Racism and ethnicity Essay Example for Free

Racism and ethnicity Essay Joseph Addison once said that, â€Å"If men would consider not so much where they differ, as wherein they agree, there would be far less of uncharitableness and angry feeling in the world. † This holds true to the sentiments I have when it comes to the numerous injustices people incur due to their skin color, ethnicity, and the like. I have seen and witnessed first hand the harm people can cause to one another due to petty differences between them; and I have also often pondered why such acts occur in our world. I used to think that this may be an isolated case; a freak phenomenon that has occurred solely in the confines of my home land. A social phenomenon that has existed in my home land due to the history our people have gone through. Yet, I have seen that such injustices and anger occur in other lands such as the United States of America and knowing of this makes me wonder if racism can be found in all societies regardless of geographic location and history. To get a better understanding of this social phenomenon I have decided to look into the cases of racism I have seen in my home country of Serbia and compare that to those acts I have seen here in America. Before I do proceed, I think it is necessary to take into consideration what racism really is. Many scholars have given various definitions to this phenomenon and the differences in the definitions can be attributed to the fact that the term covers a broad spectrum of implications of race-based bigotry, prejudice, violence, oppression, stereotyping or discrimination. Since it covers such a wide array of topics and takes into account various social issues we can take into account 2 general definitions of racism; the sociological and the legal. Racism is broadly defined as a form of discrimination based on characteristics of race and existing either as individual racism, which originates in the racist beliefs of a single person, or institutional racism, which occurs when racist ideas and practices are embodied in the folkways, mores and norms (Leeder. 2003). On the other hand, sociologists Noel Cazenave and Darlene Alvarez Maddern define racism as â€Å" a highly organized system of race-based group privilege that operates at every level of society and is held together by a sophisticated ideology of color/race supremacy. Racist systems include, but cannot be reduced to, racial bigotry,† (Cazenave and Maddern 1999: 42). Based on these definitions we can see two dominant themes when we speak about racism. The first among the two is the fact that racism takes into account the psyche of an individual. To be more precise, we deal with the construct of beliefs a person or group may hold against others as embodied by the mores and norms they have. The second aspect that we find is the fact that racism is a highly organized group structure as pointed out by Noel Cazenave and Darlene Alvarez Maddern. With regard to the second aspect, we find that racism is a social construct, a privilege of certain groups within a society. Hence, we are led to conclude that the social phenomenon can very well exist in any society. After all, there is no true homogenous society and the fact remain that differences abound between groups. Take the United States of America, though it is a single country the social structure can still clearly delineated between the different races that occupy its geography. As for my home country of Serbia, we also see that racism cuts across groups as I have seen people display acts of racial discrimination on gypsies; a group who since their unexplained appearance in Europe over nine centuries ago, the gypsies have refused to fall in with conventional settled life. They remain a people whose culture and customs are beset with misunderstanding, and who cling to their distinct identity in the teeth of persistent rejection and pressure to conform. This social group has been long been ridiculed and persecuted in Serbia. I have also personally seen people who look like neo-Nazis with their shaved heads launching verbal assaults and beating up gypsies. It is a saddening truth that things like this happen. What’s worse is the fact that gypsies are actually persecuted all around Europe. Other shocking instances of racial acts can also be seen in soccer games in Serbia. An example of this is even cited on a blog/news commentary on the Fox Sports website.

Music Censorship is a Violation of Free Speech -- Argumentative Persua

Music is one of the most popular ways of expression and has been for generations. It makes us want to dance, inspires, soothes, relaxes, and sometimes tells us a story. Music is something the whole world shares and has brought together different kinds of people. However, there has been a question on whether some music has affected society negatively and crossed the line with some of its lyrics, content, and the persona of the artists. Certain music has been boycotted and even banned in the U.S. Pro-censorship supporters say that music is something that can deeply affect our society especially children who should not have to be subjected to things like violence, sex, drugs, or hate. However, being that music is a form of expression, censoring it would just be violating everyone's right to freedom of speech and expression. The First Amendment clearly states that the U.S. government cannot make a law stopping the freedom of speech. Pro-censorship supporters say music is not included under the First Amendment but it is since music is expression. The freedom of speech includes freedom of expression and the right to hold your own opinion. This country is founded on the idea that we should be able to say, read, or publish anything we want. Music is an artist?s form of expression and banning or censoring his or her music would be stopping his or her right to say whatever he/she wants. We also have and value our own opinions and ideas and in return, respect every one else?s. If someone bans or censors a certain song because of it?s ideas, then we are not respecting the artist?s right to an opinion. An audience might have a certain opinion which we can discuss among ourselves, yet if an artist wants to sing a song about it, people want... ...nd doesn?t necessarily reflect the artist. Eminem has never raped anyone or killed anyone, but when he raps about it, it is just the way he feels at the moment sometimes but never engages in the action. In today?s society, we value and learn to tolerate different cultures and people. Sometimes people end up expressing themselves differently as well. This country is based on the idea that we may express ourselves any way we want to, be it religion, organizing, writing, or speaking. Music has been a popular form of expression for centuries. These days, in the country best known for freedom, some people are trying to censor it the freedom of music. Music should not be censored along with any other form of expression otherwise what we and artists say are being controlled. If we value freedom, then that includes what we may say and how we say it even in musical form.

Regional distribution centre report

Introduction: My company that I work for is currently expanding and has recently opened several new superstores on the outskirts of large urban areas. The existing distribution centers, which supply stores, are finding it difficult to meet the increased demand. So, the company has decided to set up a new distribution centre in an area, which has a mixture of old supermarkets and new superstores. Mileage: Mileage is one of the most important factors on this survey and research that I am doing and Prime thing that I have to look for is how far it is from the motorways and the supermarkets. In my opinion location C has got the best mileage and the one with the least mileage is D. Accessibility: Accessibility is not as important as mileage but it is still a convenient factor of the research and has to be considered very deeply. If the place has plenty of doors and garages, then it would be more convenient than a store with less doors and garages for the trucks or lorries to take our stock to the superstore. The best one again is location C and the worst one again is location D. But we have to remember that some locations are better at other things than at some things. Suitable Land: Land is vital for the company because we need lots of space for our staff to store the products from our regional distribution centre.6 acres would be good enough for us. The location that strike me first location A, as it has 20 acres of land which is over three times more of what we actually wanted. And the worst one was location C. In the factors above us, it was the best and now it is the worst for the land. And not everything can be perfect, you cant have a location which scores five out of five for everything. Cost Of Land: Now we are coming to the financial side of the operation and it is the thing that we have to consider before buying the location that we decide. Price is an enormous factor for everything not just regional distribution centers. The best priced location was location D, this was the location which had scored poor ratings in all the other factors and now has appeared top for the price. And the worst priced location was location C. This location did really well with the mileage and the accessibility but is very pricey. It would not be a good idea to buy this location if the company does not have a large budget. Setting Up Cost: Well, some locations do not need much work but some do and this could cost the company quite a bit. The location that really well was location E which has not exactly had that good factors in it. And the location that has done really badly or the worst was location B, this location is out of the picture as it was not good use to us. Labour Force: Where ever a business moves and there are job opportunities people would try really hard to get one so that's why we are considering to move to a place where there is a high unemployment and, the people should be skilled or have had experiences and we should be able to offer them low salaries. If we can make this happen, this could have us thousands of pounds every year. The location that has a good labour force is location D. This is truly the best location so I am considering of buying this. And the location that has done not so well in this important category was location A. Evaluation: In my opinion and my research I think that Location C is the best location because the cost of the land is really good, there is plenty of cheap labour, it scored top on the environmental factors and it almost came top in setting up. But two main things that it lacks is the mileage as it is very far from motorways and the accessibility is not good at all.

An Analysis Of Henrik Ibsen s A Doll House - 2155 Words

Lisa Agans Dr. Jackson English Writing 301 November 19, 2014 True Identities The title of the play A Doll House, written by Henrik Ibsen, tells us a lot about the main characters in this play. Ibsen wrote this play around the time when husbands and wives had specific roles in society and were very limited on what they could do. Women would have to marry rich, cook, clean,take care of the children, and avoid dealing with life situations. The man’s job was to work, put food on the table, and a roof over their head. This story is focused on a family that looks perfect on the outside but once you step through the door, it’s a tangled web of secrets. So first we are introduced to Nora Helmer, the wife and mother of the family. Nora has a†¦show more content†¦Ibsen’s theme is focused on finding yourself and becoming who you want to be, no matter what society says you re supposed to be. Many characters reveal their true identities in the play, but Nora shows the greatest transition. The title is a perfect way to describe Nora in this play. In the first act Nora acts as a doll. Dolls don’t contain minds or emotions, they just do whatever you tell them to do. One just uses a doll to play with and use for entertainment. The owner of the doll usually likes to be in control which is why they have a toy figure. Torvald is the owner in this case and talks to her and treats her in a derogatory way. He calls her things such as, â€Å"my little lark†, â€Å"my squirrel†, â€Å"my dear little Nora†, and â€Å"my little songbird†. Notice that most have â€Å"little† in front of the name which implies he is talking down to her, as if she was a little girl. Another way of Torvald treating Nora like a child is when he gives her money. As Torvald asks Nora why she looks so sad, he begins to pull his wallet out almost flaunting it and teasing her. This is very similar to the relationship of a father and a daughter. Nora’s smile gets really big and he obviously gives her the money. This also shows the ownership that Torvald has over Nora, controlling all of the money. Now Torvald thinks that Nora is a â€Å"spendthrift†, but Nora really is a pennysaver and uses the rest of the money to pay off the debt. There are a few things that