other and this can have very bad consequences especially if it occurs amongst a large group of people. Typically racism is caused by prejudice, an attitude that reinforces prejudgments based on race or ethnicity. It can have an undermining effect on a certain group which can lead to more segregation and discrimination between groups. Some racial groups, such as African Americans, play along with the discrimination thrown against them. In the movie, “Crash”, the man who stole a car told his accomplice that there was something wrong because one black person can call another the “n” word but you never hear a white person call another white person a honkey. People don’t realize it but this can influence other racial groups to discriminate against them and their defense would be that if they can demean themselves then others can do it against them as well.

This can lead to unwanted stereotypes as well. These reinforced prejudices are constantly being acted on every day. Because of these oversimplified set of beliefs on certain racial groups, there is unrest in society. Racism between small groups of people such as in small neighborhoods can also lead to racism between large corporations or social institutions.