Race and Ethnicity

This chapter on race and ethnicity was interesting and definitely the best reading to date. It basically talked of stereotypes, assumptions and discrimination that people make based on skin color and ethnics instead of the individual as a whole. When a common trait of a certain group is perceived then all individuals are put into a certain group where offensive, impolite, unfair generalizations can be made. Living in America the most diverse country in the world where people also have the right to freedom of speech it is understandable that some people would be racist or make stereotypical comments even in public. However as a world we have made great steps through the women rights movement, the civil rights movement and the ongoing gay rights movement to get where we are today. For the first time we have a black president as well as if I remember correctly more women than men are now graduating college, so this all proves the improvement we are making as a country.

In high school I took a course called Race, Class and Gender that basically dealt with stereotypes in our society today. The objective of the course was not to lean us one or another on certain topics but to teach us to be better understanding of people that had different beliefs than us. If it was about gay rights, abortion or skin color we did not have to agree with the decisions that person had made but we were taught to respectful or their decisions and not make any unfair judgments because of that. It was a course that I took a lot from because even though I am not a person who uses stereotypes or judge people on where there from or their skin color it really showed me how to become better individual.