Why Discrimination Breeds More Discrimination in a Vicious Cycle
Introduction

Power and privilege is a two-way street: power can run both ways, depending on the circumstances or context. For example, a female Latina could be in a position of privilege and power in one environment and in a position of discrimination and prejudice in another environment. I know this from experience because I have been in both types of situations before in my life. What is interesting about being a Latina in America is that while most whites are not going to recognize you as one of their own, they also are not going to lump you in with other ethnic groups, such as blacks or Asians. To illustrate this, Zamudio and Lichter (2008) showed that hotel managers tend to prefer to hire Latinas over blacks in the hotel industry for whatever prejudicial reasons that managers have. On the other hand, Barajas and Ronnkvist (2007) show that in public schools racialized spaces can occur among Latina and white populations, creating tensions and hostility as these populations attempt to assert themselves in the face of perceived opposition from the other. McCabe (2009) has noted that on college campuses it is not uncommon for Latinas to experience microaggressions from whites who do not even realizing they are sending such signals, though at the same time Latinas could project microaggressions towards others, too. Thus, the road of power and privilege is a two-way street. In this paper, I will describe an instance in which I as a female Latina experienced discrimination and an instance in which I was the perpetrator of discrimination.

An Instance of Discrimination

For me, an instance of discrimination occurred when I was in my early teens. I was with a group of girlfriends at a clothing store when suddenly a woman began shouting that her wallet had been stolen. The woman was a middle-aged white women and she got everyone’s attention quickly. My friends and I were already heading towards the door when she starting yelling and we did not see any reason we should stay, but a security guard swooped down from nowhere and yelled at us that we could not leave. All of a sudden we were suspects in a crime and I could not help but feel that it was because we were the only ethnic people in the store. All suspicion fell upon us because we were young, different from the others, ethnically a minority, and therefore the obvious culprits. We were all offended by the implied accusation, and everyone looked at us like of course we were the guilty party.

It was very humiliating to have to stand there while the security guard went about gathering the facts of the case. The other women in the store gave us accusing glances. We were all Latinas and none of us had even been anywhere near the woman who had lost her wallet. A clerk came over and asked us to empty our purses. That was the most offensive thing, and we all refused. We did not feel like anyone had any rate to look through our things without our permission, and we did not like being made to feel as though we were the thief. I felt very much that we were being suspected because of our ethnicity, but it might also have been due to our age. Nonetheless, it was offensive and I felt like I was being discriminated against in a hateful way.

When we refused to hand over our purses the situation became even more tense and hostile. First,...…experience discrimination, it makes it hard to forget it and they in turn feel justified in discriminating against others in return. It is like a vicious cycle, and it is very likely the case that my attitude rubbed these women the wrong way and gave them a bad opinion of Latinas. I would not doubt it if they in turn held a grudge against Latinas from that point on.

Conclusion

Power and privilege are nice things to have when you have them and they are sorely missed when they are taken away. It is not surprising that people should want power and privilege. Privilege today has taken on a negative connotation, but privilege is really an honor. For example, I was privileged to be able to work at that café and be able to serve others. It was an honor to do so and I was honored by being seen as one who could be trusted to do the job well. I dishonored myself when I violated my privilege and treated customers with disrespect and discrimination. I was taught not to envy people, and I think that the discourse about privilege today borders on getting people to envy what others have. I believe that envy is a vice and that privilege is not a bad thing in and of itself. I do not like to see, however, people who have been privileged to abuse that privilege. I think that is where the whole problem lies. When we honor our roles in life and treat others with respect, we show the world that we are honorable. It is when we lose sight of that honor that discrimination and prejudice can occur. I have been on both sides of that road and know from experience. The best way forward is to think more…