In the article “What We Mean When We Say ‘Race Is a Social Construct’,’’ Ta-Nehisi Coates asserts that the idea of race is not based on someone’s intelligence. People will always have a different opinion on intelligence. It is wrong to make the assumption that “blacks” are not as intelligent as “whites”. Coats says “There is no fixed sense of ‘whiteness’ or ‘blackness’.” He also explains how race is a social construct. “We don’t go around testing the ‘Irish race’ for intelligence or the ‘Southern race’ for ‘hotheadedness’,’’ were the wise words from Coats. Towards the end of the article, Coats explains the different categories of race. Are the Ainue of Japan a race? Should darker Southern Asians be separated from the lighter? Are the Japanese
Today, many of us are taught from an early age that talking about race, even acknowledging it is a big no-no. It’s something that you shouldn’t do according to some people. It’s easy to understand why “color blindness” in some ways make sense because race in general, is an uncomfortable thing to talk about. “Because of the prevalence and history of racism, just the word ‘race’ can conjure negative connotations” (Dinesh 74). It’s a subject that has the ability to thicken the air with tension at any given moment. If someone told me that color is something they look past, I personally would have a hard time believing them.
In the article, “What We Mean When We Say ‘Race Is a Social Construct’,” Ta-Nehisi Coates asserts that the idea of race is that “puts hundreds pf millions under domination” (Coates, p. 3). The definition of race is “the classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, ancestry, genetics or social relations, or the relations between them.” Liberals often say “truly stupid things like race has to biological element” (Coates, p. 6). William Z. Ripley wrote a story which desired to “delineate racial difference through head type” (Coates, p. 4). Coates states that “race does not need biology. Race only requires some good guys with big guns looking for a reason” (Coates, p. 6). Race is just a social construct and “is an idea, not a
Sociologist argue that race is a social construct and not a part of our innate natural behavior. Then why is racial identification so prevalent in modern day society? That’s because at young ages we are taught by television, movies, books, newspapers, parents, teachers, friends and other sources what race is. We are bombarded by this ideology so much so that we become fluent in determining someone 's race based on their physical attributes and draw conclusions before even talking to them and discovering who they are as an actual person.
When one is victim of or witness to a crime, it is expected that said person is brought into the police department to be questioned by the police. During this line of questioning it is possible that the victim or witness take part in suspect identification procedures. Such procedures include the use of lineups, showups, photo arrays and others. These procedures are referred to as system variables. These system variables are factors under the control of the investigators that have a demonstrated effect on the accuracy and reliability of eyewitness testimony. Examples of system variables that can influence eyewitness testimony include but are not limited to: statements made to eyewitnesses prior to and after lineups, instructions given to witnesses
The first discussion of this course we have covered, we learned race is a social construction. According to Snip, he explained why he believes that race is a social construction; he argued that race is being used to pursue social class and political desires. Throughout the history race has changed from time to time. In the context of the United State race was used for assigned people based on their skin color then it become matter of personal identification. The book explains the concept of race, as this “Racialization is the social process by which a racial group identity is attached to a group and that is placed in a race-based social hierarchy.” Government of United State used race as part of their census, they developed a method to identify
Before answering the question of “Should physicians pay attention to “race”?” lets first discuss why it is necessary for a physician to know the “race” of the patients. The first reason is in regard to pathogenic reasons leading to the field of pharmacogenetics. The second is more social reason and leads to racial division among a population. In considering of the latter reason, one should note that it may not the physician’s intention to cause any racial division. In fact the physician may have nothing but the best intentions in mind but the division it self comes from the interpretation of the physician’s questions. In order justify racial profiling or injustice in a society an uneducated and ignorant society that is searching for a genetic link to race may wrongfully assume genetics are the sole reason of racial differences. These assumptions are made stronger if someone of such a high social position like a physician takes “race” in consideration. However race it self cannot be linked to genetics in anyway. In fact according to the human genome project humans share 99.9% of the same gene pool. Furthermore a study by the Genetic Society of America, weakens the myth that race is caused by genetic differences by stating that there is a “larger Genetic Differences Within Africans Than Between Africans and Eurasians” meaning “blacks” are more genetically similar to “whites”
Throughout history social scientists have been trying to examine the different parameters of race in terms of phenotypic characteristics, and cultural behaviors regarding the different groups that society construct’s. legally judges have had different rulings regarding the categorization of different ethnicities and groups within the United States. Many philosophers such as Kwame Appiah, and Scientists such as Dr. James Watson have had opposing arguments on the topic of race and whether it exists or not. In order to do so we need to examine the different definitions of race, and analyze them in order to see how race is a social construct, where people’s notions of race and their interactions with different races determine the way they perceive
It could also be argued that some aspects of the biological view of race are, to some extent, positive today because, over the years, the way scientists saw race has been altered as a result of what the previous biologic view provoked (Darwinian evolution), which was hatred and discrimination towards
Grouping people based on their physical traits has lead in time to the phenomenon of “racialization” (or race formation), as people began to see race as more of a social construct and not a result or a category of biology.
People who come from different ethnic backgrounds, for example, children of immigrants, can be viewed as not ‘truly French’, regardless of their nationality and whether they were born in France.
Wrongful convictions are one of the most worrisome and tragic downsides to the Canadian Criminal Justice System. As stated by Campbell & Denov (2016). “cases of wrongful convictions in Canada call into question the ability of our criminal justice system to distinguish between the guilty and innocence” (p. 226). In addition, wrongful convictions can have devastating repercussions on the person, who was found guilty, effecting their personal/public identities, beliefs and family lives. This essay will be examine some of the common factors that apply to the conviction of an innocence person. Also, whether the CJS is doing enough to inhibit wrongful convictions and finally, the problems that parole can cause for a person maintaining their innocence.
Eyewitness identification is ineffective and unjust. Studies have shown that 40% of eyewitness identifications are wrong (Vrij, 1998). Eyewitness identification has great importance in the legal system. This requires the best eyewitness testimony procedure. This essay examines the three main types of eyewitness line-ups; the showup, the sequential and the simultaneous line-up. This essay draws conclusions as to which method the legal system should implement.
The majority of the general public has preconceived ideas as to what a person’s race is based solely on appearance. In general, it can be difficult to identify a person’s race just by looking at their skin color. In each race, there are many variations of skin color and to make it more complex and difficult, not to mention people who are of mixed race.
Part I: During the last lecture sessions, Dr. Jendian talked about appreciating diversity, race, ethnicity, and racism. In his lecture, we learned that many people believe that race is something biological. However, the true reality is that race is a social construct and not a biological one. For example, in the documentary Race: The Power of An Illusion, we were able to understand that there are more variations among people in the same “race” than with people from another “race.” However, physical differences, for example, the most obvious skin color, has created prejudices against minority groups. These prejudices that “white” people carry leads to discrimination against people of color. During the lecture, Dr. Jendian explained about ethnocentrism as well. The definition that he provided states that we judge others using our culture’s values, beliefs, and practices. Therefore, we believe the way of doing things is superior, so other people’s ways are inferior. For example, the professor explained that one day he went to a Oaxacan restaurant and that he ate crickets. He explained that for people that don’t have the same culture, this food might be uncommon, however, it is not uncommon for the people of Oaxaca. According to Aguirre and Tuner in their chapter “Ethnicity and Ethnic Relations,” minority groups are single out living on unequal treatment, thus, becoming objects of discrimination. For example, one of the minority groups