Subtle Racism and the Problems It Poses

Subtle Racism and the Problems It Poses When some people hear the word racism, the subtle forms of bigotry known as racial microaggressions dont come to mind. Instead, they imagine a man in a white hood or a burning cross on a lawn. In reality, most people of color will never encounter a Klansman or be casualties of a lynch mob. They wont even be killed by police, although blacks and Latinos are frequent targets of police violence. Members of racial minority groups are much more likely to be the victims of subtle racism, also known as everyday racism, covert racism or racial microaggressions. This sort of racism has a damaging effect on its targets, many of whom struggle to see it for what it is. So just what is subtle racism? Defining Everyday Racism A study conducted by San Francisco State Universitys (SFSU) Professor Alvin Alvarez identified everyday racism as subtle, commonplace forms of discrimination, such as being ignored, ridiculed or treated differently. Explains Alvarez, a counseling professor, These are incidents that may seem innocent and small, but cumulatively they can have a powerful impact on an individuals mental health. Annie Barnes further illuminates the matter in her book Everyday Racism: A Book for All Americans. She identifies such racism as a virus of sorts exhibited in the body language, speech and isolating attitude of racists, among other behaviors. Due to the covertness of such behaviors, victims of this form of racism may struggle to determine for certain if bigotry is at play. Examples of Racial Microaggressions In Everyday Racism, Barnes tells the story of Daniel, a black college student whose apartment building manager asked him not to listen to music on his earphones while strolling the premises. Supposedly other residents found it distracting. The problem? Daniel observed that a white youth in his complex had a similar radio with earphones and that the supervisor never complained about him. Based on their fears or stereotypes of black men, Daniels neighbors found the image of him listening to earphones off-putting but made no objections to his white counterpart doing the same thing. This gave Daniel the message that someone with his skin color must adhere to a different set of standards, a revelation that made him uneasy. While Daniel acknowledged that racial discrimination was to blame for why the manager treated him differently, some victims of everyday racism fail to make this connection. These people only invoke the word racism when someone blatantly commits a racist act such as using a slur. But they may want to rethink their reluctance to identify something as racist. Although the notion that talking about racism too much makes matters worse is widespread, the SFSU study found the opposite to be true. Trying to ignore these insidious incidents could become taxing and debilitating over time, chipping away at a persons spirit, Alvarez explained. Ignoring Certain Racial Groups Ignoring people of certain races is another example of subtle racism. Say a Mexican American woman enters a store waiting to be served, but the employees behave as if shes not there, continuing to rifle through store shelves or sorting through papers. Soon afterward, a white woman enters the store, and the employees immediately wait on her. They help the Mexican American woman only after they wait on her white counterpart. The covert message sent to the Mexican-American customer? Youre not as worthy of attention and customer service as a white person is. Sometimes people of color are ignored in a strictly social sense. Say a Chinese American man visits a mostly white church for a few weeks but each Sunday no one talks to him. Moreover, few people even bother to greet him. Meanwhile, a white visitor to the church is invited out to lunch during his very first visit. Churchgoers not only talk to him but supply him with their phone numbers and email addresses. In a matter of weeks, hes thoroughly enmeshed in the churchs social network. The church members may be surprised to learn that the Chinese American man believes he was the victim of racial exclusion. After all, they just felt a connection with the white visitor that they lacked with the Chinese American man. Later, when the topic of increasing diversity at the church comes up, everyone shrugs when asked how to attract more parishioners of color. They fail to connect how their coldness to the people of color who do occasionally visit makes their religious institution unwelcoming to them. Ridiculing Based on Race Subtle racism not only takes the form of ignoring people of color or treating them differently but of ridiculing them. But how can ridicule from race be covert? Gossip writer  Kitty Kelleys unauthorized biography  Oprah  is a case in point. In the book, the talk show queens  looks  are excoriated- but in a particularly racialized way. Kelley quotes a source who says: Oprah without hair and makeup is a pretty scary sight. But once her prep people do their magic, she becomes super glam. They narrow her nose and thin her lips with three different liners†¦and her hair. Well, I cant even begin to describe the wonders they perform with her hair. Why does this description reek of  subtle racism? Well, the source isnt just saying she finds Oprah unattractive without the help of a hair and makeup team but criticizing the blackness of Oprahs features. Her nose is too wide, her lips are too big, and her hair is unmanageable, the source asserts. Such features are all commonly associated with  African Americans. In short, the source suggests that Oprah is mainly unattractive because shes black. How else are people subtly ridiculed based on race or national origin? Say an immigrant speaks English fluently but has a slight accent. The immigrant may encounter Americans who always ask that he repeat himself, talk to him loudly or interrupt him when he tries to engage them in a discussion. These are racial microaggressions that send a message to the immigrant that hes unworthy of their conversation. Before long, the immigrant may develop a complex about his accent, even though he speaks fluent English, and withdraw from conversations before hes rejected. How to Cope With Subtle Racism If you have proof or a strong hunch that youre being treated differently, ignored or ridiculed based on race, make it an issue. According to Alvarez study, which appears in the April 2010 issue of the  Journal of Counseling Psychology, men who reported incidents of subtle racism or confronted those responsible, lowered amounts of personal distress while boosting self-esteem. On the other hand, the study found that women who disregarded incidents of subtle racism developed increased levels of stress. In short, speak out about racism in all its forms for your mental health. The Cost of Disregarding Everyday Racism When we think of racism only in extremes, we allow subtle racism to continue wreaking havoc in peoples lives. In an  essay  called Everyday Racism, White Liberals and the Limits of Tolerance, anti-racist activist Tim Wise explains: Since hardly anyone will admit to  racial prejudice  of any type, focusing on bigotry, hatred, and acts of intolerance only solidifies the belief that racism is something out there, a problem for others, but not me, or anyone I know.   Wise argues that because everyday racism is much more prevalent than extreme racism, the former reaches more peoples lives and does more lasting damage. Thats why its important to make an issue out of racial microaggressions. More than racial extremists, Im more concerned about the 44 percent (of Americans) who still believe its all right for white homeowners to discriminate against black renters or buyers, or the fact that less than half of all whites think the government should have any laws to ensure equal opportunity in employment, than I am about guys running around in the woods with guns, or lighting birthday cakes to Hitler every April 20th, Wise says. While racial extremists are no doubt dangerous, they are largely isolated from most of society. Why not focus on tackling the pernicious forms of racism that affect Americans regularly? If awareness about subtle racism is raised, more people will recognize how they contribute to the problem and work to change. The result? Race relations will improve for the better.

Political Geography of Britain Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Political Geography of Britain - Essay Example Hence, an electoral system strongly determines a political system’s organization. For anyone interested with the political process, electoral systems are a significant object of study. This paper is on the electoral system of Britain, particularly focusing on its advantages and disadvantages. Britain uses the single member constituency with simple majority, also referred to as the First Past the Post system as her electoral system. For general elections purposes, Britain comprises single constituencies. Every party wishing to contest for the seat/constituency must present one representative or candidate to stand. In every constituency, each voter has one vote, which they cast for the representative or candidate of their choice. Elected as the Member of Parliament for a certain constituency is the candidate with the greatest number of votes. Subsequently, the party with the largest number of elected Members of Parliament normally forms the government (Britton, p1, 2008). Pritch ett (2003) asserts that such an electoral system’s mechanics have in general given support to the dominance of Britain’s parliament by two parties thereby permitting one party to form a governing majority alone. Various scholars associate several advantages as well as disadvantages to this kind of electoral system. As far as electoral systems are concerned, the First Past the Post system that Britain uses is relatively simple and straightforward for voters to comprehend. It requires each voter to place one cross only.

Analyse and critically evaluate the implementation of the 'Widenening Essay

Analyse and critically evaluate the implementation of the 'Widenening Participation in Higher Education' Policy in the context of New Right Ideology - Essay Example UK) in 2000 is anything to go by, while 48% of the higher social groups opted for improving their educational backgrounds, only 18% from the lower groups participated in the same. The gap between both the social groups was around 30%, a figure on the higher side. Some reasons that have been cited for this trend include the inability to bear the overall expenses of studying for a higher university degree, the desire to earn money rather than study, and the feeling that good institutions and good jobs are closed doors for them. Furthermore, it did not help matters that the ones in control had their own views about students and higher education. It was Margaret Thatcher and her government who ushered in New Right Ideology to deal with matters concerning higher education. These were her very words, â€Å"We are going much further with education than we ever thought of doing before† (Margaret Thatcher 196). This government took control in 1987, and their agenda can be summed up to include four major changes that they brought into the system. The first one was to make all educational institutions directly responsible for their finances and budgeting. It resulted in fierce competition between schools and colleges, since those that exhibited wonderful results in external examinations would be favored with more finances. Scholarly pursuits got relegated to the background, and the focus was shifted to attracting as many students as possible to respective institutions. This had not been the old pattern of th inking. In earlier days, the bureaucracy interfered as less as possible, believing that universities and institutions were meant for intellectual development more than anything else. complete success. A number of researches and studies were then carried out and as a result, modern educational policy makers have shifted their focus to widening participation in higher education and free access. They hope for some betterment in the system now at least! Now, what is meant

International Security in an Era of Globalization Research Paper

International Security in an Era of Globalization - Research Paper Example Security is one of the challenges that have continued to face different countries across the globe and this has led to the development of a common approach by different countries. The United States and countries in the European Union have in past collaborated in the fight against terrorism and cybercrime by sharing essential intelligent information that has assisted in forestalling serious terrorist attacks. Achieving this progress has been possible due to the advances that have been made in globalization front that has brought countries together and led to the development of a common ground and cultural integration. Globalization and democratization therefore have an intimate linkage that has seen each contribute to the development of the other. The process of globalization has created immense changes to different aspects of leadership and governance in the world. Through globalization, geographical separated countries have been brought together and provided room with a common operation. However, the advances in globalization have also led to the separation of some countries and this has contributed to conflict among countries that previously had cordial relationships. One of the quite visible change that globalization has created in different parts of the world is the change in the political culture of different countries around the globe. Through globalization, democratization, a practice that was commonly perfected by the western countries has been spread to other countries across the globe (Wunderlich, 2013). After the popularization of globalization by economists in the 1960s, the need for countries to open up its borders for other countries increased and this led to the emergence of multinationals, international human rights organisations and bodies tasked with promoting democracy and the protection of human rights. The impacts of globalization on the democratization process

Use of Metaphor in The Big Sleep :: sleep

Use of Metaphor in The Big Sleep Raymond Chandler wrote The Big Sleep as a piece of hard boiled detective fiction. This style was a reaction to the high style of detective stories such as those involving Sherlock Holmes and Miss Marple. Writers often set hard boiled detective novels in a gritty world where everyone has a past. In The Big Sleep, Chandler keeps this edgy, lower class tone right down to the objects he utilizes for comparisons in his metaphors. Chandler is highly precise in his word choice and diction. Through his language his is able to craft a world that I as the reader am able to visualize. When I see this world, I see a black and white world filled with real characters who live life on the mean side of the streets. When I first read The Big Sleep as a reader who pays little attention to style, I was practically unaware of Chandler's precision in creating this mental image for his reader. However upon a second read, I began to notice that the reason I was able to have such a vivid mental image of this hard edged world is that Chandler's detail and imagery maintains this picture right down to his metaphors. Part of the attempt of hard boiled detective novels is to be more realistic partly in response to the audience the fiction was being written for which was a more working class audience that read magazines in which these writers often published this fiction. So, Chandler to be true to both his audience and the genre utilizes commonplace objects in his metaphors. This can be seen in metaphors such as "like the buzzing of bees" (218) which is not only a sound which any audience would most likely be familiar with but also a rather plain description utilized to create the metaphor unlike one that might be placed in a romantic poem for instance. Some of the other commonplace metaphors that Chandler use include: "like a window-dresser getting the effect of a new twist of a scarf around a dummy's neck" (225), "as if I was some kind of strange beast escaped from a traveling circus" (207), "like light filtered through an aquarium tank"(8), "like wildflowers fighting for life on a b are rock"(7), "like a fresh fall of snow at Lake Arrowhead" (17) "like a puppy at the fringe of a rug"(20), "like a footbridge over a gully" (33).

Importance of reflective practice Essay

A load of research has been done on learning and reflective practice and its effectiveness on the practitioners and one of the first people to research reflective Practice was Donald Schon in his book â€Å"The Reflective Practitioner† in 1983. Schon was an influential writer on reflection and had two main ways of identifying reflection and they were reflection in action and reflection on action. â€Å"The practitioner allows himself to experience surprise, puzzlement, or confusion in a situation which he finds uncertain or unique. He reflects on the phenomenon before him, and on the prior understandings which have been implicit in his behaviour. He carries out an experiment which serves to generate both a new understanding of the phenomenon and a change in the situation†. (Schon 1983) Reflective practice has been described as ‘paying critical attention to the practical values and theories which inform everyday actions, by examining practice reflectively and reflexively. This leads to developmental insight’. (www.wikipedia.org, 3rd Jan 2011). Reflection is an important part of the learning process and is needed for effective learning. Reflection is a form of self-awareness and learners that can reflect are better able to understand themselves and the learning process. Reflection can help us control over our own learning and achievements. Reflection leads to learning from experience and outlines strengths and weaknesses; by completing action plans to work on weaknesses will lead to continued learning and improvement. Rogers (1996,) states â€Å"Reflection on experience to action forms a large part of the learning process†. The process of reflection helps the practitioner to assess, understand and gain knowledge through experience leading to poten tial improvement and change. This is a positive process that lets me go over and examine and then evaluate so I can develop as a learner and a youth worker. The ability to reflect on practice helps me to consider my needs and then I plan to meet those needs so I can develop my innovative and learning skills. To assist the learning process, reflection can be a powerful tool to help identify strengths and weaknesses. To develop new skills as a learner I must reflect upon experience to access my own performances and plan for my future needs. Reece and Walker (2000, p.7) states â€Å"What is not so natural but very important is that reflection takes place to ensure learning from experience takes place†. To reflect upon  my own experiences and to develop my own needs I have evaluated as a learner and as a youth worker. First I must identify my own preferred learning style as everyone learns in different ways. There are many ways to establish your preferred way of learning and as supported by Reece and Walker (2000, p.9) â€Å"All students are individuals and no two students learn the same way†. It is important to indicate my l earning style in order for me to achieve my highest potential. To identify my learning style will outline my strengths and weaknesses. Rogers (1996, p.116) states that â€Å"Learning takes place in a number of different domains and different strategies are called into play to cope with different types of learning†. Identifying my strengths and weaknesses is important so that I can reflect on the outcome and then improve my skills† Kolb (1984) provides one of the most useful descriptive models available of the adult learning process. He suggests that there are four stages in learning which follow on from each other. Concrete experience is followed by reflection on the experience on a personal basis. This may then be followed by the application of general rules describing the experience, or the application of known theory to it and hence to the experimentation, leading in turn to the next concrete experience. All this may happen in a flash, overnight, over days, or over weeks and months, depending on the topic, and there may be a wheel within wheels process at the same time. (http://www.learningandteachin g.info/learning/experience.htm) By reviewing my progress and continuing to aim at my targets I am progressing through the learning cycle, which is important for me to improve on my self-assessing from experience, reflection, learning styles and development of skills. As I am relatively new to this area of work it is also important to reflect as a youth worker in order for me to be effective and capable within my job. It is necessary for me to reflect on my experiences so far from the year and a half I have spent in college and it’s important for me to continually highlight areas for development while I am on placement. First I must identify the strengths and skills I have acquired and then to plan my development needs. My role requires me develop plans to suit the service users; I feel my current qualifications and experience will develop after my placement. I also feel it is essential to enhance my current knowledge of youth and community work and monitor my progress. I think the important thing to remember is that I am reflecting for my own  development. Learning from class mates and lectures has also been an important method for change in professional practice. Current educational work in this area emphasises the need for safe learning frameworks where the voices of learners and professionals can be really heard and personally responded to. This has brought mutual learning and benefits for the professional and learners’ experience. (Taylor 2009) I feel that talking and thinking together about what is going on can make a big difference to my experience on placement and in the learning environment. Reflection is a way that I can make sense of experiences I have had, either with service users and/or colleagues. When I reflect I begin to make out the main points in detail of an experience, what it tells me about my own skills, why it happens perhaps, what I did well and a plan for what I might do differently in future. Reflective practice involves thinking about how I preformed and analyse my actions with the aim of improving professional practice. I reflect to identify learning needs; this is that we may not meet the needs of our clients’ needs due to poor knowledge base. Reflective practice also helps identify new opportunities for learning. Identify ways in which we learn best, personal development professional development. It helps us be aware not to get into a set routine, for every clients case is different to the next. Develops awareness of consequences of our actions for example what we say in response to a client may make the situation worse. Regular reflection helps us build theory and most of all it allows us to access what worked well and what doesn’t work well, and to learn from our mistakes and successes. Critically reflective practice is important for the student on work practice. If a student did not use critical reflection while on practice placement one would have ba d quality of practice. Critically reflective practice looks beliefs and assumptions one may have that they did not know of. This is important on practice placement as it deals with discrimination. Racism, sexism, and ageism. It is also important for students as it helps one become more self-aware, on the grounds of a social and political context. It is important as it ‘tunes in’ the student to issues clients face, provides answers and solutions. (The critically reflective, 2008). Reflective practice is important on work placement for  many reasons. The adaption of a reflective approach helps the development of a professional. Continuous professional development is adapting an approach in which the person uses their creativeness, and also uses a critical eye. (People’s skills, 2009). Reflective practice is also important as the student can use professional accountability during practice placement. This means workers are accountable for their decisions. They are responsible. Practitioners need theory to back up their decisions and choices. They make and also justify them. Professional accountability requires theory based arguments to account for the practitioner’s action. Inappropriate responses are consequences of not using reflective practice properly. Inappropriate responses cannot be used using ‘common sense’, as it may cause misinterpretations. Inappropriate responses also increase the chances of the practitioner to react in a way that does not help the client in any aspect. It also worsens the situation. Reflective practice consists of a proactive approach, and using theory and ones knowledge as a framework for effectiveness. Reflective practice is important for the student on practice placement for these reasons. (People’s skills, 2009). In conclusion, I found the importance of critical and reflection in any practice and it is an approach to professional practice that emphasizes the need for practitioners to avoid standardised, formula responses to the situations they encounter. Reflection is a window through which the practitioner can view and focus self within the context of their own lived experience. References Thompson N. â€Å"People Skills second edition† Hampshire and 175 Fifth Avenue New York, Palgrave Macmillan (2002) Thompson S. & Thompson N. â€Å"The Critically Reflective Practitioner† Hampshire and 175 Fifth Avenue New York, Palgrave Macmillan (2008) Redmond, Bairbre. (2004) Reflection in Action Developing Reflective Practice in Health and Social Services. Aldershot, England: Ashgate Share, P. & Lalor, K. (2009) Applied Social Care (2nd Ed). Dublin: Gill & Macmillan http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/experience.htm http://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-schon.htm http://www.itslifejimbutnotasweknowit.org.uk/files/whatisreflectivepractice.pdf

The Positive Fiscal Influence Of Gambling On The American...

The Light of a Perceived Dark Passtime The positive fiscal influence of gambling on the American economy, both locally and at the federal level, minimizes its negative aspects. The advantages of gambling are numerous and the revenue gained lends aid to a diverse group of programs from education to infrastructure. With advances in technology gambling is more lucrative than ever and is a source of jobs for millions of people as well as major source of income for the nation’s Native American tribes. Major tourist destinations such as Atlantic City N.J and Las Vegas N.V owe their success to gambling. Lotteries which are another form of Gambling are held on the state level and add millions of dollars into the state s education programs†¦show more content†¦On average 41,126,512 people visit Las Vegas per year which resulted in 9.6 billion dollars earned in 2014 ( Las Vegas Stats and Facts). The lore of gambling has made Las Vegas one of the top ten most visited places in the United States ( Las Vegas Stats and Facts). Atlantic City is the gambling capitol of the east. Over 30,000,000 people visit the historic city’s eight major casinos located on the scenic Jersey shore (ferris). In 2011 Atlantic City ,which has dubbed itself AC, made 3.3 billion dollars which resulted in over 300 million dollars in taxes going to the state of New Jersey (ferris). These funds help to keep New Jerseys taxes from rising even higher and also help pay for much needed improvements in the state. Gambling Creates Government Revenue Gambling creates revenue for both the State and Federal governments which is then used for beneficial programs. Gambling directly results in eight billion dollars of federal revenue annually (Whittaker). States with legalized Gambling such as New Jersey and Nevada bring upwards of an additional three to ten billion dollars a year (Ferris). The budgets of states with legalized gambling are less tax reliant which leads to lighter tax burdens and further capital improvements (Whittaker). Critics of gambling claim that states with large gambling industries have higher crime rates and increased government corruption but