1. By: Nancy Johnson

2. Discrimination is a very serious issue that we are
struggling with in our society today. This is a problem that
the world has been struggling with and always will be
faced with it. Discrimination is stated in our textbook as
“..the denial of opportunities and equal rights to
individuals and groups because of prejudice or for other
arbitrary reasons..” (Prentice Hall 60). Though
discrimination is not tolerated in America, but we still face
the struggles from our past history. Our country has come
a long way in the last century over the whole
discrimination factor. Today, we see discrimination
happening in workplaces, schools, internet, and even in
our home towns. Many factors that may lead to
discrimination are sexual orientation, race, gender, and
religious views. In this research, we will examine the
many victims that had to face unacceptable behavior from
our past and present day.

4. Discrimination still remains a huge factor in the workplace.
A woman, Cherie Santai, from Pennsylvania was terminated from
her job in 2008 after becoming pregnant with her third child.
Santai worked at Fred Beans Ford Inc. for several years, starting
out as a part-time cashier to a service manager. She has been
with the company since 1994. After telling her boss that she had a
child on the way, he wasn’t too happy about it. This soon led to
her termination. Cherie Santai hired a lawyer and sued Fred
Beans and won the case. Fred said that have termination was due
to the economy and that it had nothing to do with her being
pregnant. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act, Title VII of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964, stated that “..women who are pregnant or
affected by pregnancy-related conditions must be treated in the
same manner as other applicants or employees with similar
abilities or limitations..” (EEOC, Web). Basically, the employer
can’t refuse to hire a pregnant woman due to her being pregnant
or terminate an employee due to pregnancy conditions that
determine their ability to work.

6. Most jobs have many tasks that we cannot do
because of our inability medical conditions. Being
pregnant should not determine if you have a job or not.
Most mothers work to make a living for their children. In
today’s economy, you see many single mothers working
long hours to invest in a life for their child. Pregnancy
discrimination happens in our society on daily basis
because employers don’t want to go through the amount
of time that they would have wait for them to get back and
still be guaranteed a job. According to statistics, more
than six thousand complaints have been made over
pregnancy discrimination and it’s still a rising issue. You
also see young pregnant teenagers, which is also on the
rise, looking for ways to support themselves and the baby.
This is just another reason why pregnancy discrimination
should be taken to higher ups if we do cross this path.

7. Discrimination can be found in places where we least expect it
to be. Students are not even safe at school from racial discrimination.
In Minneapolis, multiple students were harassed by their teacher for the
color of their skin. Sixth grade teacher Tim Olmsted, of St. Paul School
District, stated “ ..it is easier for him to teach rich white folks than poor
black people..” (CNN Web). I cannot imagine the feelings these
children are going through. We send our children to school to learn and
to help them succeed in their future, not to be discriminated against
because of their skin color. You would also think that school is the
safest place for any child now days, but some educators find it is
humorous to target small children. This article shows that the children
have never been into trouble at school before. Another thing that was
stated in this article that Olmsted said to Latasha was “she’d be
standing on the corner with a sign begging for money on the
expressway..” (CNN Web). School districts need to recognize diversity
in their classrooms. We should never single out anyone of a different
race. This should not be tolerated anywhere or any place. That child
could make a difference in the future. The parents of the five students
in Olmstead class did the right thing about calling the district and the
principal. The principal should have taken into consideration the
feelings of the parents and the children, and then investigated it. Race
should not determine on what your career should be in the future, and
teachers should not downgrade their students.

8. A discrimination problem that is quickly growing and finding
more conflict than most is sexual preference. People all over the world
are being persecuted for being homosexual. Four men in Africa were
recently sentenced eighteen years in prison for a crime committed in
2006. The men were arrested for stabbing and stoning Zoliswa
Nkonyana because of her sexual orientation. South Africa has an anti-
discrimination provision but still comes across attacks that are based
on a person’s sexual orientation. South Africa was the first African
nation to prohibit discrimination. Some African countries still continue to
legalize homosexuality but there some countries still prohibit any act of
homosexuality. Gays continue to face discrimination in a workplace as
well. Statistics show that “ 15 percent to 43 percent of gay people have
experienced some form of discrimination and harassment at the
workplace and over 90 percent of transgender workers report some
form of harassment or mistreatment on the job..” ( Center for American
Progress Web). Homosexuals have been on the rise since the early
1990s. It has been made legal to be in a branch of service through the
military and have this type of sexual orientation. Lawmakers are fighting
for a new introduced law, ENDA, that will protect gay and transgender
workers. This is the same protection that has been given to other
minority groups with the Civil Rights Act. Every person deserves to
have equal treatment anywhere they go. It shouldn’t be based on
sexual orientation of a person.

10. Illegal immigration laws are bringing a swift and fierce fist
down upon anyone who looks Latino. People are being
discriminated against just for driving down the road. Police in
Arizona are profiling Latinos to see legal documentation prove
that they are in fact US citizens. Arizona has a “ Show me your
papers” provision that makes it legal for police to search anyone
that may look Latino. Statistics state that “there are approximately
2 million Hispanics in Arizona, and an estimated 360,000
immigrants in Arizona as of January 2011..” ( Global Christian
Post Web). Basically, law enforcement is only focusing on this
particular group of people. SB 1070 has its advantages and
disadvantages. An advantage of this law is that it will keep the
illegal immigrants out of our country, but the disadvantage is
people assuming that everyone that is Latino is illegal. The law
enforcement officers shouldn’t assume anyone is an illegal
immigrant. This has led to racial profiling and violates the
person’s civil rights against their skin color.

12. Religion is being persecuted everywhere people go. It doesn’t matter if
it’s Christianity, Islam, or even Sikh. Everyone has a right to their own views
and the beliefs and opinions that go along with it. No one should be forced to
do something that goes against what they believe. The article that I read was
about New Jersey nurses charge religious discrimination over hospital abortion
policies. According to the Washington Post “University of Medicine & Dentistry
of New Jersey violated state and federal laws by abruptly announcing in
September that nurses would have to help with abortion patients before and
after the procedure, reversing a long-standing policy exempting employees who
refuse based on religious or moral objections..” (The Washington Post, Web).
This article has been very disturbing and inhumane. This goes against people’s
beliefs and backgrounds to have to participate in something that they don’t
want to be a part of. People have come to America so they had the freedom to
believe in what they wanted to believe in. We shouldn’t allow people to step
over our religious outlooks just because it’s for the best and it’s in your job.
Another article I found was about an employee who claimed he was scheduled
to work on Sunday against his will and didn’t take into consideration about his
religious beliefs. Lowes is a retail store that is opened year around and caters
to customer’s needs. In retail, you don’t have holidays off and rarely do you get
Sundays off. According to Home Channel News, it stated that “ The U.S. District
Court case, filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission,
charged that Lowe’s violated federal law when it refused to reasonably
accommodate the religious belief of an employee..” (Home Channel News,
Web). This article shows that religious discrimination is found on workplaces
everywhere you go.

14. Discrimination is happening all around us,
even in this modern age where people should be
treated as equals. It is sad when people still get
harassed over their skin color, or put down because
their even a little different than what others consider
acceptable. People should be able to go out into the
job market and be hired regardless of what they
believe in. Women should not get fired because they
are pregnant, and Gays should not be getting
physically persecuted because of their preferences.
It is time that the world stops viewing people by their
attributes and just does what right by their fellow
man.