Critical Thinking Assignment
For my critical thinking assignment, I was asked what stereotypical images of Hispanic/Latino Americans and Black Americans exist in the contemporary media. I was also asked what harm these stereotypes present to the races, ethnic groups, and society. There are many parts that come together to create the contemporary media, such as television networks, internet website, and newspaper outlets they help in putting these stereotypes into the minds’ of the people.
Throughout History Hispanic/Latino Americans and Black Americans have had to endure stereotypes being placed upon them, their race; and the ethnic groups they belong to. Most of the stereotypes have a racist undertone. A stereotype is used to categorize a group of people in good and bad ways. Stereotypes happen when people are unwilling or unable to obtain the information needed to make a fair assessment about certain groups or situations. People use stereotypes to fill in gaps in their information about a group.
Some of the common stereotypes made about Black Americans are that all Black men are criminals, Black Americans are lazy, and living off welfare system. Yes, some Black American men are criminals and some Black Americans do live off the welfare system. All races and ethnic groups have criminals and people who live off the welfare system. Another stereotype about Black women is that they are “welfare queens” that have many children by different fathers, who are not present. The “welfare queen” stereotype was first introduced by the contemporary media in 1976 when Ronald Reagan was running for president; he told a story of a black woman who made 150,000 dollars from gaming the welfare system and how she drove a fancy vehicle. The public was outraged and was seeking to find this woman. Come to find out Reagan lied and made the story up but the idea stuck, because it was a convenient lie for well off people to believe. Black Americans and Hispanic/Latino Americans have been stereotyped since their arrival in the United States as dirty and contaminated. This stereotype was an excuse for laws segregating Black Americans and Hispanic/Latino Americans from White Americans. To me this stereotype was ridiculous seeing how most Hispanic/Latino American women and Black American women worked as cleaning ladies, maids, and nannies for white families. Hispanic/ Latino Americans have also been stereotyped in some very harsh ways as well. Some of the common stereotypes made about Hispanic/Latino Americans is that they have all entered the United States illegally, which is not always the case. When it’s the case, they are trying to escape dangers in their countries and protect their families. Another stereotype about Hispanic/Latino Americans is that they are taking up all the jobs here in the United States. The Hispanic/Latino Americans do the jobs …show more content…
All the negative stereotypes about Black Americans and Hispanic/Latino Americans influence the bad treatment their races and ethnic groups are submitted to daily. Stereotypes also close people off from getting to each other’s cultures and the essence of their beings. This harms society, because it is important to learn from each other and to understand one another. All stereotypes prevent this process from taking place and rob us of rich, valuable knowledge that we can learn from other’s around
For my critical thinking assignment, I was asked what stereotypical images of Hispanic/Latino Americans and Black Americans exist in the contemporary media. I was also asked what harm these stereotypes present to the races, ethnic groups, and society. There are many parts that come together to create the contemporary media, such as television networks, internet website, and newspaper outlets they help in putting these stereotypes into the minds’ of the people.
Throughout History Hispanic/Latino Americans and Black Americans have had to endure stereotypes being placed upon them, their race; and the ethnic groups they belong to. Most of the stereotypes have a racist undertone. A stereotype is used to categorize a group of people in good and bad ways. Stereotypes happen when people are unwilling or unable to obtain the information needed to make a fair assessment about certain groups or situations. People use stereotypes to fill in gaps in their information about a group.
Some of the common stereotypes made about Black Americans are that all Black men are criminals, Black Americans are lazy, and living off welfare system. Yes, some Black American men are criminals and some Black Americans do live off the welfare system. All races and ethnic groups have criminals and people who live off the welfare system. Another stereotype about Black women is that they are “welfare queens” that have many children by different fathers, who are not present. The “welfare queen” stereotype was first introduced by the contemporary media in 1976 when Ronald Reagan was running for president; he told a story of a black woman who made 150,000 dollars from gaming the welfare system and how she drove a fancy vehicle. The public was outraged and was seeking to find this woman. Come to find out Reagan lied and made the story up but the idea stuck, because it was a convenient lie for well off people to believe. Black Americans and Hispanic/Latino Americans have been stereotyped since their arrival in the United States as dirty and contaminated. This stereotype was an excuse for laws segregating Black Americans and Hispanic/Latino Americans from White Americans. To me this stereotype was ridiculous seeing how most Hispanic/Latino American women and Black American women worked as cleaning ladies, maids, and nannies for white families. Hispanic/ Latino Americans have also been stereotyped in some very harsh ways as well. Some of the common stereotypes made about Hispanic/Latino Americans is that they have all entered the United States illegally, which is not always the case. When it’s the case, they are trying to escape dangers in their countries and protect their families. Another stereotype about Hispanic/Latino Americans is that they are taking up all the jobs here in the United States. The Hispanic/Latino Americans do the jobs …show more content…
All the negative stereotypes about Black Americans and Hispanic/Latino Americans influence the bad treatment their races and ethnic groups are submitted to daily. Stereotypes also close people off from getting to each other’s cultures and the essence of their beings. This harms society, because it is important to learn from each other and to understand one another. All stereotypes prevent this process from taking place and rob us of rich, valuable knowledge that we can learn from other’s around