[Subject/Course]
[Submission Date]
Racism can be described as the mind-set or practice of recognizing influence/superiority of one group over another. It is either based on race, color, ethnicity or cultural heritage. Regrettably, racism has now become a global tradition. It is not only limited to a particular region or society. Similarly, racism and discrimination have continued to be among the biggest issues of the American society. One of the most important terms that are used for characterizing this racist approach of people is “color-blindness”. This kind of racism is supportive of white supremacy and freedom in the USA under a flexible covering. It puts emphasis on the significance of racial ideology and mindsets in the American ‘colorblind’ society. In other words, the colorblind approach let the “whites support principles of racial equality, but attribute the social position of racial-ethnic minorities to a lack of individual efforts and moral failings, dismissing structural aspects of racial inequality” (Byrd 1009). Therefore, colorblind racism is an obstacle for the prevalence of impartiality and open-mindedness in the society.
Unfortunately, the non-white populace in the USA is repeatedly subjected to individual and institutional prejudice. In America, racism is noticeable at all individual, group and institutional levels. The racists spread and conserve racism by introducing planned activities and policies in economical, communal, political, learning, spiritual and cultural aspects of life. Regardless of the fact that several civil rights groups and political leaders have sincerely endeavored to stop racial discrimination practices, they have not stopped. In today’s contemporary society of America, there are still countless non-white citizens who are living their lives in a state of melancholy, unhappiness and depression due to the widespread prejudiced beliefs.
Colorblind racism has influenced the American society significantly. It is rather saddening that even the contemporary culture has failed to change the conventional racist thoughts towards other races and ethnicities. A majority of whites are still not ready to see people past race. The society in America is now carrying out its functions as the people of color are all the time disturbed, badly treated and made uneasy. The approved practice of injustice towards the dominated colored-people/groups has become a serious part of the common societal conduct. The xenophobic and detrimental thoughts have seeped into just about every major area of life whether education, business, employment, legal system, housing, politics, religion, and communal interactions. The pungent reality is that a huge number of people including underprivileged, prosperous, cultured and illiterate promote this negativism.
As a result, this narrow-mindedness and bias have misted up the truth for the majority of whites. They consider the history, cultural expressions and personal relationships as something to be laughed at, mediocre and deceit. A majority of whites consider themselves better than the colored. The white men are also encouraged by racism to physically assault non-white women. Moreover, the democratic ideologies in the society have twisted. The bigoted whites regard it their birth right to be treated as the most privileged of all beings. Racism has also challenged the provision of equal opportunities to all the American citizens. Racism has affected the psychological approach of the whites as well as they fear, hate, suspect, blame, dishonor and abhor blacks. Most of the whites find it enjoyable to spend their assets, time, power and emotions in degrading the colored people. This waste of energy, money and time is in the name of social discrimination. In addition, racism has strengthened the issues of poverty, offense, unemployment and associated problems in society (Seldon).
References
Byrd, W. C.. "Conflating Apples and Oranges: Understanding Modern Forms of Racism." Sociology Compass 05.11 (2011): 1005-1017. Virginia Tech. Web. 19 Mar. 2014. <http://filebox.vt.edu/users/byrdwc/files/Byrd11.pdf>.
Seldon, Horace. Convictions about Racism in the United States of America: Essays. 2nd ed. Boston: Community Change, Inc., 1994. Print.
Sue, Derald Wing. Overcoming our Racism: The Journey to Liberation. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2003. Print.
