Stereotyping refers to when people have a collective perception towards some people in a group. In intergroup relations stereotyping causes people to be misguided about each other.
This is because the individuals in one group judge the other group members according to the encounters they have had with people who are from the same background. Schwartz (2007) points out that this collective opinion about others is wrong because a nasty experience involving one member of a given group cannot gauge the entire group simply because few individuals cannot represent a community or a race.
While analyzing groups its important to consider individual character because stereotyping can lead to misunderstanding and miscommunication. This implies that intergroup relations should take place at a personal level and the weaknesses of one individual should not be used to gauge the entire group.
Levels of Discrimination
Discrimination is the denial of equal opportunity to someone, just because he/she does not share common characteristics or views with you. For instance an employer can deny equal employment opportunity to women hence the bias is based on their gender. Gender discrimination is the highest level of discrimination across the globe because most communities do not reckon that women are equally competent like their male counterparts.
Racial discrimination is the other level of discrimination because people of specific races mainly inhabit the geographical regions and thus, people from other races are biased because they are thought to be inferior because of their looks. For instance Africans may be denied equal employment opportunities not because they are not qualified but because of their race.
The third level of discrimination revolves around religion. This is whereby some people think that their religion is more sacred than others are and thus, assume that other religions are false. This causes people who belong to that religion to be isolated and denied equal opportunities; for instance, Muslims can be denied the freedom of assembly in a Christian nation because they are thought to be terrorists.
Meaning of Robert E. Park’s statement
The statement of Robert concerning the fate of a marginalized person suggests that the victim struggles to be what the society expects him to be while retaining his identity. This happens when one interacts with people from different cultural background because he/she has to adapt to the culture of the host. This causes a lot of confusion because in as much as he/she wants to adopt the new culture he/she remains attached to his/her cultural background.
When one adopts new culture, it is because he/she wants to be accepted by the majority with a different cultural background. From another perspective, the statement suggests that the fate of the marginalized person rests on the decisions made by the majority. This is because the majority groups tend to ignore marginalized groups and thus, they are denied equal opportunities.
Edna Bonacich’s Split-Labor-Market Theory
The Split-Labor-Market Theory states that the scramble for employment opportunities lies along ethnic and racial lines. This is because there are people from two diverse groups that are competing for the same job opportunities. Moreno (2006) argues that one community does not need hefty salaries and this causes the other community to be eliminated from the job market because they demand for more incentives.
The eliminated group is bitter towards the group that requires less salary because if it were not for them they would have captured the opportunities. In the end, the employer benefits the most and he/she is free from any blame because all he wants is subsidized labor costs. The community that demands for more pay argues that they are more qualified than their counterparts are, and thus low salaries imply that the skills they posses are not important.
References
Moreno, D. P. (2006). Black Americans and Organized Labor, A New History New York: Louisiana State University Press.
Schwartz, A. (2007, December 20). Stereotyping and its Damaging Effects. MentalHelp.net. Web.