READ RTD #32: Is Racial Discrimination Arbitrary?
1-Describe the three cases of seemingly relevant/non-arbitrary discrimination that Singer considers.
2-Summarize the similarities and differences between two of the cases that Singer discusses.
3-According to Singer, what principle can motivate prohibiting racial discrimination even in cases where the discrimination is relevant/non-arbitrary?
Include full name and word count at the end of the blog text.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Q1-Describe the three cases of seemingly relevant/non-arbitrary discrimination that Singer considers.
ReplyDeleteCase 1: It begins with a director who is making a film about the lives of blacks living in New York’s Harlem. The director advertises for black actors, and a white actor turns up for the part. The director refused the white man, due to the movie being about blacks, so there was no role for a white man. The white man claimed that with wig and make-up he can imitate a black man. From gestures, mannerisms and speech. Once again, the director refused the white man. The director’s film had to be authentic to capture his vision. The director’s discrimination is of his own purpose. Being a legitimate reason, standard objection of racial discrimination cannot be made.
Case 2: It begins with the owner of a cake shop which had a large white and racially prejudice clientele. The owner wants to hire assistant and has no personal prejudice against blacks, but won’t hire one in fear of loosing his clientele. The employee’s race does count for the position, and is relevant to the owner’s purpose. Which to the owner, is to maintain profitability to his business. The owner’s discrimination does not indicate a bias or prejudice. Being a legitimate reason, the sale of cakes is not generally regarded as wrong. Especially, when the amount of profit from cake sales is modest.
Case 3: It begins with a landlord who discriminates against blacks in renting the accommodations he owns. Even though the landlord is not so ridged on renting to blacks, if both a black and white man appear to be equally suitable as tenants, with equally good references, the landlord would prefer the white man. Over the years, the landlord has experienced more black customers default on their rent and leave. The landlords prejudice is responsible towards his tenants, but there is no factual basis for his claims. The landlord’s impressions of a higher rate of default among black tenants could be entirely accurate. The explicable terms can be found in the different culture and economic circumstances in which blacks were brought up.
Q2-Summarize the similarities and differences between two of the cases that Singer discusses.
The similarity between case 1 and case 2 are that both the film director and the landlord, have their own legitimate reason for their discrimination. The film director is not prejudice to white men, just prefers a black actor to authenticate his film. While the landlord after having experience through out the years, prefers white tenants. He is not prejudice toward blacks, the landlord just prefers white tenants. Race is both irrelevant in these cases. It is a matter of preference for each profitable establishment.
Q3-According to Singer, what principle can motivate prohibiting racial discrimination even in cases where the discrimination is relevant/non-arbitrary?
Singer describes that prohibition of racial discrimination is likely to impose more of a long-term disadvantage for the land lord rather that the shop owner. A disadvantage in which id out-weighed by the costs of continuing the circle of racial discrimination and deprivation for those discriminated against; and the cost of greater social inequality and racial divisiveness for the community as a whole.
Word Count # 534
Alexis Herrero
Is Racial Discrimination Arbitrary?
ReplyDelete1. 1.) Case is regarding a film where the roles are for blacks only in order to portray authenticity. When a white actor shows up for the role he is not considered and feels discriminated against because he can look and act black. Racial discrimination in this case is considered acceptable due to purpose and legitimacy.
2.) A cake shop owner, with a largely white staff, is reluctant to hire a black assistant due to prejudice on the part of his clientele. The owner has fear that there will be no profit from loss of business due to customer’s discrimination. Owner’s concern is legitimate and not arbitrary.
3.) A landlord doesn’t want to rent apartments he owns to blacks because he believes they disappear without paying their rent causing his business to go under. Owner feels whites are more reliable because of their background. If the landlord is looking at this accurately, his discrimination is not arbitrary.
2. The similarities between case #1 and case #2 are that the reasons for discrimination are legitimate due to the benefit of the film and the cake business making both not arbitrary. The difference between case #1 and case #2 is the discrimination in case #1 is acceptable because it facilitates the authenticity of the film role and race is relevant. In case #2 the discrimination is questionable because it is racially biased based on customer's prejudice and anyone has the right to employment.
3. According to Singer, the principle that would prohibit racial discrimination even when it is relevant/non arbitrary is to look at someone as an individual rather than judge them based on stereotyping.
(Word Count: 277)
Natalie Colvin
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete(1) Describe the three cases of seemingly relevant/non-arbitrary discrimination that Singer considers.
ReplyDeleteCase 1) A film director is making a movie about the lives of blacks in Harlem. He only wants black actors to make it an authentic movie so he denies any white applicants no matter how much qualification they have. In this case, racial discrimination is not arbitrary. It is acceptable because the movie is based on blacks in Harlem and not on whites. The race of the actor is relevant to the role that is being portrayed.
Case 2) The owner of a cake shop has mostly white and prejudiced customers. The owner wants to hire an assistant and has no prejudice against blacks. Because his customers are prejudiced, he doesn’t want to hire a black assistant because it may cause him to lose profit due to customers being angry at being served from a black person. The owners decision not to hire blacks is not arbitrary, the customers prejudice however is arbitrary.
Case 3) A landlord refuses to allow blacks housing as tenants because he notices that more blacks tend to disappear and not pay rent than whites. On this basis, his decision is not arbitrary to only allow housing to whites.
(2) Summarize the similarities and differences between two of the cases that Singer discusses.
The similarity between the 1st and 2nd case is that the racial discrimination is not arbitrary. The film director only wants an authentic film based on blacks in Harlem, thus he only hires blacks. The cake shop owner doesn’t want to hire a black assistant solely to keep his customer base which is primarily prejudice on arbitrary terms.
The difference between the 1st and 2nd case is that the film director only discriminates on the basis of making an authentic film so he is not facilitating a negative prejudice on whites, he is only doing it for the film and nothing more. On the other hand, the cake shop owner is facilitating a negative racial discrimination because he is allowing the negative discrimination to continue instead of allowing the customers to deal with seeing a black person working there. If the owner allowed a black assistant to work there, over time they would eventually question why they even were prejudiced in the first place because they had no good reasons to be. Eventually the racial tension would dissipate and people will live in harmony with other races.
(3) According to Singer, what principle can motivate prohibiting racial discrimination even in cases where the discrimination is relevant/non-arbitrary?
We should view people as individuals instead of as members of a race. Also by prohibiting racial discrimination will break the circle of deprivation and discrimination. If society allows all races to have equal opportunities instead of putting more minorities in poorer conditions which could make relevant racial discrimination prominent, then irrelevant racial discrimination wouldn’t flourish as much as it does. This would in turn allow all races to live in harmony and union.
Word Count: 500
Question #1: Describe the three cases of seemingly relevant/non-arbitrary discrimination that Singer considers.
ReplyDeleteCase 1: Begins with a director that is making a film about the lives of colored people that reside in New York’s Harlem. The director promotes for black actors when a white actor shows up for the part. The director turned the role down to the white man because the movie is about being black. The white man claimed that with wig and and some black make up, he had no problem resembling a black man, anywhere from gestures, mannerisms and speech. But once again, the director refused the white man. The director’s film had to be genuine to capture his vision. Being a legitimate reason, standard objection of racial discrimination cannot be made.
Case 2: This case begins with the owner of a cake shop which had a large white and racially prejudices clientele. The owner is not prejudice against blacks and wants to hire a black assistant to help him run the cake shop. But due to the fact that his customers are prejudiced, he does not want to hire a black assistant. Hiring a black assistant may cause him to lose profit due to customers being angry at being served from a black person. So the owner has fear that there will be no profit from loss of business due to customer’s discrimination. Therefore the owner’s concern is legitimate not arbitrary.
Case 3: States that a landlord refuses to allow blacks housing as tenants because he notices that more blacks tend to disappear and not pay rent than whites. Owner feels whites are more reliable because of their background. His decision is not arbitrary to only allow housing to whites.
Question#2: Summarize the similarities and differences between two of the cases that Singer discusses.
The similarities between case #1 and case #2 are that the reasons for discrimination are legitimate due to the benefit of the film and the cake business making both not arbitrary. But the film director is not prejudice to white men, just prefers a black actor to authenticate his film. While the landlord after having experience throughout the years, prefers white tenants. If he were prejudice against blacks he would have never rented out his apartments to blacks. Race is both irrelevant in these cases because it is a matter of preference and profitability to each owner.
Question #3: According to Singer, what principle can motivate prohibiting racial discrimination even in cases where the discrimination is relevant/non-arbitrary?
According to Singer’s principle people should look at someone as an individual instead of judging the person before we have even had the chance to meet them, no matter the race, color or ethnicity, even if the racial discrimination is relevant/non arbitrary.
Word Count :462
Javier Piverno
ReplyDeleteWord Count (393)
1-Describe the three cases of seemingly relevant/non-arbitrary discrimination that Singer considers.
Case 1) A film director is making a film about the lives of black living in New York’s Harlem. He advertises only for black actors. The director refuses any white actor to audition saying that the film is about blacks and there is no role for whites. In this case, racial discrimination may be acceptable when the race of a character in the film is very important. It is acceptable because the movie is based on blacks in Harlem and not on whites.
Case 2) The owner of a cake shop, he has no prejudice against blacks himself, but is reluctant to employ one, for fear that he will lose customers. What can we say about this case, we cannot deny the connection between race and the owner’s purposes, we must recognize that the owner’s discrimination is not arbitrary, but the customers prejudice however is arbitrary.
Case 3) A landlord discriminates against black in renting the accommodation he owns. He has notice that more blacks disappear without paying the rent than whites. In this case the owner is not being arbitrary, he just defends his policy, and he will apply methods that either the problem will be fix or it will lead to increase rent or even to a reduction in the amount of rentable housing available.
2-Summarize the similarities and differences between two of the cases that Singer discusses.
Between case one and case two which the racial discrimination is not arbitrary. The film director and the cake shop owner have their reasons to refuse in their cases. The film director the only reason he was only auditioning blacks was because the film is based on blacks in Harlem and the cake owner didn’t want to hire black assistants people only because he will like to keep his customers which that will help him keep his business running.
3-According to Singer, what principle can motivate prohibiting racial discrimination even in cases where the discrimination is relevant/non-arbitrary?
We should regard people as individuals and not as members of the same large group. If society allows all races to have the same opportunities, chances we will break the circle of deprivation and discrimination and we will make a huge difference, allowing everyone to be treated the same way.
Andres Conde
ReplyDeleteWord Count 449
Question #1
Case 1: Singer’s first case talks about a director who is making a film on the lives of black people living in Harlem NY. When the director advertised for black actors, he got a white actor who showed up for the part. The director turned down the white actor since he was making a film on black people. The white man refused no for an answer, and said with make-up and a wig he can play the role. Still the director refused to allow the white actor to play the role. The director’s reason for discrimination was because he wanted his film to be real.
Case 2: Singer’s second case is about a owner of a cake store, with a large clientele of white people who were racist. The owner wanted to hire a new worked, and didn’t mind if they were black, but wasn’t sure if he did that he would lose clients. The race of the new working wasn’t of importance to the owner, but the profit of the company was. The owner’s discrimination doesn’t show any intention of bias or prejudice. Well with the sale of cakes isn’t really a bad reason considering the profit on the cake sale is decent.
Case 3: Singer’s final is about a landlord who discriminates toward blacks in renting the (BLANK) he owns. The landlord wouldn’t mind renting to black, but if the is an equally matched black and white man, he would rather give it the white man. Thought the years the landlord had some bad experiences with black people not paying the rent and leaving. The landlord has his personal reason why he doesn’t like black tenants, and they are justifiable. Due to different cultures and ecumenical a black person can be affected, and could lower the chances of being a potential tenant.
Question #2
In all three cases the one big similarity was, there was a preference, and a reasonable reason for their choices. In case one the film director didn’t discriminate the white actor, but he want a black actor to make the film as authentic as possible. The case with owner of the cake shop didn’t have a personal preference, but he put the store preference in mind. He didn’t want the store to be effected, so he catered to what they would want. The landlord had experienced bad tenants, who happened to be black, and with that he preferred white tenants.
Question #3
According to Singer’s principle, each person should be looked at as an individual, not be quick to judge them. Shouldn’t allow ethnicity or skin color affect anyone’s chances of doing anything, even if racial discrimination is relevant or not.
Juan Acosta
ReplyDeleteWord Count(416)
I. Describe the three cases of seemingly relevant/non-arbitrary discrimination that Singer considers.
1. The first case involves a film director documenting the lives of Blacks in Harlem. In order to make the film really authentic and appealing, he denies any whites from taking participation due to the fact that he only wants to resemble black roots. Such occasion can be considered non-arbitrary discrimination, since the film is focused on the colored way of life and not focused on white influence, hence making the situation acceptable.
2. The second case involves a cake shop owner, and his shop made up of white staff. The owner is rejecting to hire a black in his shop due to the fact that his customers are prejudiced and he is fearful that hiring a black assistant will ultimately affect the business and profit. The customers refuse to be serviced by a black man therefore making the customer’s influence arbitrary discrimination, and the owner’s decision non-arbitrary discrimination.
3. The third case involves a landlord and his apartments for rent. The owner is displeased about renting units to blacks because he feels they disappear often without making rent payments thus affecting his business. In that context, the owner feels more comfortable about renting units to whites since they’re portrayed as more financially stable and reliable. Analyzing from a business standpoint, the owner’s decision can be seen as legitimate and non-arbitrary discrimination.
II. Summarize the similarities and differences between two of the cases that Singer discusses.
Cases 1 and 3 share the similarity that both the director and landlord have their preferences in their particular settings. For example, the director is not prejudice of whites, but he prefers black participation in his film to better resemble true black roots. In that same context, the landlord is not prejudice of blacks renting his units, but prefers whites to rent his apartments since they have proven to be more reliable and contribute more to the profit of the institution. It is important to note that the matter of race is irrelevant in both cases and both owners were just thinking of what’s best to their interests.
III. According to Singer, what principle can motivate prohibiting racial discrimination even in cases where the discrimination is relevant/non-arbitrary?
The principle that Singer is emphasizing is that we should value individuals in the form of persons and not judged based on race. If we eliminate stereotyping, then racial tensions would be brought down to a minimum, if not completely eliminated.
Q1- Describe the three cases of seemingly relevant/non-arbitrary discrimination that Singer considers.
ReplyDeleteCase 1- In case 1 Singer describes how a white male goes to an audition of a film about blacks in Harlem. The director of the film does not let the white actor audition. The director says that the film is only for blacks because the story is about blacks in Harlem, which is why there cant be any white people in the film. Although the director disapproves the man continues to insist in his talents such as by him painting himself and by using the correct mannerisms, and gestures he can portray himself as a black man. Even then the director continues by saying that he can’t be in the play because it would not be portrayed with the authenticity he desires. But in this case racial discrimination is considered acceptable due to legitimacy. Being legitimate standard racial scrutiny cannot be made.
Case 2- The owner of a cake shop with a largely white staff and has countless prejudice white customers, but is unwilling to hire a black assistant to the shop due to the prejudice on behalf of his clientele. The owner has fear that by hiring a black person his shop will not do as well in profits, due to the prejudice of his customers. But even though his clients are prejudice the owners concern towards his business is legitimate and therefore not arbitrary.
Case 3- In this case a landlord does not want to rent his apartments to blacks because he believes that blacks don’t come through with their payments and they disappear with ought making their payments. The landlord considers whites to be more responsible and reliable because of their racial background. Once again the landlords view to white being more reliable than blacks is not arbitrary.
Q2-Summarize the similarities and differences between two of the cases that Singer discusses.
The similarities between case 1 and 2, are that both are not arbitrary. In the first case the director only wanted blacks in his film in order to have an authentic black New York Harlem film about black people, which is why he only hired blacks. And in the second case the cake shop owner did not hire any blacks because of his clientele being white and his staff being white he could not afford to lose any one on both parties due to him hiring a black person.
The differences between both cases, in the film directors case he is not arbitrary in the sense that because his film is meant about blacks in Harlem he should only hire black actors and not white due to the authenticity of the film, which is not being prejudice on whites. And the second case the cake shop owner is encouraging discrimination by not allowing the black person to work at his shop, thus letting his customers continue discriminating against black. Instead he should allow for a black person to work at the shop by the people will accommodate to the change and realize that everything is still the same regardless of the owner hiring a new black employee.
Q3- According to Singer, what principle can motivate prohibiting racial discrimination even in cases where the discrimination is relevant/non-arbitrary?
According to Singer we should all see people as individuals and as separate human beings of one race and to not stereotype. By diminishing stereotype the racial discrimination would be brought down. As well as enabling equal racial rights and not stereotyping each person because of the color of their skin and having equal opportunities racial discrimination would diminish, thus giving people a chance to progress.
Rafael Veiga
Word Count (629).
RTD #32: 1) Describe the three cases of seemingly relevant/non-arbitrary discrimination that Singer considers.
ReplyDeleteCase 1: Begins with film director, is making a film about lives of black living in New York’s Harlem. He advertises he only wants black actors. Then a white actor shows up and the film director denies his audition, telling him that there are no roles for whites. Then the actor replies that with the right wig n some make –up he will look just like a black actor and with the mannerisms, gestures and speech of Harlem blacks. Once again the film director refuses. Due to that the is about the lives of black living in New York’s Harlem. Racial discrimination in this case it is acceptable due to purpose and legitimacy.
Case 2: Begins with an owner of a cake shop with a large white n racially prejudiced clientele wishes to hire an assistant. He has no prejudice against blacks himself, but he is in fear that his customers will go elsewhere. Note that the owners’s discrimination is not arbitrary. He is not against by hiring a black assistant. And we can’t say that the owner’s purpose is an illegitimate one, the owner’s decision is not to hire blacks is not arbitrary, the customers prejudice however is arbitrary.
Case 3: A landlord wouldn’t want to rent his accommodation he owns to a black person because he believes that black people disappear without paying there rent n causes his business to go down. He feels that white people are more responsible then blacks. So in his case the discrimination is arbitrary.
2) Summarize the similarities and differences between two of the cases that Singer discusses.
The similarities between case one and case two is that the racial discrimination is not arbitrary. The film director only wants black actors for the case being the film is about the blacks living in Harlem, that is why he only hires blacks. And the cake shop owner isn’t against hiring a black assistant but isn’t for it either just because he is in fear.
Differences in the two are that the film director is only chooses black actor because of the film and that’s what it’s based on. Other then that he is not against on hiring whites for a part but its just the form of the film and what best fits the film. On the other hand for the cake shop owner he is just in fear and doesn’t want to lose his customers over having a black assistant helping him in the shop. Which he should put all that aside and let the customers n employees get use to having a black co worker.
3) According to Singer, what principle can motivate prohibiting racial discrimination even in cases where the discrimination is relevant/non-arbitrary?
According to singer, the principle people should just look at the person who they are and not judge them before we have meet them. It doesn’t matter what race nor does it matter what color ethnicity they are. If the racial discrimination is relevant/ non- arbitrary!
Amanda Rodriguez
word count - 513
Tiane Fernandez
ReplyDelete1. The three cases of discrimination considered by Singer each portray a form of discrimination that at first glance may not seem to be that big of a deal but in the end they are all forms of discrimination. In case one he describes a film director advertising the need of black actors for his upcoming film. A white actor responded to the casting call only to be turned down by the director because he was not black and felt as if his vision would not be realistically portrayed. In this case he was discriminating but with reason. In case two Singer talks about the owner of a cake shop and how he needs to hire an assistant but is reluctant to hire an African-American one because of his racially prejudice clientele. HE then goes on to explain that the owner himself is not racist but at the same time does not want his clients going elsewhere. He is discriminating for the benefit of his own business. In case three there is a landlord who has come to the conclusion that white tenants are far more reliable when it comes to paying the rent than black people therefore he was more likely to rent to the whites. His purpose in this discrimination was that if the rent was unpaid and property neglected his business would go down.
2. The two cases I will be contrasting are case two and case three. The similarities between the two are that both cake shop owner and landlord discriminate for the purpose of success and do not specifically have issues with the other race or are racist in any way. They just look at the situation and go with what would be the most beneficial to themselves and their business. The difference was that the cake shop owner discriminated solely by thinking about what others would think not because he cared who he hired. While the landlord discriminated on what he thought was the better choice and by what was instilled in him as he was brought up.
3. The principle that Singer mentioned that motivates prohibiting racial discrimination is to view each person as an individual and not stereotype one person from a certain race just because of the color of their skin.
Word count: 384
Question #1-
ReplyDeleteIn the first case a director who is making a film about the lives of blacks living in New York’s Harlem is holding a casting call for black actors to audition. During the auditions a white actor shows up for a part. Since the movie is based on the lives of black people he turns the white actor down in order to maintain validity and authenticity in the film. The white actor tries to convince the director that he is capable of playing the part with maybe some make-up and a wig but he does not budge. The director stands firm on his vision. For his reason of wanting his film to be authentic discrimination here is not arbitrary.
In the second case we have a cake shop owner that holds a profitable business. He wants to hire an assistant for help in the shop. The owner has no prejudice against black people but unfortunately his customers do. He fears that if he were to hire a black person to be his assistant that he would lose a large percent of his customers. And so, his discrimination is not arbitrary because it is based on not his but his customers prejudice as well as the drop in sales that he feels will occur if he does hire a black person.
The third case involves a landlord who has apartments for rent. He has rented to black people before but has had several bad experiences in doing so. They often would leave the apartments without pay. Based on his prior episodes with certain black people he prefers renting to white people. He feels based on his history with tenants that white people will be less likely to leave without pay and for this reason he refrains from renting to blacks. Even if he were to have two applicants for one rental space, with equal amount of references and both similarly stable, he would pick the white applicant over the black one. Based on his reasons from the past his discrimination is not arbitrary.
Question #2-
Between case number two and three we see certain similarities as well as differences. In both these stories the discrimination is not arbitrary based on the fact that decisions are made mainly because of the profit, or loss thereof. In case number 2 the cake shop owner does not want to hire a black assistant in fear of losing customers as well as their money. In case three the landlord prefers white tenants over black tenants because of bad experiences in the past with blacks leaving and not paying. Both cases are based on monetary reasons but the difference between the two is that the cake shop owner actually wouldn’t mind hiring a black person but does not because of his customers prejudice. As for the landlord, he turns down the black applicants because of his own personal experiences in the past.
Question #3-
According to Singer the principle that we would benefit most from in that of prohibiting racial discrimination would be to stop judging people based on past stereotypes. Whether the discrimination is arbitrary or not if we as a people would learn to accept one another for who we are rather than to assume negative thoughts or even positive ones simply based on the color of one’s skin then we would most likely be able to break the circle of deprivation and discrimination amongst everyone. Because the same way that a poorly sought on stereotype can be broken so can a positive one be brought down. It all depends on the individual at hand and not his prejudices.
WORD COUNT: 607
Ashley Howland
ReplyDeleteWord count:412
Question 1: Describe the three cases of seemingly relevant/non-arbitrary discrimination that singer considers.
Case 1: Is about a film director making a film about the lives of blacks living in New York’s Harlem. The director wanted black actors fro the movie he was making. A white actor came in to audition for the film. The director refused the white man because he it is essential to the director conception of the film about black experience. The director’s discrimination was not wrong because it may be acceptable in area like this because this is one of the seemingly few areas in which a person’s race is directly relevant to his capacity to perform a given task.
Case 2: A cake shop owner wants to hire an assistant. He would not hire a black because of his fear that his customers will go elsewhere. The owner is no prejudice against blacks its just his fear about loosing his business. He thinks that if customers see a black person working there they would go else where and he will be making less profit from not selling the cakes.
Case 3: A landlord discriminates against blacks in renting the house he owns. Over the years the landlord has experience renting to blacks customers and they end up not paying and leaving the landlord can loose his business by things like this being done. But if a white and black person appears with equally good references the landlord would preferably pick the white customer.
Question 2: Summarize the similarities and differences between two of the case that Singer discusses.
The first and second case everything that was said about the film director applies to the cake shop owner. No one can forces the cake shop owner to keep his shop open and no one can force the director to make his film. For without the director there would be no film same for the cake shop owner. The difference between case one and case two is that the director is casting a film about blacks; the race of the actor is significant for the film. The cake shop owner he is worried about the attitudes of the customer with the shop; but that has nothing to do with the selling of the cakes.
Question 3: According to Singer, what principles can motivate prohibiting racial discrimination even in cases where the discrimination is relevant/non-arbitrary?
We should not judge a person because of their race.
Tarell Koinyan
ReplyDeleteWord count (397)
Question 1: Describe the three cases of seemingly relevant/non-arbitrary discrimination that Singer considers.
Case 1 involved a film director not letting any Caucasian people audition for his film, which was supposed to portray black people living in Harlem. the director wanted the film to authentic. This can be considered non-arbitrary discrimination, since they're is no evidence that the director was being un-just.
Case 2 involves a cake shop owner, whose clientele is predominantly white, not to mention prejudice. The cake shop owner fears that hiring the black man who wants the job would only hurt his business, he realizes his clients will not want to be served by a black person so therefore he does not give the job and his actions are non arbitrary.
Case 3 involves a landlord and his apartments for rent. The landlord feels uneasy about renting out his apartments to black people because they are more likely to not pay their rent and run away, whereas a white person would be far more reliable. though I truly believe this is tremendously incorrect, singer finds this to be non arbitrary.
Question 2: Summarize the similarities and differences between two of the cases that Singer discusses.
Case 2 and Case 3 have many similarities being that both involve owners of their jobs. The cake owner wont hire black people because most of his clientele are white racist and that would ultimately reduce his sales for his shop, and the landlord wont rent any of his units to any black people because they are "unreliable" which would hurt him from a business perspective, so he chooses not to put himself at a disadvantage. this leaves them both in the position to be non arbitrary. they are both different in that the cake shop owner wouldn't mind hiring a black person but due to the circumstances of his clientele he chooses not to, whereas the landlord just wouldn't rent out an apartment to a black person because of his set experience with them.
Question 3: According to Singer, what principle can motivate prohibiting racial discrimination even in cases where the discrimination is relevant/non-arbitrary?
According to Singer’s principle, each person should be looked at as an individual, and that we should not be quick to judge them. We Shouldn’t allow ethnicity or skin color to affect anyone’s chances of doing anything, even if racial discrimination is relevant or not.
Q1- Describe the three cases of seemingly relevant/non-arbitrary discrimination that Singer considers.
ReplyDeleteCase 1: This case begins when a film director wants to make an authentic movie about the black people living in Harlem, New York. He advertises for black actor to go with the movie theme, when a white actor applies for the part. Since the director is looking for a black actor, the white actor gets refused of the part. Although he insisted he could play the part by wearing a wig, making gestures, and or black make-up, he was still refused from the role. Racial discrimination in this case is considered acceptable due to the legitimate reason from the director.
Case 2: A cake shop owner with a predominant white clientele, which are racially prejudiced against blacks, is in need of hiring an assistant. The owner, who is not prejudice against blacks, finds himself in a predicament. He fears that by hiring a black person, it might cause his business to lose profit due to the large white clientele being racist and not wanting to be served by a black. The owner’s decision to not hire a black person is legitimate and not arbitrary.
Case 3: This case is about a landlord that has had some bad experiences with black people as tenants. In his experiences with blacks, he noticed that they tend to disappear and not pay for their rent. Whereas, with white people, he feels they are more responsible and reliable. The landlord’s business decision in this case, can be looked at, as not arbitrary.
Q2- Summarize the similarities and differences between two of the cases that Singer discusses.
Although both case 1, and case 2, share the similarity of been not arbitrary, they are both two complete different scenarios. For case 1, the director is particularly looking for a black actor to go for the theme part he is looking to get out of the film. Whereas, in case 2, the landlord, had some bad business experiences renting to blacks, and preferred to rent only to whites. This does not mean in either case, that both the director and the landlord were racially discriminating. Just being business savvy.
Q3- According to Singer, what principle can motivate prohibiting racial discrimination even in cases where the discrimination is relevant/non-arbitrary?
Singer emphasizes that as human being, we should value individuals as equal, as a person. Not judging people by their race, color, and or ethnicity. Prohibiting racial discrimination would eliminate stereotyping, and it will break that huge circle of deprivation. By doing so, this would allow all races to have the same opportunities and chances in life.
Carlos Nieves
Word: 440
RTD #32: Is Racial Discrimination Arbitrary?
ReplyDelete1-Describe the three cases of seemingly relevant/non-arbitrary discrimination that Singer considers.
Case 1.
In Case 1, Singer, goes on to explain how racial discrimination may be acceptable in the films area because the race of that person is pertinent in there aptitude to perform that specific task. Singer gives the example of a film director, that is about to make a film portraying the lives of blacks living in Harlem, New York. When he is casting for auditions a white actor comes to the set and wants to audition for the movie. The actor stated with the right make-up he can bear a resemblance to a black person. However, the director still refused the white actor because he wanted to accurately depict the black experience. Siinger goes on to say that, the director “cannot be said to be discriminating arbitrarily because his purpose is a legitimate one.”
Case 2
The owner of a cake shop has patrons that are mostly white and racially prejudiced. The cake owner has decided he wants to hire an assistant. However, in the hiring process he is hesitant to hire a black person because the owner feels that it would lead to his customers going elsewhere and in turn affect his business in a negative way. Even though the owner is not prejudice against blacks, he still feels that by hiring a black person to work at the shop, it would not be beneficial to his business. According to Singer, the owner’s decision is not arbitrary because the purpose is legitimate, but the customer’s prejudice is considered arbitrary.
Case 3
Case 3 explains a situation with a landlord that discriminates against blacks in renting properties he owns. The landlord goes on to explain that in the past he has had more problems with black people paying their rent on time or disappearing and not paying rent at all than a white person. The landlord is not denying a black person however, based on factual information from his experiences renting properties, the landlord will rather choose a white person to rent to unless the black person has better indications of reliability. The landlord’s decision is not arbitrary because the landlord’s impressions were accurate.
2-Summarize the similarities and differences between two of the cases that Singer discusses.
Case 2 and Case 3 both have similarities and differences. The similarity is that the landlord and the shop owner have legitimate reasons as to why they feel the way they do. They both are trying to maintain a business and profit that is beneficial to their own life. The differences in case2 and case 3, is that the shop owner is basing his decision on what he think may happen, without actually hiring a black person to see if, indeed he is right or wrong. In Case3, the landlord has his own evidence through trial and error. The landlord still has black tenants and does not say “no” all of the time.
3-According to Singer, what principle can motivate prohibiting racial discrimination even in cases where the discrimination is relevant/non-arbitrary?
According to Singer the principle that can motivate prohibiting racial discrimination is to stop looking/judging people as a whole or group. We should start to recognize people as individuals, not categorize them as blacks, white, etc. If we continue basing our decisions on statistics we may never break the circle of deprivation and discrimination. Even in cases where the discrimination is relevant/ non-arbitrary we still need to allow every individual to have the same and equal opportunities no matter if they are black or white.
Irene Manalis
Word count: 606
Jerel Rodriguez
ReplyDeleteWord count: 411
1. A) The first seemingly relevant/non-arbitrary discrimination Singer considers is if an actor is not hired because of his race. The only reason this is a relevant discrimination is because the movie he is auditioning for about blacks in Harlem and he is white. This is one of the few cases where race directly affects the abilities to perform a given task.
b) The second example is the case of a cake shop owner who refuses to employ a black person because his customers are largely white and racially prejudiced. The reason this is not arbitrary is because the cake shop owner is not being bias. He is just dealing with the fact that if he hires a black person then the profitability of his business maybe in danger. In the other aspect, the customers are discriminating arbitrarily because race doesn’t play a factor in the ability to serve food or the quality of goods.
c) The final case is a landlord who prefers to give accommodations to whites rather than blacks. The landlord says it’s because over the years he has noticed that blacks are more likely to default than white, no matter what the credentials and references. If what the landlord states is provable fact than this case will not arbitrary because there is a legitimate reason behind his actions other than just plain prejudice. We can take into account that maybe the landlord maybe prejudice and just pays more attention to the blacks defaulting and less to the whites.
2. The similarities between the case of the cake shop owner and the landlord are that both are discriminating in order to not cause harm to themselves. As a country, we try to balance freedom to do as we please against the harm this may do to others. In both of those cases, racial discrimination is more or less preventing them from losing a business and the repercussions of losing a source of income. The difference is that in the case of the cake shop owner, he is somewhat furthering arbitrary racism by pandering to his racist customer. The landlord is just going by his own past experiences.
3. The way to prohibit racial discrimination even in cases that the discrimination is relevant/non-arbitrary is to stop looking at race as one group. Instead people should look at person individually and assess everyone by what they can do singularly. This can cut down on the discrimination on every level not only racial.
1.) 1) Describe the three cases of seemingly relevant/non-arbitrary discrimination that Singer considers.
ReplyDeleteCase 1
Singers first case involves a film director casting for a prospective movie of lives of blacks living in New Yorks city of Harlem. It so happens that there was white per to audition for the role. Though Singer does not say whether or not he thought the candidate was of talent, he states that he wants to portray a true “black experience” – and though the white person insist that with enough make up/costume he could easily emulate a black person, and wanted to be considered for the role. The director, to his discretion, did not take this candidate. Singer goes to explain how, technically, this is racial discrimination, but he is not discriminating arbitrary. That in this particular case, race was directly relevant to the candidate’s reason for not being selected.
Case 2
The owner of a cake shop is seeking to hire for extra help. The shops clientele is predominately white and prejudice. He is debating on hiring a black assistant. He is not racist nor has any biased, but is reluctant because of the fear that his clients will redirect elsewhere upon the hire of a black assistant. The owner main purpose of the success of his store, thus to not hire would not be arbitrary discrimination, but in the best interest for his business. And although his work etiquette might be up to to par, he may not be hired due to the color of his skin (even though the owner is not racist)
Case 3
The 3rd case describes a landlord who had apartment for rent and discriminates against black. Not that he wouldn’t rent to one, but would prefer not to do so, especially over a white person. Through the years, he has learned that black people have the tendency to be less responsible and have more of a tendency to live without paying rent and then leave. He has learned biased. Though he is aware that there are capable black people, due past experiences, he is apprehensive to make business with one. So it is possible that black couple be turned down from a tenant space because if what previous occupants have done – thus victims of stereo type
2.) Summarize the similarities and differences between two of the cases that Singer discusses.
I would like to compare the first 2 examples.
Though neither of the persons (Director, Shop owner) were racist nor biased, they knew exactly what they needed in order to accomplish a goal. The difference is, the white person in casting was not suitable for the role even though he was a legitimate actor because he, the director, wanted to recreate a scenario were only a genuine black person could fill, whereas the shop owner, the potential black employee COULD work as efficient as a white, and the color of his skin had nothing to do with the quality food products, thus the color of his skin ought to be irrelevant, but due to clientele arbitrary discrimination, he is not considered for the position.
3) According to Singer, what principle can motivate prohibiting racial discrimination even in cases where the discrimination is relevant/non-arbitrary?
Singer states that if we learn to place our biases aside, and learn not stereotype, we can evolve as a society. Everyone should be treated an individual and not a race.
XAVIER GARCIA
WORD COUNT: 569
1. Summarize the similarities and difference between two of the cases that sunger discusses.
ReplyDeleteCase 1 and case 2 have some of the same similarity both the flim director and landlord have their own reason for their discrimination. The director have no problem with white people just rather have black actor to auithenticate his flim. The Landlord on the other hand have had experience through the years and rather have white tenants. Both irrelevant in these cases.
2. What principle can motivate prohibiting racial discrimination even in cases where the discrimination is relevant/non-arbitary?
The bases of discrimination and non-arbitary prohibition of racial discrimination is likely to impose more of a long term of racial disadvantage. The disadvantage is by the racial discriminaiton and deprivation for those discriminated against the cost of greater social inequality and racial divisiveness for the community as a whole
3. Is racial discrimination abritary?
Case 1: The roles thats only for blacks in order to portray authenticity. The director advertises for the black actors, and a white actor shows up for the roles he is not considered and feels discriminated against because he can look and act black. the white man feel that with make-up and wigs they can imitate a black man. Racial discrimination in this case is considered acceptable due to purpose and legitimacy.
Case 2: The landlord doesnt want to rent his apartments that he own to blacks. He doesnt want them to disapper and not pay. The owner impressions of a higher rate of default among blacks. the landlord is looking at this accurately, his discrimination is not arbitrary.
Case 3: The cake shop owner had a large white racially and prejudice clientele. The cake shop owner wants to hire assistant and has no personal prejudice against blacks, refuse to hire them cause he doesnt want to lose his clientele. Especially, when the amount of profit from cake sales are huge.