(a) Using Document A and your own knowledge, explain why discrimination persists.
Discrimination persists due to the constant prejudice that exist within societies. Prejudice is having inflexible and irrational attitudes and opinions held by members of one group about another(cliffsnotes). Just like how it is mentioned in document A, discrimination is maintained by conformity to discriminatory norms that put up social barriers to intergroup contact and come from historical conflicts and oppressive institutions. Cultures, religions, races all mix together in one community because of globalisation.
Since many prejudices have been passed down through generations, stereotypes have been created about different groups of people. These derogatory images that “portray” the minority groups causes the prejudice towards them to arise. (Cliff notes) Thus, when one has a prejudice against another, they would feel inclined to push them away and keep a distance from them by creating boundaries. This authoritarian personality is especially widespread amongst the older generation since most of them are conservative about their own culture, they would reject those deemed as different from their own culture by basing others on their own beliefs. They would disadvantage any outsiders in many different ways. The worse case scenario would be to resort to violence just so that there is no competition from minority groups so the privileged groups would be able to hold onto their social status, power and possessions. This results in some minority groups fighting back to improve their circumstances since they have been discriminated and missed out on many privileges that the other group may receive like economic benefits when finding a job. (Cliff notes) When both sides start fighting, a civil war may occur and this just continues the discriminatory actions that goes around in a vicious cycle.
Even with solutions like different laws in place, cooperation by conflicting groups, appreciating each other’s culture and having appropriate education that results in higher self esteem to rid prejudice, it is very difficult to change the attitudes of a society that has been present for a long time. Cooperation between conflicting groups is usually too limited and brief to influence a person's attitude. Even conditions to improve race relations rarely coincide, making it very difficult for for prejudice to disappear. Thus, if prejudice cannot be removed, discrimination will persists since prejudice is the root of discrimination.
(b) Explain how the ideas in (a) are seen in Northern Ireland during The Troubles.
Most Protestants wanted Northern Ireland to stay with the British as reuniting with the Republic of Ireland results in them becoming a minority, living under Catholic rule. Thus, they were highly suspicious of Catholics who wanted reunification. Since Catholics remember the massacre, harsh rule and treatment they received during the English conquest, they felt that Northern Ireland was trapping them, cutting them off from other Catholics in Southern Ireland. These historical events were passed on through generations, fuelling a mutual fear, hatred and distrust for both parties. This idea led on to the start of the Troubles, when the Royal Ulster Constabulary(RUC) violently broke up a peaceful protest that was held by NICRA.
These ideas can be seen through many different ways that the Catholics and the Protestants were segregated. Firstly, education in Northern Ireland was split between Catholics and Protestants as neither sides trusted the other in imparting the correct values to the children. The different curriculum and constant segregation did not provide a platform for common understanding, only reinforcing negative stereotypes. There was no opportunity to form cross-community relations and thus, no common identity was established. The public housing were mainly given to the Protestants to make sure that Protestant electoral majorities. Employment was also very unfair, Catholics usually ended up in lower paying clerical jobs as compared to Protestants who usually held higher paid managerial positions. The RUC was made up of 90% Protestants, with the B-specials exclusive to Protestants. Essentially, one community governed and judged the other.
In the late 1960s, Catholics formed the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA)aiming to change the plight of the Catholics through the dissemination of information, street protests, and later the use of civil disobedience campaigns. By 1969 there was increasing violence between the Unionist demonstrators and the Catholics. These strong reactions towards the Civil Rights Movement was due to the sectarian prejudice that divided Ireland for a long time and also resentment towards Protestants. Those working in the government were also fearful that the IRA would overthrow them. The British interfered by sending their army as thousands of people were burnt out of their homes and it seemed there would be a massacre of the Catholics in Belfast. At first, the Catholics welcomed the British saviors and thought that the troops would withdraw once everything was normal. Especially during the Troubles where sectarian policies that discriminated against Catholics were put in place, memories of the past massacre and mistreatment became even more vivid.
Between 1969 and 1971, the British government tried to introduce a number of reforms that had been demanded by NICRA. These included universal suffrage; the re-drawing of electoral districts; the disbanding of the B Specials; and the establishment of a new housing executive to handle distribution of public housing through an objective needs-based system. (These reforms, however, were only partially implemented and were not enough to satisfy the demands of the Catholic community. This only served to strain the relationship between the Catholic community and the Army, which was increasingly seen less as saviours and more as oppressors as time passed without significant lessening in violence. In 1971, the introduction of Internment without trial by the Unionist government of Northern Ireland escalated the violence to a rebellion as it was only used against Nationalists. Since the British Army was instructed to carry out the Internment raids, they then became the focus of Catholic anger and demonstrations. The most famous of these anti-Internment demonstrations resulted in the Bloody Sunday killings in 1972, when British soldiers killed thirteen Catholics.
During The Troubles, paramilitary groups began to operate on both sides of the sectarian divide. Loyalist paramilitaries created more civil unrest and violence. They set up counter protests and this eventually led to escalating violence, driving more Catholics to the IRA. As a result, sectarian fighting and violence increased, even resorting to terrorism to achieve their goals.
The Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA/IRA) was the most militant and dangerous of all the armed groups taking part in the conflict. It was devoted to driving the British Army out and unifying Ireland. They also extended their terrorism to England. The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)and Ulster Defence Association (UDA/UFF) claimed their main aim was to fight the IRA and to "defend loyalist areas from attack" respectively. Although they did kill a small number of IRA volunteers, the main target was innocent Catholic civilians.
Bibliography:
https://www.cliffsnotes.com/study-guides/sociology/race-and-ethnicity/prejudice-and-discrimination
Fiske.S.T.(2018). Prejudice, discrimination, and stereotyping. In R. Biswas-Diener & E. Diener (Eds), Noba textbook series: Psychology. Champaign, IL: DEF publishers.