Racism: causes, impacts, and societal responses

RACISM is one of the most pervasive problems in our society. It would be wrong to assume that racism affects our society alone, in fact it exist in various forms in almost every society. Racism is closely connected with stereotyping so any prejudices that exist on these lines are directly connected with racism. In our country, the problem is more severe because of the ugly history of slavery and the long existence of this institution. It is important to create a society that is sensitive to diversity. For this adequate training, education and awareness are required.

Racism is closely linked to social class system in a country. Since most white people in our country enjoy a better social status than minority groups, we see the latter concentrated in higher numbers in poor neighborhoods. By virtue of their low social class, many young blacks and Hispanics may find themselves involved in street fights, gang clashes and other criminal activities. Education in these areas is either not available or is not really worth anyone's time because of low quality and poor attendance. For this reason, people from poor neighborhoods end up more poor and the social disparities created by race keep on increasing.

The every widening social gap is the root cause of frustration and resentment among racially disadvantaged groups. It is sad but true that a black young man has a 29% chance of facing jail term at least once in his youth while the chance for a white man is only 4%. Because of extreme disparities in social status and access to education, black people are more likely to become illegal drug users and of those who are found in possession of illegal drugs, more than 35% are blacks. That is not all. Blacks are also at a significant disadvantage when it comes to employment and usually the unemployment rate among blacks is three times what it is for whites.

But blacks and Hispanics alone do not endure racism. After the 2001 tragedy, racism has escalated beyond reasonable limits and has come to attack every single minority group in America. Muslims have been facing serious trouble simply because those who targeted the WTC happened to follow this religion. It is absurd but true that one group is judged by the actions of very few people from the group. Racism results in stereotyping which can further create social disparities. For example it is impossible to assume that every black person is in possession of illegal drugs or is involved in some criminal activity but when a crime occurs and out of 15 suspects, even if one is a black, he would be grinded more seriously than the rest. The same goes for terrorism acts and Muslims even though we know that the man who caused the Oklahoma tragedy was very much a Christian white American.

Racism has various faces and forms and each one as ugly as it sounds. It would be completely wrong to say that racism is an inherent trait. It is actually the reaction of people to the social consciousness around them. If I see blacks projected in a certain way every time I turn the TV on, I am more likely to develop a false and distorted view of blacks. In order to remove this kind of negative education from our system, we need to work at all levels. Racism is a serious problem and one that must be consciously eradicated from our societies. It is not only causing hurdles for the victims, but is also creating social disparities that are definitely not good for anyone because resentment of one group can become trouble for another.