Culture and Inequality

Running Head: CULTURE AND INEQUALITY
Culture and Inequality
Name of Student
Name of University
Author note

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CULTURE AND INEQUALITY
Introduction
The chosen topic for the paper is Race and Ethnicity, covered in the twelfth chapter of the
course. The essay aims to analyze sociologically, the current events of the world that highlight
the racial tensions between specific groups of people or institutions. For a better understanding
of the topic, the essay selects a conceptual focus to establish a link between the issue with
broader sociological themes. The sociological tools provided in Chapter 12 of the book will be
used to back up the arguments made in the thesis statement. After concretizing the thesis
statements with relevant academic theories and key concepts of sociology, the essay concludes
with the reassertion of the statement, summarizing the reasons why culture has traditionally been
a fundamental base of social inequalities.
Body
Immigrants and their media-triggered associations with crime is a widely covered topic in
the contexts of race, ethnicity and cultural inequality. A recent advertisement initiated by
President Trump and company, directly links crime with illegal immigration (Michele: 153).
This has promoted the illusion among average Americans that people belonging from ethnically
different backgrounds are more prone to committing crimes than the ‘indigenous’ mass. Trump
had recently accused the minority immigrant population of stealing the majority of American
jobs, which has furthered the prejudiced attitudes of the Americans towards the minority
cultures.
Thesis statement- The media portrayal of culturally different groups and their economic
position in the foreign land creates a cognitive bias among the natives as they begin to perceive
the ‘other’ group as inferior, unusually distinct and even dangerous. This cognitive bias is a

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CULTURE AND INEQUALITY
constant threat to the identity of the racial minority and augments the social differences between
different races (Bleich et al: 857).
The differences are rooted in the lack of understanding and empathy towards
economically backwards or culturally different groups. Pertaining to the structural-functional
theory of culture, it is a strategy of meeting the needs of all human beings. If people are
immigrating from their native land it is because their basic requirements were no longer met in
their native land and the decision to migrate is therefore solely borne out of the human instinct to
survive with security and adequacy. Following the media circus on immigrants and the ways
they are consistently taking over the job market, many classrooms are witnessing racial tensions
among culture-specific groups. Students belonging from ethnically different backgrounds display
different character traits and belief patterns, which is reflected in their speech and actions. This
difference is unreasonably made on the basis of inequality; with the American students looking
down upon the ethnically different students for having a different take on things. Culture may be
a social construct but it plays a primary role in shaping the mindsets of people and determining
how they will perceive of themselves and the world around them. The cognitive bias of the
majority mass is developed through observing how differently the ethnically diverse people react
to the happenings of the world, their distinct values and the means they employ to preserve them.
The social and economic status of the immigrant population is of central importance to the
discussion of the topic. The reason why media takes the liberties to portray the culturally diverse
crowd in unfavorable colors in because the media is manipulated by the dominant, majority
class. The social-conflict approach reveals the link between culture and inequality, emphasizing
on the fact that the powerful in the society always benefits at the expense of the underprivileged
minority. The wealthy elite of the society who form the majority bulk of the voting population