West Coast University Prejudice and Discrimination Discussion In chapters 2 and 3, we learned about prejudice, racism, and discrimination within society, w

West Coast University Prejudice and Discrimination Discussion In chapters 2 and 3, we learned about prejudice, racism, and discrimination within society, which is often the result of communication problems, and how this leads to conflict.

Describe an example of prejudice and discrimination in society today that is the result of poor communication.
Which communication strategies can be used to improve the situation you described? Be specific.

comment 1

Racism in today’s day and age is certainly still a problem, especially in recent months. The United States is currently more divided than it has been in recent years. This is majorly in part due to communication not being received and voices not being heard by our government. Because police reform has not been successful in lowering citizen fatality rates and no change has happened; radical groups have formed, which has only further divided the country.

Other non-violent groups such as Black Lives Matter have formed in an effort for African Americans to communicate the injustices they experience on a day to day basis. Do to lack of communication effectiveness, BLM have subsequently created more unity while simultaneously creating more division. Many people oppose BLM, stating that all lives matter. This has happened due to bad communication. BLM is not saying that all lives do not matter, they are only trying to spread awareness that the African American community is being treated differently and unfairly. Whereas all lives matter might sound like a good message, it is in reality a protest against BLM.

In current day society, people are very stubborn and stuck in their ways. Therefore, skilled disagreement seems to be the best way for people to repair the damage done between races. Skilled disagreement is when all parties sit down and negotiate to arrive somewhere in the middle ground. With this being said, achieving a middle ground with massive groups like BLM and ALM would be quite difficult, considering everyone has their own opinion. But I think it is important for us to realize that when utilizing the skilled disagreement method of communication, criticizing an idea is not the same as criticizing those who propose the idea. Society will never come together if we do not learn to accept and hear out each others ideas with an open mind.

References:

Koppelman, K. L. (2020). Understanding human differences: Multicultural education for a diverse America. Hoboken, NJ: Pearson Education.

comment 2

Prejudice can be defined as a strong, negative feeling that refers to a group of people (Koppelman, 2020). These feelings “predispose us to behave negatively toward certain people because of a group to which they belong to” (Koppelman, 2020). It’s interesting because some people think that prejudice can be formed because the facts are not examined, but some people with prejudices may examine relevant facts and interpret them in ways that actually confirm their prejudices. It is important to note that discrimination is often the outcome of prejudice.

An example of prejudice and discrimination in today’s society can be the difference in salary between a man and a woman. Gender wage discrimination has been a prevalent issue in our society, and although the gap is getting smaller there is no doubt that it still exists. When we look deeper into gender wage discrimination, we can see continued discrimination among different races as well. The table below shows an example of full time wage inequalities. We can see that on average men will earn more than women, and that white people tend to earn more than other races.

I also read a study that researched job market discrimination. Basically, the researchers sent pairs of college men to apply to entry level positions in Wisconsin. All the resumes were identical, except on each team one of the men claimed to serve an 18 month prison sentence for drug use. The research showed that white men who had a prison record were still more likely to be chosen over an African American who had no criminal history. This research got to Congress and a $300 million program that provides mentoring and other support for those with criminal records was started (Khan Academy, 2017). This just shows how bad discrimination is in our society and that immediate action is needed.

Communication is not easy, and a lot of the times it has nothing to do with what you say but how you say it and your body language. As our book describes it, “learning to communicate is not a natural human ability, but rather a product of the cultural and social context one experiences as a child ” (Koppelman, 2020). A person’s upbringing has genuine effects on there abilities to communicate. To effectively communicate, we must look at the circular model of communication. This model includes:

(1) attitudes toward people or groups (prejudices or stereotypes).

(2) observations and assumptions (selective perception of observations).

(3) conclusions and judgments (can be negative or positive depending on our own values and beliefs).

(4) verbal and nonverbal action (body language such as smiling, frowning, or making eye contact).

By understanding the components of effective communication, we can reduce misunderstandings and improve interpersonal communication with one another. Choosing to have poor body language or only observe the negative parts of a person can be detrimental to communication. In the example of workplace discrimination above, the interviewers needed to improve on their attitudes, observations, and judgments of the potential employees to create equal opportunity for everyone.

I think that in general people need to listen more. We are always so concerned about getting our opinions out and having our own voice heard that we don’t genuinely listen to others. Before the other person is done talking we have a comeback or opposing view ready, when we really should have listened more carefully to what the other person was saying.

References:

Khan Academy. (2017). Examples of prejudice & discrimination in society today (article). Retrieved June 22, 2020, from https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/mcat/individ…

Koppelman, K. L. (2020). Understanding human differences: multicultural education for a diverse America (6th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Pearson Education.