Running Head: DISCRIMINATION 1
Discrimination in America and How to Solve It
Peyton Watts
Arizona State University
DISCRIMINATION 2
Abstract
In this essay I will discuss the problems that reside in today’s society when involving
discrimination. Discrimination and prejudice have become a common theme in today’s world
and there is a need for it to be stopped. In this essay, I discuss how one can stop themselves from
judging someone else when they don’t look the same, or have the same beliefs. Discrimination is
a problem in today’s society across all types of people. People talk about equality when
describing how to end prejudice, in this essay I discuss how unity is total end to prejudice.
Keywords: d iscrimination, prejudice, people, equality, unity
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There is one problem America has been facing ever since the Emancipation
Proclamation that ended slavery in 1863, equality. The idea for equality in America is that no
matter what your skin color, your religion, gender, or sexual orientation you are treated fairly in
every situation possible. Prejudice has been a problem put on a pedestal ever since the Civil
Rights Movement lead by American heroes such as, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and
Rosa Parks. These Americans fought against the segregation laws that claimed that white
people and people of color were “separate but equal,” though this was not the case. People of
color were not treated fairly they were subject to
unwarranted police searches, worse conditions in
color only areas, and many other unfair situations.
Though all of this was a very toxic time and was
desperate for change there is a new issue that is
arising in the American population. The
discrimination of all groups of people. It is an issue that is arising in today’s society and needs to
be put to an end. The only way to create a fully equal society is for no one to be discriminated
against.
Though some groups of people face worse discrimination than others prejudice can be
seen in any situation. For example, Jordan Peele, the film director for the blockbuster movie ‘Us’
and ‘Get Out,’ said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter “I don’t
see myself casting a white dude as the lead in my movie.” (Gardner,
2019) Another example would be, the discrimination of women not
having equal pay. According to CNN in the United States on average for
every dollar a man makes a woman only makes 80 cents. (Carpenter,
2018) As shown above, this problem is faced in many different groups
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and there is no justification for it. People are being discriminated against all across the nation
and it needs to be fixed. One way this problem can be combated is to judge someone not by the
way they look or believe in, but their character. A lot of times people see someone of a different
race or religion and the first thing they think is: hispanic, or jewish, etc. The way people should
be looking at one another is how they interact with the person. If you were to see someone you
know instead of immediately judging them from what you see on the outside, make your
judgement about their actions instead. Are they intelligent, funny, easy to talk to? If we all
looked at each other by our character rather than the way we think or look it would bring the
people of our society one step closer together. Bringing us one step closer to equality.
The second way that people can ultimately stop discrimination is by judging each other
not on their differences, but rather what they have in common. If you take a white Christian man,
and put him next to an arabic Islamic woman, they have a lot of differences, but what do they
have in common. Maybe they have similar taste in movies. Finding things that bring you and
someone of a different ethnic background, religion, etc helps bring people together. Making
connections with someone of a different culture also opens you up to many different things you
may not have discovered if you didn’t know him or her. For example, have you ever had Haysa
Al-Tumreya? It is a flour based Saudi Arabian dip meant to be served with a plate full of dates,
and it’s delicious.
For a third technique that will bring society’s citizens closer together is to be interested in
what makes people different. Though judging one another based on your differences may
become harmful, a healthy and polite fascination with what makes two people or groups of
people different can actually bring people together. If you are a male and is against the feminist
movement, approaching a feminist and politely asking questions about why they think the way
they think can actually spark a friendship. People love to talk about things they are passionate
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about and striking up a conversation about such a serious and frequently talked about subject in
today’s world can bring you and someone you never would have thought of close together. And
hey, maybe your viewpoint on a certain subject will change. The key to this technique is to make
sure to really listen. As said in the classic novel Fahrenheit 451, “Nobody listens anymore. I
can't talk to the walls because they're yelling at me, I can't talk to my wife; she listens to the
walls. I just want someone to hear what I have to say. And maybe if I talk long enough it'll make
sense.” (Bradbury, 82) Listening means you truly have to take into consideration the other
person’s viewpoint. If you are a straight man, against same sex
marriage and are discussing that topic with someone who is a
member of the LGBTQ movement, you can’t just hear his or her
arguments and not take what their saying into consideration. Listen to
what they are saying and come to a conclusion, do you agree or do
you disagree. You don’t have to agree with everything a person says,
just be polite when talking to a person that has different viewpoints
than you.
A fourth approach would be to put yourself in the other person’s shoes. Have you ever
been in a traumatic experience such as losing a loved one,
because he was shot and killed by law enforcement officers?
Take the 2012 Trayvon Martin case for example. Martin was a
17-year old male, staying with his father in Sanford, Florida.
Martin, unarmed, was walking through a neighborhood when
neighborhood watch captain, George Zimmerman, shot and killed
the boy because he was “a suspicious person.” (CNN, 2019) If
Zimmerman wouldn’t have judged Martin based off of his skin color and the grey hoodie he was
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wearing, and just thought to himself, “If I was just walking down the street would I be up to no
good?” Trayvon Martin may still be alive and Zimmerman would never have had to go on trial in
defense of his actions that night.
The fifth, and most important, thing to do is treat people the way you want to be treated. I
know it sounds like first grade material, but it is very common for people that see a difference
between someone and themselves and not treat them kindly. An example of this is, a test where
researchers had thirty-six babies choose between two different foods. “Experimenter 1 (who had
solicited infants’ food preference in Phase 1) puppeteered a brief show in which two rabbit
puppets indicated their own food preferences.To do so, puppetstasted each food in turn and
exclaimed “Mmm, yum! I like (food name)!” toward one and “Ew, yuck! I don't like (food name)!”
toward the other.” (Hamlin, 2013) The test results came back that almost all the babies chose
the food that was proposed as good rather than bad. What was worse during the study though
was that the babies preferred to punish the other puppet that ate the disgusting food presented
to them. This shows that naturally humans believe in discrimination, but that doesn’t make it
right. To combat this just try and be nice to someone with dissimilar tastes, beliefs, or looks
differently. If you were beaten up for the way you think would you enjoy it? So don’t do it to other
people.
Some people think that discriminating against a group of people is ok if they were
prejudiced to you in the past. This has truly become a problem in today’s society because
people think that is justified sexism, racism, or any other form of discrimination. For example, on
the Joe Rogan Experience Podcast, Rogan discusses following an extreme feminist on Twitter
that has her profile picture as a banner that states, “Trust no man.” Rogan then explains how if
that banner were to say “Trust no woman.” that there would be uproar amongst society and that
whoever’s profile that would be wouldn’t be able to find a job. They also discuss the controversy
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of New York Times reporter, Sarah Jeong, whose Twitter was full of racist comments towards
white people. Rogan explains how if she was white, “she wouldn’t be able to find a job
anywhere.” The argument for justified prejudice is invalid because discrimination of any kind is
harmful. No one should have to go through being judged for the way they look, what they like, or
what they believe in. Like the great Mahatma Gandhi said “An eye for an eye makes the whole
world blind.”
Discrimination in America is a common problem that needs to be stopped. It affects
people from all walks of life. There is no justification for saying or doing something hurtful about
the way someone looks, or what they like, or their beliefs. The five things that can be done in
order to create a truly equal society is to; judge people not by the way they look or what they
like, but rather by their actions. Another is, to find
a common ground with someone whether or not
you believe in different things. A third is, to build
a fascination of different cultures, try and find
something about someone else you find
interesting and strike up a polite conversation about it. For the fourth way, is by putting yourself
in someone else’s shoes, some groups of people have it harder than your own and trying to
think what they go through on a daily basis can help you get a better understanding of things.
And last but certainly not least, treat others how you would want to be treated. It may seem like
a very simple thing but doing this can go a long way. If you follow these different approaches
that will bring our society one step closer to not just equality, but unity. Because if everyone is
truly equal then we all are united as one.
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References
Carpenter, J. (2018, September 30). Why men need to believe in the wage gap. Retrieved from
https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/30/success/gender-belief-gap/index.html
Gardner, C., & Abramovitch, S. (2019, March 27). Jordan Peele on Making Movies After 'Us': "I
Don't See Myself Casting a White Dude as the Lead". Retrieved from
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/rambling-reporter/jordan-peele-says-i-dont-see-myself-ca
sting-a-white-dude-as-lead-us-1197021
Trayvon Martin Shooting Fast Facts. (2019, February 28). Retrieved from
https://www.cnn.com/2013/06/05/us/trayvon-martin-shooting-fast-facts/index.html
Hamlin, J. K., Mahajan, N., Liberman, Z., & Wynn, K. (2013, April). Not like me = bad: Infants
prefer those who harm dissimilar others. Retrieved from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4374623/
Rogan, J. (2018, November 30). Retrieved February 26, 2019, from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94u1FiiAYDU
Jhayne. (2009, May 07). Segregated. Retrieved from
https://www.flickr.com/photos/foxtongue/3510626657
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Doogan, J. (2017, October 25). Pleasure to Read: The Best Editions of Fahrenheit 451. Retrieved
from https://bookriot.com/2017/09/23/best-editions-of-fahrenheit-451/
Arquette, P.. (2019, January 24). Trayvon Martin Biography Retrieved from
https://www.biography.com/people/trayvon-martin-21283721
Eytan, T. (2017, June 11). 2017.06.11 Equality March 2017, Washington, DC USA 6571.
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