Race Relations in Today's Society
...n sparked the Civil Rights Movement to end the racial inequalities which were heavily present in American society. In the following years, the Civil Rights Movement used nonviolent techniques inspired by Mahatma Gandhi such as protests, sit-ins, and boycotts to force the desegregation of many places in our society. Overall, the Civil Rights Movement succeeded in brining equality and improving the relationship between races. If not for the movement, American society would still be split due to ignorance, mostly on the behalf of the white population. Racial stereotypes are very common in today's society and are based largely in part on ignorance. Racial stereotypes generalize people of a specific race with certain characteristics and qualities, often used in cruel or damaging ways. Some examples of stereotypes would be the "lazy Mexican", the "Arab terrorist", or the "rich upper-class white." These generalizations are not accurate but widely spread and known by many people, even children. Most of these generalizations are not spread by word of mouth, but by most forms of media. When people see these stereotypes in television, movies, books, and talk shows it may seem more factual rather than an opinion or generalization if they were to hear a joke involving one. These negative labels can be very harmful to those that are characterized. A small Polish child may suffer emotional damage after being classified as "stupid" by the rest of his classmates. Even members of groups being characterized sometimes come to believe the generalizations. These people my even try to fulfill the stereotype because they believe it is what they are supposed to do. Even some of the "positive" stereotypes can have damaging effects. If and ethnic group is categorized as being more intelligent, then the children of that group my find themselves trying to live up to that generalization. If they can't meet it, they might feel that they are inadequate and look down upon themselves leading to low self esteem. Narrow-minded people may take stereotypes literally, which may lead to more racist behaviors due to the negative images many stereotypes portray. These characterizations do nothing more than push the races further apart and hurt the relationships they have with each other. A more subtle way that friction is created between the races is reverse racism, also know as positive discrimination. One form of reverse-racism is affirmative action, which is extra consideration given to ethnic groups that are thought to have been discriminated in the past. This extra consideration is often academic, but can also pertain to employment. If someone belonging to a minority group that has been discriminated against in the past has applied at a school, that person will be held higher than someone who is not part of that ethnic group, even if the one belonging to the group is less qualified. This is done to try and "pay back" the members of the particular ethnic group for past wrong doings that have been done to them. This may lead to negative sen...