Donovan Montgomery

Mrs. Thomas
UWRT 1102
21 April 2015
This second draft is more complete, I have more examples on both sides of the spectrum
(positive and negative). I have explained different theories and reasons for our thinking
and also stated my position on how I feel about stereotyping and racial profiling. I feel
like my paper isnt long enough because its not 8 pages, but I feel like if I add more the
paper will become redundant and I will lose my reader.
Racial Profiling and Stereotyping
stereotype
- A widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of
person or thing.
People deal with it and do it every day, whether it is consciously or unconsciously.
American physicist Leonard Mlodinow stated, They (people) have a basic desire to feel
good about themselves, and we therefore have a tendency to be unconsciously biased in
favor of traits similar to our own, even such seemingly meaningless traits as our names.
Scientists have even identified a discrete area of the brain, called the dorsal striatum, as
the structure that mediates much of this bias (Mlodinow). We make assumptions of
someone based on their gender, age, race, etc. A lot of people think nothing of it, but for
the people if affects it means everything. The Labeling Theory phenomenon is how the
self-identity and behavior of individuals may be determined or influenced by the terms
used to describe or classify them. It is associated with the concepts of self-fulfilling

prophecy and stereotyping. Basically it shows that people are more likely to conform to
the stereotypes people portray of them, which is one of the main reasons I argue that
stereotyping and racial profiling have little to none benefits in todays society.
There doesnt seem to be a clear-cut answer to why we stereotype certain groups
of people or why stereotyping came to be. It has been around for centuries, and it is being
passed along every day. Stereotyping is very prevalent in the workplace; the most
common forms are age, gender and race. Sociology studies show that a man and a woman
could be in the same predicament; both have a family, both are the same age, but it is
more likely that the male is to be hired because it is thought that the male will be the
main source of income for the family. While the woman will be seen as a dependent and
her income will be viewed as a surplus for the family, but the stereotypes in the work
place dont stop there.
A research study conducted by Bruce Avolio, a professor of business management
at the University of Washington, highlights in is research that younger candidates are
more likely to get hired for a position rather than an older candidate:
For example, an interviewer may assume that, on average, older job applicants
have more seniority in their previous jobs relative to younger applicants. Such an
assumption may result in several attributions. Specifically, the cause of an older
worker's unemployment status, if not specified, may be viewed negatively by
raters as attributable to poor prior job performance, technological obsolescence, or
an organization's attempting to get rid of its dead wood. In contrast, attributions
regarding a younger interviewee's unemployment status may be based on factors
such as poor economic or other external conditions that lead to layoffs of the least

senior members of an organization. As in our discussion of differential experience

levels, the employment status of younger and older job applicants could have
some bearing on an interviewer's evaluations, and if left uncontrolled, might
inadvertently discriminate against older job applicants.
To further explain this, it basically means that younger applicants are seen as new to the
workplace and are more likely to conform to company policies, while on the other hand
older applicants have previously worked in other conditions and are less likely to
conform to new ideas and procedures.
One of the more prevalent types of stereotyping in the workplace is racial. Jose
Zamora was actively seeking employment; sending out 50 to 100 resumes a day, but he
weeks went by and he still wasnt receiving any responses. This led Jose to drop the s
in his name, now changing it to Joe Zamora. A week later his inbox was full. Joe
explained that he had not changed anything on the resume except for the letter s. The
New York Times reported Although digital job applications would seem to be the
ultimate exercise in colorblind hiring, numerous studies and applicants have found the
opposite. Employers consciously or subconsciously discriminate against names that
sound black or Latino. One much-cited study found that applicants with white-sounding
names received 50 percent more callbacks than applicants with black-sounding names, a
significant disparity. (Huffington Post). This coincides with a research study conducted
by Melanie Sartore and George Cunningham. Their purpose was to examine the
influence of socially held stereotypes with the presence of discrimination in
intercollegiate athletics by investigating whether sport-related stereotypes influences
promotability of applicants differing by race and qualification levels (Melanie 1)

Basically stating that the determining factor in whether or not a candidate will be hired
for a coaching position is if they are an older white male; which is proven when one
looks at the racial demographics of NCAA coaching profiles, where while males
dominate by a considerably large margin. The main stereotype that justifies why this
happens is African Americans are often perceived to be physically superior and
intellectually inferior (Melanie 4), but if you look at the professional level of sports you
can find that minority coaches have had many successes coaching. For example in 2007,
for the first time ever two minority coaches faced off against each other, in Super Bowl
XLI. This isnt the only time minority coaches have had success on the professional level,
coach Doc Rivers of the Boston Celtics won the NBA Championship in 2008.
As you may know race has been an ongoing issue since the beginning of time.
In the early period of the United States racial and degrading stereotypes were popular in
the media. Media associated white males with power and progress and women, and
minorities with ignorance and poverty. For example The ideal American was white, midwestern, lived in the suburbs with his wife and children. He was the family breadwinner
and went to church on Sunday; his hobbies were golf and fishing. He smoked cigarettes
and drank martinis after work. He socialized with fellows like him and left parenting and
other household duties to his little lady at home(Racial Stereotypes in the Media). But
as time progressed this type of stereotyping in the media has died down due to the fact
that the media has become much more sensitive to the representations of women and
minorities in todays society.
Stereotyping lead to a new phenomenon known as racial profiling, using an
individuals race or ethnicity as a key factor in deciding whether to engage in

enforcement. Racial profiling is seen as a necessary evil to combat against crime, but is
often overgeneralized to the point where stereotypes of certain groups have become those
of entire races/ cultures. Mathias Risse, a philosophy professor at Harvard, argues, The
moral problem posed by profiling arises only if measures that appear morally problematic
when seen from other angles (such as racial equality) contribute to the provision of a
public good as basic as security. Otherwise, racial profiling would be obviously
illegitimate. Which I completely agree with, but then again the individuals who posses
the power of racial profiling often abuse their power. Which brings us to the point of
Security vs. Liberty. Would you rather cops hold the judgment of who is potentially is a
treat or would you rather live on your own?
We have seen countless examples of police abusing their power this year. Their
judgment of who is really a threat and who isnt has not been accurate. According to
thinkprogress.org there were a total of 1,039 police killings in 2014, over half of those we
mentally ill people. They state that black males are 21 times more likely to e killed by
cops than white males. They display accounts of cops killing people of color/ mentally ill
people. Some seem very ridiculous, for example in Brooklyn, NY A police officer
accidentally shot Akai Gurley, who was walking down a dark flight of stairs. The
officer fired his gun while he was performing a vertical patrol, and texted a union rep as
Gurley was dying. Police Chief Bill Bratton confirmed that Gurley was a total
innocent. In Beavercreek, OH John Crawford was shot by police officers in a Wal-Mart,
who were responding to a 911 call about an armed man. The caller, who originally stated
that Crawford was pointing the gun at people, changed his statement later on. In a video
released after the incident, Crawford was walking down a store aisle while holding a BB

gun that he was buying for his children, and then swung it over his shoulder. All the
while, he was talking on a phone and looking at the shelves. Officers descended upon him
and fired two shots. The stories dont stop there. Obviously peoples judgments are more
than likely wrong, which is why we should steer clear of stereotypes.
The evidence is overwhelming: the cost of stereotyping and racial profiling
outweighs the benefits by a landslide. We can no longer support something that is so
detrimental to our society. The fact that people are unable to be hired or are more likely to
get pulled over by the police because of their ethnicity is utter ignorance. Stereotyping
and racial profiling puts a barrier in between humans causing more problems within
society which is ridiculous considering the fact that there are so many things wrong with
the world today, why add another one when it can be easily solved? We should all come
together as one and tear this barrier of stereotyping and racial profiling down to make the
world a better place.

Works Cited

Avolio, Bruce, and Gerald Barrett. "Effects of Age Stereotyping in a Simulated

Interview." Psychology and Aging 2 Mar. 1987. American Psychological
Association. Web. 16 Mar. 2015.
Crossman, Ashley. "Labeling Theory." About Education. About.com, 1 Jan. 2009. Web.
23 Mar. 2015
Matthews, Cate. "He Dropped One Letter In His Name While Applying For Jobs, And
The Responses Rolled In." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d.
Web. 16 Mar. 2015.
Mlodinow, Leonard. Subliminal: How Your Unconscious Mind Rules Your Behavior. 1st
ed. New York: Pantheon, 2012. 11-218. Print.
Racial Stereotypes in the Media. Perf. Films Media Group. Sexual and Racial Stereotypes
in the Media.; Films on Demand., 2008. Film.
Risse, Mathias, and Richard Zeckhauser. "Racial Profiling." 32.2 (2004): 131-70.
Blackwell Publishing. Web. 24 Mar. 2015.
Sartore, Melanie, and George Cunningham. "Stereotypes, Race, and Coaching." Journal
of African American Studies 1 Jan. 2006. Springer. Web. 16 Mar. 2015.