Chapter 7
Cultural Diversity
Abstract
This chapter defines the differences between discrimination and prejudice. Respect is emphasized throughout this chapter concerning cultural diversity. Stereotyping and its negative implications are also discussed.
Keywords
Bigotry; Discrimination; Prejudice; Racism; Sexism; ToleranceWhy cultural diversity is important?
The primary rule for cultural awareness is to treat every person with a basic level of human dignity. Regardless of a person’s race, nationality, religion, gender, age, or disability, he or she is a human being and therefore worthy of the respect that classification entails. This is the crux of tolerance.
“Tolerance implies a respect for another person not because he or she is wrong or even because he or she is right, but because he or she is human.” (John Cogley: Executive Editor of Commonweal 1950-1955). This is a difficult task. As a security officer, when the people you deal with are disruptive, uncooperative, or condescending, the hardest thing to do may be to treat them with a high level of respect. Cultural awareness recognizes that no matter what the circumstances, an officer must be sensitive to the fact that people must be treated as equals, with the understanding that they may have different values, expectations, and languages than the officer.
Duty of the officer
All officers must recognize the differences between people, appreciate the value of those differences, and rise above them to ensure standard service and effective communication.
Unfortunately, an officer’s environment, education, past experiences, and socialization often dictate his or her prejudices and insensitivities. For instance, few people ever learn in school how to deal with individuals of other races, religions, or nationalities. There is a low level of exposure to diversity in many communities and therefore not a high level of understanding and empathy on the part of members of these communities. However, the field of security and loss prevention will bring officers face to face with all different kinds of people.
Prejudice and racism
Prejudice is any belief or idea that one group of people is inferior to another based on the group’s race, heritage, nationality, gender, age, disability, or other classification. Bigotry is an extreme form of prejudice that manifests itself in perpetuating the prejudice and in a refusal to be open to education and awareness.
Racism (or any “ism”) has two definitions. Institutional -isms are the factors that have become ingrained in a society that give foundation and solidity to prejudices. The second -ism is a prejudice that is combined with action. Therefore, a racist act would be an action—covert or overt, direct or indirect—that portrays or results from a prejudice based on race. Discrimination is the name given to illegal actions or behaviors caused from prejudices, bigotries, and cultural ignorance.
Summary
• The purpose of cultural awareness is twofold. The first purpose is to strip away the prejudices that officers have from their own past. The second purpose is education to help them deal with what has become a true melting pot—the communities that make up this country. These ideas, however, are difficult and confusing. Different people may define racism or prejudice in different ways. For loss prevention professionals, however, it is easy to understand why it would be wrong to allow jurors with prejudice in a case to render a verdict. For the same reason, a prejudiced officer cannot possibly deal fairly or equitably with a member of the group or class he or she is prejudiced against.
• Because of multiculturalization in the United States, security officers must understand that the population is full of people of different races, genders, religions, and nationalities. Treating all people equally, with the knowledge and sensitivity of different cultures, enhances the service provided by security officers and improves the chances that their actions will not be based on prejudice but on proper learned techniques and common sense.
Discussion questions
1. What is prejudice?
2. What is racism?
3. What is a security officer’s responsibility to cultural tolerance and sensitivity?
..................Content has been hidden....................
You can't read the all page of ebook, please click here login for view all page.