Community Problems

There are many aspects that can bring communities together and also tear them apart. Some factors effecting communities include language, racial communities, and war. Some factors can include good and bad properties that effect all people inside and outside the communities. Communities can create good reactions to other people around them and can also cause negative reactions.

Language can act as a barrier in communities and can divide people against each other. When people speak different languages, it can often cause feelings of resentment toward the person who can not understand. Language can be used to ridicule or humiliate other people who do not understand the other language. 'Sometimes these things are innocuous, depending on the particular word in which it is used. Often the serve to ridicule or humiliate.' (Leong pg.354) Sometimes when another person is speaking anther language, another person may believe that that person is saying something bad about him/her. Language can often define insiders from outsiders in a specific community. 'Language has the ability to heal or harm, praise or belittle, to promote peace, or even glorify hate.' (Leong pg.354) If a person hears another person speaking another language, that that person may not understand, then he/she may feel like an outsider and may feel they do not belong.

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Language can also be a factor that unifies communities. Language can often unify people that speak the same language in making them feel comfortable with their surroundings. Language creates a sense of belonging to those around the person who speaks the same language. Language often gives identity and makes someone feel they are their own person. Language can make a person feel accepted, and not feel like an outsider.

Racial communities more often than not divide certain communities from one another. Many times a racial community will exclude other communities from being welcome into their community. Racial communities can build tension between other racial communities. Racial communities can often be dominated from other communities and leave a sense of inferiorness. 'It would all be true, the accusations that we were lower types of human beings. Only a little higher than apes.' (Angelou pg.54) Often times a racial community that is dominated by another community may feel they need to defend themselves from the other community and may take action that may lead to more hate in the long run. (My race groaned. It was our people falling. It was another lynching, yet another Black man hanging on a tree.' (Angelou pg.53) Also, distrust may build between two racial communities and furthermore cause more problems and tension.

Another aspect of racial communities deals with the presence of slavery from the past. Slavery caused many problems and although absent, is still causing tension to this day. Races that were enslaved in the past often feel in the present that they do not belong and are still not accepted where they live. 'One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself in exile in his own land.' (King pg.438)Slavery caused feelings of distrust and even hate due to what happened in the past. Slavery only caused problems in the past, and although we have almost eliminated all the hurt feelings from the past, some tension still remains. 'But one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free.' (King pg.437) People are often ignorant to other peoples feelings, and do not realize that it is not acceptable to look down on a certain race. As times change, this problem is getting better. Along with slavery, comes the feeling of inferiority between races. Often times a race will tend to dominate another race making the dominated race feel inferior and can even be scared for their well bieng.

War can often have divisive properties and also have uniting properties at the same time. War can tear nations apart and cause deep rooted hatred. War can destroy lives, and cause divisions between nations, races, and countries. War can effect nations not only in the present, but in the future. Communities at war with each other will tend to cause tension and harsh feelings during the war and also causes tension tends to linger and sometimes even builds up over the years. On the contrary, war can unite a community in a common goal. People in the same nation will often times bind together and help the nation. Strong feelings of love for your country and peers often stems from a war. This act of war often creates a bind for people who may not have had a common bond before the incident. Currently we can see this same type of thing happening in our community today. People who might not have banded together, have now united as one community.

Many things can bring communities together and yet there are many things that can tear them apart. Some factors effecting communities positively and negatively include language, racial communities, and war. All people are effected directly or indirectly by what happens inside or outside a specific community.



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