Prejudice and Discrimination
1.) Upload the screenshots of your two (2) selected posts.
2.) Identify the “page” name from which the posts originated.
The first screenshot originate d from the twitter page of President Donald Trump and the second screenshot originated from the Facebook account of Jeff Graves.
3.) What keywords did you use to search and why did you choose them? How easy or difficult was it to find posts using those keywords? Why do you think that happened?
While conducting my search for the social media posts that I have a screenshot I used keywords that would give me the type of results I was looking for. The first post by Donald Trump I used the following keyword racial discrimination. On the second Facebook post by Jeff Graves, I used the keyword homophobic posts and it was among the options that popped up.
Caring out a search using keywords is not that easy as on the internet there are a lot of posts that can be categorized under a single keyword. Searching the internet using keywords is not easy unless one uses a direct keyword that is unique to what one wants to search for. The internet is vast and contains a lot of information and data or posts that can be classified as one although they are different hence someone should be careful when searching using keywords.
4.) Was it easy or difficult to tell what the poster’s beliefs or attitudes were? What cues did you use to determine what those attitudes and beliefs were?
For the online posts that I choose to demonstrate how prejudice and discrimination are becoming rampant on social media based on racism and discrimination based on sexual orientation. I can confidently say that the posters of these two posts had a negative attitude towards the group of people being discriminated against in the posts. Donald trump’s post discriminating against the Chinese people by referring to the covid-19 as the Chinese virus. His articulation and choice of words show that he has a negative attitude towards the Chinese people. On the second Facebook post by Jeff Graves, it is also evident that he has a very negative attitude to words the LGBTQ+ group of people due to his choice of words.
5.) If your posts were of a prejudicial or discriminatory nature, do you think the posters would say the same things in the same way if they were having a face-to-face discussion on this topic? Does it matter? Why or why not?
If my post was as discriminatory or prejudicial as the posts of the screenshot posts I believe the posters could not have opposed my post as I have done to theirs. The reason behind this sentiment is because people who share the same attitude and beliefs support each other instead of opposing each other.
6.) Some posters use their name and/or photo and others use a “handle” or a pseudonym with no photo or a photo of something other than themselves. Do you think this affects the tone or content of their post? Why or why not? Consider recent events.
I believe that the use of pseudonyms in social media platforms changes the tone of posters as they are sure they cannot be identified or get into trouble due to the hidden identity. This is evident in the recent brutal murder of George Floyd some racist people who used pseudonyms on social media posted some offensive things about African Americans.
7.) What do the posters want you as the reader to come away believing about different social groups? How do you know?
The first poster who is calling the recent coronavirus that has affected the whole world the Chinese virus wants the reader to believe that the deadly virus originated or was made in china. The reason behind this sentiment is because the poster could have chosen any other word to describe the virus or call it by its name but he chose to call it the Chinese virus. This shows a direct negative attitude towards the Chinese and he wants the readers to share in his opinion
The next post the poster wants to show the reader that belonging to the LGBTQ group of people is nonsensical. This is evident from his words describing the group as a fake agenda group formed by people with an altered ego. Also, he changes the meaning of the acronym to his preference which shows his disapproval of the LGBTQ.
8.) Thinking beyond social media, describe the person most often depicted in the media (news, film, television) as prejudiced? How are they depicted? Provide one example from the news, movies, or television of a character who exemplifies your description above. Alternatively, describe the kinds of people who are generally depicted as free from prejudice? (OPTIONAL) This is a toughie; provide one example from the news, movies, or television of a character who exemplifies your description above.
Most often in the media, African Americans are prejudiced by the society discriminated against based on racial stereotypes that people hold about black people. In movies, television programs, and news African Americans are usually depicted as being notorious, violent, and unruly and disordered which calls for excessive force when dealing with them. A recent news occurrence is the brutal murder of George Floyd an African American man who was killed by a white police officer. George Floyd was already in handcuffs but the white policeman knelt on his neck which caused his life. The fact that Mr. Floyd was already in cuffs but the cop held him down shows the attitude that people have on black people. The native white people are less prejudiced in society as they are not perceived as being violent, unruly, or notorious.