Racism, Crime, and Race in the United States

Racism, Crime, and Race Author Name Institution Affiliation Part 1 Racism is the belief that one race in a particular area is superior over the other. For example, in the United States, white people are considered better or superior to African Americans or other minority groups. From the theoretical perspective of conflict, racism causes a lot of restlessness among different groups or communities living in the same area. For instance, if white people are given preference over African Americans, then this will make the minority groups feel bad and they may opt for negative ways to maintain their identity or to ensure their survival. Structural functionalism, simply called functionalism, is the framework for building a theory that considers society as a sophisticated system in which people work together to promote or ensure stability and solidarity. From the theoretical perspective of structural functionalism, racism occurs when members of a society make the survival of the minority groups difficult. This approach looks at society via macro-level orientation, focusing on the social structure that shapes society as a whole. In order to shape society, it is important to provide people with equal rights and facilities irrespective of their class or race. On the other hand, symbolic interactionism is a social framework that helps understand how people interact with one another in order to create a symbolic world, and in return, how this world shapes their acts or behaviors. If there is no racism, then people will obviously treat each other politely and humbly as none of them will have a sense of being superior or better. Thus, a symbolic world can be created in which there is a lot of prosperity. The repeated, positive interactions between people can make this world a peaceful and great place forever. Part 2 The theory I have chosen is Stain Theory. According to this theory, certain social structures urge people to commit crimes. For example, if unemployed people are not provided with well-paying jobs and they face serious financial issues, then they may start committing crimes so that some money can be earned to support their families. I totally agree with this concept, as financial issues are among the most common issues of society. These days, a significant number of graduates are unemployed and many are forced to do low-paying jobs. With time, they get frustrated and this unfriendly social structure leads them to commit crimes like kidnapping and murders. Si...