How does racism affect someone’s life?
For this sub question I am going to use the Internet, as it is simple, clear and concise. This sub question talks about “Narinder Kaur” of the Big Brother House Channel 4. This is information that has been taken from the Channel 4 website, it is secondary evidence but as it is the views of the person it can also be classed as primary evidence. Also I am going to interview a member of my family as they have gone through racial harassment.
Racism can harm someone’s life in many different ways. This can be done mentally which is psychologically and physically. From my case study I know that the racist starts off at stereotyping and then talking out and leading up to physical attacks. The victim of the racism can be affected very badly; there health is the key point of all the talk. Even if the racism is only psychological it can affect ones mental health. The victim can then suffer from depression that could lead to medication being taken. Staying with the health issue, attacks upon the victim are also very much unjustified. Physical attacks most probably will leave the victim of the racism is hospital or in need of immediate medical attention.
Once racism is inflicted upon someone their way of life is changed drastically, they just can’t lead a normal life. Memories or even flash backs can stay with the victim. For example my research on “Narinder Kaur, ex member of the Big Brother house” (The research on Narinder Kaur is very good as it is her own views, primary evidence. --See article enclosed--)
A recent interview with a member of my family gave me primary evidence as that person had gone through the issues of racism. His/hers life was damaged during that period of time. If a young person was experiencing racism of any kind, they may become lonely and sad. They may also try and avoid situations where racist behaviour could occur. Playing truant in school is also another effect of racism. (See information about ‘playing truant’ -off Childline website)
How does a racist target its victim?
-Why?
For this sub question I have decided to use the Internet. As I feel that this method of information retrieving is fast and easy. The Internet is also a form of secondary information; it is also up to date which helps me with the research. On the British National Party’s website, I found out that a group opposed to immigrants was a good bit of research because it showed the other side of the racism issue.
As we know racism is caused on the grounds of racial stereotypes. From the multimedia video “Unreported Britain” on the British National Party’s website, it showed Asian youths talking about how they would target a ‘white boy’ walking down the streets. These racists spoke very graphically and had their faces covered up. They all hung about with each other. These racists, I quote said “we get a buzz in smashin his head” The racist in the video wore the same type of clothing as burglars. The racist preys on its victim much like a predator. The racist finds that the weaker ones are more of a target, as they will do little to fight back. The racists target their victims because they say that have a reason, in most cases racists base their beliefs on prejudices and stereotypes. They don’t want to take in the other side of the point. For example the right wing Neo-Nazi group BNP. (The videos off the BNP website are primary evidence. They showed what happened. They also could be biased because of the BNP’s views) An example of what the BNP say is, “The native British people will be a minority in this country by about 2060, thanks to hundreds of thousands of immigrants and asylum seekers pouring into Britain every year on ships, cars, planes and lorries” Coloured people are a part of our lives and there are immigrants where ever you go, but the truth is that the Britain should be a multicultural society according to Labour and the Lib Dems. The truth to the matter is that British people won’t be the minority according to the Census done in 1991.
What are racists trying to achieve?
For this sub question I have used the Internet. The Internet very easy and there is wide array of information. The BNP’s webpage shows the views of people that want a British Britain. The BNP gives a more radical way of running the country.
People in Britain frequently get angry about the amount of immigrants that flee to our country. Whites who are in opposition to the immigrants usually argue that they have occupied the jobs from them. When the 1991 census was carried out 94% of the population was white, the immigrants couldn't possibly be talking all the good jobs. (This information is out of date, its not primary evidence. And within a decade the population has gone up and so have the ethnic minorities)
The BNP, this is a far right group. Their beliefs are near racist. Some people might even call them 100% racist. Their views are very extreme. The BNP’s views on asylum seekers is that there is longer hospital waiting lists, homelessness and taxes which are being put down the drain because it is being wasted in the welfare system on the asylum seekers. Their views may not sound bad but the BNP has other radical ideas. And if in power in the United Kingdom, most immigrants would have to leave. The BNP states that the asylum seekers come to Britain to take advantage of the welfare system. Also because of the huge influx of immigrants/ asylum seekers hospital waiting lists have gone up.
Since September 11th the BNP has focused on Islam saying that they are very extreme and a danger to the British people. Many people that follow the BNP don’t get the adequate information to make the correct judgement; so then hate crimes/attacks are carried out. From my research from the BNP’s website, since September 11th, their anti Islam had increased! (See anti Islam Leaflet) There were leaflets on their website. One leaflet was like a propaganda it portrayed Islam as bad and not wanted.
(Case Study on Damilola Taylor) During the Damilola Taylor inquiry it was alleged that the attackers were after his £20 jacket, and it wasn’t a race related crime. The motive for killing this poor innocent life was purely based on what colour skin he had. By murdering this person the racists achieved nothing but self-pleasure. The Damilola Taylor issue was all over the TV. As the information on the Internet was premature about this topic, no real answer can be given as of yet. But according to the BBC the boys were charged with murder. Some of the information could have been exaggerated. Also the media can be biased at times.
What is being done to stop Racism?
For this sub question I have decided to write letters, as it will give me a better idea of what is to be done to stop racism. I had written to the government (CRE) Commission of Racial Equality but have not had any replies. I thought that the letter would give me data from the source direct. Writing letters will give me primary up to date evidence. Letters can be biased if only sent to one group so to eliminate that problem I also wrote to the BNP. This now would give me both sides of the issue. But also I have not received a reply from the BNP.
Charities play a huge role in helping the victims or racial attacks and racism in general too. A charity called ‘Childline’ helps young children with problems from bullying to the issued of exams. They also talk about racism; Childline is a very good charity as it listens to the younger society or Britain today. They help to comfort the children and find peaceful solutions to their problems. Racism cannot be stopped it will always be there where and when you least expect it to be. On the other hand the victims of racism can be helped, this is through charities like Childline ect…
Childline is the UK’s, 24 hours free helpline for children in trouble or in danger. Childline trained volunteer counsellors comfort, advise and protect the children. Many children call the Childline about a wide range of problems but in my case also ‘racism’
In every county there is a police force or some sort. The police can play a huge role in stopping racism. To gather evidence on what the police do to stop racism I wrote a letter. I felt this would be very effective as it was a source of primary evidence. But I have not had any reply as of yet. The police can help the victim as they can go to court and get a restriction or injunction order set upon the racist. If the racist broke the injunction order he or she would face time in prison.
Local borough councils can also help the victims as they have the power to evict the racist neighbour if he or she has a council property. The council give the racist individual warnings before they order the eviction of the property. An example is of a video that I watched of Leicester where the council put in special phones for the victims of racial harassment so if they felt pressured or in trouble they could dial a special number and talk to someone.
Are there still problems with racism?
For this sub question I have chosen to use the Internet to research. The Internet is fast and reliable source of information. But sometimes can be biased. I also decided to use a survey because it was a good way to obtain primary evidence.
The home secretary, Jack Straw on 31st July 1997 set up an inquiry into the murder investigation of ‘Stephen Lawrence’. Jack Straw presented the inquiry report in parliament on 24th February 1999. Much of the report concerned the mishandling of the case by the Metropolitan Police Service. The inquiry also looked at how the local authorities and the civil service dealt with racial incidents. The inquiry made many recommendations to evaluate the evidence and the arguments they heard. These recommendations were policing and racial equality which mans equality within the police force and equality when dealing with cases of crime.
The next issue was to do with the police complaints procedure; the report recommended that the police and local authorities adopt a new definition of a racial incident.
“A racist incident is any incident which perceived to be racist by the victim or any other person”
Also the Stop and Search law was an issue as it was mostly ethnic minorities that got stopped and searched.
Yes there are still problems with racism, a person had to die before the government set an inquiry. But the government has improved the law. According to my research on the law, Yes the race relations act says you cannot be discriminated against because of your race, colour, nationality or citizenship or your ethnic background ect… Finally the law protects you against racial discrimination. There are still many problems concerned with racism, but the government is reaching its targets/goals. These targets could include creating ethnic diversity, tackling racial discrimination and enforcing the law. This law according to the race relation’s act should have been passed in 1976.
Coloured people are a part of our lives; although they are the minority, they deserve to be treated just like everyone else. Younger people don’t see racism as a problem and they can look beyond somebody’s skin. But unfortunately the young children have to grow up around people who have these racist views about Black and Asian people. If racism continues to thrive then the younger generations will take the information for granted and straight away will judge a Black or Asian person upon what skin colour they have. In my opinion racism is very wrong and immoral and shouldn’t be accepted! (See survey) From the survey that I carry out which was out of 30 people I have found out that out of the individuals surveyed they were white, lived in Northfields, and spoke English as there first language and they also supported the BNP. As you got to an ethnic minority area like Highfields the language and support for which political party changes too. This shows me that people who live in a non-white area will more want to vote for labour than the BNP. (See graphs and results)
Conclusion
Racism occurs everywhere and is a problem throughout the country. And can be stopped if people have the correct views.
I thought that the first sub question was appropriate because it talked about in general what racism really was. It also talked in general how, where racism occurred, there was also an example of racism. I thought that this sub question was effective because it told the reader what the source of the issue was. It also assured the reader that racism could occur not just skin colour but nationality too. From this sub question I can conclude that it help the reader to understand more deeper in the general issue of racism.
The next sub question I thought was very short as there wasn’t much in the way of written information. This sub question wasn’t very effective but made you feel sorry for the victims.
I thought that the next sub question was appropriate because talked about the person can be affected during the time of racism and how they can become traumatized. This sub question is very useful because I feel that it is talking about someone else’s experiences, as this is a good way of getting primary evidence.
The next sub question, which was about what the racists were trying to achieve, I found that this question brought out the issue in the most detail, as the British National Party was involved within that question. I can say that the BNP was the focal point of all the racist radical views.
The next sub question, which was about what was being done to stop racism, I found that the this question was important as it told the reader about where the issue was when it concerned help for example the commission of racial equality and the charity Childline. To conclude that this question I can say that it informs you about what is being done to stop racism. There are many schemes and methods involved which are stated in paragraph.
Finally moving on to the last sub question I think that this sub question isn’t that good as you cannot tell whether there are still problems the only thing that can tell if the methods have worked and if there are still problems with racism is time. Only time can tell.
Evaluation
For the first sub question I can say that the sources of information used were adequate enough because it was a general type of question. I think that some of the research was biased and that the information was a bit false. But as it was common information there was going to be some false information given. The information source was the Internet, and as we know the Internet can sometimes give wrong false information. The methods that I used were good, and I scan say that if I had more time I would have got a wide range of research methods for example more surveys, books, newspapers, more interviews ect…
For the next sub question I can say that the sources of information which where used were the Internet, and also did an interview. The interview was the best way to get information that would be primary. I feel that getting the information from a person that had experienced first hand in racism would help me, and would give me the most accurate information. This information could have been biased as it came from a victim of racial harassment, and just maybe that person might have hate for the racists.
For the next sub question I can say that the sources of information which where used were the Internet, I have repeated used the Internet, as it was the fastest way to retrieve information which wasn’t that biased and wasn’t that much one sided. I think that these sub questions sources of information were very good; they were from the BNP’s website. This information leaflets to be exact was a form of secondary evidence; I felt that the BNP had a strong case with there radical views. And at times I felt that the way that they were targeting the people was also radical. These sources of information were very biased they posed a good argument due to their radical ideas.
For the forth sub question I can say that the methods that were used was the Internet, the internet was the largest information source that I could use and due to the time shortage I could have other wise used other research methods. This sub question is about the longest and I feel that it is the most important in spreading the word that racism is wrong. According to the evidence Britain is 94% white, but the source which was used for this was a decade old. And I believe that it is in fact out of date and cannot be in use. This out date information can cause false believes upon the issue. Also I felt that adding the September 11th subject would make a good argument. This means that the religion of ISLAM is included. Islam is only included because the media portrayed indirectly it as a terrorist network. Therefore the BNP would have there anti Islam views. This is why it would be very effective to include both subjects within this sub question, as it would both have include some form of racism.
For the fifth sub question I used the Internet, and also wrote letters to the various groups and individuals. The letters that I wrote were of a standard form. The letters that I sent off were primary ways of obtaining the evidence. I thought that writing to just say the BNP would make the whole issue biased. So then I wrote to the other side of the argument, which was the (CRE) Commission of Racial Equality. But all the letters that I had sent off I didn’t get any replies. I also used a video as a way of obtaining the evidence and found that it was very useful. They video was from the city council, it showed how they would combat the racism and how they would care for the victims. I found that this video was very interesting and that it showed what was being done to stop racism.
For the last sub question I can say that the research method that was used was the Internet, the Internet was the fastest way of getting the information. This last sub question states about the Stephan Lawrence and how the police force didn’t handle case properly, I feel that this question is very good as it gets to the point!
From the Internet site of the CRE I have found out that there duty is to provide race equality. I think that there website shows enough unbiased information. There are also from the government this shows that they are high up.
From the web site of Childline I could see that they were a charity and that they were helping young children with various problems, but they also helped to comfort against racism. They usually don’t have opposing views against any organisation they just talk/council the young vulnerable child.
From the website of the BNP I thought there views and information was very biased, this is because they were just against immigrants and against non whites.
Finally I believe that my hypothesis “Racism is Wrong” is very rite this is because the arguments that were given in the research and the sub questions. I think that my research would have been impaired because I have suffered at the hands of racist for a period of 4 years. This is why I feel that my research could be biased all due to myself.
