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Social Justice And Social Injustice

Decent Essays

What is social justice? From my perspective, social justice is the enlightened human concern for people of all backgrounds. It is the respect and endearment for people no matter their race, gender, sexuality, religion, or socioeconomic class. Social justice has, in a way, affected my life experience. Social justice hasn’t directly impacted my life experience, but I have learned about many cases of injustice throughout my years. Learning about these events and social justice makes me think about current events in a different light. I know see how an event might affect not only myself, but all types of people as well. Learning about social injustices throughout my first semester at CSB/SJU such as apartheid in South Africa and the lost boys of …show more content…

The civil war displaced thousands of people and left the government crippled. The only way for the people of Somalia to survive was to seek refuge elsewhere. Safety is inevitable in Somalia, for the civil war continues. The United States has done a fair share of relocating refugees and making them legal citizens. The federal government chooses where refugees will be relocated. In the beginning of Somali refuge to the United States, many where sent to Minnesota in either the Twin Cities or the Saint Cloud area. This initial location for the Somali community lead to a large amount of other Somali refugees to move to Minnesota. Today, 40% of the United States’ Somali population lives in Minnesota with 30% of them living in the Saint Cloud area. This relocation of the Somali community to Minnesota is one of the largest movements of a population into a new country. In Saint Cloud’s case, this new community has shaped the culture and economy of the area. Their presence in the Saint Cloud area has led to many Somali-owned shops and Somali culture events. Their presence had an outcome that pessimists hadn’t even considered. Their presence has had cultural and economic influences that have helped Saint …show more content…

The Lost Boys, for example, had no choice but to run away and seek refuge to avoid their deaths. The Lost Boys struggled for months at a time until the United States was able to accept them into the country. This community in Saint Cloud is just like the Lost Boys of South Sudan. They may seem intimidating to locals because of their lack of knowledge of those cultures, but they are seeking refuge to our country for a reason. They are coming here for safety and to begin a new life in a great country. They are here to be functioning members of a new society and to share their culture with ours. They are not here to hurt us, nor are they here to steal our jobs or money. They are here to be Americans that don’t have to worry about their lives being in jeopardy every day of the week. They are here to be one of us. Without learning about social justice, I wouldn’t have seen this issue like this. I would have been listened to the accusations made by those who are fearful. Enlightening myself with the knowledge of social justice has helped me see the struggles that people of a different race, gender, sexuality, religion, or socioeconomic class face. I believe that giving these people a chance to tell their story and to let them in with open arms is what social justice is. Everyone on this Earth deserves a chance be heard and a chance to be accepted. Even though stereotypes and

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