Discussion Board Posts
Main post starting a thread: “Closing the Wealth Gap: A Review of Racial and Ethnic Inequalities in Homeownership” by Meghan Kuebler
Home ownership does not represent an equally realizable goal for all groups in the society, despite the fact that it is a very important investment that may secure a family’s future for generations to come. Although owning a home has been part of the American dream historically, not all groups in the society have had equal access to this privileged position as home owner. In reality, Whites are more likely than any other racial group to own a home, and Blacks are the least likely group to be able to buy a house. Among other issues, for example, the inequality caused by mortgage interest deduction allows middle class Whites to benefit from deductions, but lower class families cannot outlay taxes in order to benefit from deductions. Homeownership however is important for lower class families, because it stimulates upward mobility and improves social status. Owning a home is an investment that may benefit families for generations, and represents part of a person’s wealth. Managing to pay for the house means that you will not have to worry about paying a mortgage or a rent, which means that more of one’s income will remain in his pocket monthly. Furthermore, selling a house provides an important amount of money and therefore, it represents a very important asset that can secure a family’s future. Therefore, for persons with low income, buying a house remains one of the most important ways of building wealth and improving one’s social status.
Among the motives for which minority groups may find it extremely difficult to own their own home, is the fact that they are less likely to get married and thus, they have lower income within the family and they are less likely to have good jobs that may allow them to pay or a loan. In addition, as Kuebler shows, minority groups have been subject to discrimination, which evolved from loan application refusals, to discriminatory financing which includes higher loans and hidden fees that would make it impossible for applicants to repay.
Furthermore, even when Blacks are able to own a home, they are more likely to reside in poor areas, with lower value. They are less likely to afford to live in safe neighborhoods with good schools, and thus, even though, for many people, homeownership gives access to better living conditions this is not true for Blacks in most cases (Kuebler). The disparity between Whites and minorities in what homeownership is concerned is a sign of the discrimination which continues to exist on several levels in the American society. Allowing minorities to have equal access to homeownership as Whites by removing the barriers in their access to affordable loans is a major step in giving them equal access to the American dream.
Post Responding to Others’ Discussion Thread: Gender Matters. So Do Race and Class," by Sandra E. Weissinger.
In Dukes v. WalMart Stores Inc. from 2004, the plaintiffs accused WalMart for the sexist wages and promotion policies, which caused women to earn less than men, and to be promoted at slower rates, and in lower positions than men. In her article, Weissinger interestingly points out that, in this case, race, class, age, gender, family makeup and geographical location had specific negative influence on the plaintiffs’ evolution. The intersections of these characteristics determined to a great extent the kind of experiences that employees were likely to have at Walmart. For example, a white female employee was privileged from the perspective of race, but underprivileged from a gender perspective, and could also be affected by age discrimination. However, a Black woman was likely to be discriminated based on multiple accounts, when the standard of the ideal employee was the young White male from a middle class background, which was extremely far. If this is the standard against which all the employees were judged at WalMart, many employees were likely to fall short of this category. While this case was brought forward by female employees, many other employees were also likely to be affected, such as old men of color, or employees with a different sexual orientation, and this case only highlights the subtle discrimination which is present in many of the U.S. companies. The WalMart employees’
Post Responding to Others’ Discussion Thread: “Seeing In 3D: A Race, Class, and Gender Lens on the Economic Downturn” by Margaret Andersen
In her article, Andersen discusses the fact that the society is blind to the racial, class and gender discrimination, which she explains through the 3D glasses metaphor. In discussing the economic downtown in 2009, Andersen showed that reports on the economic crisis avoided mentioning categories which were affected due to several types of discrimination, for example, women of color. The fact that the categories which are affected the most by the crisis are non-existent officially is a major problem of the society, which continues to discriminate against these classes, despite the open celebration of the end of racism in America.
Andersen argues that considering gender, class and race in explaining the economic downtown is not only crucial, but also, fair. However, the plight of Hispanic, men, or women of color remains unaddressed, and was not considered worthy of analysis. Andersen’s article points out that, as long as the society’s main narrative remains focused on the perspective of the White Man, the minorities’ problems will remain obscured and they will be ignored by the media, policymakers, and the society at the same time.
Main Post Starting a Thread: “Who Owns Her Body: Challenges to Cultural Relativism”, in A World Full of Women by Martha Ward and Monica Edelstein.
Proving one’s manliness is often enough to behave aggressively towards female and less masculine men and this is an effect of the society’s highly patriarchal system of values. In chapter 9 of “A World Full of Women”, the author discuss gendered violence as a consequence of men’s historical attempts to control and own women’s bodies. Gendered violence can be defined as violence which is directed at the other sex, overwhelmingly women, based on the power that women tries to gain from overpowering women. In many societies then, women who disobey the norms or fall short of the categories imposed by the society, women who try to control their own sexuality or to become independent of men, are being brutalized or stigmatized within their communities. The author discusses different types of gendered violence against women. All of these forms of violence are based upon men’s self-assumed control of women, as a means of maintaining the highest authority at all levels of the society.
Indeed, sometimes men and boys are also subjected to violence. Gendered violence also affects men and boys, when females are perpetrators. However, more often, feminine men and boys are likely to experience abuse from men who try to overpower them in order to confirm their manliness. Education in the spirit of respect and equality for males and females is likely to impact positively the attitude of men and women. Women are unlikely to accept being victimized, and men are likely not to behave abusively towards women and less manlier individuals, in general. However, unfortunately, masculine aggressiveness is an attribute of successful masculinity in many patriarchal societies, and this trait is encouraged, many times, even by mothers who are proud with the early signs of aggressiveness in their male children. Furthermore, the society’s authorities do not discourage gendered violence in many highly patriarchal societies, but on the contrary, they justify the violence against women. For example the so-called “honor killings” in many societies from the Middle East are crimes committed by men who may kill their female relatives when they suspect them of having dishonored the family, usually by means of illicit sexual acts. These crimes are not punished as they are considered a right of men who are expected to defend their families’ honor. This example shows how societies often tolerate, or even encourage the violence against women as a means of preserving male power.
The problem of racial discrimination in the Justice system has been documented extensively, and it is a well-known negative aspect of the society in what racial equality is concerned. As Alexander explains in her article, in many cases, racial discrimination in the justice system adds more problems to the already burdened lives of people of color, who lose their ability to make a living, and their homes, due to often discriminatory charges. Furthermore, the public opinion, the media, the jury and judges are all discriminatory in their attitudes towards Colored offenders, and many offenses are also racialized. For example, drug traffic is associated with people of Color and Hispanics, although this is an offense committed by Whites to the same extent. Raising awareness against racism in the justice system is unlikely to solve the problem on the short term, particularly because racism, even unconsciously, is widely spread at the level of the population, and affect even people who consider themselves to be color-blind. Despite the fact that police officers and judges refuse to acknowledge the fact that racism is part of the system, the daily experiences of Black men and women who have to face it show that the opposite is true.
Gender, Race and Urban Policing by Rod Brunson and Jody Miller.
In the American society, gendered violence in minority communities is normalized to the extent that police officers respond with more difficulty in cases of domestic violence in minority communities. While police officers are likely to respond firmly in cases where aggression towards women occur in public, they are less likely to respond when aggression occurs within the home, and this is particularly true in the case of minority families, because the police perceive these problems as common to the minority community. The authorities fail to protect women because they believe domestic problems to be a private affair, but also because, the fact that they occur often in minority communities, determine police officers to perceive them as typical for this group. On the other hand, policing Black neighborhoods is subject to discriminatory practices by officers who stereotype young Black men as potential criminals, and unfairly presume them to be guilty of a crime simply because of their characteristics. Police officers also give Black men a more violent treatment due to their gender. This behavior contrasts powerfully with the lack of service Black women receive in cases of domestic violence. Both of these contrasting attitudes have the same racial and gendered basis, although it is manifested differently for men and women. Violence and the presumption of guiltiness for men, and lack of support for women in cases of violence both portray a discriminatory attitude towards minority groups, which comes from a historical perception of non-white people as barbaric, inferior and undeserving.
