difference between prejudice and discrimination
A Study of prejudice and discrimination
What is the difference between prejudice and discrimination? What is institutionalized discrimination? What is meant by the vicious cycle of prejudice and discrimination?
There is a difference between prejudice and discrimination. "Prejudice is a rigid and irrational generalization about an entire category of people. Prejudice is irrational insofar as people hold inflexible attitudes supported by little or no direct evidence " (Marcionis 275). Their are four theories on Prejudice. The scapegoat theory stems from the thought that people that are frustrated often blame people disadvantaged as themselves for their
difficulties. Often you hear of people saying illegal immigrants are stealing good paying jobs. Authoritarian theory hold that extreme prejudice is common in individuals that hold to conventional cultural values. These people look at society as naturally competitive. They hold to moral issues being clear cut. The ones that develop these type of personalities often lack education and are raised by cold and demanding parents. Culture theory contends that while extreme prejudice is found in certain people , everyone has varying degrees of prejudice cultivated by cultural norms. People have a certain degree of social distance toward certain races. W.E.B. Du Bois recalls the awakening of his first experience of Prejudice in a wooden schoolhouse in new England as a little boy. Visiting cards were exchanged between boys and girls, but one new white girl shunned his card .
It made him aware of his racial differences for the first time (Marcionis & Benokraitis 227). Conflict theory holds that certain powerful people use prejudice to oppress others. Anglos look down on Latino immigrants in the south west. Rich people get away with paying them low wages. Elite benefit by dividing workers along racial and ethnic lines. Thus discouraging them from working together to advance their shared interest. Some contend that minorities also cultivate a climate of race consciousness to win greater power and privileges.
Discrimination is a matter of action whereas Prejudice refers to attitudes. It can be positive by providing special advantages or negative by creating obstacles. It can range from subtle to blatantly obvious (Marcionis 279). The black man was discriminated from voting till the fifteenth Amendment gave him the freedom to vote (Marcionis & Benokraitis 229).
Institutional discrimination refers to biases inherent in the operation of societies institutions. This can include schools , hospitals, police and workplace. Banks will reject home mortgage applications for minorities more often than whites. This institutional discrimination often involves respected public officials and longstanding traditions. It takes a long time for these to be publicly condemned. The case of Brown dealing with "the separate but equal" law of the land still has not changed the fact the many schools still have racially divided schools. I believe that people still have racial barriers that they feel comfortable in (Marcionis 279). The Jewish people were one of the first people in educational institutions to feel the sting of discrimination. Harvard University President
A. Lawrence Lowell openly opposed to Jewish people at Harvard (Marcionis &Benokraitis 243).
The vicious cycle of Prejudice and discrimination is dependent on one another. "Situations that are defined as real become real in their consequences" (Marcionis 280).
Those people who accept stereotypes as true often make them reality . Sometimes even those victimized by the stereotypes start to believe them. Even though certain races are not born inferior the prejudice and discrimination that comes along with being a victim results in producing social inferiority. Minorities for example are given low paying jobs, segregated housing and inferior schools can be the result. White people often can interpret social disadvantage as evidence that minorities do not measure up to their standards. This can result in a new cycle of prejudice and discrimination. African-American veterans of WWII were actively discriminated against in receiving their
G.I. bill benefits for college. Along with this was the V.A. benefits that a honorably discharged vet could get to purchase homes. Often the Black man was discharged falsely with a dishonorable, because of the color of his skin (Macionis & Benokraitis 247).
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