Inequality through racial classification today is so common that it often goes unseen. It is in human nature to want to classify things, to put them in a place. Generally this is a positive thing when dealing with bacteria or species. However, when it comes to people, people forget people are simply that, people. It is also part of human nature to be competitive, so by people trying to classify everyone into a race, a hierarchy has formed that has designated some people “subpar” or “not capable” of achieving certain things in life such as a good job or an education. To me, I believe no matter who you are, you can achieve anything in life. Although, I also believe some people may have to work harder than others. While talking to an African professor, he told me it was easy to obtain his position, but he had to be one of the elites of his race to keep his job because of the high turnover rate in African professors. I believe the turnover rate isn’t a coincidence, nor something intentional, but it goes to show that race does have a factor in everyone’s life, and not always in a positive light. Many things are tagged along with race; one of those being class.
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I think this is one of the most pressing aspects that people misjudge. A social class is defined as a group of people who share the same economic positions, but people make it much more complex than that. People look at the kind of job a person has or the color of their skin and place them in a class that they don’t necessarily belong to. In the reading “As American as Apple Pie: Poverty and Welfare,” it was brought to my attention that a majority of people will fall under the poverty line at some time in their life. Poverty has no color, yet at the same time people see black people in poverty and think it typical due to laziness or they are delinquent and can’t follow the law. Since people also associate lifestyle with class, then the so called “lazy” or “delinquent” life style of black people will place poverty stricken black people in a different class than poverty stricken white people because white people try harder, they just fell into a bit of bad luck (Social Class reading). I think this is a majority of people’s thinking but according to the American Pie reading this just isn’t true; which then again goes to show that there is a hierarchy in play among races. Moreover, even though these hindrances put in place for minorities are still prevalent, I do not believe it plays that big of a part in success. Yes, minorities are said to have lower paying jobs and little education, but I believe that this only hold a minimal affect. For one, there is no such thing as a pure race, so therefore race shouldn’t be a factor anymore. For two, the American Pie reading just expressed how many people are actually affected by poverty. Not all of those people are going to be minorities, so all of those people are going to have a difficult time trying to come back to economic stability. Now, putting another angle on things, when two people of equal status are trying to obtain the same high paying job, I also believe they each have an equal chance. Some people might think that since minorities have certain negative stereotypes places on them that white privilege will prevail, but I do not believe that is the go to anymore. The final tie breaker will then go to personality, not color. I feel like the United States has come a long way to achieve equality, even if inequality is still prevalent. How many countries do you hear the voice of the minority? Here it is almost all you hear: gay marriage, white cop vs. black citizen, etc. People have a chance to be heard now, and that is making large steps towards equality. When questioning a neighbor about his thoughts on inequality, race, and class, it is clear we have a lot of the same views, but some very different. For example, he believes that there is almost complete equality today. He believes minorities do not have to work harder to achieve their goals in life, but that what separates whites from minorities (especially African
I think this is one of the most pressing aspects that people misjudge. A social class is defined as a group of people who share the same economic positions, but people make it much more complex than that. People look at the kind of job a person has or the color of their skin and place them in a class that they don’t necessarily belong to. In the reading “As American as Apple Pie: Poverty and Welfare,” it was brought to my attention that a majority of people will fall under the poverty line at some time in their life. Poverty has no color, yet at the same time people see black people in poverty and think it typical due to laziness or they are delinquent and can’t follow the law. Since people also associate lifestyle with class, then the so called “lazy” or “delinquent” life style of black people will place poverty stricken black people in a different class than poverty stricken white people because white people try harder, they just fell into a bit of bad luck (Social Class reading). I think this is a majority of people’s thinking but according to the American Pie reading this just isn’t true; which then again goes to show that there is a hierarchy in play among races. Moreover, even though these hindrances put in place for minorities are still prevalent, I do not believe it plays that big of a part in success. Yes, minorities are said to have lower paying jobs and little education, but I believe that this only hold a minimal affect. For one, there is no such thing as a pure race, so therefore race shouldn’t be a factor anymore. For two, the American Pie reading just expressed how many people are actually affected by poverty. Not all of those people are going to be minorities, so all of those people are going to have a difficult time trying to come back to economic stability. Now, putting another angle on things, when two people of equal status are trying to obtain the same high paying job, I also believe they each have an equal chance. Some people might think that since minorities have certain negative stereotypes places on them that white privilege will prevail, but I do not believe that is the go to anymore. The final tie breaker will then go to personality, not color. I feel like the United States has come a long way to achieve equality, even if inequality is still prevalent. How many countries do you hear the voice of the minority? Here it is almost all you hear: gay marriage, white cop vs. black citizen, etc. People have a chance to be heard now, and that is making large steps towards equality. When questioning a neighbor about his thoughts on inequality, race, and class, it is clear we have a lot of the same views, but some very different. For example, he believes that there is almost complete equality today. He believes minorities do not have to work harder to achieve their goals in life, but that what separates whites from minorities (especially African