Racial Inequality: Stereotypes And Causes

Name: Course: Date: Racial Inequality Racial inequality is a social issue that has dominated the world in the 21st century that has strained global cohesion. According to CITATION Uni \l 1033 (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, n.d.), racial discrimination is ‘any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, color, 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 the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life.’ Typically, racial inequality is treating other citizens as inferior based on the color of their skin or other physical attributes akin to their ethnicity. Racism violates the unalienable rights of individuals and downgrades the value of a human. Sadly, many nations and communities around the world continue to grapple with this issue that threatens to tear the societal fabric. All humans are equal, and humanity is treating each and every one of us equally irrespective of their ethnic background, color, race, religion, and nationality. The causes of racism are fairly complex and interrelated hence no single one factor can be attributed to causing racism. One of the main reasons for racism is stereotypes. Some groups perceive other communities as probably deficient morally, mentally, or physically and hence they tend to underestimate their abilities and potential. One common racist stereotype is that the white community is racist in its entirety which is false. Any case of racism the society is predisposed to assume a white person was racist against a member of a minority group which might not always be the case. This subjective perception of other communities amounts to racism because of judging another person of different community unfairly based on your own culture. The subjective view of other people or a group of people and circulating unfounded fables about them can lead to racism. Lack of open-mindedness individually or collectively causes racism. CITATION Har60 \l 1033 (Lee, 1960) notes ‘She was white, and she tempted a Negro. She did something that in our society is unspeakable: she kissed a black man. This shows a narrow-minded problem of establishing unwritten rules about social interaction. Most people have been indoctrinated with racist dogma, and they promptly follow it rather than establish the truth about the information they have been fed. They are not independent thinkers who question the basic reasons why they are taught to hate other cultures rather than respect them. Judging other cultures or its members from the perspective of another culture creates friction that often leads to racism. Racism is taught and not a naturally occurring phenomenon. Children are not born racists, but they learn it as they grow. Racism is taught through the media, schools, churches, mosques, etc. The more people continue talking about racism without factual information, the more they spread the wrong information about other communities and people. They inculcate these ideas into children who carry them into their adulthood. Some people form opinions from the information they consume within their...