Racism Essays (1262 words) - Social Inequality, Discrimination, Race

Racism Racism is defined by the Webster Dictionary as the assumption that the characteristics and abilities of an individual are determined by race and that one race is biologically superior to another. Confronted with a problem as complex as racism, we cannot afford to let ourselves be constrained by the boundaries of specific disciplines. Racism is alive and well. The reports of its demise are totally unfounded so that we come to the beginning of the twenty-first century, it remains as our society's major dilemma. There is a lot at stake when dealing with this issue, but that fact is that we cannot brush it aside or ignore it any longer because it is present in everything we do. Canada and the United States are one of the two biggest countries when it comes to ethnic diversities within its boundaries. Immigrants enter these countries by the thousands to better their chances of a good and stable life. The demographic statistics of these countries are rapidly rising. Immigrants are starting to take over and their presence is being felt more and more. Historically, both countries had their respective problems involving other races. When the British settlers first came to Canada, they were confronted with the Native Americans. Their goal was to claim land for England, but they also had to convert the aboriginal to the Catholic religion. So against their will, the Native Americans were taught to worship a new God. The Whites were taking advantage of these primitive tribes living in and around the country. They played with their minds, giving them hard liquor, disguised as the Drink of Life. So the aboriginals were overwhelmed, and could not stop the invasion. They were defeated, forced to live in small territories, and some were turned into slaves. Americans were as bad, if not worst, toward racial groups. The most significant of the acts committed is the segregation of African American during the late eighteen hundreds until the mid-nineteen hundreds. Black people were brought from Africa and were auctioned to the highest bidder to work in the cotton fields. Their working conditions were atrocious and a lot of them died of hunger or sickness. It's not until the Civil War that the legal status of African Americans started to change. Even then, the Supreme Court of the United States struck down federal statutes designed to enforce the amendments. The absence of an adequate federal law permitted discrimination against black Americans in employment and housing, public accommodations, the judicial system, and voting opportunities. In the two historic events, the possible reason for the actions done toward the racial minorities might be the fear the have towards them. We did not understand why they were different from us, so we categorised them and immediately judged them as the inferior race. Even though the history of both nations was different, their actions against racial minorities were similar to one another. Throughout the years, it seems that Canadians and Americans have excepted their immigrant counterparts. In both Canada and the United States, a range of indicators of racial attitudes shows certain positive trends. In the United States, the National Academy of Sciences report, A Common Destiny: Blacks and American Society, gleaned data from dozen of national opinion polls conducted between 1942 and 1983. These polls show growing and now virtually universal verbal commitment to the principle of racial equality. The disparities between the Whites and the Blacks have declined significantly. In Canada, race is less conspicuous. Without doubt the climate in Canada too has improved since the Second World War, when racially exclusionary immigration policies were still in effect. For its study, The Economic and Social Impact of Immigration, the Economic Council of Canada assembled data from existing surveys of intolerance. The council reported a positive trend among anglophones on an index of tolerance. A survey conducted in 1990 by Decima Research Ltd. permits a comparison of the two countries. The Canadians in the survey were, overall, slightly less overtly racist than the Americans: 90 percent of Canadians and 86 percent of Americans agreed that all races are created equal (Maclean's, 1990). This difference is insubstantial. Large minorities in both countries deny overt racism. Canadians favour immigrations more than Americans do, despite the fact