(no subject)
Essay for English 101
Student Choice Topic
Comments on the topic welcome. Grammar critique is discouraged (if only because I've been agonizing over it too long).
Most people in their right minds would deny that a woman raped and abused by her husband deserved it or that African Americans should all be in chains as slaves, and will probably tell you firmly that it’s wrong to profile anyone wearing a turban as a Muslim terrorist. These groups, women, African Americans, Muslims, are all considered minorities and people who deserve to be treated with respect and protected by society and our government from discrimination. However, when it comes to the rights of the majority there is a lot of confusion as to what they’re entitled to in ways of protection from harassment and fair treatment. Any grade school child can tell you that the “majority rules,” but that doesn’t protect someone in a majority from being harassed or discriminated against. It only means they can’t complain or fight back without looking petty or like a bigot. While the government, media and the mass populace do their best to protect minorities, majorities are left unguarded and undefended against prejudice and dehumanization by others.
Perhaps least surprising is the prejudice against religion. Atheists have been a thorn in the side of churches of all kinds for years, while radical bible-thumpers have been butting heads with politicians over whether or not prayer and God have a place in public schools and buildings. Still, the largest organized faction of religion in the world is the Protestant Evangelicals. As the largest division of the Christian faith, it seems fairly safe from prejudice compared to Islam, Judaism and other religions. In reality, it is the most prominently harassed religion in the United States, drawing the most fire from the very minorities who scream and fuss about how they are being oppressed. After the holocaust no one would dare slander the Jews or risk having every anti-World War II person in ear-shot at his or her throat; and with the current war in the Middle East, men and women are very careful about what they say about the Islamic religion. Christians however, are supposed to be meek and kind to everyone, expected to be perfect and scorned when they turn out to be mere mortals and not Jesus Christ himself. Furthermore, when they speak out against what they believe to be wrong their words are instantly rejected for trying to force their religion on others. Startling new research has brought conclusive evidence of prejudice even in the halls of colleges and universities where open-minded acceptance of all ideas and study of different visions is encouraged. This prejudice comes not from the students, but the professors. In a survey conducted by the San Francisco based Institute for Jewish and Community Research, meant to ferret out anti-semantic feelings, the shocking truth was that while professors had very favorable feelings towards Jews and Catholics, 53 percent of 1,200 college and university faculty members reported they had “unfavorable” feelings towards evangelical Christians. The survey did not include qualifiers such as “pro-life” or “conservative,” meaning that those surveyed based their opinion on the group as a whole regardless of political views, denomination, region or even what country they were from. Institutes of higher learning have long passed off stories of bias against Christians as “mere anecdotes” but researchers are claiming this survey is “concrete evidence of sheer bigotry.”1
Gender is perhaps the most often over-looked area of abuse. Not for women; they’ve been standing up for themselves in America for years and get full recognition of needing more protection, especially in abusive relationships. What too often goes overlooked is that men can be abused by their partners, male or female, as well. While very few cases of spousal abuse where the husband is the victim are reported, much less brought to court, they do exist. There is minimal support or understanding extended to these battered men; researching such abuse on the internet takes time and shifting through endless reports of men abusing their wives to find the cases where the ‘weaker’ of the sexes has gotten the upper hand. For example, Dr. Irene Matiatos who holds a PhD in Clinical Psychology from Long Island University in New York runs a web site for people seeking advice on abusive relationships where one man, called only ‘Jim’ for privacy purposes, describes his ordeal:
“She came to my office, and again confronted me. Immediately I sensed her anger. She was very confrontational and antagonistic. I asked her several times to leave, and she refused exclaiming that she owned half of the office. At this point, I insisted she leave, and she started kicking client files all over the front office. I grabbed her by the arms, intending to escort her out of the building when she kicked me in the thigh. At that point, I let go and offered her one more opportunity to leave, otherwise I was going to call the police. When she refused to leave, I dialed 911. “2
Lucky for Jim, the cops who answered his call were understanding, and offered him advice, but society too often assumes that a man can take care of himself simply because of the Y chromosome in his DNA. Studies have suggested time and again that while men might have
potential to be stronger; emotionally and mentally they can be weaker than women. Women are taught from youth to be emotionally capable and intellectually aggressive, but the abusive wives are doing more fighting with their fists than with words. With the emerging demographic of gay couples, more physical abuse against men is being reported, but the area shows little sign for improvement. Most of the time men are too embarrassed or ashamed to tell anyone their wives abuse them, or they deny they have a problem, just like Caucasians ignoring racial slurs. Men refuse to accept it for the abuse it is, and in their silence tell their abusers that they aren’t willing to fight back.
Racism is certainly no laughing matter. In America it has been the deep root of many problems causing mayhem and hampering the most basic civil liberties for minorities. Slavery in the Deep South, illegal Mexican workers in California, and the horrors of how Chinese laborers were treated during the construction of the transcontinental railroad are all taught in schools and known by most of our citizens. Instead children are taught the evils of how Whites treated all other ethnicities to the point where some young Caucasian children are sickened by their pale skin, full of resentment for their own ethnicity. In an effort to raise awareness about discrimination, public schools are teaching generation after generation of children to hate Whites, charging children with the sins of their forefathers. Schools don’t even mention the trials of white immigrants to America. Why is it that the struggle of the Irish immigrants during the Industrial Revolution in New York and the swamps of the Everglades is reduced to a foot note in most history classes; or at most ten minutes of commentary in many college courses? Why has this racism been swept under the rug of American history when the Irish were hated so much that signs filled shop windows reading Help Wanted: No Irish Need Apply, and land owners in the South would rather send Irish men to their deaths clearing swampland than send their own slaves? It is most likely because the amount of Irish men and women who stood up for themselves and complained about this treatment and demanded change pales in comparison to the numbers of well-spoken African descendants like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his father.
Furthermore, when it comes to generalizations and slurs, Caucasians put up with more abuse than any other group in America would tolerate. It is outrageous to think it would be acceptable to go around calling African Americans nigger or the Chinese chinks; using such terms is enough to get children suspended from schools and grown men into violent fights. Gangs have started wars over racist insults but racial slang used against Whites usually slips by as annoying but rarely so fiercely defended it starts a fist fight. Whitetrash, Wonder Bread, Cracker, Whitey3, all of these terms are used, and while considered offensive, few would jump to the defense of a Caucasian person called these names in the same fashion they would scorn anyone for using the taboo slurs for other races. Add to these the unfair generalization of ‘White’ or Caucasian and it isn’t very hard to believe that people completely unrelated to one another are lumped into the same negative majority together. Compare a gun-loving, anti-gay rights and abortion, conservative man from Alabama with a pacifistic free-love advocate from Germany; no one would suggest the two were the same, but when it comes to race they are both simply white. Many people descended from Asian cultures would be very insulted if you mixed up their Vietnamese heritage with Japanese or Chinese cultures; just as a British man who considers himself very worldly and educated would be appalled to be compared to the American ‘red neck’. Despite the very different cultural backgrounds of Caucasian people standard forms, like school testing forms and census surveys, leave only one option to check: White/Caucasian; not even having the courtesy to break the category down into those from the British Isles, Austrio/Germanic and Scandinavian countries.
What is it that makes it impossible for a majority to speak up for itself without looking like condescending discriminators themselves? The problem is a long standing double-standard where any wrongs suffered by a minority are blown out of proportion by the media and activists claiming prejudice; a result of the current trend in our society where someone has to be held responsible for every accident and mistake. Where does this leave the white Anglo Saxon males? These men for whom there is minimal financial help for college, or protection from discrimination because he is the epitome of the majority? In a land where minorities are constantly screaming for their fair rights and justice, it’s time they started to extend the same courtesy to everyone and not just themselves.
1. French, David -National Review Online
2. www.drirene.com/abused_husband.htm
3. Racial slurs courtesy of http://gyral.blackshell.com/names.html
Student Choice Topic
Comments on the topic welcome. Grammar critique is discouraged (if only because I've been agonizing over it too long).
Most people in their right minds would deny that a woman raped and abused by her husband deserved it or that African Americans should all be in chains as slaves, and will probably tell you firmly that it’s wrong to profile anyone wearing a turban as a Muslim terrorist. These groups, women, African Americans, Muslims, are all considered minorities and people who deserve to be treated with respect and protected by society and our government from discrimination. However, when it comes to the rights of the majority there is a lot of confusion as to what they’re entitled to in ways of protection from harassment and fair treatment. Any grade school child can tell you that the “majority rules,” but that doesn’t protect someone in a majority from being harassed or discriminated against. It only means they can’t complain or fight back without looking petty or like a bigot. While the government, media and the mass populace do their best to protect minorities, majorities are left unguarded and undefended against prejudice and dehumanization by others.
Perhaps least surprising is the prejudice against religion. Atheists have been a thorn in the side of churches of all kinds for years, while radical bible-thumpers have been butting heads with politicians over whether or not prayer and God have a place in public schools and buildings. Still, the largest organized faction of religion in the world is the Protestant Evangelicals. As the largest division of the Christian faith, it seems fairly safe from prejudice compared to Islam, Judaism and other religions. In reality, it is the most prominently harassed religion in the United States, drawing the most fire from the very minorities who scream and fuss about how they are being oppressed. After the holocaust no one would dare slander the Jews or risk having every anti-World War II person in ear-shot at his or her throat; and with the current war in the Middle East, men and women are very careful about what they say about the Islamic religion. Christians however, are supposed to be meek and kind to everyone, expected to be perfect and scorned when they turn out to be mere mortals and not Jesus Christ himself. Furthermore, when they speak out against what they believe to be wrong their words are instantly rejected for trying to force their religion on others. Startling new research has brought conclusive evidence of prejudice even in the halls of colleges and universities where open-minded acceptance of all ideas and study of different visions is encouraged. This prejudice comes not from the students, but the professors. In a survey conducted by the San Francisco based Institute for Jewish and Community Research, meant to ferret out anti-semantic feelings, the shocking truth was that while professors had very favorable feelings towards Jews and Catholics, 53 percent of 1,200 college and university faculty members reported they had “unfavorable” feelings towards evangelical Christians. The survey did not include qualifiers such as “pro-life” or “conservative,” meaning that those surveyed based their opinion on the group as a whole regardless of political views, denomination, region or even what country they were from. Institutes of higher learning have long passed off stories of bias against Christians as “mere anecdotes” but researchers are claiming this survey is “concrete evidence of sheer bigotry.”1
Gender is perhaps the most often over-looked area of abuse. Not for women; they’ve been standing up for themselves in America for years and get full recognition of needing more protection, especially in abusive relationships. What too often goes overlooked is that men can be abused by their partners, male or female, as well. While very few cases of spousal abuse where the husband is the victim are reported, much less brought to court, they do exist. There is minimal support or understanding extended to these battered men; researching such abuse on the internet takes time and shifting through endless reports of men abusing their wives to find the cases where the ‘weaker’ of the sexes has gotten the upper hand. For example, Dr. Irene Matiatos who holds a PhD in Clinical Psychology from Long Island University in New York runs a web site for people seeking advice on abusive relationships where one man, called only ‘Jim’ for privacy purposes, describes his ordeal:
“She came to my office, and again confronted me. Immediately I sensed her anger. She was very confrontational and antagonistic. I asked her several times to leave, and she refused exclaiming that she owned half of the office. At this point, I insisted she leave, and she started kicking client files all over the front office. I grabbed her by the arms, intending to escort her out of the building when she kicked me in the thigh. At that point, I let go and offered her one more opportunity to leave, otherwise I was going to call the police. When she refused to leave, I dialed 911. “2
Lucky for Jim, the cops who answered his call were understanding, and offered him advice, but society too often assumes that a man can take care of himself simply because of the Y chromosome in his DNA. Studies have suggested time and again that while men might have
potential to be stronger; emotionally and mentally they can be weaker than women. Women are taught from youth to be emotionally capable and intellectually aggressive, but the abusive wives are doing more fighting with their fists than with words. With the emerging demographic of gay couples, more physical abuse against men is being reported, but the area shows little sign for improvement. Most of the time men are too embarrassed or ashamed to tell anyone their wives abuse them, or they deny they have a problem, just like Caucasians ignoring racial slurs. Men refuse to accept it for the abuse it is, and in their silence tell their abusers that they aren’t willing to fight back.
Racism is certainly no laughing matter. In America it has been the deep root of many problems causing mayhem and hampering the most basic civil liberties for minorities. Slavery in the Deep South, illegal Mexican workers in California, and the horrors of how Chinese laborers were treated during the construction of the transcontinental railroad are all taught in schools and known by most of our citizens. Instead children are taught the evils of how Whites treated all other ethnicities to the point where some young Caucasian children are sickened by their pale skin, full of resentment for their own ethnicity. In an effort to raise awareness about discrimination, public schools are teaching generation after generation of children to hate Whites, charging children with the sins of their forefathers. Schools don’t even mention the trials of white immigrants to America. Why is it that the struggle of the Irish immigrants during the Industrial Revolution in New York and the swamps of the Everglades is reduced to a foot note in most history classes; or at most ten minutes of commentary in many college courses? Why has this racism been swept under the rug of American history when the Irish were hated so much that signs filled shop windows reading Help Wanted: No Irish Need Apply, and land owners in the South would rather send Irish men to their deaths clearing swampland than send their own slaves? It is most likely because the amount of Irish men and women who stood up for themselves and complained about this treatment and demanded change pales in comparison to the numbers of well-spoken African descendants like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his father.
Furthermore, when it comes to generalizations and slurs, Caucasians put up with more abuse than any other group in America would tolerate. It is outrageous to think it would be acceptable to go around calling African Americans nigger or the Chinese chinks; using such terms is enough to get children suspended from schools and grown men into violent fights. Gangs have started wars over racist insults but racial slang used against Whites usually slips by as annoying but rarely so fiercely defended it starts a fist fight. Whitetrash, Wonder Bread, Cracker, Whitey3, all of these terms are used, and while considered offensive, few would jump to the defense of a Caucasian person called these names in the same fashion they would scorn anyone for using the taboo slurs for other races. Add to these the unfair generalization of ‘White’ or Caucasian and it isn’t very hard to believe that people completely unrelated to one another are lumped into the same negative majority together. Compare a gun-loving, anti-gay rights and abortion, conservative man from Alabama with a pacifistic free-love advocate from Germany; no one would suggest the two were the same, but when it comes to race they are both simply white. Many people descended from Asian cultures would be very insulted if you mixed up their Vietnamese heritage with Japanese or Chinese cultures; just as a British man who considers himself very worldly and educated would be appalled to be compared to the American ‘red neck’. Despite the very different cultural backgrounds of Caucasian people standard forms, like school testing forms and census surveys, leave only one option to check: White/Caucasian; not even having the courtesy to break the category down into those from the British Isles, Austrio/Germanic and Scandinavian countries.
What is it that makes it impossible for a majority to speak up for itself without looking like condescending discriminators themselves? The problem is a long standing double-standard where any wrongs suffered by a minority are blown out of proportion by the media and activists claiming prejudice; a result of the current trend in our society where someone has to be held responsible for every accident and mistake. Where does this leave the white Anglo Saxon males? These men for whom there is minimal financial help for college, or protection from discrimination because he is the epitome of the majority? In a land where minorities are constantly screaming for their fair rights and justice, it’s time they started to extend the same courtesy to everyone and not just themselves.
1. French, David -National Review Online
2. www.drirene.com/abused_husband.htm
3. Racial slurs courtesy of http://gyral.blackshell.com/names.html