Racism, stereotyping, Bigotry
Racism, the idea or belief that one’s own race is superior and has the right to rule
others, has existed throughout human history. Another definition used is the hatred of one
person by another or the belief that another person appears less than human. Racism is
expressed through skin color, language, and customs of a different race. Racism has influenced
wars, slavery, and the formation of nations. I have heard many racial jokes and comments on
how a minority person acts and their appearances. In my British Literature class, we were
discussing the abilities of African American people. African Americans have the ability to
perform any physical task given to them. One student in my class stated a comment that, all
African Americans are genetically better at sports than any other race. Their athletic abilities
make them different than other people. Most of the students laughed at the statement while
others discussed further into the comment. We later concluded that everyone is given their
own abilities and everyone, of all races, has a certain skill.
Stereotypes are the generalization of a group of people which are classified by certain
characteristics present in the members of the group. Stereotyping comes from the act of social
categorization, classifying people into groups based on common characteristics. These
classifications can be positive or negative, such as various nationalities are stereotyped as
friendly or unfriendly. Stereotypes affect social judgments a person makes about another
person or group of people. Stereotypes affect a person’s attitude, mood, and expectations of
behavior towards another person. I attended a show which James Junes and Ernest Tsosie III
performed a hilarious comedy show. In this show, both comedians created stereotypical jokes
on Native customs. These jokes contain little facts about the behavior of most Native people.
Jokes such as, going to the Navajo Nation Fair, Rodeos, Wal-mart, and other customs of Native
Americans which tell a tale of a Native person’s actions in situations. These stereotypical jokes
made the audience, which consisted of mostly Native Americans, laugh. No one was offended
by these statements because they all understood the comedy presented to them from their
own customs. However, this act of comedy is not okay when the groups of people are harshly
stereotyped. Meaning, the comedian made a joke that offended the specified group and stated
a joke which classified the group as inhuman.
Bigotry is defined as the actions, beliefs, prejudices, etc., of a bigot. A bigot is a person
who is determined and devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices especially a person
who treats the members of an ethnic group with hatred and intolerance. The refusal to
consider any opinion but one’s own and inability to accept their opinion may not be right even
when shown otherwise also defines bigotry. Different types of bigotry include nationalism,
classism, and fascism. The term, bigotry, can be applied to any situation where stereotypes and
narrow minded thinking dominates over logical, intelligent thought. I myself am a bigot. When I
have a clear view of what I believe is real or true, I do not accept other people’s opinions to
make my opinion different or accurate. After much frustration and disagreement I will stick to
my original opinion or, if you are lucky, you may change my perspective and opinion on the
situation.
Racism, Stereotyping, Bigotry, and the media.
I believe that the process of the media is a cycle of information. We give ideas to the
media and they portray our ideas to other people around the world and the other people use
the ideas from the media. So basically, we follow the media and the media follows us. The
media does not contain much information or stories relating to racism. The media focuses on
the interests of the viewers. The media does stereotype different groups of people such as drug
abusers, famous people, and other characteristics of people. They used stereotypes to keep
their audiences interested in the lives of other people around them. The media portrays their
ideas in music, movies, TV shows, and magazines. People do not have the power to control the
media because the media uses imagination to interest people. The media can play a role in the
act of bigotry of a person. The media can influence a bigot person to stick with their opinions
and to refuse any other types of information against their opinion. The media can also change a
bigot person’s opinion on a subject. The media has the power to control some judgments of
people interested in their advertisements.
Society and Racism, Funny?
Stereotypes are funny when the stereotype does not connect to you. Racism is never
funny because racism is a serious matter and should not be used in an offensive way. There is
no other way to use racism other than a offensive way therefore, racism should never be used
in a funny situation or joke. Stereotypes work in both directions. A stereotype can be
interpreted in a negative or positive approach. Comedy is used throughout the world as a
method to bring laughter and entertainment to a person. There are many different types of
comedy such as, comedy of ideas, comedy of manners, farce, and low comedy. Stereotypes and
racism falls in the low comedy category. A good comedy will contain all these types of comedy
without overpowering one type. I conclude that society can make good comedy that includes
stereotyping and racism but the comedy should balance the different types of comedy and
should on offend anyone.
Rehoboth and Stereotypes
Rehoboth is a very unique school because the students that attended Rehoboth are all
different ethnicities. Rehoboth is a good school to attend if you are a minority seeking justice
and equality. There are no special treatments for students of different races at Rehoboth.
Rehoboth does not make a student feel uninvited. Everyone at Rehoboth is friendly to all and
there has not been any type of racism act at Rehoboth. There are stereotypes and gossip that
cycle through Rehoboth but what school does not have these problems. At Rehoboth there are
Anglos, Native Americans, Ethiopians, Latinos, Hindus, and other races who attend Rehoboth.
Rehoboth accepts all races and there are no judgments against these races or any requirements
expected of these races. All people of Rehoboth respect everyone and treat everyone the same
way they would like to be treated. This shows the fairness and equality of the school and
encourages others to respect everyone. Rehoboth accepts all people who are different and
unique and allows them to feel accepted and equal.
Conclusion
The media needs to be controlled and the media needs to respect others. The media
should not allow their audience to feed off of their opinions to keep them interested. They
need to understand that there will always be a group of people who will not be interested in
their stories. The media should seek better interesting topics that does not offend or disrespect
a group of people. I think that if the media did not use have their stereotypical topics only a few
people would buy and listen to their stories. The media relies on our interest in their magazines
and topics. This dependence forces them to turn their attention to stereotypes and bigotry
influences. There has to be an alternative to gain interest towards the media. The media just
has to find the alternative and make the alternative work for them.
Janeen Avery
June 14, 2011
Stereotypes