Ethnic and Religous Sources of Conflict Reference

Ethnic and Religous Sources of Conflict

Reference groups within my workplace.

I work part-time in a tax preparation office, answering phones, filing, helping with a calling campaign, Xeroxing, setting up furniture, answering customer questions, setting up appointments, and doing other tasks and errands, as needed. Reference groups in my workplace are (Group 1) the group of us five part-time assistants: Wendy, Tiffany, Angelica, Dawn, and myself; (2) twelve tax preparers, Steve, Marcia, Katrina, Obie, Lyle, Silvia; Erika; Dwight; Tim; John; Rocio, and Mark; and (2) two office supervisors, David and Luz.

Group 1: Of my own part-time assistant group, two people are African-American, two are white, and one is Hispanic.

Group 2: Of the tax preparer group, four are African-American; four are white; three are Hispanic, and one is Native American.

Group 3: Of the Office Supervisor group, one is white and one is Hispanic.

Identify the situation in my workplace that are most likely to involve conflict with other workers.

The situation in our office that causes more conflict than anything else right now is that of who will get the most hours, and when. This is especially causing conflict now, because we are past the peak of tax season, and, although people are still coming in to get their taxes done, it is not nearly as busy as it was in January and February. Since my group is part-time, for tax season only, and not on salary, we never have any guarantees, at any time, of how many hours per week we will get to work. This causes conflict, and I think there is some discrimination, too. Our office supervisors say who can have what hours and when. Luz, who is Hispanic, gives the one Hispanic member of our group more hours than anyone else. David, who is white, tries to be fair to everyone, but if he has to pick, he will pick a white over a black, usually, for extra hours. I don't even know if either of them even realizes they are doing this, but it has caused some tensions and conflicts among us recently.

3. How have land rights been a continuing theme in White and Native American relations?

Land rights have been a continuing theme throughout United States history, in White and Native American relations, ever since white settlers first set foot on Indian lands, throughout the United States, and claimed Indian lands for their own. All United States territory used to be Indian territories, but white Americans have never acknowledged, even to this day, that all of the land of the United States actually belongs to the Indians. This is why hostilities and conflicts on this subject, between white Americans and Native Americans, continue to run very deep.

In order to have the best lands, and to feel safe from many of the Native American tribes, whom they considered to be dangerous savages, starting in the 17th century, Anglo settlers forced Native Americans off the lands they had inhabited, cultivated, and hunted upon, for centuries. Instead, they forced them onto reservation lands for Indians only, where the quality of the land was not as good and the location less desirable overall, for either Indians or whites. But the Indians were forced to stay there, build schools, there, etc. From the eighteenth through the 21st centuries, this had been an ongoing conflict, and the issue still comes up of expanded land rights for Native Americans.

3. Do casinos represent an ethnic dilemma for Native Americans?

I think that casinos, like alcohol and other things in American life that are considered to be dangerous activities and/or moral vices, probably do represent an ethnic dilemma for Native Americans, in today's world, even though casinos are very profitable. The good part about gaming is that Indian gaming has made many formerly very poor Indian tribes very rich. But gaming of any sort (Indian or non-Indian) is also associated with problems the Native Americans themselves are not any more immune to than anyone else, such as compulsive gambling, or smoking and drinking while gambling, second-hand smoke in gambling places, spending too much money on gambling, corruption of children and adolescents through gambling. Therefore, Indian gaming is a two way street. No benefit, economic or otherwise, comes without a price. In terms of revenue to Native American tribes from Indian gaming, the money is helpful, but gambling itself and the various problems associated with gambling, as a livelihood or just an activity, cannot possibly be helpful.