Sociological Perspectives of Violence
Introduction
The focus of this paper is an overview of different research articles on racism and structural violence against the aboriginal. Violence will be looked at from three schools of thoughts namely the structural, conflict and process theories. The views of these different approaches to violence will be critically analyzed, but no value judgments will be placed on any of their perceptions of violence. Racism According to Headley (2000), racism is “the infliction of unequal consideration, motivated by the desire to dominate, based on race alone (p.223). Headley further explains that this definition accommodates the distinction between “true racism” which is the desire to harm or dominate others solely on the basis of race, and “ordinary racism” which he sees as universal features of human biology (p.224). Headley further maintained that a racist is not merely someone who wishes to put down another’s race, but also suppress and assert his/her own superiority through a violent act (p.224). Naiman (2006) defines racism as hostility, aggression, and antagonism toward non-members of a particular group based on their physical characteristics, notably skin colour (p.265). Similarly, Spencer (1998) sees racism as “the transformation of race prejudice and / or ethnocentrism through the exercise of power against a racial group defined as inferior, by individual and institution” (p.1). To infer from the foregoing definitions, a common attribute of racism is the belief that one’s own race is superior to another. This belief is based on the erroneous assumption that physical attributes of members of a racial group determine their social behaviour as well as their psychological and intellectual characteristics (Spencer, 1998, p.5).
Historical Roots of Racism. The term racism became popularized in the late 1960’s during the civil rights movement (Headley, 2000, p.235). Prior to this
The focus of this paper is an overview of different research articles on racism and structural violence against the aboriginal. Violence will be looked at from three schools of thoughts namely the structural, conflict and process theories. The views of these different approaches to violence will be critically analyzed, but no value judgments will be placed on any of their perceptions of violence. Racism According to Headley (2000), racism is “the infliction of unequal consideration, motivated by the desire to dominate, based on race alone (p.223). Headley further explains that this definition accommodates the distinction between “true racism” which is the desire to harm or dominate others solely on the basis of race, and “ordinary racism” which he sees as universal features of human biology (p.224). Headley further maintained that a racist is not merely someone who wishes to put down another’s race, but also suppress and assert his/her own superiority through a violent act (p.224). Naiman (2006) defines racism as hostility, aggression, and antagonism toward non-members of a particular group based on their physical characteristics, notably skin colour (p.265). Similarly, Spencer (1998) sees racism as “the transformation of race prejudice and / or ethnocentrism through the exercise of power against a racial group defined as inferior, by individual and institution” (p.1). To infer from the foregoing definitions, a common attribute of racism is the belief that one’s own race is superior to another. This belief is based on the erroneous assumption that physical attributes of members of a racial group determine their social behaviour as well as their psychological and intellectual characteristics (Spencer, 1998, p.5).
Historical Roots of Racism. The term racism became popularized in the late 1960’s during the civil rights movement (Headley, 2000, p.235). Prior to this
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