Racial Discrimination And Prejudice Essay, Research Paper

Racial Discrimination and Prejudice

Racism and prejudice has gradually become one of the major impacts and burdens all over the world. They have existed for thousands of years and have been transmitted from generation to generation. However, racism has not always been the same, it has changed through history and every day it has become more sophisticated. People suffer through discrimination because they have differences amongst one another: different beliefs, different cultures, and different skin color cause discrimination as a spreading poison that has changed many peoples’ lives. Although racial discrimination is evidently decreasing now, it has become a potential motivation for war, a symbol of terrorism, and even an excuse for neglecting others. I think it is necessary for us to find the solution by studying the precedent, to catch and correct ourselves so we can live in harmony and peace with others.

In the 18th century, the issue of slavery was becoming a hot political issue as well in the United State. Although some people favored the abolition slavery, however the Ku Klux Klan, a group made up of former Confederates, sprang up almost as soon as the slaves were free. The Members of Ku Klux Klan secretly met at night, dress in pointed white hoods and capes, and sought to punish blacks, whether they were innocent or guilty of a crime. They would do such things as violent threats to make them leave their town and even such things as shootings and hangings just because they had a different skin color. Most of this was going on in the south, north didn’t like what they were doing, and they thought the slaves should be free. Soon this resulted in a civil war and many people died because of this hate some men had toward African Americans.

Eventually the civil war was end in 1865, it was lead by the greatest mankind in the United State. He deeply believes that the discrimination of slavery and racism are the moral and social evils. His nomination speech included these insightful words: A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half-slave and half-free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved; I do not expect the house to fall. But I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all on thing, or all he other. (Sloate 155) His great contribution was to restore the North and South into a united nation again. Beyond that, he tried to correct flaws in the constitutions by declaring the Emancipation Proclamation. By the time, he had done his best to see that people of all races living in the United States would be entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This man was our President Lincoln; unfortunately he was killed by an assassination but the dramatic and tragic death did not overshadow the achievements of his life.

Many people died in the civil war because of racism but not as many as in World War 2. This war was started when Germany’s dictator Adolph Hitler invaded Poland. He became the leader of the Nazi party in 1933; the party was against communism and believes in strong national government. They enslaved and murdered Jews, gypsies, and other minorities, whom they blamed for all Germany s problem, form defeat in World War I to unemployment and inflation. However, his plan was not effective other countries saw what he was doing, after a bloody war; Germany’s economy still suffers for his mistakes. Nevertheless, even this wasn’t enough for people to learn from his mistakes and see that racism only weakens a power, because it still goes on today.

As Psychological point of view, many people believe that discrimination was caused by frustration and aggression. It indicated the person who was frustrated in his goal desired and tends to respond with a pattern of aggression. The substitute target is a scapegoat, a person or group who were weak and powerless. As the articles mention: When we suffer some kind of frustration, we are sometimes inclined to strike out at substitute targets such as our spouses and children. If the frustration continues, we may begin to blame more remote groups or institutions like the government, bureaucrats, blacks, Jews or gays. (US News, 1996) however it might be another excuse to avoid the hot issue of decimation because frustration is exist everywhere and we can never stop it.

We all are human beings and we are not perfect. I believe all of us have something racist inside of us. However, this is not dangerous if we had learned the lesson from the past. But of we want to end the racism, we need to stop transmitting this way of thinking to the next generations. With this, we will create a world without prejudice and with equal rights for everybody.