PBS program - A Class Divided

PBS Program - A Class Divided

Prejudice, discrimination or racism is merely an idea built in individuals’ minds that if not stopped early; it becomes a habit that is hard to overcome. Discrimination can be portrayed in many ways such as the rich belittling the poor or by ostracizing a work mate because of his/her religious background, nationality or ancestry. The experiment favoring the blue-eyed students made them appear rude and rebellious while in the real situation, it was the circumstances they were put in that made them adopt the attitude.

I think that the study is still useful to be used in current workforces. Despite the extraordinary level of diversification and empowerment, discrimination still exists in many workplaces. Even though there is a reduction in the number of cases of segregation of facilities by physical trait, racial injustices still manifest in today’s workplaces indirectly. If the concept of Jane Elliott's study were to be used in workplaces today, it would open many minds to reflect on the circumstances that individuals go through when discriminated.  Forms of discrimination in workplaces are either direct or indirect and may include prejudice when recruiting or interviewing a person, selectively offering unfair terms of employment, unfair dismissal, demotion or retrenchment and excluding some staff from training opportunities, transfers, promotion and other benefits.

Taking an example of the stereotype that many flawed studies have conducted concerning African-Americans, many have depicted that these people are less smart than the fellow white. For a start, these “evidence” show that blacks are inferior and different from whites. From an early age, this vicious cycle has been created and wired in many people’s mind such that some continue to discriminate while others feel inferior even in workplaces simultaneously.

In conclusion, people‘s mind is frequently faced with the confusion of perception and sensation such that they end up being discriminative and forgetful of real values of humanity.  Stereotyping in workplaces is immoral as no one wishes to be discriminated based on any standard. All individuals are essentially the same. People don’t choose the environment or race they are born in. Places of work should, therefore, advocate for abandoning the attitude of feeling more superior in one way or another and instead, should encourage employees to embrace the diversity of other people.