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Race and Ethnicity
Using cultural relativism, consider what it means to become an immigrant to the United States from a non-Western country of origin;
- What cultural differences would you expect?
- What challenges would you expect?
- What do you think would be most difficult to leave behind?
Make a list of what you think would be the most difficult aspects of changing countries and changing culture.
Choose one of the options below for your assignment this week:
(750-1250 words)
- 1. If “race” doesn’t exist, why is racism still such a pervasive problem today?
- 2. In human societies, is it possible for peoples to be different and yet equal?
- 3. Can you recall social situations in which you (or people around you) changed their accents or manner of speaking? Do you think this was conscious or unconscious? What was the context for this shift in language? What meaning did it have for you and others?
- 4. Did this language shift symbolize certain relationships among the people involved?
Explanation & Answer
View attached explanation and answer. Let me know if you have any questions.
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Race and Ethnicity
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If “race” doesn’t exist, why is racism still such a pervasive problem today?
Racism refers to the concept that different races have unique characteristics, abilities, or
qualities that can be used to classify them as inferior or superior to each other. This results to the
creation of a hierarchy whereby particular races are superior than the rest. According to David
(2020), it is not easy for people to believe that racism still exists today for persons who have not
experienced it. However, active racism pervades all to majority of American platforms. The
general consensus is that a racist person is not born, a racist individual is made from the world
that surrounds them. Therefore, this implies that attitudes of racists are taught and passed down
from the older generation or in some cases programmed by the world surrounding them. Racism
is intensely rooted within the Americans minds and society that it is virtually impossible to
escape. There are several reasons why racisms is still a pervasive problem in the world today.
The first reason racism is a problem in the United States of America today is the notion
of preserving the status quo. Upholding a status quo that safeguards racism is usually termed as
keeping the peace or in some cases maintaining law as well as order. Racist ideas in America
have for long been used to overwhelm resistance to racial discrimination. When individuals
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believe racist stuff such as Black people are more violent and dangerous, as a result, they are not
troubled by police cruelty or mass confinement. Hence, “peace keeping” becomes more crucial
than equality and justice. Another factor is discriminatory policies. For a long period of time,
rules that discriminate people according to race and keep persons in poverty usually reinforce
racist beliefs. Good example of this is housing laws. Several laws have barred Black people from
owning homes in specific neighborhood, pushing them to lower-quality housing as well as
barring them from accruing wealth. The community at large looks at this notion and believes it
validates beliefs on how Black persons only reside in low-income, delinquency-ridden
neighborhoods and that it is sometimes a choice (Emmaline n.d).
Another reason is the existence of good persons who do not challenge racism. One of the
big reasons why racism continues to flourish is that “good” citizens do not speak out against it.
Majority of people do not like racism, but they fail to deeply understand it or oppose it. Though
white abolitionists protested against slavery, they failed to go after the laws as well as beliefs that
barred Black p...
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