Understanding Prejudice and Discrimination in Society

Are Only Prejudiced Individuals Discriminatory?

Prejudice refers to negative attitudes about an entire category of people, which brings forth the thought of stereotypes. Those then lead to discrimination, which is the unfair treatment of people based on prejudice. (Prejudice is an attitude, while discrimination is an action that stems from that attitude.)

Why Did the U.S. Census Bureau Exclude Biracial Individuals?

Why do you think the U.S. Census Bureau did not have a category for biracial individuals until the 2000 Census? What does this reveal about our society? It gives opportunity for some change when something is acknowledged, yet we often want things to stay the same.

Why Do We Categorize People by Race and Ethnicity?

Society feels it’s necessary to separate groups of people. They interpret the differences in appearance, which affects the individual's opportunities.

How Do Mass Media Portray Race and Ethnicity?

The media creates meaning about race and ethnicity and plays an important role in shaping the way we understand these concepts as part of our identity, history, social institutions, and everyday lives.

Is Genocide Ever Justified?

No, it is an extreme example of racism and is now associated with hate groups.

Essay Topics

• What are Graves’ five pillars of racist thoughts?
• Do biological races exist in the human species?
• Do races have genetic differences that determine their intelligence?
• Do races have genetically determined differences that produce unique diseases and cause them to die at different rates?
• Do races have genetically determined sexual appetites and reproductive capacities?
• Do races have genetically determined differences in athletic and musical ability?

Patterns of Interaction

The racial and ethnic tensions are rooted first from conquest, where one group uses its superior military to dominate another. The other is annexation, the incorporation of one territory into another. Under this system, members of ethnic and racial groups are forced to become members of a new society.

Pluralistic vs. Assimilationist Minorities

Explain the similarities and differences between pluralistic minorities and assimilationist minorities. Pluralistic minorities enter an area voluntarily; they want to integrate with the dominant group but also want to maintain their culture. In contrast, assimilationist minorities want to abandon their old ways and fully integrate.

Defining Institutional Discrimination

Institutional discrimination maintains the advantage for the dominant group while providing the appearance of fairness to all.

Understanding the Cycle of Poverty

The cycle of poverty is a generational barrier that prevents poor people from breaking into the middle and upper classes.

Defining Genocide

Genocide is the attempt to destroy or exterminate a people based on their race and/or ethnicity. Examples include the Holocaust and Hotel Rwanda.

What is Color Blind Racism?

Color blind racism is the idea that racism still exists in society in more subtle ways.

Understanding Double Consciousness

Double consciousness refers to the sense that a person must keep a foot in two worlds: one in the majority group’s world and one in the minority group’s world.

Review Questions

• What is the difference between race and ethnicity? Ethnicity involves grouping people who share a common cultural, linguistic, or ancestral heritage, while race refers to the division of people based on certain physical characteristics.
• What causes racist attitudes? Being prejudiced.
• How do racist attitudes affect people? They cause people to begin to stereotype, which then leads to discrimination.
• How does affirmative action help groups in the United States? It is a social policy designed to help minority groups gain opportunities through employment and education.
• What is the difference between discrimination and prejudice? Prejudice is an attitude, while discrimination is an action that stems from that attitude.