Racism, cultural phenomenon -South Africa and France
Racism as a cultural phenomenon
In recent times, the aspect of culture has emerged as central in the debate about racism. Due to its mode of transmission, culture has a direct impact on the interactions of the current generation. For example, the Japanese population within the United States only married Japanese people (Goldberg, 52). The situation was so bad that people imported brides from their country just to avoid coupling the local people (Goldberg, 53). This is not a unique case. Though it is not documented, the social structure limits interactions between people from different races. For example, people still prefer to marry form their race. There are suggestions that the phenomenon is an aspect of culture and it is subconscious. Nevertheless, it contributes to creating disparities in the society. For example, France is one of the biggest settlements for Blacks and Jews in Europe (Goldberg, 76).
These people settled there due to historical foreign policies adopted. For example, when France was a colonial power, she adopted the policy of assimilation. This implies that African countries were considered projections of France. This allowed for many people from former colonies to settle in the country. to these day, there are deep connection between France and west African countries such as Senegal. The French law was formulated to create equalities in the society by awarding no special treatment and by refusing to acknowledge ethnicity or race. However, this has worked in reverse because the dominant white race is more powerful, both economically and socially, than the other races. Therefore, lack of recognition works against the minorities (Goldberg, 91).
[...] Racism as a cultural phenomenon-South Africa and France In contemporary times, racism is among the biggest social and legal problems that affect the society. Though it is illegal in all countries around the world, it still has a significant effect on the nature of interactions between people from different cultural backgrounds. The international statute of human rights specifically targeted racism and gender inequality as the biggest issues that have a negative implication on the society. Racism as a cultural phenomenon In recent times, the aspect of culture has emerged as central in the debate about racism. [...]
[...] The universal declaration of human rights has seen equality laws applied min all areas in the world today. However, the problem persists because values are transmitted by the society. Racism is simply ingrained in the mind of people and therefore legal stipulations have limited effects. For example, to the present day, there are remnants of racism in South Africa due to diverging cultures (Fassin 1). In France, the law failed to take a stand against mistreatment of minorities because it does not recognize them. [...]
[...] According to the first article, all human beings are born free (UN News Center). This implies that all people have the right to be treated with equality and freedom from their birth. Racism violates this article because it entails treatment of some people as superior to others. For example, racism in South Africa divided the society into classes and thus created inequalities. This article however has interesting implication of when applied in the French situation. Racism is a function of a law that puts people in the same class (O'Flaherty 35). [...]
[...] Article seven of the human rights charter states that all people should be entitled to equal treatment from the law (UN News Center). This implies that the law should recognize its citizens as equal and therefore accord them the same rights and privileges. Again, this has a bearing on the French constitution because it follows this principle. However, the South Africa case is different. In post times, the law was a direct violation of this principle because it recognized certain citizens as superior to others (O'Flaherty 28). Philosophical context Philosophical context refers to the ideology in a particular country. [...]
[...] For example, after the slave trade and the poor conditions of blacks, whites were appalled by the idea of being considered equal to them. The case of apartheid in South Africa is referenced as one of the lowest points in the history of racial discrimination (Fredrickson 24). The truth is that the case, though it was ugly was merely a representation of changing times. In past times, segregation existed by fact, and it was often worse than the South African case (Trachsler 76-106). [...]
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