Blog Post #2- Social Inequality

Clog Submission #2 – Social Inequality

Prejudice and Racism are still very much alive in our society, as you may have read in my last post.  How is it being dealt with? What are the Social Theories for ridding ourselves of racism? One of them is Contact Theory.  Contact Theory in short is self-explanatory.  The more often that you meet people of different backgrounds (gender, race, ethnicity, ideology) then the more your prejudice and misunderstandings will be broken down (Healey, 2015:86-87).   I live in Southern California; a person would be hard pressed to not meet people from all different origins.  However, I grew up in a small town in New Mexico.  My city was called Edgewood and at that time the only races in Edgewood were white and Mexican.  The only religion I knew people having were Christian or Catholic. It is interesting to think about the juxtaposition.  I have a vivid memory of the first time I met someone who was black and the events that happened are probably why I remember it so well.

My mother’s friend came over to visit. She had just adopted a young girl my age. My mother’s friend had come over to talk with my mom about the problems they were having. My mom is Mexican and my father is German, that was not common in Edgewood (although at the time I had not realized it yet).  My mother’s friend came to talk to her about what people were saying about their new adopted child (she was black and the adoptive parents were white).  Apparently, the community was gossiping and giving their two cents on it. Well me and their daughter were playing quietly and examining each other’s hands, when out of nowhere my mother yelled at me, “It does not matter what color you are, you’re both the same.” I looked up stunned and said, “We were comparing our lines.”  We were just playing and getting to know each other.  That same women (my mother) has taught me throughout my life that prejudice is just fear of the unknown and that is exactly what she told her friend.  This is also why I think I identify with contact theory so much.

So back to the idea of living in a culturally diverse place. According to the study Cross-Group Friendships and Intergroup Attitudes, the closer connections we make with people of all backgrounds the more positive of an impact it has on eliminating prejudices (Davies, Tropp, Pettigrew, and Wright, 2011).  In the video above, the importance of removing that fear and mistrust of others is so important. When we have an “US” versus “Them” attitude these extreme situations happen. Like the example of James Byrd. The study shows that these heinous crimes are less likely to happen when people have contact and are effectively humanizing each other.

Get to know others is the point. Diversity is a strength not a weakness. When someone is different, it does not mean you are threatened. A person can still be themselves while accepting the differences in others.

Sources Cited

Aron, A., Aron, E. N., Tudor, M., & Nelson, G. (1991). Close relationships as including other in the self. Journal Of Personality And Social Psychology, 60(2), 241-253. 

Aron, A., Norman, C. C., & Aron, E. N. (1998). The self-expansion model and motivation. Representative Research In Social Psychology, 22, 1-13. 

Davies, K., Tropp, L. R., Aron, A., Pettigrew, T. F., & Wright, S. C. (2011). Cross-group friendships and intergroup attitudes: A meta-analytic review. Personality And Social Psychology Review, 15(4), 332-351. 

Healey, Joseph F., and Eileen O'Brien. Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class: The Sociology of Group Conflict and Change. 7TH ed. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage, 2015. Print.