SOCI 250 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Racial Profiling, Employment Discrimination, Visible Minority
8 Jun 2018
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Lecture 10 (October 10th, 2017)
Race (Cont.2)
! Race vs. ethnicity
•!The primary factor related to ethnicity is culture – key distinction
between race and ethnicity:
o!Race: refers almost explicitly to a biological difference between
human beings
"!A hierarchy of people – social Darwinism of the past –
we’ll refer to race as a mechanism to rank-order people.
Some people being more biologically evolved (Darwin),
and some people being less biologically evolved
o!Ethnicity: culture
"!Learned things – things we learn: what to eat, how to pray, what to eat…?
! Functions of racism
•!Provides a reference group with whom to compare oneself favorable.
o!It could be unfavorably: my group is worst than that group
o!Notions of biological/cultural inferiority, racism and sexism, don’t operate if you just
convince one group that they’re better than another.
"!It works because you also convince the subordinate group that they are
subordinate
"!You’re convincing “women” that they have a subordinate position in broader
societies for x, y, and z reasons – they’re not meant to have positions of
authority
"!It doesn’t just work by convincing group A, you also have to convince group
B
•!A means of limiting competition for scarce resources in society (e.g. jobs, housing,
education).
o!“I’m better than you, therefore I deserve more resources”
o!Race can be used a means for justifying the allocations of resources in society – race
helps us understand where people should go, not exclusively, but in large parts
•!Scapegoating: When dominant members of society are frustrated by crises, they may blame
some groups as racially responsible (a response that can become an important and dangerous
step toward violence).
o!Example: Those of Arab origin after Sept. 11 attacks….
o!When things go badly, there are nice people to blame
o!Things are worst in our society, life would be better
o!We take the premises – the economy is stagnant or declining – I might be losing my
job, one of the easiest thing to do is to go “those people aren’t the cause; those
immigrants are the blame”. Those undeserving people took our jobs
o!You get closer to allowing violence against those people once you demonize them
and blame them for all of your problems
! 2 types of racism
1) Personal (or individual) Racism
•!Individuals (or small groups) who treat persons unfairly or unequally because of their group
membership.
•!It’s really micro
o!People interacting with each other – a few people coming together
•!Some manifestations include:
o!Landlord will not rent to a minority group member
o!The use of derogatory names and references
o!Discriminatory treatment during the course of interpersonal contact (i.e.: during an
interview)
"!Not trying to say “does this happen?”; it’s all about the extent – how bad is it
o!Threats and acts of violence towards those alleged to be racially inferior
"!The most violent form of racism – I attack people of other races, hate crimes
o!AVOIDANCE
"!Passive form of racism
"!This idea that white flight, to run away from minorities. Running away in a
particular way: limiting exposure of my children to “those kids”
"!The example of people supporting the notion of equal rights for African
Americans in the US. The minute it meant your kids will have to go to school
with those kids, it stopped there – they didn’t have as much empathy
"!Segregation – not wanting to reside in a community where there’s a lot of
diversity
"!When all things are equal (you have equally quantified candidates sitting in
front of you looking for a job), my preferences = people who are like me
•!It’s just easier to get along with them
•!What’s caught up in those kinds of people is “people like me”
•!If you’re a different gender or ethnicity, it’s a gap you might and will
have to overcome
•!Part of the reason why we see this concentration of white men at the
top of the corporation food chain is because of that! The way this
process maintains itself is the notion of liking people like me
•!Adaptive discrimination
o!When one discriminates to avoid reaction of others
o!“It’s not really me”
o!Realtors’ awareness that ethnic diversity tends to be associated with different
property values
o!Steering in a particular way
o!Thus, I may not rent to a minority group member because I think the neighbors will
be unhappy
•!What are some example of personal racism?
Document Summary
Race vs. ethnicity: the primary factor related to ethnicity is culture key distinction between race and ethnicity: o race: refers almost explicitly to a biological difference between human beings. A hierarchy of people social darwinism of the past we"ll refer to race as a mechanism to rank-order people. Some people being more biologically evolved (darwin), and some people being less biologically evolved o ethnicity: culture. It works because you also convince the subordinate group that they are subordinate. You"re convincing women that they have a subordinate position in broader societies for x, y, and z reasons they"re not meant to have positions of authority. It doesn"t just work by convincing group a, you also have to convince group. Those undeserving people took our jobs o you get closer to allowing violence against those people once you demonize them and blame them for all of your problems. 2 types of racism: personal (or individual) racism.
