WW1 Opression vs Current Day
Major divisions of race and class stem from the beginning of time. These prejudices,however, became more apparent in the United States since the first World War erupted. Pretty much everyone who was not a white male was oppressed in some way, shape, or form. Some of the oppressed classes were Women of all age groups/backgrounds, Homosexuals, Asian-Americans, African-Americans, Latin-Americans, and German-Americans just to name a few.
For example: Japanese Americans became ostracized and bullied when the United States attacked Hiroshima, the event of "Pearl Harbor." During these years, the U.S condemned Japanese Americans in belief that they were the scheming enemy living in "their land." A lot of Japanese citizens suffered backlash, and those believed to be against the U.S government were placed in internment camps. All of this, once again, out of fear and paranoia.
Germans living in America also suffered similar discrimination when the United States declared war in Germany during the commence of WW1. They were pretty much stripped of their identity in order to conceal so-called support of their native country. All they were doing is living their lives as they used to, but Americans saw this as a threat to loyalty and national security.
A more current event that led to pre-conceived judgments of people was after the attacks of WW1. There was nationwide paranoia towards people that appear to be of Middle Eastern descent. There were also additional screenings in airports for people that appeared to be Arab, Muslim, or of some sort of Middle Eastern background. This was particularly hard for those communities that had large amounts of Middle Eastern, such as Dearborn, Michigan. People who never really had a problem with the general population before were looked at differently after these events.
As far as women, there are still many unwritten laws that make women less "important" than men. These are particularly true in leadership positions, politics, the and the medical field. It is unfortunate to see that their is still a large pay gap for salaries for women in contrast to the salaries of men.
Same sex marriage is also a huge debate right now. People are either for it or extremely against it. Some try to defend their argument by declaring this act against the constitution and ungodly. All is see is hate against people who are not " like everybody else." What exactly is normal? The United States is one of the worlds largest melting pots. It is shameful that we still carry these negative feelings towards others simpley because of who they are.













