Discrimination and Stereotyping of Japanese-Americans Essay

With the attacks on the United States by terrorists, many Americans have been experiencing feelings of fear, sadness and tremendous anger. Many of Middle-Eastern descent have been experiencing great prejudice and discrimination and are being stereotyped as terrorists. These types of feelings are very prevalent in American society today. Similarly, though not widely as discussed, Japanese-Americans have felt these feelings directed toward them for several generations. Going from the extreme of being herded to internment camps after the surprise attack of Pearl Harbor, to the more commonplace, being stereotyped in the entertainment industry and internet sites, prejudice, discrimination and stereotyping have been apart of the lives of†¦show more content†¦This can be seen as an act of discrimination because rather than taking individuals and trying them on espionage, the American government convicted an entire race, without trial and with evidence to the contrary. The treatment of the Japanese Americans who were sent to the internment camps was solely based on race and not on an individual’s personal actions (â€Å"Japanese Internment†). The prejudice of the American government is also apparent. Over 120,000 people were sent to internment camps without evidence against them. The very definition of prejudice according to dictionary.com is â€Å"an adverse judgment or opinion formed beforehand or without knowledge or examination of the facts† (â€Å"Prejudice†). The information gathered that led up this action was ignored, and the American government simply formed the opinion that the Japanese Americans along the West Coast would revolt and that the safety of the natural born United States citizens was more important then the liberties and the lives of more than 120,000 â€Å"foreigners.† This act will forever be remembered as one of the most discriminatory and prejudicial acts in modern American history. A country founded on the principle that every man is created equal and that liberty is something that someone should die for, found itself contradicting its own teachings, and unable to control its own paranoia and feelings of mistrust. War, fear andShow MoreRelatedStereotyping of Asian American Youth: The Effects on Performance in Academics846 Words   |  4 PagesThroughout American history, the United States has been a cauldron where different diversities mix and mingle. In this hot pot of diversity, all of the ingredients (ethnicities) will not always conform to one and other; this could possibly lead to discrimination. This paper will be primarily focus on the discrimination towards Asian American youth of the 21st century and how it affects their academics. 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