Describe The Potential Effects Of Discrimination (Essay Sample)

Describe the Potential Effects of Discrimination

Discrimination simply means the harmful or unjust treatment of person simply because they are of a particular race, gender, sex, etc. One can also say that discrimination involves the recognition of the unique features of things or people or events. This article, however, will focus solely on the recognition of people’s unique features. Discrimination can have adverse effects to a person. Recently, there have been protests and peaceful demonstrations especially in the United States over racial discrimination claims. Racial or any kind of discrimination has historically helped to divide the world and to foster agendas of war. It is often said that diversity is a strength and should always be seen as such. However, there are some people who use the world’s diversity to taunt people and for hatred purposes. The potential effects are quite diverse and can impact an individual or entire country. The world has witnessed civil wars (Rwanda genocide is a good example) to some of the simple gestures of throwing peeled bananas to football players. While the impact of the above are different, the intention is always the same: to show the other person or community that you or your community is better. Discrimination, therefore, aims to showcase one thing as better than the other and here are some of its potential effects.

First of all, discrimination can lead to disempowerment and low self-esteem. When a person points out another person’s unique quality and especially in bad light, they can affect the victim’s self-esteem. Self-esteem simply means confidence in oneself or in one’s abilities. Therefore, when a person is discriminative to another, one can greatly impact another person’s confidence in themselves and in turn make them feel less powerful. Self-esteem helps people to grow and develop their various qualities. When this is under attack, some people often respond which then leads to a confrontation while others maintain their silence while feeling like a piece of them has been unfairly ripped off. It is often said that words have the power to give and take life and this makes sense when one’s self-esteem is being unfairly attacked.

Discrimination can also lead to negative or violent behavior. People react differently and instead of maintaining their silence or confronting the discriminative voice, some people start exhibiting violent behavior. The violence could be directed towards the discriminative voice or everyone who tries to approach the victim. Getting violent can be a perfect way to hide one’s pain and also take out one’s frustrations. Such behavior often leads to isolation as the victim tries to avoid other people because they fear themselves or the triggers of such behavior.

Finally, discrimination can also have potential effects on the victim’s health. One of the most apparent effects of discrimination is stress which can negatively impact a person’s health. Stress has been closely associated with mental strain and anxiety. Additionally, stress can also lead to depression which is indeed dangerous and can cause one to take drastic actions such as suicide. There have been numerous cases where victims of discrimination have opted for suicide. However, the bad news is most of their stories are never told because people often dismiss their issues as lame or senseless. The truth is, discrimination can lead to death and people need to be more careful with what and how they say somethings.

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