What information about diversity in the United States has helped you better understand or relate to others in ways that you may not have in the past? I have learned so much from taking this class. I have learned what other cultures and races had to endure to gain the respect from others that ridiculed and disrespected them as humans just because they were different. I have also learned that even though some have worked very hard, they are still not accepted by others.
I have also learned that one has to be accepting and tolerant, to listen with your heart, and you could learn many new things like how others live, cook, raise their children, different religions and their beliefs. Even though the United States is so diverse, people are very different, however we all have a common goal which would be acceptance, to be loved and be happy. I believe that instead of focusing and putting so much energy and time in on what are differences are, more effort should be placed on what we have in common. Taking this Diversity class has given me not only the time but also more of an interest to look more into my Irish and Native American background.
What I found about the Irish is why they are called “donkey” it was because it was cheaper than hiring a donkey for the coal mines. “Green Nigger” as the Irish were held in the same regard as African Americans.Other names used were Patty, Mick, Muckers, Spuds and Coal Crackers. I also found that when the Irish migrated to the United States of America they were treated with disregard and were disrespected.
They were made to be slaves and given jobs at times that nobody else wanted or signs like NINA were placed around town which meant “No Irish need apply”. I can’t even imagine putting myself into their living conditions as nobody should ever have to live that way. I have learned that I can be more open minded, accepting of others, and try to put myself in their place to better understand one’s feelings. One other thing that I learned in this class is that stereotyping can keep ourselves safe or avoid any dangers.
I always thought stereotyping people were inconsiderate and rude. What challenges does the United States face due to the diversity of its people? What are the benefits of such a diverse society? I believe that one of our biggest challenges that the United States faces is the language barrier. Age can be a significant difference, for instance, the patient who is a post-war Baby Boomer raised by parents from the Depression can be a striking contrast to the ’80s-born Generation X health-care provider. Researcher David Harrison found that time lessened the effects of age in group dynamics but not with initial interaction.
12. When the young and the old meet by the patient bed, dental chair, interview table, or reception desk, they must recognize and allow for these differences in all communications.13Negative expectations about gender roles also still exist in our society, but many gender differences should be celebrated. Women physicians statistically spend more time with their patients and communicate “horizontally,” or through their peers, than others on their organizational team, while their male counterparts are “vertical” communicators, meaning they communicate up and down the organization chain of command.
However, male physicians who are aggressive are perceived as take charge leaders, whereas women who exhibit the same qualities are viewed as arrogant and pushy.14Ethnicity is a more unfamiliar concept of diversity that is often confused with race or skin color. Ethnicity is the native language and culture that defines one’s heritage of daily norms, holiday observations, food preferences, language, and social or group affiliations. How we define or categorize ethnicity is difficult to answer or find agreement.
Some people proudly announce their heritage as both from their country of origin as well as the country in which they currently reside, such as the African American or Irish American. Others define themselves only by their country of origin, such as the Cuban, Russian, or Canadian.15 In a study by Courtenay et al., they found that ethnic groups differed in their health beliefs and actions, so culturally appropriate health promotion and prevention is necessary.
16 Subdue aspects of ethnicity can be much more difficult to identify. Eye contact as a facet of some cultures is seen as respectful, while other cultures view eye contact as unassertive or deceitful. Most people are unaware of these subdue cultural differences and may see their own views as better or even universal.17In what ways does the media help foster appreciation for diversity? Provide examples to support your assertion.
One way that the media can help foster appreciation for diversity is unity or anything that shows a group of people coming together to help each other. One such story would be when hurricaneKatrina hit. This story shows what people are capable of doing when everyone from every race, culture and religion work together. I feel that these things are no longer important when lives are on the line.
Tammy and Glenn Martin live in Burrillville, 1,450 miles from New Orleans. Tammy works in a warehouse for CVS. Glenn makes airplane parts in Warwick. They don’t own their home but it’s a warm and safe place and yesterday they offered it up on the Internet as refuge for any one of the tens of thousands of families left homeless by Hurricane Katrina.
“We’ll even go and pick them up,” said Tammy, who is 38. “I’m not rich,” said Glenn, who is 39, “but this is something I can do.” As the human toll and destruction from Katrina reached the incomprehensible, the desire to help from those far away and feeling helpless mounted.Rhode Island state colleges offered emergency admissions to qualified residents whose study plans in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama had been derailed by the storm.
Two Rhode Island National Guard units, about 150 men and women from the 115th and 119th Military Police Companies, which have both served in Iraq, were scheduled to leave for Louisiana this morning to help evacuate victims. Governor Carcieri announced a coordinated public campaign with the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army, the Rhode Island Food Bank and the local media, to help the hurricane victims. The details have yet to be worked out, Carcieri said, but the immediate need is clear: money. The producer of this weekend’s Rhythm ; Roots Festival, an annual cajun music celebration in Charlestown, pledged to raise money for the Red Cross during the show and one of the festival’s sponsors, McLaughlin & Moran, threw in $25,000.
The company was just one of numerous businesses and individuals offering financial assistance. Many of those offers of help were reaching the local Red Cross office. “People are calling and wanting to go volunteer down there . .
. to help in the office . . .
to give us money. . . .
It’s just an amazing outpouring of generosity,” said Red Cross spokeswoman Angie Moncada. The Martins, of Burrillville, were among several Rhode Islanders offering up their homes or RVs on www.nola.com, a Web site about New Orleans.
The Martins were moved to try to help after watching the unprecedented devastation on TV Wednesday night. “There was this one couple I saw with four children and the mother was pregnant and they were out of gas, and they had a flat tire and they hadn’t eaten since the day before,” Tammy said. “I got very emotional, very upset.”It was Glenn who came up with the idea to post their home on the Internet as a temporary haven.
“I’ve always been one of those people who says they don’t have time to help. But my mother died about a year and a half ago and she always said: ‘Help someone out if you can.’ ” Barbara Stillman, a Westerly businesswoman, is offering up three houses she owns, as well as rooms in eight hotels and motels she owns or has recently sold, to house displaced persons and is arranging a fundraiser to pay for their transportation to Rhode Island. How might individuals and the United States work together to reduce prejudice and increase appreciation for diversity? How can we foster a climate of acceptance and cultural pluralism in the United States? When the different cultures migrated to the United States such as the English, Irish, Dutch, Germans, and African Americans, there was not any acceptance.
The United States has come a long way since then, however to continue and improve the path that we are on, and make it a better climate of acceptance, more education would be a place to start. I feel that we should not only educate the adults, but the children as well. They should be taught about all the different cultures and what/how they contribute to society. I believe that many of the traditions and family stories have been forgotten due to the discrimination and racism.
Harvard University has set a great example by starting a program called the “Pluralism Project”.Pluralism is not just tolerance, but the active seeking of understanding across lines of difference. Tolerance is a necessary public virtue, but it does not require Christians and Muslims, Hindus, Jews, and ardent secularists to know anything about one another. Tolerance is too thin a foundation for a world of religious difference and proximity.
It does nothing to remove our ignorance of one another, and leaves in place the stereotype, the half-truth, the fears that underlie old patterns of division and violence. In the world in which we live today, our ignorance of one another will be increasingly costly. Pluralism is not relativism, but the encounter of commitments.The new paradigm of pluralism does not require us to leave our identities and our commitments behind, for pluralism is the encounter of commitments.
It means holding our deepest differences, even our religious differences, not in isolation, but in relationship to one another. Pluralism is based on dialogue. The language of pluralism is that of dialogue and encounter, give and take, criticism and self-criticism. Dialogue means both speaking and listening, and that process reveals both common understandings and real differences.
Dialogue does not mean everyone at the “table” will agree with one another. Pluralism involves the commitment to being at the table — with one’s commitments.
