Discrimination
The unjust treatment of different people
Created By: Christina Bui
Stereotyping, Prejudice, And Discrimination
For example, the stereotype, Asians are quiet. I might decide one day to believe that you don't like quiet Asians. A couple of days later, I am to seated next to an quiet Asian girl. I decided to avoid talking to her. If you take on the Asian girl's point of view, she notices that I'm quiet. She might respond by not liking you, thus avoiding you, which actually feeds back onto your thought that she's quiet. Hence, a full loop.
This is called self-fulfilling prophecy. This means our initial thought, or stereotype in this case, that Asians are quiet becomes more true and more affirmed over time because of our actions.
That is why we should just be open-minded about stereotypes not being true, or you'll be stuck in a self-fulfilling prophecy loop.
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Disability Discrimination
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1/07/06
Life
Is unfair.
They said it was unexpected.
That he was perfectly fine.
Until suddenly
He couldn’t hear
The cicadas droning
In the heat of summer.
Couldn’t hear
The booming appearance
Of spring’s awakening.
Couldn’t hear
the ruckus of the leaves
In the vibrant autumn.
Couldn’t hear
the oven ring
For the highlight of winter.
It started with confusion.
It ended in understanding.
He just couldn’t hear.
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3/16/06
Words
They speak to him slowly
As if that would help him understand
When really it’s harder for him.
They shout at him
As if loud noises would make him
Suddenly be able to hear.
They hide his things
They throw pencils, rocks, erasers at him
As if he was a brick wall.
The parents don’t move
Not at all.
Instead, they gossip.
“Oh, that poor family.
Barely any money,
And they have to take care
Of their stupid son."
...
I must ignore these
Frustrating feelings
Of mine.
5/26/06
Tired
But he still grinned.
Pretending that
Nothing was wrong.
As I was meeting up with him,
They dumped a whole
Bucket of ice cold water.
The water trailed down
From his hair, to his clothes,
Everything was damp.
My anger erupted,
I could not longer
Deal with it anymore.
I ran to the kid,
And I pushed him down hard.
The teachers then rushed to the scene,
Horrified what I did to him.
..
I never want to see
My brother wear
That grim smile
On his face again.
With him
Hiding all of his emotions
Deep inside of himself.
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LGBT Discrimination
In the 1960s, most people in America believed homosexuals were thought of being mentally ill, psychopaths, and had a sick mind. There were many commercials and films that warned against "the dangers of homosexuality."
Homosexuals were said they would corrupt your mind to being converted into a gay. In a short film called, "Boys Beware", the homosexual was shown to be a pedophile, who hung around little boys and would follow them home. This was how bad the society believed gays were, that they are monsters that would make your children become queer too.
There were many unpleasant conditioning to stop the homosexuals to liking their gender. Many families would send them to mental hospitals to "fix their mind."
There were extreme measures, for example, doctors would show them gay pornography. Every time they were aroused, they would be shocked by electricity constantly until they had no sexual feelings towards their own gender. Lobotomy also existed, which involved the cutting out of part of the brain, which was hope to cure of the illness or doctors would cut out private parts to ensure nothing would happen again. This made them basically a walking vegetable.
Being a homosexual or a drag queen in the 1960s was a dangerous time. If they were caught, they were thrown in jail, and it would be put on their record that they were gay. It was difficult to get a job after that. You would get your license taken too. Decades ago, Detective John Sorenson terrified a school of children about thoughts of homosexuality.
"They Could Be Anywhere. You Will Be Caught."
There was few places that made them feel like they could act like themselves. Gay bars and bathrooms were only refuges in the city. They would go inside the unsanitary meat trucks, with the skinned cows hanging and whatnot, and have fun in the dark.
A hundred of people would be inside and outside the truck to relief stress. Just imagine that you're in pitch dark in a truck, smelling (and tasting) raw meat in the air, and then you feel a couple of people groping at your body. That was the only place they felt like they were safe. Even if the beer in the gay bars were expensive and watered down, they still went because that was the only place where they felt like they could be themselves for once. The police sometimes would raid the places, and without any protest, the people in the bar would put their hands up and get arrested.
Should we treat the homos, lesbians, and transgenders the same in the 1960s, over 50 years ago? Make them feel so unloved that their only privacy to have fun is to go have sex with strangers in raw meat trucks at midnight?
Why should we have a say in who should others marry? Since when did we have control of their lives? For thousands of years, gays have been hiding their sexuality in the closet, never letting out their anger. It wasn't until 1969, the Stonewall Riot, when they first resisted in being arrested.
It has been far too long in deciding if people can marry anyone they desire. There has been a time when you accepted someone with in mind of what they were. Now is the time to accept LGBT for who they are.
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