Lecture11SocialProblem.ppt

美国社会问题,Social Problems in the United States,I. Racial Problems II. Poverty III. Drug Abuse IV. Crime V. The Abuse of Power by Government and Corporation,I. Racial Problems,-Americans are primarily a nation of immigrants,-1. some as refugees from religious and political persecution (逃避宗教和政治迫害的难民) -2. some as adventurers from the Old World seeking a better life(从旧大陆来寻求好生活的冒险家) -3. some as captives brought to American against their own will to be sold into slavery （有一些则是被抓获后违背他们的意愿运到美国，被出卖为奴隶）,Though people all share a common American culture, the nation contains many racial and ethnic subcultures with their own distinctive characteristics. (虽然人们有共同的美国文化，但美利坚民族包含了许多种族和少数民族的亚文化群)。,These differences have contributed to racial conflicts that have been a persistent social problem to American society. （这些差异造成了在美国社会长期存在的种族冲突）,discrimination against blacks:,In American society, any group other than the dominant white Anglo-Saxon Protestant majority is a minority group. The largest of the racial and ethnic minorities in the U.S. is the blacks who make up about 11.7% of the population. The myth of their racial inferiority was propagated as a justification for their continued subjugation. (所谓黑人种族低劣的神话被广泛传播，并以此作为永远奴役黑人的借口),-the black “underclass” (“最低层”黑人),-The Northern states had all outlawed (废除) slavery by 1830, but in the Southern states, it was ended by the Civil War Lincolns emancipation of slaves in 1863 (1863年林肯颁布的解放黑奴宣言) and the 13th Amendment to the Constitution in 1865 （1865年美国通过的第13条宪法修正案）,2004年7月2日，一名无家可归的黑人躺在美国纽约的街头。,-But after the abolition of slavery, many states passed segregation(隔离) laws to keep the races apart in schools, housing, restaurants and public facilities, and institutionalized discrimination kept blacks in the lowest-paid jobs. （制度化的种族歧视使黑人只能干一些收入最低的工作。）,这是一名黑人妇女在华盛顿职业介绍会上收集工作介绍材料。,这是2005年6月10日，一名无家可归的黑人男子在美国东南部的迈阿密南海滩钻进塑料袋里躲避飓风袭击。,2005年，10月13日，美联社公布的图片显示，美国警察当街殴打黑人嫌犯,这是2004年10月17日，一名黑人妇女手持印有马丁·路德·金头像的标语牌参加集会。当天，上千名美国工人在首都华盛顿的林肯纪念堂前举行集会，要求增加工人就业机会、提高医疗保健水平。,这是2003年7月8日，在美国密西西比州东部城市默里迪恩市的洛克希德·马丁公司飞机制造厂，一名枪击事件受害者（右）被送到救护车上。当天上午，该工厂员工道格·威廉斯携带武器进入工厂，打死5人、打伤8人后饮弹自尽。威廉斯是该厂有名的种族主义分子，一贯憎恨黑人，平时经常扬言要杀人。,这是2005年10月8日，在美国路易斯安那州新奥尔良市波旁大街的一家酒吧外，几名白人警察正在殴打一名老年黑人男子。,II Poverty as a social problem,The U.S is one of the most wealthy countries in the world. Yet over 24 million people or about 10% of the population are living at or below the official poverty line, on incomes that the federal government considers insufficient to meet basic requirement of food, clothing, and shelter. There are millions more, living slightly above the poverty line, whose plight is not much better. Also, the social services in the U.S compare unfavorably with those in most industrialized societies. Furthermore, the affluent majority seems indifferent to the problems of the poor. This raises some serious moral problems and inevitably creates fierce conflicts of interest and many political controversies. Therefore, poverty in the U.S becomes a social problem.,III. Drug Abuse,Drug abuse in the U.S. has come to be regarded as one of the most challenging social problems facing the nation. The drug issue always excites strong emotions of Americans because drug abuse is perceived as a major threat to American society, particularly to its younger members.,III Drug Abuse,Drug abuse is a social problem because it has a wide range of social costs. For example, drug is closely related with crime, automobile accidents. It has serious effects on individuals physically and mentally, and the economic losses caused by drug abuse are great.,IV. Crime,-The profile of a typical criminal (典型的罪犯形象) according to the reports given by the FBI, those arrested for crimes are disproportionately(不成比例的) likely to be male, young, a member of a racial minority, and a city resident. For example, more blacks are arrested for crime than white people because a higher proportion of the black population is poor or unemployed and there are high correlations between poverty and the types of crime classified by the FBI as most serious (联邦调查局划分的最严重的罪行).,IV. Crime,Also, racial discrimination in the enforcement of law（执法） causes more arrests of racial minority people. But if the white-collar crimes are included and if the authorities are more vigorous in their enforcement (如果权威机构执法力度更强), the profile of a typical criminal would be older, wealthier, whiter and more suburban than suggested by the FBI.,IV. Crime,-white-collar crimes (白领阶层的犯罪) White-collar crimes are those committed by higher income groups such as the crimes of fraud (欺诈), false advertising(做假广告), corporate price fixing(共同限定/控制市场价格), bribery（行贿）, embezzlement（挪用公款）, industrial pollution, tax evasion（偷税漏税） and so on.,IV. Crime,Yet the statistics provided by the FBI tend to overlook white-collar crimes. In fact, white-collar crimes are often ignored by law enforcement agencies. Some sociologists argue that the higher classes may actually have a higher rate of crime than the lower classes. Former President Nixon said that crime is Americas “number one enemy”. In 1970s, he was involved in the Watergate scandal, for which he was forced to resign from the presidency.,美国是枪支开放的典型，普通市民都可以买到枪支。图为一名美国女孩正在把玩她的新手枪。,美国监狱人满为患。这是美国佛罗里达州萨姆特监狱。,V the abuse of power,People believe that public organizations in the U.S. sometimes work in concert(共同) to advance their own interests rather than those of the people.,-the abuse of power by government,Government in America is widely distrusted for the lack of answerability（负责任）. Americans were convinced that the Johnson and Nixon administrations were deliberately and systematically lying to the people in the war against Vietnam and in the Watergate scandal. The FBI and the CIA are responsible for thousands of illegal acts. All these acts show the abuse of power by government.,e.g. Two of the illegal acts by the FBI are: many burglaries of presumed critics of the administration and widespread illegal wiretapping. 。 The CIA infiltrated the civil rights and antiwar movements and compiled dossiers 【dosiei】on many Americans. The CIA had tested variety of drugs, including LSD, on many people who were unaware that they were being used as guinea pig, and had caused several deaths in the process.,- the abuse of power by corporations,The abuse of power by corporations is shown in the fact that these corporations are concerned with their own profits than with social responsibility, the quality or price of their products, or the truth of their advertising.,They maintain(供养) professional lobbyists in Washington to influence public officials behind the scenes. They argue for legislation to serve their own ends, influence the appointment of officials, block reforms they consider undesirable, and often seem to have more say in the councils of government than the ordinary voter.,Many Americans believe that “big business” has taken the reins of government away from Congress and the Administration”, and that “government is run by a few big interest groups looking after themselves.”,