Discrimination Worksheet

Associate Program Material

Discrimination Worksheet

Write a 100- to 200-word response to each of the following questions. Provide citations for all the sources you use.

• What is discrimination? How is discrimination different from prejudice and stereotyping?

Discrimination is the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people or things, especially on the grounds of race, age, or sex. Discrimination differs from prejudice and stereotyping, because discrimination is the denial of opportunities and equal rights of individuals and groups due to prejudice. Prejudice is the unfavorable opinion or feeling formed beforehand without the prior knowledge, thought or reason, while stereotyping is unreliable generalizations about certain groups. Discrimination can hinder a person from advancing in their life, holding them back from job opportunities as well as opportunities to buy their dream home and other opportunities. Stereotyping is something that many of us do without even realizing it, something as simple as seeing a man act effeminate and we assume he is gay, or a woman who is not effeminate we assume she is gay. Too many times in society we have certain prejudices and even though we may try to think that we are above certain prejudice as white Euro Americans we have a tendency to believe that once minorities start moving into our neighborhoods that our property values will drop.

Schaefer, R. T. (2012). Racial and ethnic groups (13th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.

• What are the causes of discrimination?

I truly believe that discrimination honestly comes from lack of education and from preconceived ideas that people that are from minorities will drop property values, that people of color are not as educated as others, and that minorities are criminals and or bring with them criminal activity. Educating ourselves and others can and will help to stop discrimination. No matter how much we do try and stop discrimination you will always have the uneducated people out there that want to hate no matter what. It is sad to me that in today’s society that people still feel the need to have groups dedicated to hating people. The saddest part is they use religion and the bible to preach their hate. I just spent over an hour on the phone with my aunt who was a single mom during a time that being a single mom was not something that was popular among black or whites. She told me that her preacher recently asked her what were some things she would not change about her life and she told him the name of her two children. She raised them as a single mom during time that you did not raise your children without marrying the father yet her two children are the most important and proud moments of her life.

Schaefer, R. T. (2012). Racial and ethnic groups (13th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.

• How is discrimination faced by one identity group (race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, gender, sexual orientation, age, or disability) the same as discrimination faced by another? How are they different?

Many people, especially gay people, try and place themselves in the same place as black people prior to the changes made in the late 1960s, yet being a person who has identified themselves as gay since the 1980s. I have had many people that are of color say, “How dare you? You chose this lifestyle. I was born this way, you made a choice?” Did I?! Did I choose a lifestyle that I would have to fight for whom I am? Did I choose to love someone that is the same sex as myself? As much as many people would like to believe that I made this choice, I did not choose to live such a difficult life. Did I have a supportive family? I did, even though I did not realize it at the time, I absolutely did. I had parents and grandparents that loved me no matter what. I had aunts and uncles that loved me no matter what. How lucky am I that I had such a loving environment to grow up in, as well as support and love me no matter who I am.