The words "thug" and "criminal" seem to go hand in hand with the image of a black male.
The word terrorist is associated with a person of Middle Eastern origin or has religious ties with the Nation of Islam.
Terms such as jezebel, mammy, baby momma, and welfare queen, are used to describe a black woman
One of the many issues at the forefront of today’s society is the issue of racism.
Yes we are still dealing with racism, the social construct that creates divisions in nations based off of the color of one’s skin.
These stereotypes are the effects of White Supremacy spread like wild fire. These extremely prejudiced statements are the long-term effects of a theory that psychologists have coined Terror Management Theory.
Why is it that we are still instilling in the psyches and hearts of human kind that there is such a thing as white supremacy?
Diagnosis
Terror Management Theory (TMT) is a theory that states all human behavior is motivated by the fear of our own death. All human action is the way of coping with the inevitability of death. This includes self-esteem and the creation of religions and cultures. Psychologists that study TMT view human culture as a belief system that is formed to explain and give meaning to life and to resist facing the inevitable, death.
"The fear of death drives people to maintain faith in their own culture's beliefs and to follow the culture's paths to an enduring significance that will outlast their own physical death, often to the detriment of others who seem to block their pursuit of these goals." ( Villarica, 2012).
People are concerned with mortality, so their actions about this reflect in human cultures. Forms of counsel and government are created. Rules and laws are put into place so that people can ultimately live a longer fuller life. Those who do not abide by these laws are a threat to the world order and are therefore to be punished. Judges and law enforcement officials uphold these beliefs. Everything from what type of lifestyles we live, to the way we vote is motivated by the subconscious fear of our own death.
In many ancient civilizations, such as the Mayan civilization, blood sacrifices were made in order to appease the gods and maintain universal order. For example, a sacrifice would be made to a rain god to ensure to societal and agricultural growth.
In today’s society, punitive actions are taken against criminals and law breakers to maintain order in society. This is to keep mayhem and destruction from occurring in the community. Prejudice stems from different perspectives on how to live life. There are those who are law-breakers and those who are law abiders. Those who break laws are perceived as a threat to society. They are ultimately the ones believed to face death, or will cause others to face death sooner. People who are constantly reminded of the inevitable death will be more likely to impose harsher laws and rules against these cultural violators.
The White race has created a culture in which their worldview consists of white superiority and white dominance. It is the “right way,” per se and they have taken it too far.
White supremacy is the belief that all white people are superior to any other race, especially the black race, and should be in charge of everything. Over hundreds of thousands of years, the white race has gone over seas and through mountains to ensure in every aspect of life, that they were viewed as the superior being (they have gone so far as to change history, like in George Orwell’s 1984, but in a more subliminal way.)
This way of life seems to be the one that should not be challenged, and that anyone who does not conform to it should be punished. People of color are considered to be the bad fruit that will make the whole batch go bad, or die, according to the beliefs of white supremacists. People of color are perceived to be a threat to mankind all due to white supremacy
Symptoms
Symptoms include but are not limited to:
- The belief that the white race is superior
- The belief that any other race is inferior
- The belief that it is the duty of the white race to maintain order
White supremacy as a result of TMT has caused major detriments in society. The psychological damages that has been done seems to be irreversible, for the semi-permanent stereotypes that have been created seem to linger on in society. For example, a black male is automatically going to be labeled in society as an uneducated, criminal that will not make it past the age of twenty five. A kid that is Asian will not be accepted if he does nothing but the best in his studies. A black woman is not considered a black woman if she is not angry or overly sexual. A faithful Muslim will be treated differently as he boards a plane to go visit family.
What would life be like without these stereotypes?
What would life be like without white supremacy?
Cure
It is obvious of what the cure to this fear of white supremacy should be—stop believing that there is a superior race. Race is only a recent social construct that was created to help maintain order within society. As for Terror Management Theory, people must learn to respect other peoples’ worldviews. They must accept the fact that people see the world differently, and that no one way is the “right” way. We must erase the racial stereotypes that affect individual people in everyday life. We must make human equality a priority.
