Jews, Gypsies, North Africans and Mexicans. This is quite a broad topic that we have but I am going to try and look at what the different groups have in common and the relevance they have in my life.
Each one of these groups has negative stereotypes about them, Jews are cheap, Gypsies are thieves, North Africans and Mexicans are illegal immigrants. While it is true that every group of people have some negative stereotypes the problem with minorities being stereotyped is that people judge the whole group according to that stereotype. For example, if a black person got into a fight at a party then the assumption of most is that ‘blacks’ are violent and partake in buffoonish behavior, where as if a middle class white person got into a fight at a party then to onlookers it is not white people that are violent, it is “Bob” that is violent. Minorities are judged and assumptions are made about them due to the actions of individuals, where as the same does not serve true for non minorities.
I believe this is the reason there is so much hatred and discrimination in our world today, people over look facts a lot of the time and just use this judgment procedure. While it is true that these stereotypes do serve true for some members of these groups and other minorities, one needs to try and think outside of their little bubble and try see the world through someone else’s eyes.
In my sociology class there was a big debate about illegal immigrants in America and everyone had strong feelings on the situation saying that they were wasting American tax payer’s money and taking their jobs and if they wanted to come to America they should ‘simply’ get a visa. As the only foreign person in the class I sat quietly for fear that I would be lynched. However the professor decided to call on me for my opinion, nervously I decided to tell the mob of angry villagers how I felt. I stated upfront that I was LEGAL just to cover my bases, I then went on to ask if any of them had an idea how ‘simple’ it was to get a visa. No one knew, so I told them to simply apply for a working visa to America costs $5000, in my currency that is R 40,000 and a heck of a lot of money. This is just an assumption but I would say that any Mexicans or other group of people looking to jump the border and risk their lives do not have this type of money lying around. My next point was that everyone in that class had never had to wonder where their next meal was coming from, or where they would sleep for the night. They may not be ‘wealthy’ in relation to some of their friends but they are by no means living in any sort of poverty, so if they tried, as impossible as it is, to think through that persons mindset, does coming to America to take a manual labor job that no one else wants and work for way below minimum wage really seem that bad. I am sure that these people would much rather stay in their own countries with their families if it was possible. We need to realize that your heritage does not make you better then anyone else, you did not do anything to be born into a country where your opportunities are endless, and if people look at the facts they would see that many of their beliefs they have about minorities are not true. So, I do feel that people need to be more sympathetic to the plight of the illegal immigrant and other minorities.
Bottom line of this whole story is that we can not let individuals define our thoughts on a whole group of people. We need to try and spend time with different people in a positive environment instead of having our only interactions with minorities be negative.
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