The Mentality: Us Versus Them

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The Mentality: “Us Versus Them”

As progressive and open-minded as America believes herself to be, there are still many very real and influential prejudices and stereotypes that exist. Among these is one in particular that hits home for myself and a large number of my peers. Although this particular prejudice (and its associated stereotypes) is not completely lacking truth in its media based perspective, it is without an in depth level of understanding. Hence, these outlooks are unfair leaving their believers both painfully ignorant and devastatingly incorrect.
Urban youth, particularly African-American men in today’s society are victim to a quite negative image. Meahdi Pugh wrote:
It’s repeated that my generation is plagued with violence, drugs, teen pregnancies, & STDs. Our music is riddled with sex & violence. For some strange reason, people think we’re uneducated. Someone/thing will always fit the stereotype. I rarely hear much optimism or positivity about young Blacks. (“My Turn”)
Most adults are under the widespread misconception that these young people are violent hoodlums living illegal lifestyles, surrounded by drugs and ignorance simply for the “fun” of it. In many cases, this prejudice is actually taken a step further than simply an association with the lifestyle. Some actually see these stereotypes as a reflection of the nature of urban youth. As if we are nothing more than a generation of cruel, cold-blooded creatures with no regard or consideration for out own futures—not to mention the future of others.
To understand why these stereotypes and prejudices are faulty, one must first grasp a better comprehension of their reasons for being. The surface of these misunderstandings reverberates with the solidity of truth and reality. It is a fact that in America, blacks are arrested at a dramatically higher rate than other races:

Figure 1: Race-Crime Ratios
As a matter of fact, it has been deemed ...