The Impacts and Consequences of Prejudice: Argumentative Essay

Prejudice can damage a soul and sip it dry, Imposing very overwhelming barriers or invisible barriers on individuals’ lives. Prejudice makes it hard for certain individuals or groups to succeed in this day and time in society. The consequences of prejudice go beyond the shaping of relationships between people. People are assaulted daily due to acts of prejudice. Some people having a higher status of power and greater privileges than others leading to social stratification resulting in unfair treatment referred to as discrimination. Discrimination can be based off different characteristics such as gender, age, race, religion, or ethnicity. Prejudice plays a large role in our society and impacts lives in many different forms and ways.

The first impact of prejudice is the dehumanization of individuals. People dehumanize those they fear or feel wronged by, making their victims feel as though they do not matter and often lowering them to a state of mind of incompetence. As Young and King point out the oppressed are so subjugated to their oppressors; they feel there is no need to fight back. Submitting to their doom, by allowing the ruling class to make all the decisions. As author, Iris Young, observes in “Five Faces of Oppression” “The oppressed are silenced. They have no voice and no will.” (Iris Young, 3) Iris is implying the oppressed are kept quiet no longer voicing their decisions about their suffering, experiences and way of life. One way to dehumanize others is by stripping people of their dignity, rights and religion. As a result, the victim accepts something as normal without putting up a fight thereby, becoming conditioned to their oppressor. The abolishment of slavery occurred in 1860 freeing and giving rights to many individuals. As slavery fifty years ago had African Americans believing that being owned and told what to do, say, or be in life was supposed to come from a higher white individual. “Some people are so worn down by the yoke of oppression that they give up.” (King)

Prejudice can damage a soul and sip it dry, Imposing very overwhelming barriers or invisible barriers on individuals’ lives. Prejudice makes it hard for certain individuals or groups to succeed in this day and time in society. The consequences of prejudice go beyond the shaping of relationships between people. People are assaulted daily due to acts of prejudice. Some people having a higher status of power and greater privileges than others leading to social stratification resulting in unfair treatment referred to as discrimination. Discrimination can be based off different characteristics such as gender, age, race, religion, or ethnicity. Prejudice plays a large role in our society and impacts lives in many different forms and ways.

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The first impact of prejudice is the dehumanization of individuals. People dehumanize those they fear or feel wronged by, making their victims feel as though they do not matter and often lowering them to a state of mind of incompetence. As Young and King point out the oppressed are so subjugated to their oppressors; they feel there is no need to fight back. Submitting to their doom, by allowing the ruling class to make all the decisions. As author, Iris Young, observes in “Five Faces of Oppression” “The oppressed are silenced. They have no voice and no will.” (Iris Young, 3) Iris is implying the oppressed are kept quiet no longer voicing their decisions about their suffering, experiences and way of life. One way to dehumanize others is by stripping people of their dignity, rights and religion. As a result, the victim accepts something as normal without putting up a fight thereby, becoming conditioned to their oppressor. The abolishment of slavery occurred in 1860 freeing and giving rights to many individuals. As slavery fifty years ago had African Americans believing that being owned and told what to do, say, or be in life was supposed to come from a higher white individual. “Some people are so worn down by the yoke of oppression that they give up.” (King, 1) People get so tired of being at the bottom that they see no wrong in it anymore, they accept their fate as a normality. They give up and give in. This act of prejudice takes control.

Another impact of prejudice is segregation. Victims of prejudice may become marginalized and denied of better job opportunities in life. Even since the height of the Civil Rights movement, many people are still marginalized and lack social mobility. Starting from the low poverty level can put someone at a huge disadvantage in life making it hard to progress in life. [People of color whether native or foreign born, are subject to civil rights deprivations at far higher rates than other identifiable groups.] (Karen O’Connor and Larry J. Sabato, 149) In explanation they are subject to more racial profiling and held to a higher standard when criminal factors are at play. Putting laws and limitations on who can and cannot do certain things based on their ethnicity is also an act of prejudice. Ruby Nell Bridges was the first African American to attend school with whites. Before she attended the whites only school, schools had been separated by race. Whites being higher in society with more privileges and African American’s being marginalized to a lower demeanor with less prilvileges. In “Picking Cotton”, Ronald is a victim of prejudice by observing that he may not walk out of the police station as a free man due to the Southern town he is in. Burlington, NC being a predominantly white town produces barriers for African Americans. “Pointing to me like I was trash that needed to be put out.” Ronald said about officer Sully a white cop while interrogating him. (Thompson- Cannino and Ronald Cotton, 85)

Finally, prejudice prevents individuals from fulfilling their own potential. People who believe they are being judged negatively may have trouble performing to their best ability, especially if the discrimination happens daily or on a regular basis. As in the film, “Conviction”, Kenny Waters was always in trouble with the law due to the lack of guidance growing up. He found it hard at times to better himself within his community. Kenny was falsely accused of murder and was then convicted, sending him to prison for a lengthy amount of time. Nancy Taylor says in Conviction “We’ve got you now.” As she had no physical evidence on him and no leads in her case, she arrested Kenny. With Kenny being in and out of the system all his life he eventually stopped fighting back due to intrinsic characteristics within himself. Stereotypes also form a type of prejudice that judges a group of individuals based on assumptions before knowledge of the individuals. Mexicans/Latinos are stereotyped as hard-working individuals in America, often working into overtime hours. Just because Mexicans have been stereotyped as hard workers in society, they sometimes feel the need to overwork their selves trying to accomplish their tasks to succeed in work places. “Those who are oppressed by cultural imperialism are both marked by stereotypes and made to feel invisible.” (Iris Young, 4) Implies that those grouped by stereotypes are made to feel of lower class or non-relevant to others.

Prejudice has endless negative impacts on individuals’ lives, and comes in many different forms, affecting individuals on different varying levels. Almost 7.5 billion people are in this world, together everyone can help stand up against prejudice. Go on marches and protest things that are unethical, go to demonstrations and have a open mind. Travel to new places to learn about new cultures, make a cross race friend and learn from them, prejudice only affects someone if they allow it to do so. Adversity is Every person has one brain that makes a thousand thoughts in a day, why not make them all great thoughts and actions?