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Yichen Sun James Logan High School July 19, 2012

An Introspection of Pre u!ice

"al# through any high school cafeteria, an! this is $hat you%re going to see& 'reshmen, ()*+ guys, preps, J,-, oc#s, Asian ner!s, cool Asians, -arsity oc#s, unfrien!ly hotties, girls $ho eat their feelings, girls $ho !on.t eat anything, !esperate $anna/es, /urnouts, socially acti0e /an! gee#s 1 the greatest people you $ill e0er meet, an! the $orst, At least, this is $hat you%re suppose! to see, accor!ing to 2ean 3irls, After all, e0eryone #no$s high school is practically synonymous $ith stereotyping others4 an!5 stereotyping is /a!, right6 7ut !i! you #no$, e0en thinking high schools ha0e these stereotypes is, in an! of itself, stereotyping, *his sort of la/eling starts $hen $e%re chil!ren 8Stossel9, an!, Har0ar! :ni0ersity.s Implicit Association *est fin!s that e0en a!ults $ho feel they ha0e o0ercome stereotypes in fact still ha0e strong, lingering /iases, An! these types of su/conscious preferences /all up into $hat I li#e to call stereotyping%s e0il relati0e ; the social stigma, *o!ay, I%m going to first e<amine the many pro/lems social stigmas in!uce, then analy=e $hy e<actly it%s so har! for us to let go of our su/conscious pre u!ices, an! finally, ho$ $e can challenge an! a/olish social stigmas in our !aily li0es, *he $or! stigma itself comes from the 3ree#s, $ho use! it to !escri/e mar#ings on a person%s /o!y that in!icate! something a/omina/le a/out that person%s moral character ; an! e0en to!ay, a lot of social stigmas are /ase! on appearance 8Ar/ole!a1'lore=9, 'or e<ample, a stu!y con!ucte! /y the :ni0ersity of +alifornia Santa 7ar/ara%s >epartment of Psychology

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foun! that the parents of o0er$eight $omen are actually less li#ely to pay for their !aughters. college e!ucation than are the parents of a0erage1$eight $omen, 8Puhl9,An! a test on policemen%s shooter /ias, $here a person appears on a screen hol!ing either something safe li#e a cell phone, or something lethal li#e a gun, an! the policemen ha0e to ma#e a split1 secon! u!gment as to $hether or not to shoot, foun! that the participants $ere uni0ersally more li#ely to fire at /lac# men ? $hether the shooter $as young, ol!, male, female or e0en /lac# themsel0es, Joshua +orrell, a psychologist at the :ni0ersity of +hicago, $ho con!ucte! the test, e<plains& @In American culture, /lac# is often associate! $ith !anger an! crime an! physical aggression, An! 5that association that lea!s us to see them as a greater threat an! to pull the trigger,A 8Sch$art=9, :nfortunately, this isn%t ust a theoretical hypothesis, It has tragically playe! out in real life numerous times, the most recent, contro0ersial case /eing that of *ray0on 2artin, the African1American 'lori!a teen $ho $as fatally shot /y a mem/er of the neigh/orhoo! $atch, 3eorge Bimmerman, $ho instigate! an altercation $ith *ray0on /ecause he thought the teen loo#e! Csuspicious,% In fact, $hen the teen%s /o!y $as searche! post1mortem, he $as foun! to ha0e only /een carrying a pac#et of s#ittles an! a can of Ari=ona Ice! *ea, 'urthermore, as Patric# +orrigan an! Amy "atson at the +hicago +onsortium for Stigma (esearch e<plains, people $ith physical !isa/ilities, li#e a serious mental illness, are effecte! !ou/ly /ecause in a!!ition to the e0ery!ay challenges of their situation, they ha0e to !eal $ith the stereotypes an! pre u!ice that result from misconceptions a/out their illness, +hase (ose, $ho atten!e! South$estern Dlementary School at +hesapea#e, -irginia, $as left suici!al an! struggling $ith se0ere post1traumatic stress !isor!er after prolonge! /ullying /y

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stu!ents an! staff, +hase ha! Asperger%s syn!rome, attention !eficit hyperacti0ity !isor!er, an! !ysgraphia, In other $or!s, his !isa/ilities $ere 0ery noticea/le, an! this in0ite! 0icious /ullying from other stu!ents, *he response from school officials, !espite the se0erity of the situation, $as !escri/e! to /e Capathetic% an! e0en Cnegligent,% +hase attempte! to hea! off his /ullies /y returning threats ; an! he $as the one pulle! into the office, interrogate!, an! suspen!e! for ten !ays, After returning to school, the /ullying continue!, an! e0en escalate! in scale, lea!ing to +hase%s parents ultimately !eci!ing to pull +hase out of the pu/lic school system, +lint (ose, +hase%s father, tol! the Fe$s1Heral!& @(ight no$ he%s not capa/le of returning to the pu/lic school system, an! they%re /asically in !enial,A 8"ar!9, An! sa!ly, this isn%t uts one isolate! case ; a stu!y pu/lishe! in the Journal of Psychology, con!ucte! /y the :ni0ersity of Fe/ras#a1Lincoln, foun! that #i!s $ith o/ser0a/le !isa/ilities are far more li#ely to /e /ullie!, an! that across the states, school reactions ha0e often /een slo$ an! ineffecti0e 8@Gi!s $ith )/ser0a/le >isa/ilities 7ullie!A9, Stigma ma#es us categori=e people, an! allo$ us to thin# in terms of Cus% 0erses Cthem,% *his lin#ing of la/els allo$s us to /elie0e there are people $ho are in some $ay fun!amentally !ifferent from us4 $hen this min!set is !e0elope! to its e<tremes, it allo$s us to legitimi=e the !ehumani=ation of 0ast minorities, allo$ing such trage!ies such as the ensla0ement of African1Americans, the !isplacement an! massacre of the American In!ians, the Holocaust, the pre0ious lac# of rights for $omen, an! the current lac# of eHuality for same1se< couples 8Ilan9, Stigma is a $i!esprea! pro/lem across all human cultures, an! !eman!s a solution, 7ut /efore $e loo# at solutions, $e first ha0e to un!erstan! $hat causes stigmas to form in the first place,

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7ruce Lin# an! Jo Phelan from +olum/ia :ni0ersity e<plain& @*he ma ority of human !ifferences are o0erloo#e! an! are therefore socially irrele0ant,A *hings li#e the color of your car or $hat you ate for lunch are typically inconseHuential, *here is a social selection of !ifferences that do matter an! once the !ifferences are i!entifie! an! la/ele!, $e internali=e them an! ta#e them for grante!, You%re /lac# or $hite, gay or straight, han!icappe! or not, *his internali=ation is ma!e clear in the $ay $e a!!ress !ifferent health issues ; people have cancer, /ut are schi=ophrenic, In or!er to !i0i!e up the $orl! into /lac# an! $hite, $e /ecome !epen!ant on su/stantial amounts of misconceptions 8Stossel9, "hen $e try to ma#e people fit into our mental image of $hat they%re suppose! to /e li#e, $e ha0e to chop off all the parts that !on%t fit ; $e ignore things not alrea!y pertinent to the stereotype in or!er to preser0e our pre1assumptions, )nce a stereotype is esta/lishe!, stigma follo$s li#e its sha!o$ ; !etermine! /y the general s$ay an! flo$ of culture, $e gain either a positi0e or negati0e conception of a particular stereotype, An! $hat%s $orse, once a stigma arises, $e pass it !o$n to the generations that follo$ us until certain stigmas /ecome part of our cohesi0e cultural i!entity, So can $e e0en hope to com/at stigma6 As John >o0i!io, a professor of psychology at the :ni0ersity of +onnecticut e<plains, human /eings @categori=e people automatically, unconsciously, imme!iately,A /ecause as a social animal, @you nee! to /e a/le to !istinguish $ho.s a frien! an! $ho.s a foe, You nee! to un!erstan! $ho.s a mem/er of your pac#, $ho.s a mem/er of a !ifferent pac#,A *o re!uce our misconceptions an! therefore the stigmas $e reinforce un#no$ingly, e!ucation is #ey, An! this can /ranch out to a three1pronge! solution, 'irst, $e shoul! rely less on the opinions of e0eryone aroun! us an! !istance oursel0es from the social structure that pro!uces an!

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reinforces stigmas4 this $ill allo$ us to /etter interact $ith the $orl! an! people aroun! us in a $ay free of any /ias 82c2illin9, *hen, $e shoul! /roa!en our hori=ons /y rea!ing more or ta#ing a more acti0e role in learning a/out contro0ersial issues of the !ay4 this $ill open up our eyes to the /iases of each si!e an! allo$ us to /e impartial an! ta#e the correct stance 8(itsher9, 'inally, $e can acti0ely counteract the effects of stigma aroun! us4 engage a little $ith the special nee!s #i!s at your school4 gi0e a smile to someone you see in a $heelchair on the street 8Penn9, If e0eryone can ta#e such steps, then slo$ly /ut surely $e can !e1 stigmati=e society as a $hole, If it is a part of human nature to stereotype an! stigmati=e, then it stan!s to reason that human nature $ill only change if $e ma#e an effort to change it, "e complain a/out society /eing !egra!e!, fa#e, inhuman4 $hat $e fail to reali=e is that $e are, all of us, in!i0i!ual cogs in the machine of society as a $hole, Just li#e +a!y loosing sight of $ho she $as in her attempt to fit in /etter $ith *he Plastics cliHue in 2ean 3irls, as $e attempt to Cfit in% an! comply $ith the unspo#en rules of society, $e /egin to lose oursel0es, Ho$ often !o you hear someone complaining a/out ho$ the $orl! is going !o$nhill, or that society is loosing its integrity6 7ut $hat%s often not un!erstoo! is that $e are society, )nly /y $or#ing to /etter oursel0es can $e /etter society as a $hole4 an! the first step to$ar!s that i!eal is to thro$ a$ay our preconceptions, misconceptions, an! get ri! of our stigmas,

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"or#s +ite! Ar/ole!a1'lore=, Julio, L"hat +auses Stigma6L World Psychiatry 1,1 820029& 2J1 2K, National Center for Biotechnology Information, :,S, Fational Li/rary of 2e!icine, Fational Institutes of Health, "e/, 19 July 2012, +orrigan, Patric# ",, an! Amy +, "atson, L:n!erstan!ing the Impact of Stigma on People $ith 2ental Illness,L World Psychiatry 1,1 820029& 1K120, National Center for Biotechnology Information, :,S, Fational Li/rary of 2e!icine, Fational Institutes of Health, "e/, 19 July 2012, Ilan, 2eyer H, LPre u!ice, Social Stress, an! 2ental Health in Les/ian, 3ay, an! 7ise<ual Populations& +onceptual Issues an! (esearch D0i!ence,L Psychol Bull129,J 8200E9& KMI19M, National Center for Biotechnology Information, :,S, Fational Li/rary of 2e!icine, Fational Institutes of Health, "e/, 19 July 2012, LGi!s $ith )/ser0a/le >isa/ilities 7ullie!,L UPI, :nite! Press International, K July 2012, "e/, 19 July 2012, Lin#, 7ruce 3,, an! Jo +, Phelan, LIntro!uction,L The Lancet EKM,9J09 8200K9& J2N1 29, Stigma and Its Public ealth Im!lications" The Lancet, Dlse0ier, 11 'e/, 200K, "e/, 19 July 2012, 2c2illin, Scott +, L7ri!ging the 3ap /et$een *reatment an! (eco0ery,L Stigma #akes Peo!le $eel Inferior % Treatment and &ecovery Systems, (eco0ery Systems Institute, 1 Jan, 2012, "e/, 19 July 2012, 2c2illin, Scott +, L7ri!ging the 3ap /et$een *reatment an! (eco0ery,L Stigma" 'vercoming the (ffects % Treatment and &ecovery Systems, (eco0ery Systems Institute, 1 Jan, 2012, "e/, 19 July 2012, Penn, >a0i! L,, an! Shannon 2, +outure, LStrategies for (e!ucing Stigma to$ar! Persons $ith 2ental Illness,L World Psychiatry 1,1 8200129& 20121, National Center for Biotechnology Information, :,S, Fational Li/rary of 2e!icine, Fational Institutes of Health, "e/, 19 July 2012, Peralta, Dy!er, an! 2ar# 2emmott, L*ray0on 2artin Shooting& "hat If Shooter "as 7lac#6L NP&, FP(, 20 2ar, 2012, "e/, 19 July 2012,
Puhl, (e/ecca, an! Gelly >, 7ro$nell, L7ias, >iscrimination, an! )/esity,L 'besity &esearch9,1J 820019& MNN1N0J, )octor*s Choice, >ec, 2001, "e/, 19 July 2012,

(itsher, Jennifer, an! Jennifer 7ernstein, LInternali=e! Stigma Dro!es 2orale,L Internali+ed Stigma (rodes #orale, Successful Schi=ophrenia, n,!, "e/, 19 July 2012, Sch$art=, 7el#y Pere=, LPsychology of -iolence& *ray0on 2artin >eath >ue to Shooter 7ias,L (,aminer-com, D<aminer, 2M 2ar, 2012, "e/, 19 July 2012, Stossel, John, an! Gristina Gen!all, L*he Psychology of Stereotypes,L .BC Ne/s, A7+ Fe$s Fet$or#, 1J Sept, 200K, "e/, 19 July 2012,

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"ar!, 2atthe$, L7ullying (esponse Cnegligent%,L Suffol# Fe$s Heral!, 1J June 2012, "e/, 19 July 2012,