Ethnicity in American Life

Race- and ethnic-wise, the United States of America is a varied nation. Whites, Asians, Native Americans, Alaskan Natives, Native Hawaiians, and other Pacific Islanders, together with African Americans, are the current and officially recognized races. The United States Census Bureau further divides the population into Hispanics or Latinos and non-Hispanics. The largest minority group in the United States is made up of the racially varied ethnicity known as Latino Americans. Non-whites are referred to as "people of color" in the United States to emphasize the shared experiences of racism. Stereotypes describe the generalization about certain groups that are misleading and false often held in a manner that renders them insusceptible to counterevidence. The stereotypes shape the perceptions of the stereotypes of the groups that are stereotyped (Haidt, 281). The stereotypes tend to see the stereotypic characteristics even in their absence and overlook such features when they are regimenting the groups. People associate individual physiognomies with the typecast groups. For instance, blacks are related to athletics, but the generalization lacks a cognitive investment. Such cognitive misrepresentations involved in typecasting results to ethical distortions which the moral philosophers have overlooked. Some moral falsifications are common across stereotypes such as distancing oneself ethically, failing to acknowledge the diversity of the stereotyped group as well as disregarding the members of such groups as individuals who deserve respect and dignity (Oswald et al. 171). Additionally, some stereotypes attribute desirable qualities to certain groups that lack objectivity than the ones attributing detrimental characteristics. A larger part of both social and historical contexts have a tendency of attaching undesirable attributes to the modern ones. For instance, a person may be labeled as boring for being extremely focused in academic pursuits.

Two disciplinary approaches reveal a significant distinction concerning stereotypes. The conceptualization of stereotypes not only involve the generalizations held about a group of people but also images on the salient groups that are widely held and recognized. For instance, labeling the Jews as greedy, scholarly and wealthy, the Blacks as unintelligent, violent and athletic, women as irrational and nurturing, English as snooty, Irish as heavy drinkers and so forth (Kurylo, 345). When we stereotype a particular group, we refer to the famous images that are recognizable in the given sociocultural context precisely the linking of group labels with a set of qualities. Essentially, the stereotypes are cultural entities which are widely held by individuals in that particular culture or society and people who may not hold the typecast recognize them publicly. Such labels are termed as cultural stereotypes. Apart from failing to understand and respect individuals from stereotyped groups, the stereotypes have other harms and forms of offending other persons. When evaluating the adverse effects of stereotypes, we ought to consider the specific content of that stereotype to determine to which extent it is demeaning or disrespectful as well as the associations of the content in question both socially and historically. Other features related top typecasting and typecasts are also pertinent to this kind of moral evaluation. Moral philosophy should join hands with the cultural studies along with social psychology to inquire into the core aspects of the consequences of stereotypes.

Over the last three decades, there had been assumptions that the implication of gentrification would help in trickling down the lower classes in ways analogous to those hypothesized in the housing market. Even after fierce academic debates questioning the role of restoration in promoting social polarization, displacement as well as segregation, the concept is developed increasingly in the political arena especially in North America on assumptions that it is likely to result in the emergence of communities that are more sustainable and less segregated. However, the policy lacks an evidence basis of positive gentrification that the literature describes despite the desire of the middle class for diversity along with the differences they self-aggregate (Kurylo, 350). Gentrification is a segment of an ideology that is not only aggressive but also revanchists aimed at taking back the inner parts of the cities for those in the middle class. The new policies of social mixing call for precarious attention putting into consideration their ability to form an urban renaissance that is inclusive and the potential impacts of the gentrifying policy that may positively or negatively inflict the intended community.

Gentrification is not a natural occurrence which happens without the choices of various individuals and groups. Most people regard the policy as inevitably wrong, and several stereotypes revolve around it. In the contemporary debates, gentrification with its sinister invariably carries the Implications that accompany exclusion as well as deep social divisions. Rather, the renovation process is regarded as inevitable as well as inevitably bad just like the scientific facts or the laws of nature. Most people consider the outcomes of the policy negatively, but the solution lies within them. Man constructs gentrification, and he alone can come up with the solution. Individual leverage points can help in developing an effective course for the urban development. Several ways can be used to mitigate the gentrification such as Sander's efforts can occur in a wide range of scales, starting at the community levels to policies of the government to move out of the cage of valuing profits as the ultimate success standard in the development of urban areas. The term gentrification is widely used in the analysis of the urban problems which are disparate globally creating an impression that gentrification is a force of nature on which human beings have no control. To realize the benefits, we must move beyond the conventional stereotypes revolving around gentrification.

However, the renewal policies in the U.S cities and other major urban areas has impacted the low-income minorities negatively since residents from the middle class have displaced the poor people. Gentrification has occurred in large scale in some locales but the neighborhoods are housing the African Americans who are economically blighted as well as those with sprawling Latino populations are left behind and disadvantaged (Chaskin & Mark, 281). Communities with Asian immigrants have experienced gentrification along with ethnic diversification, but with the Latino arrival, the policy has only been implemented in the cities where the Hispanics are not stereotyped. Though civic leaders have high hopes in the revitalization of urban areas and the efforts to attract more tourists, thy need to weigh the impacts of the urban change and the probability of isolating the Latinos and African Americans living in poverty.

Response to Question 2

Racial residential segregation is often regarded as the preference of the Whites and the African Americans where the whites prefer to live with the other white and the black with their fellow blacks. The races in the residential neighborhoods significantly determined how they were rated. The whites perceive residential areas inhabited by only whites as more desirable. Contrarily, the blacks described the areas with mixed races as more desirable. Stereotypes, an identity of racial groups and experiences of prejudice and discrimination influenced the effects of the residents' ethnic backgrounds in the neighborhood preferences (Haidt, 283). The whites who hold undesirable stereotypes for the African Americans and the communities where they reside are influenced by racial compositions. However, the African Americans are not sensitive to the racial composition of their neighborhoods. In the urban history and sociology, racial segregation has emerged as the central topic in the U.S. The public historians focus on policies and practices to bring the issue of discrimination into being at both the national level and local studies.

Racial discrimination in the residential area enhances the prospects of the society in improving the relationships between people of different races in the U.S. However, the prospects continue to dwindle and harbors the undesirable racial stereotypes. Logically, the physical distance between the various ethnic communities will propagate the social distance. The segregated ghettos not only nourish but also sustains the ethnic identities, fears along with the attitudes of both the blacks and whites (Dixon et al. 481). The perpetuation of stereotypes by the media makes the whites to be hostile and suspicious of the blacks who learn to counter the prejudices by maintaining distance and living in black neighborhoods. Residential segregation acts as the origin of discrimination and propagates racial ignorance along with distrust. Integration of the different ethnic communities has proven to be instrumental in opposing the historical and social racial prejudices. Studies indicate that moving people to diverse ethnic neighborhoods will massively reduce the racial discrimination along with stereotype. Further, the studies suggest that residents living in the white suburban communities endured their black neighbors with time event without significant interactions with the racial minority individuals. After living with the blacks, the white realized that theirs fears about the African Americans were not achieved.

However, it is irrefutable that most of the Americans are divided along racial and ethnic lines. Most of the residential neighborhoods in America are plagued by misleading stereotypes, racial as well as ethnic mistrust. The racial isolation has several social consequences which have large impacts on the economic realities for the ethnic minority. As such, the African Americans are impromptu to socialize or work with the white societies who are the majority. The lack of genetic interaction also diminishes the prospects of the African American children brought up in such areas. Additionally, the possibilities of the advancement of the minority decline starting from the low-quality education they can afford in the ghetto schools to precluding them from competing with the whites g for higher income employment. Though the inequalities are caused directly by the intentional prejudices along with discrimination, racial segregation in the residential areas further aggregates the situation. Therefore, the racial and ethnic minority groups living in communities that are racially similar encounter challenges that go beyond the general economic and social inequalities which are related to the minority neighborhoods.

Furthermore, changing the portrayal of the minority groups in the media will also reduce the influence of racial stereotype to some extent. The representation of the minority groups by the media is relevant in the social integration context of the groups into the mainstream society. Since the media reaches a vast majority of the population globally, it can be the best forum to address issues of ethnic and racial disparity in the society (Oswald et al. 171). Besides, the media can educate the community on the importance of integration regardless of a race since all human beings are equal and none should inflict pain or sufferings on the other. However, the media representation of the minority is criticized due to their marginalization along with their contextualization are generalizations that are negative. The media ethics require the television broadcast should be prepared precariously to avoid racial biases and prejudice. The racial stereotypes are evident in the entertainment industry, especially in movies and films. The minority groups play the less important and influential roles that involve less speaking. Through such activities, the media worsens the situation further since people tend to believe what they see and will treat the minority groups as inferior as portrayed in the films. Though moving people to diverse residential places and changing the way the minority are represented in the media play a significant role in reducing racial stereotypes, the achievements of ethnic various residential areas cannot be overlooked. The strategy is far much effective since it is evident though the studies that it has played a significant role in reducing racial stereotypes and discrimination.

Conclusion

Conclusively, a large number of the Americans live along ethnic and racial lines. The whites hold stereotypes against the racial and ethnic minority specifically the Hispanics or Latinos and the African Americans. Racial segregation is evident in the residential areas where some are exclusively set aside for the whites who harbor resentment, mistrust, and suspicion against the minority groups and further increases racial stereotypes. However, settling the people in diverse ethnic neighborhoods have reduced the racial prejudice and stereotypes since the whites learn to endure the minority groups when their fears are unrealized. The society should address the issue of ethnicity and racism since it affects national cohesion and integration.





Works Cited

Chaskin, Robert J., and Mark L. Joseph. "‘Positive’Gentrification, Social Control and the ‘Right to the City’in Mixed‐Income Communities: Uses and Expectations of Space and Place." International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 37.2 (2013): 480-502.

Dixon, John, et al. "Beyond prejudice: Are negative evaluations the problem and is getting us to like one another more the solution?." Behavioral and Brain Sciences 35.06 (2012): 411-425.

Haidt, Jonathan. "Moral psychology for the twenty-first century." Journal of Moral Education 42.3 (2013): 281-297.

Kurylo, Anastacia. "What are they like? Non-expert definitions of stereotypes and their implications for stereotype maintenance." Qualitative Research in Psychology 9.4 (2012): 337-350.

Oswald, Frederick L., et al. "Predicting ethnic and racial discrimination: A meta-analysis of IAT criterion studies." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 105.2 (2013): 171.