The Psychological Roots of Racial Tensions free essay sample

Catastrophic tensions and events sparked by racial prejudices have continuously recurred ever since the human mind understood competition. In the absence of competition, a being has no opportunity to individualize or question their opinions and categorize oneself in relation to another. Without competition and all of its psychological subsidiaries, racism could not exist. At some point in history, competition inevitably overtook the human race as a result of insecurity.As demonstrated by Abraham Masons hierarchy of needs, the typical human is genetically prone to live life with ultimate consideration for their physiological comfort. Because the typical human experiences discomfort, the typical human will consequentially live their life to prevent discomfort in generally the most efficient ways possible, often resulting in a projection of said discomfort on other humans. In accordance to Mascots hierarchy, this conflict is inevitable. Only slightly below physiological comfort, a sense of belonging ranks within the hierarchy. We will write a custom essay sample on The Psychological Roots of Racial Tensions or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This need for belonging draws humans together and encourages interaction. From these interactions, individuals will, by human nature, judge their contemporaries and create memories. An analysis and retention of these memories will bud stereotypes that will consequentially expand to prejudice and often racism. In short, racism and prejudice shouldnt be considered usual human traits. They emerge in the absence of typical morality, when an individual is entirely consumed by their insecurities pertaining to the defense of their needs. In the early 16th century, the transatlantic slave trade began. During this time, African rulers agreed to sell their citizens to the Portuguese, British, French, Spanish, Dutch, and Northern Americans who shipped those native Africans to the New World colonies for slave labor. It is popularly argued that a majority of these Africans didnt understand the circumstances under which they were being relocated, and were disinclined as individuals to acquiesce to the demands of those regulating the slave trade.However because their rulers had consented to their relocation they would have been ridiculed for resisting, and whatever resistance they were to muster, would have been easily belittled by the slave trades firepower. All of the aforementioned psychological traits pertaining to Mammas,/s hierarchy of needs were demonstrated in the history of the transatlantic slave trade. When the New World was discovered, vast multitudes of resources were made freely available to the new European se ttlers.To take full advantage of these resources, the settlers concluded that they would require more labor than currently available, and from this motive, they set aside considerations for ethics and morality to satiate their need and desire for those resources. Given the Africans first and only interaction with Caucasians resulted in them being chained, whipped, and stripped of their comforts, one could confidently assume that the typical African would generally stereotype most o all Caucasians as irrational and dangerous. During the early eras of slavery, many slaves acted out violently in rebellion against their situations.From this violent resistance, the Europeans were likely to have stereotyped the Africans as barbaric and uncivilized. From this attempt to stimulate comfort and satiate needs, the human race became dramatically divided by racism. As slave labor continued to remain successful in North America, African slaves and European settlers birthed a new generation. From there, slavery became typical. African children were birthed into slavery with no knowledge f freedom nor memories of their home country. The only African culture to which they were exposed was what was left in the memory of their elders.Certain traditions were passed down from one slave to another to promote comfort and hope of cultural freedom. Because practicing these traditions was discouraged and often forbidden by their owners, a sort of cultural competition was aroused. Africans refused to give up their culture and conform to the European lifestyle. The slaves hopefulness, determination, and endurance helped them through their suffrage. When they became accustomed to the English engage and learned to read and write, many African American intellectuals were able to argue their perspectives on slavery and make leeway towards abolition.During this time, white men and women began to question the ethics and morality violated by human enslavement, and pondered whether slavery was even beneficial to their nation at that point. New technologies were being invented and manual labor became less popular by the day. Issues such as these loomed over the heads of Americans even after slavery was officially abolished in final form on January 1, 1863. Following the abolition of slavery, the lifestyles of African Americans improved, but slowly. Paying jobs were difficult to come by and segregation was a constant looming pressure.In actuality, a majority of whites were bitter about blacks increase in social stature and attempted to dampen their successes, presumably out of insecurity and fear of change. At this point in American history, racism was full-fledged. It existed previously as a social norm, and was beginning to change without unanimous preference. In the uses racism still existed, however it was passive and masked. Blacks ND whites had more extensive educational opportunities and available health care, however the establishments designed specifically for the blacks were of inarguably inferior quality in relation to white-only establishments.Johns Hopkins Hospital during this time illegally took tissue from the body of a deceased colored women named Henrietta Lacks. Laws were declared that clearly classified removing tissue or performing an autopsy on a dead body is strictly illegal, however it was rumored that the doctors at Johns Hopkins felt no guilt doing so to colored people and their corpses. It was suspected that because their health care was only recently made available to blacks, Hopkins idealized that being allowed free reign over their corpses and tissues seemed like decent compensation.Psychologists and historians have argued that racism has declined as time has progressed, however in actuality it has simply change d to be less public. As generations continue to birth newer and newer generations, fresh opinions and evaluations of history have been and will continue to be publicized. As modern day continues to distance itself from history, topics of lave trade and civil rights become stories in the eyes of the young: fictional, but seemingly ancient. Many may consider this slip of attention to be recipe for disaster.One should recognize that today we live in a country that, although once segregated to the extreme, can elect an African American president, ogle over white rappers, and encourage and support biracial marriages and integration. Although being enlightened of the history of racism in America has proven to render some stability constantly wringing and poking the subject will dry it of all its intrigue. Time heals all wounds, unless you pick at them. Shawn Alexander Although racism and prejudice arent typical human characteristics, each grows from the ephemeral competitiveness of human nature.Consequentially, racism may never be entirely extinguished, but with persistent application and consideration of modern morals and ethics, it can be dramatically d iminished and censored. Annotated Bibliography Levin, Jack. The Violence of Hate: Confronting Racism, Anti-Semitism, and Other Forms of Bigotry. 2nd deed. Boston: Allan and Bacon, 2002. Print. The Violence of Hate: Confronting Racism, Anti-Semitism and Other Forms of Bigotry, Second Dentition by Jack Levin, the author expands on his discussion introduced in his First Edition to include the treatment of American Muslins after September 11th, 2001.This particular source will be beneficial to my research given it provides me with a more current example of racism and psychological influence. Levin, Jack. The Violence of Hate: Confronting Racism, Anti-Semitism, and Other Forms of Bigotry. 3rd deed. Boston: Allan and Bacon, 2002. Print. The Violence of Hate: Confronting Racism, Anti-Semitism and Other Forms of Bigotry, Third Edition is a continuation of Elevens commonalities joining gather rather than the differences separating those in society who have been victimized because of race or societal position.In contrast with the Second Edition, this book has a second author whose first-hand experience has presumably helped expound on Elevens original ideas, in addition to those of his own. Chose to use this particular book as one of my sources because it may help me to better understand the social pressures under which Flights protagonist, Michael, acted under. Hampton, Kathy Salter. Young People with Antisocial Behaviors: Practical Resources for Professionals. Abandon, Axon: Rutledge, 201 1.Print Young People With Anti-Social Behaviors: Practical Resources for Professionals by Kathy Salter introduces ways in which young people between the ages of 10 and 18 are affected by social pressures, particularly racism. Levin includes an appraisal of current research on the issues surrounding anti-social behavior and the risk factors that may be involved in young peoples lives. I chose to use this particular book as one of my sources because it may help me to better understand the social pressures under which Flights protagonist, Michael, acted under. Belleville, Michael A. 877: Americas Year of Living Violently. New York: New, 2010. Print. 1877: Americas Year of Living Violently by Michael Belleville, American is described in detail as it was just beginning to recover from the Panic of 1 873, the worst economic contraction in American history to the time, while the South smoldered from Civil War and was on the verge of all-out racial warfare. I believe that this novel will assist me with my research because it focuses on the same time period during which The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks was set.Consequentially, should be able to find numerous accounts Of racism within the novel. Smith, Susan L. Mustard Gas and American Race-Based Human Experimentation in World War II. Journal of Law, Medicine, and Ethics 36. 3 (2008): 517-21. Http://web. Obscenest. Com. Blackwell Publishing. Web.. This particular article is an excerpt from a Medical Journal published in 2008. Susan Smith describes the catastrophic mustard gas racial experimentation during World War II and provides examples of how race factored into the experimenting.