Review the following article in Scribd; reread the section of Chapter 8 in your text dealing with the origins of prejudice.
Are-We-Born-Racist by Susan T. Fiske
Due via on line commments Thursday.
Bobbi, Jeff, Stacy, Shovonna and Deanna: Please give a brief presentation Thursday first thing to the class on your response to this assignment, also providing any personal observations on prejudice (gender, religion, race, body type, disability, etc.) or racism you feel would be useful to the discussion.
Thanks!
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Rosanne Pierce
ReplyDeleteI found this article to be extremely thought provoking. I was especially interested in the study of ‘in groups’ versus ‘out groups’. This is easily evident during football season. Clothing, events, parties, and rallies by people who support the same teams are abundant. Even bars and restaurants are ‘team oriented’ during the super-bowl games. Members of opposing teams are ridiculed, criticized, or booed for their choice of which team they support. The actual football players themselves appear to fall by the wayside when it comes to fans support of teams. I can’t recall ever seeing anyone with a Cleveland Browns jersey eating lunch with someone wearing a Pittsburg Steelers jersey. People who are fans of the same team have a sense of comradery, as if they have known each other for a lifetime and are the best of friends. The ‘out group’ of fans have sometimes fallen prey to the mischief of the opposing teams. People have been known to get into fist fights, damage to their property or cars, or even worse near riot situations because of devotion to a sports team. They usually have no other association with the opposing team except a casual meeting at a game. But they are willing to punch someone or damage their car for devotion to their team. There are more extreme examples of ‘in-group’ versus ‘out-groups’ but I like this one because of the close proximity of Cleveland and Pittsburgh to our area.
Deanna Lees
ReplyDeleteI found this article very interesting in that it only seemed to focus on the "Black vs. White" mentality. In my opinion, prejudice can arise in any situation, with any types of people. The studies that were performed with the photos seemed a bit unfair to me, in that first impressions don't always tell everything about a person. Say the general public in your area are from ethnic type "A", and you're running a statistic on the crime rate. Just because ethnic type "A" comes out to be the highest, does not always mean that these people will ALWAYS be this way everywhere you go. However, if you were the one selected to take this test with the photos, and every time ethnic type "A" were to appear, your very first impression may be quite negative, simply because you relate this person to those around your neighborhood. In a case like this, and many other cases mentioned in the article, prejudices seem to be a learned trait. If your parents were taught to think a certain way about certain people, they could have passed those thoughts on to you, sometimes without even knowing it.
I did notice that in the article it mentioned exposure. I believe that the best way to help end this type of thinking is exposing people of certain prejudices to those they feel negative about, and show them that first impressions, or thoughts, aren't everything.
Dennis Gearhart
ReplyDeleteAssignment #4
November 10, 2010
This article provokes a lot of thought. I grew up in an all white neighborhood and had virtually no contact with any other races until I went to high school. Having had no contact with Blacks or any other group made me leery of them until I got to know them. It is important to note that this applied not only Blacks but Hispanics, Puerto Ricans, disabled people, those with physical deformities, anyone who was “ different”. To overcome these prejudices or fears I had to get to know people of different groups. I had to work with them and learn to understand that our differences are very minor.
Prejudice is a terrible thing that grows out of our ignorance of others. God created us all equal. We must work to overcome our fears and get along. It is very important that we find common ground and work together.
This article was interesting the least to say. In my opinion I believe that nobody is born with prejudice or discrimination. I think that is learned by your parent or guardians you live with while growing up. I grew up in a smaller diverse city. Going to School I was surrounded my many differ ethnicities. There were african americans, mexicans, puerto ricans, foreign-exchange students, mixed people and white. It was very diversed and I loved it because i was surrounded by so many different people. Coming to the University of Akron there are many people at their high school that was only surrounded by one ethnicity they told me. They felt uncomfortable around the african americans or mexicans making ignorant stereotypical remarks. That's why Im glad I had a very diversed life growing up because Im use to it. The people that are not use to it is going to have roadblocks during there lifes if they dont change their attitudes because most jobs require people to work together. You need to be able not to discriminate or be prejudice towards everyone because everyone is equal and deserves a chance.
ReplyDeleteAshley Lonczak
ReplyDeleteHuman Relations
Assignment #4
November 10, 2010
This article explained a lot further and more in detail than the books section on prejudice. I really liked this article a lot, especially when it talked about “in-groups” and “out-groups”. I feel as if none of us really take the time everyday to think about how many times we categorize things into these two groups. As the article mentions we tend to gravitate toward things that are familiar and similar to either us or things that we like. Whether that is toward people or towards sports teams, we all do this automatically. This is why I don’t believe that prejudice is something we are born with. Rather, I believe that prejudice is something that we are brought up upon giving us little choice as to how to categorize people in our own lives. As a baby, our parents categorize for us, therefore as we grow older we learn to do the same as they did. I am not saying by any means that this is right, and I do hope that one day there is a change as to how we view each other. I like the experiment at Ohio State or that was done in this person’s lab about how when showing a white participant a black person’s photo that at first it triggered more amygdale activity but after a set amount of time that activity slowed down, meaning that they were getting away from the prejudices that first came to mind. It makes me happy to see that this aspect of life is changing. As a society, I believe that we will always have our stereotypes of people, especially if we constantly see people fitting into those stereotypes, but if we all came together knowing that we can conquer such an epidemic then I believe that prejudice can only go up from here.
i felt this article was very interesting and it made me think about what prejudices i have. I think this article was also very true and the facts couldn't of been more direct. I think its bad that people do have prejudices and that our world has brought us to that point but for some people its not necessarily their fault. But its more of the faults of what they are around or part of. Discrimination i would say that is a whole different story. I think discrimination is just wrong and has been used in the wrongest of cases. Weather it has happened in jobs, sports, or any other thing where different races can occur i think its just flat a waste of energy for the person or people that discriminate. Now i have seen it done in high school an i even see the effect it can bring upon college students. So why deal with it in the end you might need the help of someone from a different race or ethnic background when no one else is around. Basically get over it you ant change a person to look just like you its not what the world is made for and it will never be like that. those are just my thoughts about it all.
ReplyDeleteThe article made me think of my life and the situations i was put in growing up and still today. I started off as a child in a private school and it was all white kids in my school. My grandparents would always be watchin the news and if someone was murdered they would always say mean things about who might have done it assuming that they were black. then as i got older playing sports and then going to a public middle school as well as high school it was always about who is the better athelete and people always linked it to race. Well i mostly believe that you are not born with racism people around you when you grow up just say and do thinks that they knew growing up and it translates into you growing up around it and thinking the same way
ReplyDeleteAndrew Baxter
ReplyDelete11/10/2010
The article was fairly interesting to read. To me though, I do not believe that you are born prejudice. Genetically, I do not see how it is possible. Hair color, voice, height, and build are all part of genetics, different traits about a person mentally however are learned from the environment they are born into. I grew up in a suburb of Cleveland where people were very stereotypical of each other. I was born into this, and consequently I spent a lot of my childhood also stereotyping people by the way they dressed, talked, acted, or even their skin color because that is how it was and that it how I learned. The sad part was the people who were stereotyped, including me, seemed locked into what others had stereotyped us as. The african- american boys, although not all, all had the stereotypical sagging pants, "gangster" look. The mexicans had their own deal going on, Indians had the long dresses and covered their whole bodies and withdrew from the world and seemed suspicious, and whites stuck together and all seemed fearful or angry with the other stereotypes, just as the others were of the whites. When we moved out and into a nicer more country area, one of my best friends ended up being an african american and another good friend was israeli, another was mexican. I grew out of the stereotypical mindset because the people were not like that in this new environment. Everyone was relatively friendly with the other and they do not say that person is bad, or that person is someone you should stay away from because of how they are. This is what makes me think that it is most definitely the environment in which people are brought up because the attitude toward the ethnicity can be changed rather rapidly, in my experience, by the environment, if it were genetics, it would be hard wired into your brain and would be much more difficult to change, let alone accept
Kyle Steiner Jr.
ReplyDeleteHuman Relations
November 10, 2010
This article was very interesting and I am glad I was able to read it. Prejudice is very common in our society today and I believe everyone is a little prejudice at some point in their life. Of course, some people are more than others but generally speaking, everyone has witnessed prejudice in some shape and form. I do not believe people are born prejudice though, that is impossible but I do believe that kids can become prejudice at a very young age because of their parents are people they are associated with. Usually if the parent is racist then the child will most likely have the same beliefs. I was born and grew up in Youngstown, Ohio which has basically every race and ethnicity. I went to public school until high school and I went to school with whites, African Americans, Indians, and Arabs. I also played sports so that caused be to bond with many different people. Also at my middle school, we had a mental retardation unit so I have seen and been with mentally challenged kids and kids with disabilities. I am also half Hispanic and white but I have never had someone judge me or anything. At least from what I know. I attended a private high school that racially diverse and everyone seemed to get along. Of course people will tell racist jokes and everything but it was never serious. One time during my junior year though, these black kids jumped this white kid who was having a party and didn’t invite them. They said he was racist and wouldn’t let them in his house because they were black so they jumped him when he walked outside his house. My girlfriend is also Lebanese so that was different for me at first because I didn’t know much about Lebanese culture or anything.
This article gives a very good insight to what todays prejudice is like. i dont think that anyone is born prejudice, i think it is more what the person grew up around. the people that were always around, and what that persons parents taught them about others. if someones parents taught them to be prejudice towards others that didnt look like them or were of a lower class then them, then most likely, that person will spend their lives thinking that way. however sometimes, someone can become prejudice on their own throughout their lives. i think the in groups and out groups are a big issue today because when we see someone we automatically think if they would be like us, without even knowing them. we judge simply by the looks of someone, when we know nothing about them, their lives, or their backrounds.
ReplyDelete-Stacy Heatherington
The author definetly did a good job of provoking thought on this subject. I enjoyed the idea that most people are less bias than they think they are and i do believe that it is human nature to have prejudices. To look at someone differently because they look different is something humans do as infants. Prejudice isn't always violent or mean, it is what our thought process is upon seeing someone for the first time. This article got me thinking of those first thoughts I have upon seeing a homeless person, or a person of a different race. I dont socialize black males with murder charges, or homeless people with disgust, but judgement will be passed good or bad. I dont consider myself racist or prejudice. I try not to judge people just from the way they look, or talk, but by their actions.
ReplyDeleteChristina Robison
ReplyDeleteAssignment #4
11-10-10
I think that there is a slight possibility that we are born with prejudice. Because I think that when we grow up we see and hear our parents doing stuff to people and we think that is normal. But to other people it is not normal. But I think that we almost can not help that to a point because we live with our parents and around that 24/7. But as you get older and get into school and meet new people I think that our point of view can change. I also think that it also depends on our friends and peers that we are around at that time. I think that depending on who you are with you might act different to fit in with that group. So for example if the group does not like people on the football team, so you act like you do not like them just to fit in. But in all reality you have a few good friends that are on the football team. So I think that it all depends on the way were raised and the people that are around us.
Cordell Midgett-Crosby
ReplyDeleteNov 10, 2010
My thoughts on whether discrimination and prejudice is genectic or learned aspect is learned. Discrimination and prejudice is a learned behavior no one is born prejudice or born discriminating a certain type or group. Ways to combat against. It's just if you grow up in a prejudice background you have a better chance of becoming prejudice because it's in your environment and you have a greater chance of adapting and taking on the prejudice actions and thoughts.
This assigments make me think about some events in my life that where prejudice. I tend to think about high school basketball when we would play white teams at home the crowd would be small because people at my school had a prejudice idea that whites were not good in sport especially against a team of black kids. Thats an event that I come upon when doing this assignment. Prejudice and discrimination generally is an learned act it's not genetics.
Jeff Hathaway (try number 2 because i sent it the first time and it didn't go through and i didn't save it)
ReplyDeleteI feel that this article was very interesting. I believe that it is the behaviors (not genetics) that affect whether a person is racist or not. I also believe that not all people are racist just solely on the fact that there are around. I think when people mature, they make choices on their own. For example, I went to Catholic school for nine years and it was 95% white people. Also, my grandparents were very racist. When I would go over to their house for dinner or a family get-together, they would be racist the whole time. They would say things about Mexicans or African Americans being on TV. Also, they wouldn't call them that. After being around this so much, someone would probably think I'm racist. I'm not at all. Even though I think environmental issues factor into the chance someone will be racist, I don't believe it decides it. We all have our own choices and can make decisions on our own. I don't really believe that anyone is born into racism, unless they are completely forced to. I believe that it is you own willpower that decides whether or not you're racist.
I do not believe that we are born prejudice. I believe it comes from being around our parents or siblings. Even people that were around a lot of the time can influence our prejudice decisions. If a young child had followed what their parents said and then moved with another family that had different views then the child's views would most likely change to theirs. Also, people can become prejudiced from something that happens to them that they do not like. Maybe a scare or something along those lines. I was not born around people much different than how I am. I was always taught to believe that the different types of people are not always good people. When I moved here to Akron I got to see all the different types of people and I have learned to think differently about all them. Just because of the way they dress or talk does not make up the kind of person they are. The article is right about the in group and out of group subject. People are judgmental about everything and everyone anymore. Someone will either fit in that person's group or they wont. If they don't then they will most likely get judged on the kind of person they are. So I believe that everyone is prejudiced in their own way.
ReplyDeleteShovonna Hills
ReplyDeleteAssignment #4
I think that we not are genetically born with being prejudice, but we are taught by our parents or someone else. People are not born into looking at another race different and start judging, someone has instilled into a person, We all have perceive other groups whether it has been race , gender, religion or disability because how society has made things to be. My personal experience that I found myself being prejudice was when I live in Chicago about 6 years ago, everything was divided as far race; however, people had their own community and live with their own race group. I live in all black neighborhood as well as my school, their wasn’t no diversity of students. When I move to Akron, OH, it was a complete change for me. The environment was different and people were happy to live together in the same neighborhood. When I came to Akron U it was learning experiences because of the diversity I can learned things for other races. This big move from Chicago to Akron has made me to have a different perspective on whatever race, gender or religion that we are that we all the same no matter what and that we can learned from each other’s
The ability for the brain to recognize and categorize by description in ends to danger assessment, only strengths my belief of prejudice and how its learned vs the genetics standpoint. I didn't find the article to have any convincing enough facts pointing to genetics as the culprit in prejudice and spoke more on the conditions and terms under which information is deciphered and learned. The article's proven that under the right conditions people can interact with the opposite race in suspense of the prejudged stereotype, with respects to shared human attributes and qualities. I couldn't think of any way to combat social stereotypes than interacting amongst social groups, I never knew the technical and scientific term was Contact Hypothesis.
ReplyDeleteGreat comments..........thank you!
ReplyDeleteBruce F.
I think that it is our natural instinct to be prejudice against things/people that we aren't familiar with. Humans tend to be more comfortable with groups of people that share the same characteristics (physical or social), but tend to be more prejudice against people that are different. It just depends if that person is willing to step out of the comfort zone and get to know the person instead of making assumptions.
ReplyDeleteEvan Frankovits