Exploratory Essay

Cinthia Rodriguez Marin

Ms. Mckoy

English 2- Block 2

September 11, 2013

Media In Crime

        Very often we unknowingly judge people for their race, color, what they have on, how they walk or how they talk. When we act upon these judgments whether it is negative or positive it is called profiling. Too often the Hispanics’ population is victim of said act. In high school teens befriend peers based on commonalities, to find comfort, or simply because of insecurity. Hispanics in America are viewed as low class. Illegal immigration, poverty stricken, little or no English, is usually the punch lines of crude jokes regarding the Hispanic community. In recent years the Hispanics community has been a victim of being placed at the bottom of the social class.

        Most Hispanics come to the United States to live “El Sueño Americano”, the American Dream. It’s like an open door that allows them to escape poverty, injustices, violence, government abuse, and corrupt authority (The history Channel). On top of being completely virgin to America’s life styles, customs or language is hard enough! Add people constantly profiling, making assumptions, and vulgar jokes and comments among their friends, and in their homes can make the Hispanic community feel less united (Guadagoni). Society furthers the degradation by publicizing these same comments, and jokes are used in the media, magazines, news and television (Guadagoni). Once again, that’s not just making assumptions; it is racial profiling! Unfortunately this is the part most people won’t recognize, especially when the words are slipping through their own mouth. Not only does this affect how Hispanics are categorized in the social class but their level of self-esteem. “It is likely that people who learn about Latinos and immigrants from news outlets that paint them in a threatening, pejorative, or other wise negative manner will have negative impression about both groups”(Latino Decision). Hispanics may appear on the news as people you could distain or describe them as a corruption to the U.S, but the news can be bias for only showing the negative looks of Hispanics. Therefore it educates news viewers to have a negative view on Hispanics.

        Hispanics are forcibly being seen in a negative way. A race of people adapting to a life that is believed to bring a better outcome than their life in their native country. Times have changed.  It took African American’s one hundred years to become socially acceptable. It took violence, protest rallies, government and media help. Truth be told, times have changed depending on who and why and what’s currently going on. How long will it take Hispanics? We have to be open-minded for those Hispanics that want a better future, but are stuck in a view of negativism because of how they are portrayed. Minorities are still discriminated against. America is controlled by society, but is society portrayed in the media?