Vincent Parrillo Strangers to These Shores Chapter Four Dominant-Minority Relations

Minority-Group Responses Dominant and Minority Groups respond in a variety of way depending on: Prevailing cultural patterns Racial differences Ethnic differences Sociohistorical (time) period

Minority-Group Responses Depends on: Minority’s perception of its power resources Determines the responses they make Responses include Avoidance, … Deviance, … Defiance, … Acceptance, … Negative self-image

Avoidance A way of dealing with discrimination, …a way to leave one’s problems behind Cluster into small sub-communities, … a miniature version of a familiar world A safe place to live with others like them Accused of being clannish Accused of not wanting to assimilate into American culture

Avoidance Cont. Asian groups followed this example Clustered together in “China Towns” Limited residential choices Limited occupational choices Not competitive with white Americans Other minorities who practiced avoidance Blacks (African Americans), … Irish, … Chinese, … Japanese, .. Mexican Americans, … consider Los Angeles, …

Deviance A discriminated group may find it difficult to identify with the core’s norms, values and culture. Shaw and McKay’s Social Disorganization Theory Immigration & settlement in Chicago Study of the city’s immigrants by generation As immigrants assimilate they deviate less

Deviance Cont. American criminal justice system has been subjective in handling violations by immigrants Disparities in fair and equal treatment of the poor compared to the upper classes Police likely to assume the poor and minorities are guilty Under-representation on juries, ..minorities Disparities in affording legal services and sentencing

Defiance A minority group may openly challenge to eliminate discriminatory practices if: They are sufficiently cohesive Aware of its economic or political power Gain in structural assimilation Re. Milton Gordon’s, Seven Stages of Assimilation Defiance, by minority, may be violent or not Riots of 1863, 1963, and 1992

Acceptance Minority’s may accept their situation, … accommodation May be resentful, but accept their social position Native Americans Blacks (African Americans) Mexicans (Chicanos) Japanese, … Relocation camps Jews

Consequences of Minority Group Status Negative Self-image A common consequence of prejudice and discrimination Difficult to remain optimistic and determined in the face of constant negative experiences, … interactions A function of social structure, … time, and: Race, … Religion, … Ethnicity, … Gender, … Cooley’s “Looking Glass Self”

The Vicious Circle (Cycle) Gunnar Myrdal, … Cumulative Causation Prejudice and discrimination perpetuate each other The “Cycle:” A discriminatory action in job acquisition, … advancement, … Discrimination Leads to a minority’s reaction, ..condition, poverty Reinforces prejudice of minority inferiority

Vicious Circle Cont. Leads to justification of prejudice and more discrimination Completes the circle and leads to continued poverty and further discrimination If minorities are made welcome, they in turn will react in a positive manner If made unwelcome they will react in a negative manner

Minority Group Marginality Robert E. Park: “Marginal Minorities” A minority attempting to enter the mainstream culture Not gaining full acceptance by the core No longer a full member of ethnic culture Causes the individual an great deal of strain Confined to live between to cultures and not a true member of either

Marginality Cont. Children of immigrants find themselves caught between two worlds A second and third generation phenomenon Marginality is an example of cultural conflict caused by a clash of cultural (ethnic) values

Middleman Minorities Hubert Blalock: “Middleman Minorities” The dominant core places middleman minorities in an intermediate position between the lower and higher classes They forge a mediating commerce link between minorities and dominant core group Serve as a buffer groups between the two Experience hostility from both the lower and upper classes Example: Koreans in Los Angeles

Dominant Group Responses Legislative Controls Laws to regulate and restrict immigration in favor of NW Europeans Restrictions on educational opportunities Restrictions of voting rights, to maintain political control (Blacks mainly) Other countries: South Africa (Apartheid), Australia (Restricted Asian Immigration)

Segregation Spatial segregation: Physical separation of a minority from the rest of society, … a policy of containment Areas of separation: Residential, … education, … public facilities, . Occupations May be “institutionalized” May be overt of covert, de jure or defacto

Segregation Cont. Social segregation: Involves confining participation in social, service, political, and other types of activities Dominant group excludes the outgroup from meaningful primary-group interaction May be voluntary or involuntary, … mostly involuntary Frequent interaction may lessen prejudice, but interaction is often severely controlled

Expulsion To eject a minority group from a territory or country England, … Gypsies in the 16th century Spain, … The Moors in early 17th century British, … Acadians from Nova Scotia in the mid 18th century Americans, … Cherokee from Georgia in 1838, “The Trail of Tears”

Xenophobia Def. The undue fear of, or contempt of strangers or foreigners Often reflected in print, speeches, sermons, legislation, and violent actions Examples in the United States The Wild Irishman The French radicals Immigrants in general (except NW Europe) Related to Ethnocentrism

Ethnocentrism One’s group is seen as the center of everything, others are defined negatively Encourages the creation of negative stereotypes, …in turn invites prejudice Results in discrimination Escalates to ongoing institutional discrimination Becomes a normal social behavior, … a part of the normative culture

Annihilation The killing of all men, women, and children of a particular group Goes back to ancient times Examples in more recent times The British, … the Tasmanians The Portuguese in Brazil, … infected natives with smallpox Germans, … The Jewish holocaust Others: … ?

Hate Groups and Hate Crimes In the past, U.S., … the Know-Nothings Mid-19th century and beyond, …Ku Klux Klan The rise of hate groups usually occurs in times of economic stress Florida contains the largest number of hate group (48), … California (35) Hate crimes: Criminal offense against a person, .. “bias against,”…race, …religion, … sexual orientation, … ethnic group

Exploitation Usually members of a dominant group exploit a subordinate (minority) group Power-differential Theory: S. Lieberson Intergroup relations depend on the relative power of the migrant and indigenous group Each group strives to maintain its own culture and institutions The “Dominant” group will control the interaction and the subordinate group

Internal Colonialism Theory Robert Blauner: Integrated elements of caste, racism, ethnicity, culture, and economic exploitation into a single theory Theorized that the treatment of Native Americans, Blacks, and Mexicans resembled a colonial like relationship much like the European colonies of non-Western peoples Not as a colony, but “internal colonialism”

Internal Colonialism Cont. These groups were ghettoized into colonial like communities Reservations, … Ghettos, … Barrios Their culture is transformed Their colony is controlled by external forces Politically, … economically, … socially They are relegated to subordinate status Interactions reinforce exploitation

Split-Labor Market Theory Edna Bonacich: Ethnic antagonism results from a combination of economic exploitation and economic competition A wage differential for competing groups Ethnic antagonism is based not on ethnicity or race but on the conflict between higher-paid and lower-paid labor See Figure 4.3 for a summary

Limitation to These Theories Power Differential Theory Only offers one variable to explain conflicts between dominant and subordinate groups Internal-Colonialism Theory Applies to only three groups at best It doesn't explain relations with other groups Split-Labor Market Theory Doesn’t address other sources of conflict, discrimination, and prejudice, … only wages

Key terms Annihilation Avoidance Cumulative causation Defiance Exploitation Expulsion Internal-Colonialism Marginality Middleman Minorities Negative Self-image Paternalism Power-differential Social segregation Spatial segregation Split-labor-market Vicious circle Xenophobia