Stereotype and Prejudice Log Paper Example

1) The incident took place on Thursday the 19th of February 2017.

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2) It was an event that indicated racial prejudice.

3) The event took place on my street on the early morning of the 19th of January. I was hurrying to school for a class that I was almost late for when I noticed a group of young people gathered around something that was not so clear from where I was. They were gathered at the parking lot of one of the mini-marts in our town, and I could count up to seven people from where I was. Due to curiosity, I decided to find out what was going on. At that moment, I had shortly forgotten about the school and the class I was going for because of what was happening. I walked towards the individuals and found a space in the circle they had created to see what was at the center. I noted that the crowd was almost ten people and many of the were young men. I only noticed three young ladies but I was not so keen, and maybe they were the not only women at the incident.

I saw another person wearing a black jumper and had covered his head. He had bent down with a spray can in his hand. He had already written something on the ground, but I could not make out what it was from where I was standing. The individual continued writing on the ground with the spray can and after a short while he was done. At the moment those who had gathered around were talking amongst each other while others whispered to each other. I had not read what was written on the ground because the one who had written it was standing there maybe to add something or look at the work he or she had done. Finally, the individual changed to my direction and started walking towards me. I noticed that he was a young white male who would have been in his early twenties. I saw a tattoo on his neck but could not tell what it was. He continued moving towards me and went past me and crossed the street and disappeared into the neighborhood.

4. I looked back where he was writing, and I could now read what he had written down. It was in a bright red color and wrote MAKE AMERICA WHITE AGAIN, and it had a sign drawn at the end of the statement. It was in capital letters, and the sign that looked like crisscrossed lines was also there. The small crowd was still gathered and continued to talk amongst each other, and at the moment more people had joined to find out what was going on. Then it hit me that America had elected a new president Donald Trump, and his election slogan was Make America Great Again and the writings were in support of the president-elect but stated in a different way. I am from South Korea, and despite being in America, I would say that I am not originally an American. Therefore, the statement hit me in a way that would not have hit an individual that was originally American. I am sure that the crowd had different reactions to the statement. America is a diverse country made up of people from all over the world. Blacks, whites, African, Mexicans Latinos and everyone who may not necessarily be white calls America home. Therefore, the statement make America white again was geared towards a particular type of people.

5. Whispers were going around in the crowd, and some were surprised due to the expressions that were on their faces. My town is diverse because I meet with people from different racial backgrounds on a daily basis. Therefore, I would say that it is not entirely a white community. The gathered crowd was similar. It has Africa-Americans, Africans, Koreans, Chinese, Mexicans, and whites. They had their thoughts about the incident, but everyone was just talking to the other person in low tones. After a short while, everyone started leaving one by one. I stayed behind thinking about the statement and what the deeper meaning. By the time I awoke from my thoughts, everyone had left, and I was standing at the spot alone. It felt awkward standing at the spot alone, and therefore I left for school. I was already late for class but as I rushed to make it for part of it, I continued to think about the incident and what it meant for the United States citizens who were not necessarily white.

6. During the event, the crowd watched as the young man wrote and the ground. Some of their facial expressions indicated shock, but there was no harsh response from any of them. They only talked amongst each other, and as one person left the scene, the rest followed suit. The young man did not interact with anyone. He finished his business at the spot and left without talking to anyone. I feel that the young made who wrote the statement felt that his country had been taken away from him. At the time of the election and days after President Donald Trump, I would hear rumors that those who were formerly American and white would complain that those who were not from America had taken all the resources that belonged to them including employment opportunities and success. There was the feeling that America had taken a deteriorating direction and when President Donald Trump would take power he would take the country back to its previous glory. I felt that the young man wanted a precise control of his country and he needed to express it to those he felt were not rightfully in his country.

7. The only reactions that were visible from the crowd were their facial expressions; otherwise, no one made any physical reaction like speaking out or taking any action in response to the statement. My opinion was that any reaction would have ended up becoming violent. I might never know what would have happened if the crowd addressed the racial comment but my thought was that if anyone did it would have turned violent. It is because the group was made up of people from all races including white people and each of them had varied opinions concerning the incident. Therefore, each of them was playing safe by not reacting. 8. In my opinion, the incident was prejudice, and I would rate it at number 5 on the scale as definitely prejudice. It is because the statement was in support of one race the white Americans and I felt that it was some alert to other individuals in America who were not white.

9. there is a lot of information we have acquired in class stereotype and prejudice. The incident takes place during a tense time and when people feel that there is stereotyping towards some races and religions expressed by the American community. I believe that the atmosphere and tension provided the best opportunity for stereotypic individuals who may not have had the chance to exercise their feelings to do so. For example, the young man who wrote the statement could have been expressing feelings he had held for long just because the atmosphere at that time provided the opportunity to do so. I also feel that the individual was endorsing a stereotype of wanting America to be white again and exclude the rest of the people who were not necessarily white Americans. I believe that such prejudice is something that was socialized into the individual and he grew up knowing that America belongs to white people. He may not have had the chance to express it, but the tense atmosphere that came with the previous election provided him with the opportunity to express his feelings. It is also a form of implicit prejudice because it was only activated during the electioneering period and the time of the inauguration.

It could be that the stereotypic and prejudicated thought has often existed in the individual and later on led him to a discriminative act. It is because writing such a statement in a community with other races other than the white people and in a place that is accessed by everyone means that the individual is discriminating the rest of the races. The writing of the statement was a corresponding behavior towards the attitude the person held towards other races other than the white race. The courage to write the statement had come from the public utterances and incidences that were geared towards racism. Numerous individuals across the country were engaging in racists activities, and thus the social support gave him the push to involved in the prejudice he did. The person developed the stereotype from socialization, it developed into a prejudice towards the other races, and eventually, he engaged in a discriminative act towards the various racial groups in America.

I often thought that stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination were one and the same thing. For instance, I would have interpreted such an incident as a stereotype, a prejudice a discrimination. If asked by anyone I would have labeled it as one of the three. However, the course content has taught me otherwise. I have identified that it starts with a stereotype where one has a belief towards a particular race about racism. The belief was that America belonged to no other race than the whites. Therefore, the individual began with a stereotype towards non-whites in America. From the stereotype, a prejudice develops where an individual develops an attitude towards the identified group. The young man from the incident may have developed a dislike for non-whites and started feeling negative about them. The prejudice then leads to discrimination where the individual engages in a behavior directed towards the groups he or she dislikes. It is clear that the young man involved in the act as a discriminatory gesture towards groups in America that were not white. Therefore, I identify that the three aspects are not one and the same but exist on a continuum, and one will lead to the other.