Despite the enforcement of various anti-racism policies, rules, and regulations; racism still poses as a sedate social peril in the modern society. The contemporary civilization is populated by thousands or even millions of racial-ignorant individuals (Cole, 2009). Astonishingly, a significant majority of the world population asserts that racism has been eradicated from all corners of the society and views the menace as a thing of the past, a claim that is schismatic and far from the truth. The society today is as racist as it was centuries ago. Remarkably, racism manifests itself in almost all aspects of daily activities, for instance, racial segregation in employment opportunities, job promotion, loan acquisition, and even in the judicial system``.
The issue of contemporary racism can be traced back to children upbringing. As children grow, they are reliant on their parents to help them develop the required attributes and skills of interacting with other individuals in the society. As a result, parents have a direct influence on the childrens perception of people of different races (Fredrickson & Camarillo, 2015). As these children grow up, they are likely to carry and uphold the beliefs passed to them by parents hence continuing the cycle of racial discrimination. For instance, if children are brought up knowing that Asians are sneaky, or whites are evil, or blacks are criminals, he or she is likely to associate these group of individuals with the vices stated. Arguably, poor or misinformed upbringing can be termed as the root cause of racial segregation in the modern society.
Media has played a pivotal role in disseminating racial stereotypes in the modern society. As individuals interact with the outside world through entertainment platforms broadcasted by various media, there are innumerable ethnic notions that are passed along with the broadcast. For instance, in a significant majority of American action movies, the whites are mostly portrayed as the good guys, learned and law-abiding citizens (Romm, 2010). On the other hand, the Blacks and Mexicans are depicted in criminal gangs engaged in immoral, barbaric actions. Such racial stereotypes have enhanced the general concept of associating the blacks with crime. Remarkably, there have been innumerable incidences of social injustices and unfair hearing by judiciary system, where Latinos and Blacks have been sentenced to longer jail terms than their white counterparts for crimes of equal magnitude (Fredrickson & Camarillo, 2015).
Throughout the world history, governments have been blamed as the primary perpetrators of racism; rulers have been accused of ignoring and disregarding the rights of their citizens. Government-perpetrated racism is manifested through aspects such as racially discriminating customs, etiquettes, denial of access to social facilities, and other racial caste sub-systems that have been developed to deny humans their rights, promote equality, and dignity (Cole, 2009). Remarkably, some governments have rules than ban property ownership in some parts of the country depending on an individuals skin color. Moreover, some States have endorsed and supported extermination, of an entire race of people on the basis that such individuals are not civilized. Such government-sanctioned policies have profound moral, economic, and social effects. When the seeds of hatred, ethnocentrism, and racism are nurtured in the society, it negatively affects every other aspect of social life.
To sum up, it is vital to note that racism thrives on societal ignorance. It blossoms on the stereotypical comments and constructs that individuals develop when interacting with people from different races and religious affiliation. These subconsciously preconceived notions are the disadvantages that a significant percentage of the world population is plagued with (Romm, 2010). As a result, it is essential for the governments and the relevant stakeholders to intensify the anti-racism campaigns and adopt stringent measures to curb and punish racial offences. Moreover, every individual should strive to avoid ethnic discrimination and be advocates of positive social change irrespective of their social, economic, or racial status.
References
Cole, J. (2009). New Racism in Europe. Cambridge, GBR: Cambridge University Press.
Fredrickson, G. M., & Camarillo, A. M. (2015). Racism: A short history. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
Romm, N. (2010). Conceptualizing new racism in relation to old-fashioned racism: Concepts and research approaches. New Racism, 33-102. Doi: 10.1007/978-90-481-8728-7_2
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