Of Young’s five faces of oppression my group's overall umbrella theme this semester is violence. The theme I picked to research fits beneath this umbrella by it being racial violence. I selected this because racial violence appears to be a continuous struggle that has been occurring for a very prolonged time. This particular sort of violence can do extreme physical damage as well as mental abuse. Specifically against targeted minority ethnic groups/races. This issue intrigues me because I am African American, an ethnic group/race that has forever seemed to be the topic of discussion when it comes to racial violence. I desire to look further into this topic as a whole. With my research I am going to attempt to understand various perspectives. How and why societies view racial minorities/majorities. How racial minorities view themselves as well as racial majorities. How racial majorities view themselves as well as racial minorities. The stereotypes that correlated with race such as African American males being gangsters etc... As well as microaggressions such as "You're smart for a black person."I am going to strive to understand racial violence as a whole. By understanding every perspective I intend to find alternatives to prevent racial violence in the future.
The methods I will use for my research or scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals from Galileo.
For my field research idea I plan on creating a questionnaire . With this questionnaire I plan on asking students has the society you were raised in influenced your outlook on race?
Summary: The main focus of the article “Hate-Crimes as Racial Violence: A Critique of the Exceptional.” was to explain the word violence in depth.By doing so you see the broad picture of what violence actually is as a whole.Once you've have an understanding of what “violence” is the article focuses on hate crimes and racial violence . A few main points I got from the article were that “violence, in many, accounts, remains naturalized”.But , why violence occurs is up to individual motives , ideals , and prejudices.What is considered violence depends on the society you reside in. “Violence does not exist outside of the meaning given to any particular action; indeed, as Springer ([67], p. 137) explains, 'violence as a mere fact is meaningless without subjective content, or the ways in which it is experienced, lived, represented, desired, refused or endured by individuals, groups, and societies'.” The society you are in influences your ideals and morals. Which also influences your biases and prejudice.Therefore your actions as well. So if you live in an environment that has a culture of racism you are likely to take action on that belief. The only motiv[ uioe for racial violence is that you were raised in a society in which racism is a culture.This is what really leads to racial violence.An individual being influenced by their environment in a negative way and taking action on it. It's all up to an individual's beliefs and agenda.The overall of this paper is that violence itself is something created , influenced , and determined by society.
Assess: This article was very useful it not only covered my topic but gave me a better understanding of violence as a whole.The author picked apart the word violence in such detail it would be hard not to understand.By doing this it was easier to understand the specific type of violence I am doing research on racial violence.The information was very reliable found in the library database under , “peer reviewed” , and also provides a list of references.This source was somewhat bias. The author feels as if racial violence as a whole does not exist , but is created by society to determine right from wrong based on the actions of individuals.
Reflect: I will be using this source for my project.Not only did the author touch on racial violence but he expanded on the word violence as a whole.This fits into my project because it gave me a better understanding of what violence is and why it occurs.It has changed the way I think of the topic. I now see racial violence as individuals taking actions on their beliefs based on their upbringing or environment.
Summary: The main focus of the article “How Racial Violence Is Provoked and Channeled” was to understand the motives of those who partake in racial violence.Specifically those known as white supremacists.This is not necessarily a motive but rather a belief that the article states “Over the last several decades, the spread of the pseudo-religious doctrine known as “Christian Identity” has furthered legitimized violence in the racist movement by depicting nonwhites as less human than whites and jews as literal descendants of the devil”(257). This in their mind justifies their actions. Later on in the article the author speaks on interviewing white supremacists to figure out why they joined racist groups , their intentions during the time , and why they stayed .There are various reasons but these pertain to the majority. Either they enjoyed the feeling of being apart of a group working towards a common goal.Some because of issues in the past that dealt with other races.But, most joined because of personal issues , their upbringing , or current environment. As the article says “Many of the white supremacists we interviewed did come from families troubled by poverty and abuse , or had personal histories of substance abuse, mental health issues , or episodes of deviance or criminality that thrust them into competition with racial minorities and stimulated racial resentment”(264)The hatred would come from personal conflicts inside the individual person or being a product of their environment.Once they became involved in these groups that were committing crimes and actual racial violence they would do so as well.This may not have been their intentions at first ,but they would come to adapt to their environment as well as their new peers . Causing them to take action on their new found ideologies.And the main reasons many decided to stay even long after the ideals of these racial groups no longer aligned with their morals. The actions of the group became too much for them. They no longer believed in the ideologies of white supremacy. They feared for their safety if they left the group.Or they feared they would be alone in the world with the so called enemy.This would cause many to stay longer than desired.Their beliefs influenced their thoughts would then influence their actions leading to racial violence. The overall goal of this paper is to look at the other side of the story , and learn the motives and lives of those who cause racial violence.
Assess : This article was useful. It covered the topic I am researching which is racial violence. The information also gave me a point of view I have never heard before when it comes to racial violence. The information was reliable. It was found in the libraries database under, “ peer reviewed” , and also provided a full list of references. The source was not biased because the author only stated facts based on the study of the lives of previous white supremacists.
Reflect: I will be using this source for my project .The author discussed my overall topic of racial violence as well as providing an outlook on the lives of those who take part in committing racial violence.This source was useful because it changed my outlook on the overall topic. Understanding the point of view of some who didn't want to live that lifestyle. Racial violence in any way is not acceptable , but this article did make me feel sympathy for those who are forced into this lifestyle. Not everyone who joined these groups had a choice , and some were forced and influenced at a young age.
Summary: The main points of the article “Police and the Limit of Law.” was to explain the history of police and how they act above the law. The article goes in depth to explain the municipal police .How and why they were formed.As well as the actions they commit that violate constitutional laws . The power that they are given to “Uphold” the law . And also mentions that ,when these laws are violated the actions are most commonly taken toward minorities. The article says the reason police were formed was to make the higher and middle class feel safe from lower class people. Most of the time these lower class people tend to be minorities who would then be harassed by police to keep the “peace”.As it says in the article “It is rife with opportunities for “zealous officers” to get carried away by perpetrating crimes themselves , creating risk of injury to civilians and police , and unfairly targeting minority groups.”(37) And once giving this assignment police would commit acts that violate the fourth amendment which would be seizing and searching without probable cause. They do this and aren't questioned out of fear as well as police having the “say so” in the situation. As it states in the article “The point of the Fourth Amendment .. often is not grasped by zealous officers”(21) Taking the law into their own hands giving them authority out of their control. But, the article also speaks on the power that officers do have which in some cases may be too much. “The official who shows up to prepare an accident report , do a welfare check , or resolve a street dispute is legally authorized to kill”(47) This action should only be taken if the officer is in life threatening danger. But , the officers take advantage of this as well, actually taking the lives of those who may be innocent and defenseless. The overall of this article was to discuss the history of municipal police. As well as discussing how they abuse their power.
Assess: This article was useful. It covers the topic I’m researching which is racial violence. Speaking on how officers abuse their power taking advantage of the authority they were given. When this occurs officers mostly target minority races which leads to racial violence because they have the legal right to kill if feeling threatened. The information was very reliable found in the library database under , “peer reviewed” , and also provides a list of references.I would call this source somewhat biased. The author seems to group all officers into the category of “power abusing”.
Reflect: I will use this source for my project. It gave me an example of how racial violence can apply to anyone even those assigned to keep the “peace”. It fits into my overall topic by explaining how officers can be a cause of racial violence by abusing their power. This source was proving that racial violence can take place even in the face of the law. It has not changed how I view the topic , but only confirmed my previous assumptions.
Summary: The purpose of this article was to use statistics as well as public comments to examine how the general public feel about police and police brutality. The statistics were provided by the National Police Misconduct Statistics and Reporting Project or (NPMSRP) for short. Providing information such as the “Reports of misconduct” , Fatalities linked to misconduct” , “Related settlements and judgments , and “Police officer convictions'' .Just looking at the data you can see the disproportion in fatalities and officers who actually serve time. Out of 382 fatalities only 33% were convicted. It’s statistics like these that trigger the general public. Those who participated in this study were able to receive feedback from the general public from a website where civilians openly commented and responded to one another. Most , but not all, were not pleased by the police as well as content on the thought of police brutality. Saying things such as “ “COPS SUCK! I like this website because it exposes the assholes that ‘protect’ us, for who they really are.” ”(486) Another saying “ “Police are some hoes. ''” ” (486) Some even put actual experiences of police brutality. “While he was on the ground the officer tazed him. It was stuck in his skull … then the officer continued to taze him 2 more times … while he was having a seizure.”(490) This woman was describing a scenario that happened to her husband while he was being abused by police. The entire article is filled with comments like these. As well as statistics showing misconduct.A very interesting statistic as the article says stated by the FBI website “Or , if you add the police killings (330 people) to the 13,000 murders , police account for 2.4 percent of the murders ,whereas they account only for 0.2 percent of the population.”(490) This really stood out because such a small percentage of the population can have such an effect on society because of the power they were given. Most of the article consists of this , statistics and negative views about police , and police brutality. Even though there were some who view police as our protectors , and that they have a hard job. Majority in this article view police in a negative light. Towards the end of the article the author speaks on the critical race theory.How to take procedures to prevent police brutality.Also the author says a study should be conducted on officers to see how they view the public as well as themselves.
Assess: This source was useful providing the general opinions of the public as well as statistics concerning police brutality.The information was very reliable found in the library database under , “peer reviewed” , and also provides a list of references. This source is objective only listing data , and a collection of opinions.
Reflect: I will use this source for my project. It provided statistics on police brutality that directly correlate with my topic of racial violence. It fits in with my project by informing me on how the majority of the general public feels along with statistics on a topic that is considered racial violence.This source was helpful by giving me hard evidence to work with. It has not changed how I think about racial violence , but only backed up my views.
English 1102