Racism

What is racism?

Racism is the mistreatment of a group of people on the basis of race, colour, and religion. The term racism may also mean a blind and pointless hatred, envy or prejudice.

Some expressions of racism are obvious, such as graffiti, intimidation or abuse.

Racial and ethnic slurs or "jokes" are other examples of obvious racial discrimination. But these are often ignored because people do not know how to deal with them.

Other expressions of racism are subtler, such as discrimination in offering jobs, letting flats and admission to clubs.

What is meant by discrimination? stereotype? prejudice?

DISCRIMINATION is the denial of equality based on personal characteristics, such as race and colour. Discrimination is usually based on prejudice and stereotypes.

STEREOTYPE means "set image". When applied to people, stereotyping refers to forming an instant or fixed idea of a group of people, usually based on false or incomplete information. They are often negative.

PREJUDICE literally means to "prejudge" based on ideas that are formed without any knowledge about others. It is difficult to prevent prejudice attitudes.

What are the effects of racial discrimination?

Racism can leave people with their insides burnt out, with no self confidence and this makes them slip lower and lower down, until there is no where else to go, by no fault of their own. This can destroy families and whole communities.

If people are physically abused it can leave a mark not only on the outside but also on the inside, where it matters most.

What can be done to prevent racial discrimination in school?

 Refuse to listen or tell racist jokes and insults.

 Organise poster or essay competitions in school.

 Watch and discuss videos on discrimination and racism.

 Find out about human rights groups, and what they do to change peoples view.

 Develop a class policy against all forms of discrimination.

Conclusion

I personally think that racism is foolish. People should just take it that whatever colour your skin is or whatever background they come from people are still people. It’s not what’s on the inside that counts it’s what a person has inside. People can dislike someone because of their personality, but when it’s because of the colour of their skin it’s a different matter. It shows that they have nothing on the inside and because of their skin colour they think they are superior. Well I think they are wrong.

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