For a long period of time now, racism has been viewed as one of the most intolerable acts that human beings can inflict upon other human beings. Racism is not limited to one area of the world, it has become a worldwide disease that all of us need to be aware of.
Racism can be viewed from different perspectives but all the definitions boil down to one common factor; racism is based on ethnic differences. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, racism is the belief that people who are not in the same race as you are inferior because of their qualities which one believes are as a result of their race, a situation that results in unfair treatment of those members.
In his discussion, Castles (1996) introduces the characteristics that define racism as a paradigm of subsequent historical flaws that are deeply rooted in the practices and discussions that often led to contradictory assumptions about a certain group of people that have negative impact on the said people. Discussions about racism also found a connection between racism and dominance, citing that racism borrowed heavily from it and the end result was that it led to a lot of friction between the minority and the major groups in play.
Racism has been seen to be most predominant in cases where the minority groups face discrimination from the majority groups because of such issues as skin color, language, culture, economic background amongst other factors. By classifying people in such categories, one is blinded from seeing them as equal members of the human race and the feeling of superiority arises, causing the friction that is identified with racism.
Let us look at the case study of racism in Nelson in New Zealand. According to this article, close to 90 percent of all immigrant people living there have experienced different kinds and levels of racism at one point in their stay there. Racism acts such verbal attacks to physical violence have been reported by most of the victims, prompting authority to take action and embark on prosecuting the offenders. This was what prompted the authorities to start a new multi-cultural center where all forms of racism could be reported and the necessary action taken (Neal, 2009).
In her report to the Nelson Multicultural Council, Debbie Kohner, a thirty three year old lawyer and a volunteer compiled a report that noted the need to have different ways of reporting hate crimes such as the internet. This showed just how poor communication about such incidents was. Perhaps it was the reason why many did not understand the implications of their actions and continued committing these heinous acts. Communication about the effects of racism is and will always be the pivotal tool to combat and successfully counter it (Neal, 2009, para 4).
Racism is all about the perception we have about each other. People view others differently based on such issues as character, skin color and general traits of a certain group among others. Racism occurs when a certain group decides that their beliefs and practices are far more advanced and superior as compared to other people who in most cases are the minority. Take the case of 39-year old Cristy Aydon. She is a resident of Nelson and one of the victims of racism. She is of Philippines descent but has lived there for at least nine years with her Kiwi husband. Ms. Aydon’s first experienced traumatized her because of the insults hurled at her by young people of Nelson (Neal, 2009, para 9).
This incident is among the many describing some of the effects that racism has. The above case shows a mother of three who was traumatized by the incident she decided to divert her attention towards the most common victims in Nelson; the minorities. She has worked for the multiracial council and she has heard and witnessed different kinds of racism, all that has had negative effects (Neal, 2009, para 9).
For her case though, she came out stronger than ever and has been of great help to those who were not able to defend themselves from these brutal and inhumane attacks. Most of the time, many victims succumb to the after effects of low self-esteem which may lead to the victims inflicting danger on themselves such as suicide or drug abuse. This fact is backed by some 138 studies that studied the same and found a link between mental and emotional scarring to racism.
Studies have revealed that cultural diversity has been the biggest driving force for the development of racism in the world (Dunn, 2003). This is true because some cultures have strong willed people who are sometimes radical in expanding their beliefs to the world. Such tendencies more often than not result in racial discrimination. When these kinds of thinking develop, many people become intolerant to other races, another effect towards the victims. Not being able to tolerate other human beings for their cultural diversity only leads to racism.
In general physics, it is said that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. If we apply this principle to racism, we understand better why victims of racism or members of the same group retaliate in response to a hate crime. It is only normal for people to act out when insulted or aggravated. This has seen to many instances of life threatening cases of violence such as Jihad fighting, the famous Holocaust which saw thousands of Jews killed by Hitler among other cases. This is another significant effect of racism which causes immense suffering and a cycle of revenge starts and seemingly never ends since no party is willing to come to a compromise.
In today’s world, there is one group that seemingly gets racial comments and insults among other forms of racism all over; the Arabs. For many decades, Arabs have been associated with terrorism and this was greatly amplified after the 2001 attack on US. This incident escalated racial discrimination whereby people were detained for suspicion that they were terrorists and some were even shipped to torture prisons such as Guantanamo Bay. This racial degradation has led to victimization of latter generations even in schools. This has led to poor health among children due to high stress levels (Dunn & Forest, 2004).
Racism has also seen victims form particular perceptions about themselves based on the thinking of others especially teenagers and young adults. Most privileged white youngsters tend to stamp their authority in many social settings and wring in their ideas of how the social organs work. This in turns lowers self-esteem and establishes a hierarchy that should not exist based on privilege (Mansouri, Jenkins, Morgan & Taouk, 2009).
The most affected group is those who look for work in areas saturated with racist individuals. It becomes a hassle for many who want to look for jobs to feed their loved ones but do not get such opportunities just because they are not of the same race(Mansouri, Jenkins, Morgan & Taouk, 2009). These practices have led to formation of committees who oversee the hiring of employees not based on their race because it has become internationally recognized that racism is an offence punishable by law. We can say that victims have found justice in the law and can most definitely continue to look for work wherever they feel like it.
Conclusion
Racism has been a cancer in our societies and it has had many negative outcomes. However, due to racism, people have become more aware of the need to cherish the cultural diversity of the world and it has led to a greater cohesion among the people in different backgrounds transforming the world into a global village. Places where racism still exists need to be identified and the message to do away with racism should be spread to all parts of the world.
References
Castles S., (1996). The racisms of globalizations. The Teeth Are Smiling: The Persistence of Racism in Multicultural Australia, St Leonards, NSW, Allen & Unwin, pp. 17–45.
Dunn K.M., (2003). Racism in Australia: Findings of a Survey of Racist Attitudes and Experiences of Racism. National Europe Centre Paper, no. 77, pp. 1–13.
Dunn K. & Forest J., (2004). Constructing racism in Australia. Australian Journal of Social Issues, vol. 39, no. 4, pp. 409–30.
Mansouri F.Prof, Jenkins L. Dr., Morgan L. Dr. & Taouk M., (2009). The Impact of Racism upon the Health and Wellbeing of Young Australians. The Institute for Citizenship and Globalizastion. Deakin University, Australia.
Neal, T. (4/08/2009). Racism rife in Nelson region. The Nelson Mail. Retrieved from http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/2718906/Racism-rife-in-Nelson-region
