Human Relations Race and Ethnicity Research Paper (Research Paper Sample)

Human Relations (Race; Ethnicity)
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Human Relations (Race; Ethnicity)
In any setting of human inhabitance, there exist people with different backgrounds, cultural practices and even the color of their skin, as well as religious beliefs. The existence and merging of all these differences in one society make it a challenge for the people to mutually coexist since, in some other times, they have to fall out. However, in most cases the people exist in peace, by having been brought together, for instance, by the introduction of governments and nation-state systems. In such as a setting, due to the differences exhibited in the different groups, and the number of individuals in each cluster, there exists a gap in power as well as numerical significance, thereby bringing about the aspect of a majority and minority. However, majority and the minority are independent of numbers, rather than power. That is, a group with a small number but which is powerful is considered majority. (Simpson & Yinger, 1972).
The minority could be thought as people who have imposed on themselves the status, and therefore identify themselves thus, for instance, their names and appearance, as well as their way of approaching issues, is majorly dependent on the value of what they impose on themselves, and identifying themselves with their status. (Charles & Marvin, 1968). It is also evident that ethnicity and religion have in great extent created the minority status since these minorities share common beliefs as well as the same blood per se.
In America for instance, the situation of a minority was created and had thrived based on some ideologies that could be used. For example, Anglo-conformity ensured that those who would get into the country would perfectly fit in the society that they will have found in living in America and would not try to induce change. Second, the Melting Pot theory saw the incoming individuals as people who would make the America a labor-intensive country, and therefore it would have its economy significantly improved. The third ideology that was imposed was that of cultural pluralism. The ideology imposed that many cultures would be welcome to America and allowed to live within the borders of America. The thinking is believed to be one that will also increase the economic and cultural wealth of America. Today, cultural pluralism is still appreciated in the United States. (John & Erna, 2011).
It could be the sort to know how the majorities and minorities co-exist in the same society. There are different ways to which they exist, including but not limited to segregation, assimilation, acculturation, accommodation, and amalgamation. In precise definitions, separation implied that the majority and the minority that would not be together, are brought together, to using similar facilities and bodies to meet their human needs. It could be as a result of a court order, or compassion. On the other hand, the minorities and the majority come to appreciate that values of the other and therefore adopts them as they are. In other instances, the minorities will be forced to adapt and live the lives and culture as that of their hosts who have been the majority and to an extent, the cultures of both sides can be amalgamated and used simultaneously. (John & Erna, 2011).
In contemporary society, the people are expected to live with peace, which can, in essence, be a complete acceptance of the situation as they are. However, society still is at war in trying to remain at the top. For example, in the case of pluralism, the majority will find the various to ensure that the minority do not displace them regarding their culture and power and status. The primary factor that brings the conflict, and which will make the majority to “protect their status quo” to remain as the ones who are better, is based on prejudice, where the majority will judge the minority based on a factor that is outside themselves. The judgment, for example, can be tied to an experience with a minority at the time or the condition of the present state of events that the opposition finds themselves.
The second factor that also impede coexistence between the majority and minority is discrimination, which is not based on the mental faculties alone but the physical act of neglect as well as completely ignoring the contribution of a particular group. Discrimination can be classified as attitudinal or institutional, where attitudinal bias results from prejudice while institutional discrimination results from the faculties arising from inequalities between the groups. According to William J. Wilson, (1980), unlike in the past where attitudinal bias was seen to result from the difference in the status of the American and African, currently, the difference results from the economic endowment between the two races.
The third most common factor is pegged on the racism. According to Perry and Perry (2011), racism is not only the result of discrimination and prejudice against a particular group but, majorly relies on the color of the skin, the belief that one race is superior to the other and that the claim can be sufficiently supported by facts. Many scholars could argue that the Darwinian Theory might have as well contributed to the fact that some particular race could be superior, based on the “survival of the fittest” theory, implying that the race that thrived mostly was considered stronger. However, today, it can be clearly affirmed that the term race is slowly losing its meaning since most groups in the world do not support the assertions any more.
In the United States today, being that it is composed of almost all the races in the world, it is imperative to decline that all the races could be the same regarding power or number. That is, in the current times, there still exists, racial differences and therefore creating th...