“That’s the way the world works!” but should it be?
People who grows up in a particular culture learn social rules and beliefs (social axioms) from the people around them (Gruman et al., 2017). They then observe how certain behaviors are either rewarded or punished in that culture, and as a result, they may develop the belief that this is how the world operates. In other words, a person’s cultural background can strongly influence their perception of what is considered acceptable or normal behavior (Gruman et al., 2017). What does this mean for prejudices, biases and discrimination? Moreover, what does it mean for the individuals who are negatively impacted by certain axioms and should we just accept them for what they are?
In topics related to diversity and oppression, I think it is important to apply empathy and understand the mechanisms that perpetuate said oppression. That being said, empathy does not equal accepting, agreeing with or tolerating the oppression. It also does not mean that minority individuals should accept that “that’s the way the world works”. Instead, empathy might be a tool we use to understand how these behaviors continue and how we can address them from the root. According to the Pew Research Center (2017), “a majority of Americans (60%) say his election has led to worse race relations in the United States. Just 8% say Trump’s election has led to better race relations, while 30% say it has not made a difference.” What does this mean? Were race relations really worse or were the axioms of certain groups just brought to light?
It is more likely that these beliefs tensions existed prior to the 2016 elections. It is even more likely that former president Trump just gave voice to a pre-existing community opposed to creating said community with those pre-existing beliefs and values. That is not to say that his actions and rhetoric did not encourage or exacerbate racist behaviors. Understanding the theory of axioms, it is even more likely that individuals who perpetrate and perpetuate racism are surrounded by others who are alike. That is the way their world works. So how do we as a society dismantle problematic axioms (not limited to racism) systemically?
This brings me back to my earlier point. If we do not understand the mechanisms that promote and maintain these axioms, solutions may be ineffective. Minorities and allies alike could benefit from understanding the “why” behind people’s behaviors in order to effectively address the behaviors themselves. You might be asking yourself why even addressing problematic axioms even matters. In relation to race, here’s why. Racism hinders victims (of discrimination) from reaching their full potential and contributing to society, thereby weakening the community as a whole. Racism also limits the benefits that the perpetrator could gain from the victim’s potential contributions. Furthermore, it increases the likelihood of retaliation by the victim and goes against ideals related to freedom, equity and equality. (Not to mention that, it is noted that racism is illegal in many cases). With that I leave you with are 13 principles outlined by the Souther Poverty Law Center for their Learning for Justice initiative on HOW to address these axioms on a systemic level. They have outlined these principles from the works of Hawley and Jackson (1995).
- PRINCIPLE 1: STRATEGIES SHOULD ADDRESS BOTH INSTITUTIONAL AND INDIVIDUAL SOURCES OF PREJUDICE AND DISCRIMINATION IN THE CONTEXTS AND SITUATIONS IN WHICH THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE PROGRAM OR ACTIVITY LEARN, WORK, AND LIVE.
- PRINCIPLE 2: STRATEGIES SHOULD SEEK TO INFLUENCE THE BEHAVIOR OF INDIVIDUALS, INCLUDING THEIR MOTIVATION AND CAPABILITY TO INFLUENCE OTHERS, AND NOT BE LIMITED TO EFFORTS TO INCREASE KNOWLEDGE AND AWARENESS.
- PRINCIPLE 3: STRATEGIES SHOULD DEAL WITH THE DISPOSITIONS AND BEHAVIOR OF ALL RACIAL AND ETHNIC GROUPS INVOLVED.
- PRINCIPLE 4: STRATEGIES SHOULD INCLUDE PARTICIPANTS WHO REFLECT THE RACIAL, ETHNIC, AND LINGUISTIC DIVERSITY OF THE CONTEXT AND SHOULD BE STRUCTURED IN SUCH A WAY AS TO ENSURE COOPERATIVE, EQUAL-STATUS ROLES FOR PERSONS FROM DIFFERENT GROUPS.
- PRINCIPLE 5: STRATEGIES SHOULD HAVE THE SUPPORT AND PARTICIPATION OF THOSE WITH AUTHORITY AND POWER IN ANY GIVEN SETTING.
- PRINCIPLE 6: STRATEGIES SHOULD INVOLVE CHILDREN AT AN EARLY AGE, AND NEW ENTRANTS TO ORGANIZATIONS SHOULD BE CONTINUALLY ENCOURAGED AND REINFORCED.
- PRINCIPLE 7: STRATEGIES SHOULD BE PART OF A CONTINUING SET OF LEARNING ACTIVITIES THAT ARE VALUED AND INCORPORATED THROUGHOUT THE SCHOOL, COLLEGE, OR OTHER ORGANIZATION.
- PRINCIPLE 8: STRATEGIES SHOULD EXAMINE SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES ACROSS AND WITHIN RACIAL AND ETHNIC GROUPS, INCLUDING DIFFERENCES RELATED TO SOCIAL CLASS, GENDER, AND LANGUAGE.
- PRINCIPLE 9: STRATEGIES SHOULD RECOGNIZE THE VALUE OF BICULTURAL AND MULTICULTURAL IDENTITIES OF INDIVIDUALS AND GROUPS, AS WELL AS THE DIFFICULTIES CONFRONTED BY THOSE WHO LIVE IN TWO OR MORE CULTURES.
- PRINCIPLE 10: STRATEGIES SHOULD EXPOSE THE INACCURACIES OF MYTHS THAT SUSTAIN STEREOTYPES AND PREJUDICES.
- PRINCIPLE 11: STRATEGIES SHOULD INCLUDE THE CAREFUL AND THOROUGH PREPARATION OF THOSE WHO WILL IMPLEMENT THE LEARNING ACTIVITIES AND PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR ADAPTING METHODS TO THE PARTICULAR SETTING.
- PRINCIPLE 12: STRATEGIES SHOULD BE BASED ON THOROUGH ANALYSES OF THE LEARNING NEEDS OF PARTICIPANTS AND ON CONTINUING EVALUATION OF OUTCOMES, ESPECIALLY EFFECTS ON BEHAVIOR.
- PRINCIPLE 13: STRATEGIES SHOULD RECOGNIZE THAT LESSONS RELATED TO PREJUDICE AND ITS CONSEQUENCES FOR ANY PARTICULAR RACIAL OR ETHNIC GROUP MAY NOT TRANSFER TO OTHER RACES OR GROUPS.
References:
Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., and Coutts, L. M. (Eds.) (2017). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. ISBN 978-1-4833-6973-0
Hawley, W. D., & Jackson, A. W. E. (1995). Toward a common destiny: Improving race and ethnic relations in America. Jossey-Bass/Wiley.
Pew Research Center. (2017). Most Americans say Trump’s election has led to worse race relations in the US. www.pewresearch.org
Racism is powerful word that if used properly can be used to propel and guide horrible acts of hatred. This should not be taught nor allowed but despite our best efforts we seem to be failing at accomplishing this. I would agree that perhaps overt racism still exists within our communities (Gruman, et al., 2016). Despite this I believe this can be eradicated; if only we can understand the root cause; and understand the perpetuators of such behavior. No doubt that
I would agree that most underlying sources of racism are overt and not easily identified or manifested. Based on research by (Gruman, et al., 2016) social rules and beliefs are indeed learned especially within certain cultures. Just as they are learned I believe that they can be unlearned. Without a doubt, I believe the hardest part is educating individuals on the different types of racism that are still prevalent, and how this negatively affect our society.
Regarding race relations, I would agree that recent events (riots) have perpetuated even more distrust and aggravated racial relations. So as the original question that was posed, what is causing these biases and acts of discrimination? After all, this doesn’t happen just in different work environments, but it also happens in, health care, public health, and housing (Devonport et al., 2022). Upon further examination we can see that some of the blame is found within current governmental regulation and policies (Devonport et al., 2022). Now does this mean that all government officials and policies are flawed, I would say no. What I believe that it does mean is that we must carefully watch and learn what these politicians do or don’t do, and exercise our constitutional rights, even if it means recalling them from office.
To put the blame on any single person for the different sentiments shared by different individuals whose social norms are consistent with racism or prejudice, is no different than blaming one person for all the riots in the nation. Such comparison may seem bold and exaggerating, but it is no different than blaming a sitting president for the indoctrination of millions of individuals within a few years. I am not here to debate whether president trump is responsible or not, but to acknowledge the fact that these believes must be dealt with and addressed at the root cause.
What I do believe we should do is development of intervention strategies that are developed for the good of humanity, regardless of political affiliation. If intervention strategies are developed by groups who espouse equality, but whose actions are contrarian, one must question their motives. Considering that most institutions are either privately funded or in some way subsidized by the government, we must scrutinize the why behind the who. Of particular interest is how certain so called non-profit institutions have weaponized and monetized racial division and have gone so far as to persecute those with alternative viewpoints. One such institution is the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) (Murphy, 2020). It would be unfair to say that institutions such as this have not done some good for society, but one must examine the completeness of their work. This is imperative if we are going to use social psychology to solve problems of discrimination and racism.
Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems, edited by Jamie A. Gruman, et al., SAGE Publications, Incorporated, 2016. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/pensu/detail.action?docID=5945490.
Tracey J. Devonport, Kath Leflay, Kay Biscomb, Helen Richardson-Walsh, Kate Richardson-Walsh, Michael Thelwall. (2022) ‘Nobody needs a label’: responses on Facebook to a Team GB equity, diversity and inclusion initiative. Sport in Society 0:0, pages 1-20.
Murphey, D. D. (2020). Making hate pay: The corruption of the southern poverty law center. The Journal of Social, Political, and Economic Studies, 45(3), 349-354. Retrieved from https://ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/login?qurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.proquest.com%2Fscholarly-journals%2Fmaking-hate-pay-corruption-southern-poverty-law%2Fdocview%2F2449983508%2Fse-2%3Faccountid%3D13158.
Empathy is a great word to use when it comes to culture and racism. It means to not only being able to understand, but also to share the feelings of another person. It can be tough if we never lived in the other persons shoes to speak. Here I am referencing the racism “which is the bias people hold against individuals or groups of different races and ethnicities” (Gruman et, al. 2016) that African Americans have faced and still face today in some parts of the country. We can also include Asians to this as well especially since the start of COVID as they are targeted because others think they are responsible for it. I’m sure you have seen or heard of them being pushed, called names, or being made fun of. It has been case after case on the news. In terms of African Americans people call the police on them for many reasons that they shouldn’t which in my opinion makes them more upset as they have the right to be. Profiling is when police stop someone because of their race or ethnicity and still happens today, even though it should not. I feel one thing that we should not do is violently protest. That does not solve anything as it makes matters worst. Instead of gaining support some people get turned off by movements. Peaceful protests are welcomed and warranted in many situations.
Have we improved on race relations? I believe we have but there are still pockets of people who are taught to be racist and to hate. African Americans being voted into office like President Barack Obama and Condoleezza Rice being Vice President shows this. There may have been protest during these times, however the United States was not turned upside down. Since coming into office President Biden has taken steps to ensure equality such as “ensuring voting access to people of color, promoting equitable access to justice, combatting white supremacy and creating an economy for everyone” (Ndumele et, al., 2022). While I feel that some of this working, the economy piece is not as it is bad for everyone currently. I think more can be done especially in the training of the police. I have not heard of anything locally that the surrounding communities where I live are doing to combat racism or inequality for African Americans or Asian Americans. Does this mean we don’t have a problem? It may not be as big as other places, but I’m sure there is in some form or fashion. People need to wake up and address it before it reaches levels that can’t be controlled.
Reference
Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (Eds.). (2016). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and addressing social and practical problems. Pg. 502. SAGE Publications, Incorporated.
Ndumele, N. Roque, L. Dorazio, J. (2022). Advancing Equity: Review of the Biden Administration’s Efforts in Its First Year To Implement a Racial Equity Agenda. CAP. Retrieved 19, February 2023 from: https://www.americanprogress.org/article/advancing-equity-review-of-the-biden-administrations-efforts-in-its-first-year-to-implement-a-racial-equity-agenda/