Discrimination- How studying about Holocaust can help people understand why discrimination is bad

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Discrimination is defined as making decisions on the basis of information , which in and of itself does denote a negative response from people . The term discrimination as we have come to know it now generates emotion in people . Discrimination represents unjustified negative actions that deny individuals or groups of people equality of treatment . Discrimination can lead to racism , to violence , and at its worst to genocide . The Holocaust is

the event that coined the term genocide , and it was based on the act of making decisions on the basis of information , or misinformation which generated the discrimination that lead to the attempt to eradicate an entire race of people . History has taught us the mistakes that were made , the misconceptions that led to the Holocaust , yet discrimination and racism have continued for centuries . Despite the lessons learned , genocide continues yet today .It is a social phenomena , studied for decades to try to understand what compels a society

to command such a horrific act . The Holocaust was not an event that occurred is isolation , but

rather an event that was sold to the Germans as a necessary evil based on the political climate at

that time . Several historical trends came together in the early twentieth century to make the

Holocaust not only possible but likely : extreme nationalism industrialism , anti-Semitism

racism , Social Darwinism , World War II

Nationalism is a collective state of mind or consciousness in which people believe their

primary duty and loyalty is to the nation-state . It implies national superiority and glorifies

national virtues . Love of nation may be overemphasized concern with national self-interest to

the exclusion of the rights of other nations may lead to conflict Nationalism was the single most

powerful idea at work in Europe in nineteenth and early twentieth century Europe . Defining the

people was usually done in ethnic terms , stressing common language history , customs , and

culture . Nationalists wanted political and ethnic boundaries to coincide , which they often did not

The Holocaust was sold to the Germans on the basis of the perception of who the Jews

were and the problems they caused or may cause . Based on religious beliefs , Christians began to

see the Jews as a threat to Christianity , and even as inhuman Eventually , even religion was

removed as a cause , as the hatred was sparked simply by what the Jew was believed to represent

Social problems claims making , involves the construction of collective representations of types

of persons who constitute problems . German citizens came to define the presence of Jews as a

`social problem ' and to acquiesce in its Final Solution (Berger The Holocaust illustrates the

cumulative effect of discrimination , racism , and extent a society will go to defending their

beliefs

Some concepts that can help us develop an understanding of the individual processes that

produce discrimination are attitudes , prejudice , and stereotypes Attitudes are the basis for

categorizing people and the act of making generalization...