Ethnic Minorities, Holdaway, S. Simon Holdaways article Constructing and Sustaining ‘Race’ within the Police Workforce is a good example of politically indoctrinated sociologist trying to analyze the issue, which is well beyond of his sphere of competence. Author denies the validity of biological concept of race. Thus, the instances of racism, mentioned in his articles must be motivated exclusively by the specifics of occupational culture. However, it appears that the racial tension, within the body of British police force, is based on the fact that people from different racial backgrounds react differently to the same set of circumstances. Holdaway quotes on of resigned a Black officer, who complains about racist attitudes, on the part of his colleagues: No, they didnt treat me differently, not necessarily because I was black, the thing is its down to attitudes really I didnt really share their ideas (Holdaway).
Therefore, author contradicts himself, when he says that it is only different aspects of occupational culture that made minority officers feel as being out place, while on active duty. Holdaway explains it by peoples tendency towards stereotyping. According to him, racial stereotyping is purely irrational. This, of course, is an absurd statement. It is only due to the fact that cross-cultural differences in emotional expression and behaviour are easily noticeable that people come to the generalizations, in regards to this matter. For example, people of European descend are known to be the least emotional of all. They know how to master their emotions, in order to never become subjected to them.
The Term Paper on Race Relations 2000 People Racial
The term "race" has not had a consistent meaning throughout its history of use. Instead, "race" has meant different things to different people, often at the same time. Depending on the background of the person you asked the definitions would be as diverse as today s population in the United States. The question of how people of different races and ethnicities interact in America has gripped this ...
People that belong to Black race are quite different, in this respect. Most of their actions are emotionally motivated. Asians, on the other hand, are capable of expressing the whole emotional spectrum, without having an emotion, in the first place. There always going to be an internal discontent among people of different ethnic backgrounds, who are the members of the same team. Obviously enough, author fails to understand this simple fact. Holdaway goes even further, suggesting that embracing multiculturalism makes the team stronger.
If author studied physics hard enough in school, he would understand that any team is nothing but an open system. The quality of teamwork is defined by the number of associations, between the elements of system. However, only the homogeneous elements provide stability to the whole system, because they can be related to each other in variety of different ways. Holdaway understands the essence of teamwork: Rank-and-file officers define police work as team work it requires trust and shared, common allegiance between colleagues (Holdaway).
Nevertheless, author comes to the wrong conclusions, suggesting that the effective team work can only be accomplished when the negative aspects of occupational culture are being eliminated. At the same time, he does not specify how it can be done. Holdaways article can hardly be referred to as analytical, because he does not reach down to the roots of occupational racism. Authors promote a banal idea of racial tolerance, which will inevitably result in establishing a multicultural paradise in Britain.
At the same time, it never even occurs to him that other people might have different ideas, in regard to the discussed issue. The irony lies in the fact that, even though author suggests that racial tolerance, within British police force, can only be accomplished through continuing education, many of his examples of Black officers being able to successfully integrate, have nothing to do with it. For as long as Black person shows himself as being able to logically asses situations and to effectively use physical force, without getting emotional, he will be accepted by his White colleagues as equal. The problem is – it does not happen very often. Holdaway tries his best to sound reasonable, while discussing the topic. Still, it does not take a scientist to realize that his sociological sophistication is an artificial one. Author is clearly unable to remain focused on the main idea, throughout the line of his argument.
Team Work Essay
Team work is defined as the process of working collaboratively with a group of people in order to achieve a goal. A successful team involves individuals who can work well together, trying their best in any circumstance to achieve that one main goal that they have set out to achieve. Teamwork means that people will try to cooperate, using their individual skills and providing constructive feedback, ...
This significantly reduces the scientific value of his work.
Bibliography:
Holdaway, S. Constructing and Sustaining ‘Race’ within the Police Workforce. 1997. JSTOR. Retrieved March 7, 2007 from http://www.dynoinc.com/psc%20400/holdaway1997.pdf Jackson, T. What is Racism? May 2, 2001. Stormfront.
Racialist Library. Retrieved March 7, 2007 from http://www.stormfront.org/whitenat/racism.htm.
