Life with Race
Race is the concept that there are different categories of a human being, such as asian, white, black, and so forth, and with that classification comes various stereotypes. However, race is simply a social construct, meaning a concept that was created by a society that may not hold any weight in reality, that is used for a variety of situations, although the most infamous would be the justification for thinking that one particular "race" is better than other races, (specifically, white people were/are seen as superior in U.S. society, especially in comparison to blacks). This belief is debunked by the fact that there is no real scientific backing about the concept of "race,"" such as how people of the same race are not more inclined to be genetically similar than any other pair of people, or how humans have not been around long enough/the situations we go through have not required humans to develop sub-species. While it is undeniable that races go through very different lives as a result of the social construct, on a basic, scientific level, there is nothing different about one race in comparison to the other, and any of these perceived differences are a result of separate circumstances, entirely unaffiliated with race.
This picture show that, underneath all the perceived differences between two concepts that are seen as mutually exclusive (particularly race, considering the topic), we are all simply human on a scientific level. If one looks further into it, no one is inherently different on a scientific level, and we shouldn't judge people off of what they are/what they believe in, because in the end, we are all simply human.
Despite the fact that race has little, if not none, scientific backing towards the idea, the way that it has developed within society means that it still exists in large in today's time, affects people's lives in vast quantities depending on one's perceived "race." For example, take the live's of those of African-American descent. While today there are laws preventing the numerous forms of prejudice that was taken against "black" people, it is indisputable fact that the aforementioned prejudice ran amok before the Civil Rights Movement. Directly as a result of this prejudice, the African-American people during that time suffered from lack of financial opportunities. A person's financial status hinges greatly on the back of former generations (approximately 50-80% of one's wealth), and the fact that black people's financial status as a while around 60 years ago means that the people today of African-American descent are likely less financially stable in comparison to white people, who have, for the most part, been heavily advantaged in terms of benefits stemming from race. This also applies to other races in American society, but the most notable would be black people. There are obviously a multitude of ways race affects people today, but going in-depth with each of them would likely take quite awhile. Some of said reasons are obviously positive (or at least neutral), such as the fact that each race have established a culture specifically for their respective race, and this is obviously a large part of one's respective race, with all the enjoyment/entertainment that a race's culture can bring. All in all, there are positives and negatives that come with one's race, and while it is not true that it exists on a scientific level, it still exists and has a large role in society.
As it is with a large variety of concepts in the world, there are pros and cons of the idea of race that can be seen in American society. The very fact that it exists is likely a con in and of itself, considering how different races were seen just a few decades ago, but the various ways that culture has evolved under the banner of a specific race is quite the sight to see.
Working with Race
From what I have experienced, talking about race in a group consisted mainly of "pros," but depending on the people involved, I don't think that it would be very difficult for this to change. In my situation, all of the people present in the discussion were quite respectful of other's opinions, and kept there own personal views on other's opinions to themselves, and if they did voice their agreement or disagreement, they would do so in a respectful manner. As for how my group worked together, the fact that we all worked mostly with facts essentially debunked the notion of differing opinions in its entirety, with no one searching for conflict despite the aforementioned reasoning as well. However, there may be people that hold very strong views towards race, to the point that anyone that has a differing opinion may offend the one with said strong views (although this was not the case in any discussions that I wa a part of). Along with how there may be multiple of this character archetype within a single discussion, and how these people may have differing opinions as well, the atmosphere could quickly become tense and be a negative experience for those involved. This is only in somewhat extreme examples, however, and among the level-headed/calm population, occurences such as the one I mentioned would be quite uncommon.
Acknowledging Race
It's important to talk about race because, despite the fact that it doesn't actually exist in reality, because it is an important concept within society that had an indisputable affect on the aforementioned society. Additionally, while racial issues was an extremely large point of conflict that was attempted to be dealt with already, the problem obviously has not been completely solved, despite the efforts of many for civil rights (although it doubtlessly had a large effect). As such, it should be a point of discussion despite people's nervousness/feelings on the issue, in order to at least help with the racial problems within a community (as doing this on a global scale would require quite a bit of resources). People always have differing opinions on different subject, and while race is no difference, the concept of race is a particular example, in that a large amount of people have very strong opinions on the subject. As such, a person that has not properly talked about race to others may become aggravated when someone says something in a public situation that goes against their opinion, and honestly, many people tend to make racist jokes/remarks in casual conversation. People like this should talk about their opinions on race with other people, for the sake of themselves and for pushing against the ever-present problem we call race.