Injustices in America

The United States prides itself on being called the land of the free and the home of the brave. And for the most part, Americans try to live up to the title. There are missteps, but they put forth an effort. For some, however, the missteps outnumber the successes, and some parts of America suffer more than others.

Race

In 2008, the United States elected its first black president. Racism, however, is not "over," despite the fondest wishes of most Americans. Part of it comes from the predominantly white-based power structure, as old laws that explicitly affected African-Americans were harder to have changed with such an insignificant number of black people in positions of influence. The poverty rate is also much higher among blacks, leading to more African-Americans dropping out of school, and thus not going to college to find higher-paying jobs to get out of poverty. This is called institutionalized racism: society is set up in such a way that unfairly affects blacks--not to mention other races--more than whites. Additionally, according to the FBI, more than half of hate crimes are motivated by race.

National Origin

In the late 1800s, immigrants from Ireland, Poland, and other countries were often discriminated against. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, Japanese-Americans were targeted. Throughout the Cold War, Russian-Americans were often suspected of ties to their homeland. While some of these prejudices still exist, they have mostly fallen to the wayside over the years. Today, however, the targets are often Hispanics and Middle Easterners. The former come from the Spanish-speaking Caribbean and Central or South America (or very rarely Spain) and are accused of attempting to somehow dilute American culture; common rhetoric suggests that Spanish will eventually become the "official language." Hate crimes against Hispanic-Americans are on the rise, according to the FBI. Middle Easterners (and those who resemble Middle Easterners, such as South Asians) were especially targeted after the events of September 11. Hate crimes against Middle Eastern-Americans rose dramatically during this time.

Sexuality

There are currently two U.S. states where same-sex marriage is performed: Massachusetts and Connecticut. Until late 2008, California was also on that list, until a constitutional amendment was introduced into that state, again making it illegal. New York recognizes gay marriages, but does not perform them. Many states exclude homosexuals and transsexuals from hate crime laws. The Matthew Shepard Act, an amendment proposed to add federal recognition of homosexuals under current hate crime law, almost passed Congress but was defeated in the House by democrats against the bill that the Matthew Shepard Act was attached to and republicans against the act itself. (President Bush threatened to veto the law if it came to him with the act attached).

Gender

Women continue to make less money than men for the same work. In the 2005 U.S. Census, males made almost 50 percent more than women, though it should be noted that this is not adjusted for job differences. Under-representation in government is part of the problem. Women make up 50 percent of the population and 17 percent of the Senate. The Lily Ledbetter Act of 2009 was voted against by every republican male senator save one, while it was voted for by every female senator. Efforts to adjust the law in such a way that would make a larger impact are often voted down, though this is changing. The first bill President Obama signed into law was the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, changing the statute of limitation laws that had precluded Lily Ledbetter and other women from suing their employers for pay discrimination.

Abuse of Authority

Casual dismissal of the above forms of discrimination is a problem within the bodies created to protect the victims. This entered the public consciousness again in 2009 with the Oakland shooting of Oscar Grant. A police officer had Grant unarmed and face down on the ground with his hands behind his back, then shot him in the back. This is not the first such abuse of police power; the early '90s had the riots following the beating of Rodney King, the mid-'70s had the Ohio National Guard shootings at Kent State University, with hundreds of less publicized incidents taking place over the years.