Effect of Inequality on Emotions
Social and economic inequalities experienced in our societies have a lasting impact on people’s emotions that influence the way we think, feel, and react to our social environment and critical aspects of our social behavior. These inequalities may be presented in different forms including, the racial inequality that involves people being treated based on their race, gender inequality that involves treating people based on their sexual orientation, or political inequality where people’s ability to access resources is based on their political affiliations. Regardless of forms of inequalities experienced in society, it significantly creates lasting emotional effects on both the oppressed and the oppressor. These emotions may include anger, disgust, shame, contempt, compassion, praise, or empathy.
Citing examples from Albert Memmi’s book “The Colonizer and The Colonized,” that comprehensively explores the lives of colonizers and the colonized during the colonial regime in Algeria. It is evident that oppressed and the oppressors emotionally reacted differently towards the social and economic inequalities that marked the Fresh regime in Algeria. For instance, the assimilated Africans, especially the Jews living in Algeria, were accorded some form of privileges by the colonizers (Memmi, 2013). As a result, they had long-lasting compassion, praise, and empathy for the French and even fought along with the French in the Algiers streets during the independence uprising. Memmi argues that he understood why the Jews chose sides with the French. He notes “Because of this ambivalence, I knew only too well the contradictory emotions which swayed their lives” (Memmi, 2013)
Furthermore, we also experience some form of long-lasting emotions as a result of the inequality we experience in our societies. For instance, the extended racial profiling of black Americans by the police in the United States has created long-lasting anger, disgust, and shame among blacks towards the police. As a result, Harris (2006) argues that most of the black communities have taken the position of non-cooperation with the police in providing information to prevent and stop crime.
References
Harris, D. A. (2006). US experiences with racial and ethnic profiling: History, current issues, and the future. Critical Criminology, 14(3), 213-239.
Memmi, A. (2013). The colonizer and the colonized. Routledge.