Institutional Discrimination, Essay Example

Institutional discrimination is when policies of dominant ethnic/race/gender institutions and behavior of individuals in control of institutions and implement policies intended to have a harmful (differential) effect on these minority group of individuals. Individual discrimination, on the other hand, is different because it refers to the behavior of individual members of ethnic/race/gender group intended to have a differential (harmful) effect on members belonging to a different race/gender/ethnic group. The word dominant in this case refers to the whites in the United States and especially the white males. This is because they are the individuals who are in power and implement on how to run the actions of the government, which favor their personal interests. Minority also refers to the group that lacks power, and in the United States this refers to the people of color, women and non-Christian religious groups (Muslims and Jews). They have very few words to say, and thus, these groups are looked down upon by their male counterparts.

According to arguments presented by Tim Wise, it is evident that institutional racial ethnicity and institutional discrimination continue to persist despite the era, “age of Obama”. For instance, released ex-offenders from prison or jail are more likely to stay unemployed due to the assumptions made on matters concerning honesty or reliability of employees. These biases contribute to the uneven opportunity structure, which forces them to accept employments that pay very low as compared to whites of comparable age, productivity and age. In addition, most of the time blacks and Latinos are the minority group found in contempt of law and are more likely to be stopped and searched for contraband and other items by law enforcement officials. Tim Wise also refers to the disproportionate concentration of the justice system resources in colored communities. The arguments presented notify on how they will waste them due to their War on Drugs. These claims are discriminating among the minority group of the populace, and it is time for the command to act; on these issues to build a united nation that looks into the needs of all their citizens despite gender/race/ethnic group.

From the reading, Tim talks on how the White Americans are in denial of the prevailing problems of institutional discrimination and argue that it is not a significant national problem. For example, in summer of 1963 of the March on Washington, 2/3 of white people believed that the movement (civil rights) was asking for too much. In addition, the dominant group is the norm since all comparisons are made from the minority group. In Tim Wise’s view, the month of February is recognized as the month of Black History, but in essence, all the other months are for the Whites. In this view, Tim points out that the privileges of the white people are so normalized and ingrained. However, most times this dominant group will not accept such rulings with the mindset that the minority is dwelling too much on the past. Nonetheless, these acts of discrimination are affecting the underprivileged members of the society while, on the other end, the dominant group gains an advantage. In other words, the dominant groups are in denial of this view and this has hindered them from accepting the existence of certain events.

In any situation, there lies consequences, and for the White Americans this skewed view has left the society nostalgic. This has led to the increase of gang groups among the black color people with the aid of fighting for their legal rights. As a result, security in the United States has continued to worsen, and this poses as a challenge for the government because they will need to input resources to cater for the security of the other citizens, which is of importance. However, other consequences include attacks from other rebel groups from developing countries with an aim of settling the scores laid against the colored people. In addition, the White Americans are faced with certain issues that pertain to relationships fostering the development of trade and other global issues. Other consequence is the fact that their denial has left many of the black colored people living in the earlier period; and this has left a big wound in their lives. At some point, some of the black color people come to America with the intention of improving their living standards.

In conclusion, from the letter, Tim Wise tries to educate and acts as an eye opener to other people on how racial ethnicity and institutional discrimination, which is still rampant in the United States. The fact that the nation is a world power, its history still haunts them because they are still practicing the things done centuries back. The writer aimed at showing people how strong nations have weaknesses. In addition, he tries to explain and elaborate to people the importance of history and how they need to act in order to sustain their cultures and traditions. This is because they contribute to the development of the future plans, programs and accomplishments.