Prejudice, Stereotypes and Discrimination - Essay Example

Prejudice, Stereotypes and Discrimination Some of the challenges that people experience in life include prejudice, discrimination and stereotyping. Ibelieve that I am not the only one who has ever experienced these either as a recipient or perpetrator. To understand this better, it is imperative that I begin by defining what the terms prejudice, discrimination and stereotyping mean. Baumeister and Bushman (393) define prejudice as the incorrect or unjustified attitude (negative) directed toward a person based entirely on the person’s membership to a social group. For instance, an individual may be prejudiced based on their race, ethnicity, religion, gender, or skin color. Discrimination, on the other hand, is the negative actions or behavior directed toward an individual or group of people in the society based on race, social class, sexual orientation, or gender among other factors according to Baumeister and Bushman (393). Stereotypes pertain to negative generalizations about the characteristics of members of a particular group in the society usually. The three things usually go hand in hand, and I have been a victim of the three as exemplified below. 1. Incidence where I became the victim of Discrimination, Prejudice, and Stereotyping I once became a target of prejudice based on my race. This happened shortly after my arrival in the US from Asia to pursue my Bachelors degree. I was walking on a street in Washington DC, with a friend, who is a US citizen by birth. What baffled me was the way two young ladies were starring at me. At first, I thought they knew me, or that they were confusing me for someone else. However, I later realized that this was not the case as one of them murmured, “look at that dwarf man.” This was in reference to my height as I was probably much shorter than the average American man. It is then that one of them came and asked me “are you a Chinese?” Yes, I replied. She then began to measure how tall I was using a tape measure that she was carrying. Before she could finish her business, she bust into loud laughter and stated emphatically that I am a true Chinese. The ladies’ comments came not because I am too short, but due to the notion, and prejudice they have against Chinese. They believe that all Chinese are short. They thus stereotype any Chinese they come across. This was not the end of the experience. After going back to the residential quarters where we lived, a young man came along and called me ‘a photocopy’. It was so shocking because at first I thought the he wanted to photocopy some of the papers he held in his hands. However, it was later that I realized that I was being stereotyped. This is after a certain friend of mine who is an American told me that US people consider anybody from China as a ‘photocopy’ since they perceive products from China not to be authentic. Indeed, I felt very bad about all the incidences. This is so because the comments were all negative. For instance, how can someone be called a dwarf based solely on the belief that all Chinese nationals are short? Being short is natural and no one, I believe, determined how black, white, short, or tall they would be. However, all these are biological “accidents” that no one really chooses. Furthermore, being stereotyped as a ‘photocopy’ is not something good at all. This is because not all Chinese products are fake as the stereotype I experienced in the US suggests. Where I became the Perpetrator I have not only been a victim of prejudice, I have, regrettably been a perpetrator too. I once stereotyped an American national as a proud man. This happened when I was at home, in China. I saw an American man walking down the streets. The only reference I made of him to other friends whom I was with was, “look at this proud people.” This is based on Asians’ perception that all American people are proud and feel on top of the world. I have generally grown up knowing American people as proud people. This belief was occasioned by the fact that my parents who are Indonesians but Chinese nationals used to refer to American people as proud. I have, therefore, grown up with that notion, which is widely held by many Asian people. Despite having done that, I feel that this is not the way to go. I am of the opinion that it is not right to stereotype anyone based on their nationality, race, religion, gender or any other factor. This is after realizing that not all Americans are proud, as is the general belief among most Asians. Indeed, I feel bad about prejudice up to date. 2. It is true that the prejudice I experienced in my experience with the two ladies and the young man and that that I perpetrated against the American national conform to the level of prejudice delineated in Ruchlis’ article. This is because some of these remarks involved ant locution, avoidance, discrimination, physical attack or extermination. For instance, I felt that it the remarks were discriminatory. Avoidance is seen in respect of the fact that people do not like ‘photocopies’ which is associated with my nationality. I considered the stereotype to imply that Chinese are lazy people who would only sit and wait to imitate products invented by other nations. This meant that Chinese are people who are always ready to steal people’s ideas and therefore should be avoided. Moreover, this stereotype was also discriminatory in nature. The prejudice I perpetrated was discriminatory in nature as we, as Asians, tend to hate people who are proud and who tend to look down upon others. This indeed conforms to prejudice delineated in Ruchlis’ article. 3. The faulty logic or poor reasoning about an experience comes when there is no ground for truth in one’s comment or when the comment or attitude is merely dedicated to the attack of a person. For instance, I felt that it was an ad hominem attack to be called a “dwarf” in reference to my height. This, in my opinion, was faulty logic since the perpetrator was merely making a hominem attack on me by referring to me as a dwarf based on my height. Moreover, poor reasoning is engaged when people believe that diversity is unfavorable. For instance, some people secure scholarships to study abroad based purely on their race, gender, disability, religion or nationality. This is indeed a favorable prejudice. I too believe that my race might have favored me in securing a place to study in the U.S. 4. My culture, gender, religion, ethnicity and socio-economic status and media input have really influenced my feelings and conclusions about my experiences. My culture, for instance, prohibits discrimination against other people. This is based on the wide belief that people are the same irrespective of race, ethnicity, religion or gender. My religion has also impacted a great deal on my feelings about the experience. As a Christian, the bible teaches us to love others as we love ourselves. This makes me feel bad when I prejudice, stereotype or discriminate against another. This, in fact, made me stop the act of prejudicing or discriminating any person I come across. The media has also influenced my feelings about prejudice. The media has highlighting some of the incidences where people have been negatively victimized based on their religion, ethnicity, or race. Media has all the time tried to inform people to stop the acts of prejudice, discrimination and stereotype, a factor that has indeed influenced my feelings. Conclusion Based on my experience with prejudice, discrimination and stereotyping, it is not in order at all to prejudice anybody irrespective of their race, gender, ethnicity, religion or color. This is because everybody is equal before God. It is also not in order to stereotype others since everyone is created in a unique way. Therefore, negative stereotyping should not be given space in the world. Words: 1,338 Work Cited Baumeister, Roy F., & Bushman, Brad J. Social Psychology and Human Nature. New York, NY: Cengage. 2010. Print. Read More