On January 1, 2016, Niki, our friend Joy from Landstown High School and I went around a shopping center asking random people questions regarding our backgrounds. We had Joy ask people what they thought our ethnic background was, what associated religion would we be, if they know anyone of a similar background and what other knowledge they had about our ethnicity (perceived and actual). Based on the article, Is race perception automatic?, people tend to quickly judge and lump people into groups with little knowledge about the person, and we wanted to find out what others thought of us.
When we asked people what ethnic background they thought Niki was, everyone were quick to assume that she was Hispanic and with that, they presumed she was also Catholic. When we told them that Niki is actually Persian/Turkish and Muslim, only a handful of people knew what that was (Persian Rugs) and only one person could tell where those countries were on a map. When we asked people what they thought about me, a majority of them assumed me to be Indian and a few people had absolutely clueless and didn't want to guess wrong. When we reviled my ethnicity being Ethiopian, many people were surprised and had no clue what Ethiopia was. About two people knew that Ethiopia was in Africa and one girl actually knew some facts about Ethiopia that I myself never knew.
While asking these questions, a few participants were interested in our project telling us how they see ethnic stereotyping hindering our community. Especially there was this one man explaining to us how he experienced prejudice for being African American. Many African Americans are seen as dangerous and criminals, making it harder for them to find jobs and stay out of trouble with law enforcement. We as a society get educated about other people of different backgrounds and help defeat the social issue of ethnic stereotyping.
Monday, January 25, 2016
"Lit. Connection" - Niki
All Asians know karate, and eat raw fish,
Chitlins and collard greens are Blacks favorite dish,
The Irish are nothing but wife beaters and drunks,
And don't turn your back on those Spic thieving punks,
Italians, even women, are short, fat, and hairy,
Rednecks practice incest and are children when they marry,
French people smell, the girls don't shave their pits,
And all Jews are greedy though they're all filthy rich,
All East Indians own gas stations or convenience stores,
All Americans are fat and their women are whores.
Doesn't this sound stupid when it's being read?
So think how it sounds when it's being said!
Better yet, how would it feel if said about you,
your family, your friends, or just someone you knew?
Now multiply that by everyone that they know,
Soon you would cover the entire globe,
Do you see what I mean, do you get what I'm saying?
One little comment, and the whole world is paying!
Chitlins and collard greens are Blacks favorite dish,
The Irish are nothing but wife beaters and drunks,
And don't turn your back on those Spic thieving punks,
Italians, even women, are short, fat, and hairy,
Rednecks practice incest and are children when they marry,
French people smell, the girls don't shave their pits,
And all Jews are greedy though they're all filthy rich,
All East Indians own gas stations or convenience stores,
All Americans are fat and their women are whores.
Doesn't this sound stupid when it's being read?
So think how it sounds when it's being said!
Better yet, how would it feel if said about you,
your family, your friends, or just someone you knew?
Now multiply that by everyone that they know,
Soon you would cover the entire globe,
Do you see what I mean, do you get what I'm saying?
One little comment, and the whole world is paying!
I found this poem while doing some research on our issue. Originally I was confused on the message of the poem, since it began with a bunch of racial stereotypes, but the last two stanzas really put in focus the problems associated with these harsh words. Honestly, no one can really say they haven't been a victim of prejudice or not guilty of stereotyping someone, everyone has done it but some more harshly than others. Personally, being an immigrant and coming from Middle Eastern background, I never experienced very rash racial comments. Most of them happened in elementary school with some kids saying my eyebrows were ugly because they were too thick, how my body hair is too dark and the usual "terrorist" remark. Sadly, I had prejudice before towards people, usually based on how they dress and appear. It is something inevitable from life and makes us human, but it does not mean it's not a serious issue limiting us from developing as the human race.
The poem started off by listing many common stereotypes based upon different races, ethnicities and even gender. It closes off with telling the reader "You just read all these stereotypes,don't you think it was stupid? Imagine how these sound when people actually say them?" The author made a very good point, if they sound immature when read, it must be much worse if these phrases were actually uttered. The ending few lines wraps it all up by telling the reader to imagine those insults were said by one person then diffused into the whole world knowing about it. It really shows how one insult can snowball into this huge stereotype that is based upon an ENTIRE community. I love how it raises controversy on how stereotypes are being spread and that the root of the problem may just be ignorance and immaturity towards diversity.
Survey Says...
The survey we conducted using SurveyMonkey was a success. We shared the link through Edmodo, as well as social media apps like Instagram and Twitter; many of our peers shared it with others outside of our school as well. Thank you so much to everyone who participated! The results gave us a better look at how people think and view the topic of prejudice. In total, we had 42 responses and each one was unique. We first asked the responder their age in order to see trends and if demographics effect views. Along with that, we had 9 more creating 10 in total. The questions were as follows -
1.) How old are you?
2.) Have you ever experienced/witness stereotyping?
3.) If yes to the first question, briefly discuss what happened?
4.) Have you ever stereotyped someone? If so, describe what happened.
5.) What is a common stereotype in our society?
6.) How racially/ethnically biased is our world?
7.) Do you believe misconceptions about ethnicity affect the people of it?
8.) Name one way prejudice and stereotypes limit individuals?
9.) Do you enjoy experiencing or learning about different cultures?
10.) Should there be more education for the awareness of cultures, bias, stereotypes, and prejudice?
Many of the responses gave a good amount of basic stereotypes in our world. The most submitted stereotypes were "Hispanics are dirty," "Asians are smart," "Blacks are thugs," and "Muslims are terrorists." From the news and media in America, we can see a lot of these in play for many crimes and events like shootings. People also responded with saying acts of stereotyping they have witnessed.
Being asian, people just assume I'm great at math
A woman glanced over at an African American family and immediately called security
I'm seen as skinnier than normal, and a few people started calling me anorexic, despite me telling them I wasn't at all.
being mocked for eating chicken and waffles
When my hair was blonde and I did or said something that my family would think was dumb, they would always say "well you are a blonde now"
all Hispanics being immigrants
White girls love starbucks and ugg boots
Theirs so many, thats what making the society even worst. Example: people focus on people sneaking through imigration or certian neighborhoods or certian color of a person
black men scary, brown people terrorists, white people basic, africans poor
Once asked to describe a time someone has stereotyped another, we received a myriad of different answers.
Yes. There was this guy who I thought was in the academy (for high school) but he wasn't and I kind of thought that because he was Asian. And Asians are supposed to be "smart".
Yes. I assumed my friend who was black could play basketball. Big mistake.
A group of black people walking around in a low income neighborhood, thought of gangs immediately
My white friend came over my house and I assumed he wanted some pasta salad
I was joking around with my friends and I said you look like a terrorist.
All in all, the survey was very helpful in getting feedback to help us solve our issue of stereotypes and prejudice towards people. Below we have included screenshots of the results for the rest of the survey.
Wednesday, January 6, 2016
YOUR OPINION
Please help us in our study and goal of resolving stereotypes by taking our 10 question survey! All answers will remain anonymous, no names required. Thank you!
MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD.
SOLUTION
In order to resolve this problem, society- which includes other countries as well- will need to work together. It will all start with a set goal and spreading the word through media and communicating. The world is all connected through TV, social media and word of mouth, so starting to publicize the issue will help spread through these outlets. Education really is key in this issue; the more others know about the different cultures, races, and problems within the world, the more aware and tolerant they will become. Starting at a young age to learn about misconceptions can jump start a new wave of acceptance in society thus leading to lessened racial tensions and easier communication
Aside from educated the public, individuals who have been stereotyped can make a great impact with just their voice and attitude. Having a racist or hurtful comment made towards them can effect a person's confidence and make themselves actually believe the comment. They can stand out against the stereotype and defend their group, respectfully; this leads back to education as well. Those who are guilty of stereotyping others, which is something of human nature, can learn to be tolerant of different groups. They can learn to put themselves in the place of who they just hurt and really learn about their lifestyle. Both can come together to educate and advertise their new found tolerance and confidence; two heads are always better than one.
Everyone working diligently together can impact society by resolving the problem of prejudice, misconceptions and stereotyping of races, cultures, and different groups of people; having a more harmonious society can lead to a more positive world and less conflict. It may not be easy, but through dedication and the optimistic work of society as a whole, it can definitely become possible.
Source 1 Source 2
THE PROBLEM
Our problem is the way the one perceives people from other backgrounds and make assumptions that leads to stereotyping based on their lack of knowledge and awareness. The topic we are addressing is highly exigent because at one point or another, everyone has faced a stereotypical misconception from others. This can lead to limitations, awkward moments, prejudice, and racial discrimination.
Resolving this social issue will benefit everyone of all genders, races and ages because it will help to show the communities their true identity and stop the limitations bound to them for the misconceptions and stereotypes based upon them; this will create positive and more successful lifestyles for every human.
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