I want you to really think about this question before you answer it. It requires you to closely examine yourself, your surroundings and your experiences.
From your own perspective, what is your definition of racism?
Does ignorance of racism promote or prevent it from becoming an ideology? By ignorance I just mean the lack of knowledge that it exists. Because, if you were raised in an area that is predominantly white and you're white, odds are, you don't see much evidence that it does exist--right? Or wrong?
If you were never exposed to a multicultural environment, would you be more or less attuned to the cultural differences that exist in society? And for that matter...Do you believe that there ARE cultural differences? If so, what are they?
Do you think people hide behind the definition of cultural differences to excuse rude, inappropriate or obnoxious behavior? This question applies to ALL races, incidentally.
And finally, do you think that the division of class "levels" within schools (AP, Honors, CP, General) promotes or prevents a racial divide?
(450-500 words/60pts)
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Wow. This will be interesting. First post!
it doesn't count unless you actually post your response in full. bunje said that to vikkie. sorry dan but you'll have to try again next time.
your response in full.
http://instantrimshot.com/
This question often makes its way into my mind every now and then, but I tend to not want to think about it. I quickly shoo it away and continue what I was doing. I realize, now, after reading our RRL reading for this week, ignoring the situation is the worse possible choice.
My definition of racism, well, let’s see. Discrimination of any kind, verbal, physical, mental, etc., based upon beliefs, race, gender, species, sexual orientation, physical appearance/capability, mental capacity, heritage, and heath problems. So, pretty much, everything one person does to hurt another. Well, how is that racism? Isn’t the root of racism “race”? Yes, that is the key. A race is merely a group of animals, human or nonhuman, that all share common characteristics, not just heritage or skin color. According to that, everything person can be grouped into multiple races. First, heritage: White, African American, Italian, Spanish, German, Japanese, Chinese, Russian, and so on. From there beliefs: Catholic, Jewish, Buddhist, Jehovah’s Witness, even Atheist can be considered a belief system. Then even smaller, sexual orientation: heterosexual and homosexual. It can go further and further each level creates a new “race” of people that share common characteristics. Eventually, we get to the point where each individual is unique and, therefore, is their own “race”.
“Nothing in the world is more dangerous than a sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.” MLK Jr.
I definitely believe that ignorance promotes racism. Everyone, no matter how hard we try, has turned their head away from some form or racism, whether we realize it or not, which is the scary part. Racism is around us everyday and we don’t even realize it half of the time! Bullying is most undeniably a form of racism that most ignore on a daily basis because they don’t have the knowledge. Because most people can’t classify what racism is they don’t know how to deal with it or even when it’s present. This lack of knowledge, which most racists are fully aware of, leads to more and more because no one knows how to correct it or even how to spot it. It is not a nice thought, but unfortunately seems to become more and more evident. Every week, we are told, “You are AP kids. You live in a bubble.” Now, I realize the full extent to what that means. We, well most of us, are protected from the horrors of racism. But when we do see it, we have no clue how to even begin handling it because we have rarely encountered it. Again, not saying it applies to everyone, but I would say a majority. The rare racism I see usually is people poking fun at others’ speech or laugh or something like that. How do I stop that? Just step in and hope I don’t become the next target? I feel powerless in that situation because I have no knowledge about it. Had I grown up on the streets of New York or Philly I might be more adept at handling such situation, but I didn’t. I grew in a rather secluded neighborhood in Mullica. I was only around others during school and even then I probably didn’t notice racism because I never experienced. I do think that I see evidence of racism all the time no matter where or how I grew up. The thing is, I don’t always know what to do with the information I have. I wish that I could contribute more to the abolishment of racism but I really don’t know how I can, except by trying to eliminate it from myself and, when I see it, from others. But in order to do that, I need to learn more about it and how to handle
"What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions.
Life is plurality, death is uniformity.
By suppressing differences and peculiarities, by eliminating different civilizations and cultures, progress weakens life and favors death.
The ideal of a single civilization for everyone, implicit in the cult of progress and technique, impoverishes and mutilates us.
Every view of the world that becomes extinct, every culture that disappears, diminishes a possibility of life" Octavio Paz
There are definitely culture differences. They influence how we think, eat, pray, live, and go about our daily business. Culture differences range from geographic location, just within a country, to religion and from heritage to resources. All the factors affect who we are, how we act and think. A culture difference is really all the aspects the make each person unique and special. Truthfully, I don’t think anyone person fits into the same “culture” as anyone else. Why? Because, no one feels, thinks, or acts exactly the same as someone else, all of which make up a person’s culture. We find a persona we are comfortable with that no one else can fill; no matter how hard they try. We all share similar characteristics but are unique and make up our own “race”.
“If you were never exposed to a multicultural environment, would you be more or less attuned to the cultural differences that exist in society?”
Truthfully, Bunje, this seems rather obvious, so let me reread it for the tenth time to make sure I understand the question… Yeap, still seems obvious, but I’ll answer it anyway. If I grew up in a singular culture environment or one that is close to that, I feel I would be less accustomed to cultural differences in society. How could I possibly be more if I was never around them? I wouldn’t know they exist, right? Oh, wait! I think I see, let me start over. My new answer is yes and no. I wouldn’t know about major differences like race or religion. However, on that same token, being around the same people everyday would force me to pick out the nuances in everyone’s personality and beliefs, which contribute to culture. No one person acts the same or feels the same as another so, even in a single-culture society their would be person differences that contributed to each individual culture. So, being around a lot of similar people would cause me to see little differences that contribute to each person’s culture, while being around many different people would allow me to see major differences in culture. Either way, I feel I would get a unique perspective on cultural differences, big or little.
Unfortunately, yes, I do think people go a little off the deep when it comes to hiding behind a “culture shield”. I have heard many times: “I punched him because I grew up in the Bronx, (randomly chosen place) and that’s how we learned to defend ourselves. It is either them or me and it sure as H**l ain’t gonna be me.” I feel for these people who had an unimaginable horrid life growing up and probably still do, however, I do think that they should have some idea of when it is acceptable to act like that and when it has to be tuned down. I feel really bad when this situation occurs but I can’t justify this behavior for anyone. I feel that this attitude of “it’s how I grew up” perpetuates racism and the such. And unless we try to stop it, we will have an epidemic on our hands. But it is most definitely not just one race, gender, or anything like that: rich or poor, smart or uneducated, classy or not, purebred or mut. Everyone has one thing or another that they have that “It’s just how I grew up, I can’t change it” attitude. But we need to stop pretending and admit that it is just easier to fight then talk and easier to be mean than to be nice. It is time to man up and realize we are the only ones culpable for our actions, not our culture, background, or lifestyle. They may contribute to our feelings and handling of a situation but ultimately we chose how we will show our feelings not our culture.
“[D]o you think that the division of class "levels" within schools (AP, Honors, CP, General) promotes or prevents a racial divide?”
It isn’t meant to but it does promote the racial divide. I feel each level is meant to make students work harder in order to achieve the next “rank” but the attitude of “I can’t do it” quickly puts a damper on that plan. This cycle continues from generation to generation, the wealthier people trying to go as high as possible and the lower class just trying to get by. Unfortunately, the lower class always seems to be the minor race. These classes (AP, Honors…) wind up creating segregation rather than eliminating it. I wish this weren’t true but it is. I feel that is why affirmative action was established, but that’s a conversation for another time. I hope one to get out of this cycle and that everyone can intermingle at the top and we can grow together as one, however, it is going to take a long time for that to happen.
MY BLOG POST FOR THIS WEEK : EXACTLY WHAT MATTY SAID! (no I didn’t read it, but he’s always right!)
<3mattttttyyyyy
hahaha I'm going to have a field day with this question :)
Thanks Vikkie :) I'm glad you think so, even if you didn't read it. It is rather long this week...okay, every week.
"Racism is when the person is mistreated because their culture and way of life and are hurt by the comments thrown at them."
Truth is, even in my perspective, the definition of racism is varied but I guess the above is the right way of defining it for me. I mean, I'm confused sometimes. It is racism when a person calls an African American a "Negro" or the other N word, but it is not racism when the African Americans call themselves the same thing—am I the only one who's very confused over that? So, I suppose it is when the person gets hurt after the other mocks them about what they are that is counted as racism.
While I cannot come up with something well thought-out like Matt Warrener (who by the way has the most insane blogs every week!) I can say that I do think about racism everyday but I've given up on doing something about it since, I'll say it now, I am always ignored. Isn't that wonderful... While in this age and time, I am confused about what is racism and what isn't, I still try to help out sometimes when my friends and I are hurt by rude remarks about our race. Though, I'll admit...I come from a very racist family, most likely because they've seen only the bad side of each race. Hopefully, that won't continue on with me, but who knows? It's a parent-child cycle that continues onward...
That is until someone does something about it like the great Martin Luther King Jr. I don't think we'll be able to break away from something that we're used to, such as oppressing the African Americans back then, until we're pushed into action. I mean, I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who sits by and see it happen. I know that I can do something about it, but I think that if I ignore and pretend it doesn't exist, I'll forget about it.
Ignorance of racism does nothing. Maybe it is my own misunderstanding of the question but if they never knew of racism, why would they care about it? I mean, won't they be all like "oh, we're different!" and then proceed to socialize? We are humans, we are sociable beings. If we are with other people, we will want to be friends, right? I'm...frankly, I'm confused. I think it is only the influence of outside forces that makes us be racist. It really matters on the person's parents and other kids that influence a person's ideology. If they are raised in an area that is predominantly white and they're white, if his parents do not like African Americans or Asians and neither do the kids, then they'll feel like it is okay that they are racist... Am I looking at this wrong? I'm taking it from personal experience. When I used to go to a predominantly Asian school, where there were some whites and my parents were okay with everything, I was friends with everyone and there was no racism I could remember being displayed in any way. However, when I moved to Galloway, where it was a predominantly white school and the parents of the students did not like certain races, racism was evident everywhere. It didn't help that my own family was racist towards certain groups and I ended up having the same view. Of course I've never actually went around calling African Americans the N word or calling Caucasians certain names, but I've thought to myself those things whenever they lived up to it. I know that I was being stereotypical, but they were the ones living up to the stereotypes. I just couldn't help it, I guess...
If you were never exposed to a multicultural environment, I'd say that you would be less attuned to the cultural differences that exist in society using the above example. It really has to do with exposure to different cultures that would make us think the way we do. That being said, I guess there are cultural differences. I mean, there is the matter of different language, foods we eat and beliefs, but above all that, we are all the same, we are all humans. Another cultural difference I see might be different physical developments, maybe... I mean, that could go with our diet, but regardless, we are all affected by the media, which can make or break different races by continually running stories about how bad they are and such. (Am I making any sense anymore? I mean, I just lost myself... @_@')
While I'm not sure if people hide behind the definition of cultural differences to excuse their behavior, I am sure that because of certain stereotypes about certain races, we are forced into exhibiting different behaviors.
An example would be the whole "Asians are smart" thing. I mean, it is because of this stereotypical statement that I am forced to try my best to be "smart" in their eyes. It's a never-ending struggle to keep from getting answers wrong or bad test grades because people just end up getting wide grins on their face, as if to say "We're smarter than an Asian. No, this is important!!! We are SMARTER than an ASIAN!!!" *sighs* Society...
The division of class “levels” has nothing to do with racial divide. It's whether the person wants to succeed or not and what they want that really makes the division. I really want it, so I'm in AP and Honors. Some of my friends do not want it, so they are in CP and General. It's not about race at all, it's about self-motivation.
PEACE!!!
(P.S. I'm having a really bad day so my thoughts are a bit scattered... I apologize!!! ^_^')
To Matt:
Holy shinperdoodles!!! You are really the most insane blog writer ever!!! I really liked how you broke down "race" into an individual person and proceed to exemplify your answers. It gave me insight on what a race could be, seeing as I'm more traditional and look at race as Chinese, Russian, Italian and so on and so forth. I don't know where you get your quotes (I mean, I know where you got the MLK one, but the Octavio Paz one! I never even heard of the guy before!!! But what he said does make sense!) Well done, yet again! (I bet you don't even need me saying that anymore to know that you've outdone yourself again!)
One last thing, you have an unusually long blog yet again. *haha* How many words?
First thought…CRASH; Oscar winning movie about the roots of racism and how negligence next to ignorance of the world around you affects people in a small circle. The movie includes the most prominent race segregations of our time. Blacks and Middle Eastern people. Sandra Bullock quickly shifts to the comfort of her husband’s embrace as she passes a pair of African American people also strolling on the sidewalk. One of these people, the well known rapper Ludacris, says to his friend, ‘did you see that? She just got “a little cold” once we passed by.” Here he was sarcastically saying that his presence frightened her still, and that she being a ‘rich and white’ female was racist. This example can go both ways. If Bullock intentionally grabbed her husband because she was stereotyping blacks and was scared of them, then yes she was participating in the world wide issue of racism. However, what if she was simply cold, and that time just happened to be when she looking to her husband for warmth and comfort. In this case, Ludacris was being racist by stereotyping white people as being ignorant towards his race.
This movie was a very significant view of the circle of effects caused by racism that helped me consider my thoughts before I exposed them to others. I am not going to respond completely to this blog right now because I want to think some of my ideas over like Bunje said. Still, I already have some comments for the few responses.
When I think of racism…I don’t know how to put this in a respectful way…but I just shrug it off. I don’t do this because I believe that it doesn’t exist, (I’ve seen and heard the assholes of the world in action), however, I feel that arguing the reasons why ‘I’m not racist’ and how I look at every race the same way is absurd. I don’t have to defend myself in this issue. If someone says that I’m ‘racist’ I just shake my head, because I know that I am not that way. I’ve grown up in a household that has shown me the affects and ignorance that has revolved around segregation. To me, there are no social status differences in any race, religion, or group of people in the world. Everyone starts from the beginning ends their life in a place classified by how hard they worked to get there. I’m truly lost for words on this issue because I feel that the entire shameful past of America and other countries is unbelievable and beyond disgrace. Which ever man decided that they could look down on someone because their skin was a little darker then theirs or because someone spoke in a different tongue than them baffles me. I just really don’t get it. And although I will respond fully to the blog with the world-wide racism and segregation synopsis that everyone has been preached to in their life, I would first like to acknowledge my feelings towards this issue. I don’t even know if what I’m saying can make any sense because sometimes there are things that you just can’t put in words, or at least me, MegReese can make anything sound incredible. Still, I’m not trying to degrade any of the horrible things that our world has been a part of that has included segregation and the unfair treatment of specific races. But, I feel that placing such a large concern on how you are being treated by others defeats the purpose of living. Your should never let anyone tell you that you’re less than them and you should never say the same to another. You should never accept the fact that your race or religion or heritage is discriminated against by a majority in another country. You should look at everyone as a different mixture of emotions, cultures, and morals, and give each person an equal chance in finding themselves and making impressions on the world.
^for real I have no clue what I just said, I can’t even put what I feel in words
=fail:/
I just thought of an amazing quote by none other then comedian Chris Rock from when he was a guest on Howard Stern's show a few months or so ago.
When asked the question 'is American ready for a black president' Rock responded, "Obama isn't any old black man. Obama is the right man, at the right time -- a truly rare combination, and one that we're truly fortunate to have." Then he further supported his point by questioning Stern, "Was America ready for the first African American baseball player when Jackie Robinson stepped to the plate?" Rock said that it wasn't because Jackie Robinson was black, but because he was such an amazing athlete.
^ Obviously this election could be a milestone for the African American race, however Rock really puts it into perspective by pointing out that these people aren't known because of their race, but because they are amazing at what they do, weather it is hittiing homeruns or leading a country.
Note: I am going to contradict myself 754398574 times in this blog, only because my thoughts on the subject are so scattered.
I don't even know how to define racism. My best way to explain it, would probably be negative remarks, actions, or thoughts against another person because of their race, heritage, skin color, beliefs, etc.
However, I have mixed feelings about this subject, because I also believe that racism is only limited to majorities. An asian person in an all-white school cannot be racist against a white person because they are not suppressing them in any way. If that asian were to think negatively on another race, then that would be mere prejudice. I'm not saying that people can't be racist against whites, that would be implying that whites are the predominate race, which isn't true since it all depends on where you live now-a-days.
Here's where most people will probably be like "wtf?!". I don't believe that calling someone the deadly, horrific, offensive, (note the sarcasm) "N word" is anywhere near as bad as arguing that black people are less intelligent than whites. 95% of the time, people don't mean it to be malicious. The other 5% of the time, it's because, I've heard this on numerous occasions, "I called them the N word because they fit into that stereotype." So yes, it may be offensive if people are labeling that by using certain stereotypes, but c'mon.. HOW OFTEN IS THAT WORD USED TODAY!?! And that whole "oh, well black people can say it to other black people, but white people can't say it to black people" thing, no. Sorry, but no. Incorrect. NO. That crap there pisses me off, and not because I'm white, but because if they think that word is SO offensive, DON'T USE IT AT ALL. Don't advertise it in rap or hip-hop songs, whatever. It's as meaningless now as saying "what up skank?" or "ayo ho!". Get over it. If THAT is what people consider racism, then they are obviously blind.
WELL, I've gotta go watch House now. So I'll finish this later.
While the denotation of racism is exactly what Matt said, I feel that the connotation of "racism", which most people go by, is descrimination against any person or group of people based on nationality. (Look! I used vocab words!)
To answer the question of does ignorance promote or prevent racism from becoming an ideology, I think I'd like to turn to children. As a child, so long as your parents weren't rascist, most children aren't really aware of rascism, and they are therefore not rascist. Children are innocent, and not even really aware of race. Yes, one of their friends might have different colored skin than them, but this is no different than Susie being shorter than them, or any other physical differences. It isn't until society makes us aware of the issue of rascism that it really becomes an issue at all.
Now, if we go by matt w's definition of race, then I myself have hid behind a "cultural sheild". My culture being The Blondes. At first it started out as a joke; I would do something ditzy, my friends would say, "Oh, SArah, you're so blonde." and I would agree. Eventually, though, Blonde became an excuse to hide behind every time I did something stupid or clumsy. I didn't even realize this until my friend Uroosa called me out.
"Why do you do that?" she said.
"Do what?" I replied.
"Use the whole blonde thing as an excuse. Every time you mess up, you laugh and go 'Oh, hee hee hee, it's not my fault, I'm blonde.' And then five seconds later you bust out with insanely detailed random knowledge and I'm like, 'How does she remember this crap?' You remember it 'cause your smart, and you just keep using the blonde thing to throw everybody off."
Uroosa was right. I did use my hair color and the Blonde Stereotype as a sort of Get-out-of-jail free card for all my mistakes. So I guess people do use stereotypes as a sort of sheild. I can't be the only one.
I do and I don't think that the levels promote a racial divide. On one hand, I believe anybody with enough motivation can acheive whatever they want to in life. On the other hand, that takes a lot of motivation. I don't even know if I'd be AP today if I didn't have the supportive home life that I have, that could afford at an early age to supply me with tons of books (almost all of them fictional, and almost none of them relating to math which is probably why I'm only in Alg. 2)and other learning tools. This encouragement and advantages from an early age is probably the reason why I'm in this class. Lower class families, on the other hand, often can't afford to provide their children from an early age with these advantages, and so many children are at a detriment from the get-go.
What a clever title.
Racism is the disrespect and intolerance of one race towards another. It is also the belief that one's race is superior, and has the right to rule the others.
I believe that ignorance of racism most definitely promotes racism. However, I'm not entirely sure that I agree that there is such thing as "ignorance" of racism. Racism is everywhere. Turn on the television. Look in the hallways, or look in the lunchroom. Everyday people are being discriminated and are affected (on different levels) by racism. I think the "ignorance" that promotes racism is the CHOICE to ignore it, not that people do not have "knowledge" of it.
For example, my Catholic grandfather was a tanker in WWII. When the war ended, his job was "clean-up" at a nearby concentration camp and liberated hundreds of persecuted Jews. One night, he went to a nearby town and had dinner with a Catholic priest who gave him hospitality and a bed for the night. While eating dinner, my grandfather inquired about the concentration camp. "Did you KNOW that there was a concentration camp just a half mile up the road?!" The Catholic priest answered yes. My grandfather, now angry, stood up and bellowed, "THEN WHY DID YOU NOT DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT?!!!!" All of the townspeople were aware of the sickening circumstances of those Jewish people that were gassed, starved, tortured, etc., and did absolutely nothing about it. The next day, my grandfather and his troops made the townspeople help "clean up" the concentration camp-- and forced them to witness what they chose to be ignorant of. They saw the hundreds of lifeless bodies and the remaining desperate survivors. Ignorance is not bliss.
This case is extreme, but true nonetheless. These law-abiding townspeople kept the concentration camp "hush hush" and chose to ignore the devastating situation not half a mile down the road. The realization of this intolerant racism could have saved innocent lives.
I was most recently exposed to a multicultural environment, also known as Oakcrest High School. Mullica was predominantly white, and so is Oakcrest for that matter, but there were still racial separations. As long as there are two or races in an area, there is going to be discrimination, and even racism. It is human nature to point out things about other people make oneself feel more important. And if there is a group, it is more apparent due to mob mentality. It is a shame, but it is true. Gah, blast you human nature.
There are cultural differences between races, and also among races. I think that has to do with the standard of living, not so much race. There are poor white people that majorly act a certain way, and there are rich white people that act a different way. This also applies to "black" races, or "Asian" races. Way of life in general is different. That is just how it is.
"Cultural differences" shouldn't excuse rude behavior, but it does. I don't want to sound racist, but when you walk down the hallway, and you hear conversations being screamed down the hallway to shaniqua, 85% of the time it is a "black" or "Latino" people. Granite, white people sure as hell can be loud as well. However, judging by my experiences, these people are usually the ones to push, yell, or even say "MOVE IT WHITE GIRL!" In which I respond, "SHUT UP ALREADY!" and run away. :)
I am certainly not saying that this applies to ALL black or Latino people. White people can be annoying too, for example their arrogant and I'm-better-than-everyone-else attitudes. Gah.
I'm not really comfortable answering this last question, but I suppose I have to. If you are reading this, you are an "AP" kid. Look around you in class. Take a tally of the number of different races. White people are the majority, and all other races are the minority. I don't think this is a coincidence. I can't explain how or why, but most of the time, the higher level classes are majorly white. I'm not suggesting that white people are superior in intelligence. Most certainly not. Heck, I've met a lot of incredibly dumb white people. I suppose society has ingrained this racial and class divide. It is terrible to think that the shameful events of older days, as in the Civil War and the Civil Rights Movement, are still affecting people today. It is hard to believe, and even harder to say out loud or type, but I can't think of any other explanation.
Carly. First of all... I gotchu, girl. You aren't confusing. You are so disgusted at the world, you just can't find the right words to portray your opinion. Totally understandable.
I liked this quote:
"Everyone starts from the beginning ends their life in a place classified by how hard they worked to get there."
I 100% agree with this statement. If you work hard and put your full attention towards a goal, you can make it. Forget your skin color. There are examples or people, in every race, who overcame the discriminations against them. I have no idea if discriminations is a word. Well, it is now. :)
I just finished reading "I Have a Dream" and I'm completely under the spell of Martin Luther King Jr. He implies that racism is not just between blacks and whites. He calls for peace between "all of God's children." I agree with King. Racism, in my opinion, is synonymous with judgment. Any judgments passed, at any point during the day, no matter who they are aimed at, that's all racism to me.
The thing is, we are all different, which is a fact that should be celebrated. However, we go and categorize people based on these differences, and we impose unnecessary judgments. Usually we criticize people because they are different, instead of realizing the beauty of being unique. We aren't thankful for our individuality, and I feel as though racism has stemmed from our own inability to respect the uniqueness of others.
I often find myself wishing I had grown up in Mullica...for numerous reasons. Not only are many of my closest friends from there, but my ideology tends to match better with theirs. They had a more small-town upbringing, which I envy. I'm a simple, relaxed, it's-the-little-things kind of girl. I would have loved the educational experiences and surroundings of a small, personal, and laid back school and town. However, I grew up in Mays Landing, and thus went to Shaner, Hess, and Davies. I usually felt out of place, just a face in the crowd. It took me a while to justify my position in the school, and establish a relationship with my teachers and peers. However, I learned a lot about the "real world" growing up in Mays Landing. I was exposed to numerous cultures and first heard the "f bomb" when I was relatively young. I got to Oakcrest and the crowded hallways, pushy people, dirty looks, intimidating peers... that was nothing for me. I had already seen it all, heard it all, and adapted to it at my Hamilton Township schools. My point? Ignorance promotes racism, and growing up in an environment that was not multicultural would make you more attuned to the cultural differences in society. If I didn't already know what to expect when I got to Oakcrest, I would have a much lower opinion of those around me. I would be so much more scared, almost in shell-shock. However, I got to sit in classrooms with these kids for years on end. I got to see that no one brought in cupcakes on their birthday in first grade, no one signed their agenda books every night so they didn't get stickers, some didn't even have winter coats. I got to see the brutal truth- everyone is who they are for a reason. Not everyone can help the level of anger, ignorance, and intolerance that is inside of them. Being around many cultures has tought me not only that racism exists, but how to get over the cultural differences, and become more accepting of those around me.
(I hope that wasn't too confusing...)
There are obvious cultural differences in this world, however I think they are only an issue because we let them become one. Different people believe different things. Cultural differences can be ANYTHING in my opinion. Culture is what makes up who we are, so a cultural difference to me is any difference. I often feel that people hide behind stereotypes, not necessarily cultural differences. I'm not trying to be rude when I explain:
Every day, in homeroom, a group of about 5 African Americans in my class acts like wild animals. They are always late, scream across the room, don't sit in their seats, and give Mr. Weisback hell. They are rude, ignorant, and constantly talk back. Although they have their good days, and I happen to love 2 of them, they can be pretty obnoxious. This one girl, in particular, likes to push Mr. Weisback's buttons. She purposely gives him problems. It's almost as if these kids act like they are above the law. They purposely stereotype themselves and use it as an excuse to get away with everything. When Mr. Weisback tries to yell at them, they pull the old "It's because we're black, isn't it?" I feel like yelling, "NO IT'S BECAUSE YOU ARE RUDE!" In this case, at least, people hide behind stereotypes.
The division of class levels definitely promotes a racial divide, even though it shouldn't. I don't know how or when it happens, but it is so obvious that every level has their own opinions about the others. We are all guilty of automatically assuming some people are in general, just because of their appearance. I'm sure that general kids stereotype us as "white nerds" (for the most part.) It goes both ways. I have a CP friend who constantly teases me about being a "nerd" and judges all my other AP friends. This same person will crack jokes about "dumb" kids and is quick to assume they are in general. I think that class divisions greatly feed into the issues of racism at schools all across the country.
Oh and all this makes me think of Remember the Titans, which is one of my top five favorite movies ever. If you haven't seen it, GO WATCH IT NOW. Anyway, I figured I would throw in some song lyrics from the soundtrack...
Peace Train by Cat Stevens:
Now I've been crying lately, thinking about the world as it is
Why must we go on hating, why can't we live in bliss
Cause out on the edge of darkness, there rides a peace train
Oh peace train take this country, come take me home again
Oh peace train sounding louder
Glide on the peace train
Come on now peace train
Yes, peace train holy roller
Everyone jump upon the peace train
Come on peace train
Yes, it's the peace train
Devon!!!
I saw your comment and immediatly
started singing "Ain't no mountain high enough" =D The Titans is such a good movie!
HILARY
"I think the "ignorance" that promotes racism is the CHOICE to ignore it, not that people do not have "knowledge" of it."
^true that Hil
I don't think that ignorance can possibly promote racism, unless the ignorance people are reffering to is not knowing that discriminating against others is wrong. The same goes for children who don't get sent to jail or have an equal punishment to adults because they are claimed to 'not know any better.' After you turn about 10 years old, I think you know that killing is bad and making fun of classmates is wrong. No matter what upbringing you came from, these things should be present. However, I do agree that whatever family you grow up in, most likely the children will adopt the same ideas.
In response to what Devon said about Mullicans and Davies kids, I don't think that growing up in MaysLanding made people any less racist or stereotypical. Mullicans weren't all from identical cultural backgrounds. Sure, we were all 'hickish' but we had plenty of cultures, just not to the same extent as the 500 Davies kids. This doesn't cause 'ignorance.' However, I could just be speaking for myself.
But Mullicans can back me up if they want to.
Just to leave a quickie comment, i would like to say that I define racism as ANY ill thoughts against ANY group of people, regardless of color, faith, or creed.
Just like to say that.
whatever.
I'll back Carly up on the Mullica thing and add that not ALL of Mullica is rediculously deserted forest. That's mostly Sweetwater.
You know, where I live.
Hil, I thought your story about your grandfather was great (not in a puppies and sunshine way, but in an oh my god way).
I love Mullicans, and was not trying to insult them or say they were racist. So if it came off that way, I'm sorry. Let's not forget- I LIVE IN LAURELDALE. Very similar to Mullica. I have deer in my back yard too! :) I simply used it as an example. I know that coming to a much bigger school like Oakcrest was a culture shock for a lot of you, and many of you have admitted to feeling lost in the big school. So please, don't take offense to what I am saying. It's just a way of proving that people who are around many different cultures and nationalities learn how to adapt better. I just reread what I wrote, and I never accuse Mullicans of being racist or anything of the sort. I simply point out that growing up around different cultures help you become more attuned to racism. That's all.
Devon. Peace Train = L<3VE. You put that on my magic mix cd that you made for me two years ago. :)Ha ha.
hilly-
Hahah I did?! :)
Like everyone else said, racism is a very, very difficult term to really define. From a personal standpoint, I guess it would be the “misguided-treatment, misjudgment, or ignorance of other people due to their race, culture, religion, etc.” Little broad and vague, but stay with me.
But before I begin, let me give you a little background about myself. I was born in Tokyo, and lived in Japan for roughly the first 8 years of my life. Now, I’m a pretty dark person (darker than some of my black brothers :p), and the Japanese are fairly white skinned. You have to keep in mind that about 98 percent of the population in Japan consists of pure-blood Japanese, or Korean, Thai, Chinese, or Taiwanese. So to say that my family and I stuck out like sore thumbs is quite an understatement. Looking back at my pre-school year book, I’m the only non-Japanese in the school, which consisted of about a thousand kids.
I experienced racism first-hand. It wasn’t to the extent of some of the horror stories I’ve heard of racism, but it did leave a lasting impression on how I see things. There’s one memory that sticks out the most in particular.
It was my first day of kindergarten, and at recess, I gathered my troop of friends to go play tag on one of the giant slide things (ah, good old days).
Everything was going great, until I noticed a kid staring at me with a blank eye. I caught his stare, and he looked absolutely mortified. He ran away crying, yelling “GAIJIN, GAIJIN!” (That means “foreigner” in Japanese).
Now obviously, I was hurt, I mean damn, it’s not like I gave him a dirty look or called his mother fat. He just ran away from me like a little pansy, and I assume he’s never seen a non-Japanese in his life before.So this shows that ignorance breed in an area where multi-culturality doesn't exist. I can’t blame the kid, for that was the way he was raised, having not grown up around anyone other than people of Eastern Asian ancestry. We are oblivious to what we don't know, and ignorant to the things we “think” we do know, which is basically where stereotypes arise from. We think we know a certain group of people, based on some farfetched generalization we made in our minds.
Now I don’t want you to get the impression that the Japanese are racist, because quite frankly, they’re not. Nearly all the counts of racism I encountered were not because they were afraid of me, more because they were fascinated with me. I was a celebrity to some, just because of how differently I looked. That’s also racism right there, even if it wasn’t strictly negative. I like to point that as my family and I left Tokyo, we had about 300 friends (no life) come see us away at the airport. I couldn’t possibly think of a better example of ignorance being set straight than that.
Now fast forward to 1999. My family and I landed in Baltimore International Airport, and I was frightened out of my mind. The only thing I had to comfort me was my Mickey Mouse Doll (which I still have, heh), and the wisecrack remarks of my brother. I knew nobody, and the airplane food hadn’t done me much to help me out either. Now there was something remarkable that I noticed after I stepped off the plane. There were SO MANY different kinds of people. It was like I was looking at a color palette. I saw blacks, whites, East Asians, South Asians, Native Americans, Hispanics, South Americans… you name it. I just can’t put into words at how I felt at the moment. It was unlike any other moment in my life. Because for once, I didn’t stick out in the crowd. I truly felt like I belonged. And this in turn changed my way of how I saw things. The world wasn’t so black-and-white anymore, but I felt like someone switched the colors on in my mind.
And the question of using cultural differences to justify ignorance is a common thing. WE ARE ALL RACIST. EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU. I firmly stand by the fact that black people are fast as hell in track, white people are great in hockey, Latinos are great at baseball, and we Asians are great at cricket and ping-pong. I’ll be the first to say I use racism for laughs. I’ve heard every racist joke under the sun, but I don’t find myself retelling them to criticize another race, but I use it more in an effort to get people to laugh at themselves. I personally think that South Asians have the funniest accents in the world. It’s great for every situation except romance (Heey baby... your legs are as plump as a cow's…), and I love making fun of myself. Is that racism? Sure. But racism has a very negative connotation I think. Deservedly so, but there are times in which we have to laugh and embrace our differences, or else we’d never get along with our peers.
And finally, I’m guilty of the whole AP, CP, and General divide. I tend to associate with a mix of all three, but I admit, a good chunk comes from the AP circle. This is partly due to the fact that I’ve known these kids for the last 3 years, and I’ve seen them every day in that span. It also comes from that fact that like Meg Song (Hi!), my parents are strict Asian. Before I started caring less about what they said and lying to their faces a lot, they made sure I associated with friends in the same classes as I am. I’ve kind of grown out of that grind though, and changed that idea. Because face it, you don’t have to be "smart" to be smart. Being school smart is such a dumb concept it unfairly categorizes us. Because face it, I learned most of what I know from people who didn’t take 4 or 5 AP classes their junior year. My brother is a perfect example. The smartest people can't be measured by tests and quizzes, I think.
Some of the “dumbest” people have such a crazy outlook on life that you wonder why you never talked to them in the first place. Ever talk to a homeless person? Crazy the amount of stuff they know.
But yeah, I think we AP kids have that air of elitism that I really never understood, but, as I admit, have found myself exuding at times. So it definitely provides divisions and ignorance.
I know this blog was kind of all over the map, but that’s pretty much it. Thank you for reading.
Dev: I do agree with you on having urges to live somewhere less crowded. I’m a rural boy at heart (Iowa!), and as much as I make fun of Mullicans (all in good fun, of course), I do wish I lived somewhere more open. Mays Landing is such a dry place, I can’t stand it. I like your point that you did learn about the real world, however (and no, the Woodlands are not ghetto. Neither is Oakcrest estates. Try Camden or parts of Philadelphia). And the example you used with Weisback and the black girls showed that not only do people use cultural differences to justify making fun of others, but also to justify how they act. Loved your blog.
Sarah: They have computers in Mulilca? ;) And the idea that kids are a lot more innocent towards racism is quite true. In 2nd grade, none of my fellow second gradians outcasted me for not speaking any English whatsoever (I knew how to say yes, no, toilet, and hot dog). In fact, they wanted to be my friends, and help me out through school. My personality would be a whole lot different if I didn't see that people CAN be accepting, and the world isn't as bleak as everyone made it out to be. You gotta love kids. And by the way, you're still a hick. :D
Racism, I am glad that is the topic of the blog this week because it has been on my mind a lot for some reason. It is ridiculous to think that racism does not exist because I see it, if not everyday, several times a week in school and out in public. To me racism is the ignorance or discrimination of another person due to their skin color or ethnicity, beliefs, mindset, and sexuality (?), I don’t know if sexuality works, but I agree with Matt on his definition. Racism is just one thing that truly makes me sick. I personally am not racist. I am not saying I haven’t stereotyped, like who hasn’t? It is so wrong, but who hasn’t? If you are walking down a street and a big, black guy approaches you, what are you going to do? You are going to be like “Oh god!” and be scared. It is just kind of natural. If a white man approaches you, you still might be a little uneasy, but not have the same “WTF!” reaction. I grew up surrounded by mostly white people. My parents don’t really have, if any, black friends. It is not that they are racist, it is just because they area we live in and the people they grew up with. My mom grew up in Port Republic, good luck finding any black or Spanish people there! Despite that though, I was raised to have an open mind and see beyond the color of someone’s skin. My mom did not want me to see color barriers and she wanted me to never discriminate on some one due to their culture. Even though Billy Cheatham makes fun of me, I still had (and I guess still kind of have) a crush on this black kid, and I didn’t think of it as strange, though Billy and several others of did. He is just another person to me. I wish that everyone would get over the color of each others skin and just accept them for what is inside. I know that sounds so old and blah blah blah, but I really believe in that. It would stop so many fights in and outside of school. All those gang fights in the cities started over race and this is “Puerto Rican’s side” and this is the “West Side” or whatever the case maybe, could be stopped if racism was no longer an issue. But like the title says, “A Race Nobody Wins”, racism will always be existent and the more people that are ignorant to the fact that it is there the worse it will be to get rid of it. People should try and accept the fact that everyone is equal. Like I said before, I see it around ALL THE TIME. In lunch, for example, there are all the different tables. If you look around there are usually African Americans sitting amongst each other and Spanish kids sitting together and then there is white people, Asians, and various other ethnicities sitting at their separate tables, though those occasionally mix. Just today, I saw a girl look around the lunch table. There was an empty seat at this table with black people and then an empty seat at a table with white people. She chose to sit with the white people instead. It is like subconscious racism, I think. People also find humor at racist jokes, which are usually demeaning and hurtful.
Matt says “There are definitely culture differences. They influence how we think, eat, pray, live, and go about our daily business. Culture differences range from geographic location, just within a country, to religion and from heritage to resources. All the factors affect who we are, how we act and think”. I could not have said it any better. That sums it up. People everyday have their own cultural differences. I think from Mullica to Mays Landing there are cultural differences. In Mullica, it is more in the woods and not close to much. I remember as kids we found more outside things to do, like building tree forts and whatnot. In Mays Landing, from what I have experienced, they grew up faster. They would go to the movies alone and shop around the mall. They were closer to a more city or suburban lifestyle, surrounded closely by other neighbors and people, whereas Mullica is really spread out. But back to racism, I am about to rant about something. Last year EVERY FRIKN’ DAY, no exaggeration this girl and her friends would be so obnoxious and loud and then would be like “It is cause we are Spanish.” I was always like are you honestly seriously saying that? Like NO, it is not because your Spanish it is because you are loud and obnoxious. I have heard and experienced that the Spanish culture is loud, but there is no reason to be yelling about your boyfriend across the classroom. That is just you choosing to be disruptive. Also, I haaaaaaaate when black girls and guys use like slang and this one girl even referred to it as “ghetto talk.” I mean we all go to the same school, we all have taken the same English and whatever since kindergarten, just because your black does not entitle you to have to talk in that manner. I don’t know if I am off base or whatever with this. Am I? Ugh, it just irritates me.
Lastly, I think that yes, to an extent, that the different classes cause a racial divide. I am not meaning to sound racist but by looking around many black and Spanish kids are in either CP or general courses. I am not saying white people aren’t because I see plenty of them taking that too, but I am just stating the obvious. I hate saying that though. Like it sounds wrong, but I am just being honest. In period 9/10 there is not one black person in AP Lang, and in Cervi’s period 7/8 there is one. Last year in CP English and History, there were at least four or five in each.
I honestly wish that in school and outside this barrier did not exist. It would just make everything so much more peaceful, but it sadly is there and I think it hurts worse to ignore it because the evidence will just keep building up more and more. It is obvious that is exists, so I think the best thing is to just not take part in it and let it be. All you can really do is prevent your own actions and ways of thinking.
Carly, that movie Crash was such a good example of the issue of racism and I thought it was such a great movie. It really makes you think and is perfect for this blog. “You should look at everyone as a different mixture of emotions, cultures, and morals, and give each person an equal chance in finding themselves and making impressions on the world.” That is so true and amazingly put. :)
This blog seems to concur on what racism actually means, in that it's the looking down on one race or another because you believe yours is superior. However, people seem to be differing on what constitutes a race. So there I'll throw in, not two cents, but a full nickel. Racism is a funny thing in that people generally substitute discrimination with racism, and vicey versa whenever they hear either. That gets my feathers ruffled, as fond of concise language as I am. Racism is always discrimination, but discrimination is not always racism. Discrimination is any kind of false supremacy resulting in ill treatment of others. Anti-Semitism being my prime example of this, as JEWS ARE NOT A RACE, THEY ARE A RELIGION!!! Sorry about the outburst.
Racism is focusing on race, as in nationality and skin features, rather than social affiliations, religion, or so many other things that make up people, to justify excluding them from something or other. Ignorance of racism will exacerbate the problem. We've had awareness of racism shoved down our throats from a young age. We see it everywhere, and we wish for ignorance. But without this forced awareness, would we know it when we see it? More importantly, would we know when we do it? Without a forced awareness of racism, we would have no idea what behaviors constituted it, and we would have no idea how to stop ourselves from doing it.
If we were never exposed to multicultural environments pre-Oakcrest, I think we would be much less attuned to the cultural differences in the world, but would that be such a bad thing? I'm going to the completely awesome movie Bubble Boy for my example. Jimmy lived in a bubble. He had never been outside his house until he went on an unplanned cross-country trip to Niagara falls. On the way, he fearlessly addressed cultists, a Hispanic biker dude, a bunch of circus freaks, the Hindi Ice cream man, and Pippy and Pappy as though they were not all people with different pasts and personal hatreds, but as though they were his own family. He had no idea the massive differences between the different cultures, but out of it, he did something I don't think anyone in this class or school could ever accomplish.
Do people hide behind cultural barriers? Duh. I... Am a white male. As such, I am the bad guy in the mind of every hardcore feminist, every gangtsa (ganksta?), and every hardcore civil rights activist. I am the Man, in the way Hippies use it. At every turn I am accused of being racist, sexist or ignorant. (I am me, so this could be unique, but I doubt it.) White guys like me have to either forsake their reputations, or cripple our thoughts with political correctness. I cannot even criticize a black person for something completely retarded without being called racist, and I can't be obnoxious to a woman without being a combination of unchivalrous and sexist. Given this propensity for people to blame white males (while they are the power culture), I would say yeah, people hide behind their race. Why fight for a real equal shot when you can sue your employer for being racist, win, get him fired, and take his job? Then again, do I hide behind mine? Yerp. I'm a white guy. Every time someone calls me racist, its entirely their fault for hiding behind their culture. Does that count? Probably. Should I do it? Nope. Do I? Yep.
Do the levels of Oakcrest High encourage segregation? I have to say no. Prime examples, our resident East Asians, Harleen, Kuhlwinder (last year at least), Janiru, and Lorenzo 'the beast' Linares. I can name, off the top of my head, at least ten AP kids who are minorities, so this thesis seems like it's full of holes. True, the majority of kids in these classes are white, but correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't most of Oakcrest white kids?
Ignorance of racism obviously promotes it. Especially if you grow up in an area where you are not accustomed to such cultural differences. However, I would not consider Mullica to be anything like this. I grew up unaware of any division of race. I had tons of black friends growing up. Mullicans may remember Digna and Melanie? Well, them, sarah, and I were all part of our own "four muskateers" group in 3rd and 4th grade. It never occurred to me once that they were a different skin color. I went to Digna's birthday party in 3rd grade, and looking back now, I was the ONLY white person there, but still, I didn't realize that at the time. It didn't make me "nervous", I didn't feel like I didn't belong. They were humans just as I was. We were playing musical chairs for goodness sake. Obviously I was a kid then. As I grew up, the differences became much more clear. They never bothered me much, though. I could still easily go in a room, with me being the minority, and I wouldn't feel "out of place". But I do recognize cultural differences. I mean, you'd be lying to yourself if you said you are not racist. at all. I judge people all the time, and some of my judgments may derive from what culture or race that person is. This is something that sadly won't end. But I won't degrade a race. I won't say "I'd never live in ____ because it's all black people so I'd get shot". I know people who would say that, but it's completely ridiculous to classify black people as an angry homicidal race, when white people, asians, hispanics, whoever, are just as bad.
I love what Devon wrote about our homeroom because I experience that first-hand, as well. Weisback obviously doesn't yell at them because they're black. He does so because they're RUDE. And by them insinuating that he's yelling at them because they're black, when they CLEARLY know that they're just being obnoxious and ill-mannered, they're actually creating their own stereotype. They are molding into that classification to use it as an excuse for their actions. This doesn't help the situation at all.
The whole class levels within schools really piss me off. People aren't smart because they take AP classes, and people aren't dumb because they're in general. It's just a matter of who has more motivation, and who's willing to handle intense stress. But even so, I know I'm not the only one who realizes that in our AP classes, the majority are white. I really hate that, too. I would love to have more classes like gym, and experience more situations such as being in my homeroom, just to have more of a feel of the atmosphere. I took CP bio freshman year, and the majority of the class was black. But I LOVED that class. I wasn't surprised of that, either. Why wouldn't I be able to like a class where I'm the minority? Other people do it on a daily basis. In Mullica is was always nice because only certain classes were divided by how smart you were. In most of the others, I would be mixed with the hispanics and blacks and those were some of the funnest classes. It's just a shame that some people think negatively towards minorities in lower classes just because some of them behave impudently. Like I mentioned before, EVERY race has those who are "bad". It's not so much as race as it is humans in general. There are "good" people (well, not GOOD, but those who behave in a decent, polite manner) and "bad" people (those who behave in an ill-manner).
Ugh, I don't even know what else to write. This subject is so vague and my thoughts are so scattered. It frustrates me because I think racism is childish. I don't think we should ignore it, but GET OVER OURSELVES, is pretty much what I want to say.
Haha...Besides Mullicans being the greatest ever, I find it rather ironic that this blog is about racism and one of the major components and promotor of racism is segregation. Yet, here we are, the creme de la creme, segregating ourselves by where we went to school, oh the irony. Anyone else find that funny? Or am I completely off?
Hilary:
"It is human nature to point out things about other people make oneself feel more important. And if there is a group, it is more apparent due to mob mentality. It is a shame, but it is true. Gah, blast you human nature."
Amazing insight and so true. I completely agree. We, unforunately, look for differences to make others feel bad and to make us feel good. It is sad :( but all we can try to do is fight it off.
I think that ignorance of racism prevents it from becoming an ideology. If someone has been unaware that others are degrading others because of their race, then if they come across it, they’ll immediately realize something wrong. They’ll realize something is wrong, because, to them, everyone is treated equally.
Now, I know I quoted the movie Means Girls last week, but I have to reference it again. Segregation and mistreatment of others is the basis of the movie, I think it’s relevant to the topic of racism. After living in a village in Africa for most of her life, Caddie, is immune to the fact that racism and segregation have become everyday normality’s in high schools. When she’s dropped in the middle of an American high school, she immediately takes notice of the presence of cliques. Cliques based on race, intelligence, gender, and etc. Caddie realizes this is something wrong, but the students didn’t blink twice. Segregation was such an everyday thing to the students, that they didn’t care they were being grouped. If the students weren’t exposed to racism, then they would have been disturbed to being grouped based on their appearance.
I grew up in Sweetwater, a part of Mullica, because of that, high school was a big change. Now as I walk down the hallway I hear slander, all sorts, some in other languages. There are culture differences, of course, but I think people try to hide behind them to cover up for being obnoxious, rude, or badly behaved. At the end eighth grade the teachers were nice enough to throw the whole class an ice cream party. To prevent a mob at the make shift ice-cream-buffet, my teacher told my class, that the students who’d been behaved and gotten good grades all year, could go to the table first. My two friends and me, having been good smart students got up to go to the table. As we walked toward the table, a group of girls, mostly black and a few Hispanic, starting calling us “skinny white suck ups” and “teacher’s pets,” they began yelling that the teachers were “racists.” My homeroom teacher ran back into the room and tried to discipline the girls, the girls yelled back that the teacher was doing it because they were “black.” I’d like to point out here that those girls were some of my class’s worst students. Most of those girls had received detentions and suspensions. They had gotten into fights, and not to mention had grades, which barely allowed them to graduate. Those girls hid behind their race to so they could attack and demean their fellow students.
To me, racism is the discrimination against a person because of their race, beliefs, appearance, or any difference about them. (Let me just say, Matt’s definition was right on.) All the sly and nasty comments that people either think, or say to someone else that directly attacks who they are as a person is racism. Let me start off with a little anecdote to show people how hurtful those underhanded comments are. I am Jewish; I think everyone knows that by now. Growing up in Mullica, for most of my life I was the only Jewish kid in school. And I didn’t think that there was anything wrong with it, but I guess other people did. The first time that I got really affected by someone’s comment was in eighth grade, when someone called me a “stupid Jew.” And it just got worse from there. My family’s mailbox has been smashed, and a swastika has been painted on our driveway, and even the people who I thought truly cared about me have made comments about my religion. This year, two of my friends, who I considered to be two of the smartest and beautiful girls ever made a comment about my religion. I don’t remember the comment exactly, but I don’t think that it matters so much, as the fact that they said it. I have learned to ignore the comments for the most part, from the people who don’t know who I am as a person. But these two girls knew me inside and out. So when they said the comment, I just stopped, and thought about how they really don’t understand how hurtful those comments are. You aren’t saying something about what I am wearing or something that I said, but about who I am. I am Jewish. So those comments that everyone thinks are so funny, they aren’t. Although I may laugh and brush it off, it hurts, deep down to know that I will always be known as “the Jewish girl.” And I can say for a fact, the people that I call my best friends today have NEVER said anything to downgrade my religion, or made me feel ashamed of what I believe in. And I know that I say things about people, everyone does. But I try not to say things about who they are, because I know how much it hurts.
Growing up in Mullica, a predominantly white town, I think as kids we were more prone to become “racist.” Because we weren’t surrounded by many minorities, or those who were different from ourselves, we didn’t learn how to accept others as easily. And I think that is true for everyone that is sheltered in a community with few outsiders. When we go into the city, and we are culture shocked. So when we see a black man walking down the street, we stop, and stereotype them, because we aren’t used to those who are outside our norm. I honestly don’t think that anyone can deny that racism doesn’t exist. Those who don’t think that it exist are the ones that so full of themselves, that think that they are perfect in what they do, that they don’t stop and think about what they say to people, and how it affects them. I guarantee that everyone has said a racist comment. So I don’t think that ignorance makes one allowed to say that racism doesn’t exist. Just listen to what you think as you walk into the city, and I know that a racist comment will run through your mind.
I think that if you grew up and weren’t exposed to a multicultural society, you would be more attuned to the cultural differences in society. We all see it on television. You turn on the six o’clock news and see the shootings in Philly. If you aren’t exposed to that in everyday life, you are likely to make a remark about who those people are. I do believe that there are cultural differences. You compare a small town like Mullica to a city like Chicago, the differences are evident. Although people in Mullica are still racist, they are more subtly racist, often keeping the comments to themselves. But in a city environment, kids aren’t afraid to tell others how they feel, and throw around derogatory words like it doesn’t affect anyone. But I think that your environment is the key factor in how far the racism is accepted. I sure as hell know that if I kid walked down the halls in Mullica, throwing out the ‘N’ word, that would not be accepted. But in a city public school, it could slide by.
I definitely think that people hide behind the cultural differences to excuse the horrendous behavior, and curt comments. Although this may be racist, black kids don’t care if other black kids call them a nigger, but once a white boy calls a black boy a nigger, all hell breaks loose. I think that some of the things that kids say in Oakcrest would never be allowed in a preppy high school in California, but because of some of the kid’s home lives, people at Oakcrest, just assume that is all they know. And I think that people allow the minorities to say and do things just because of how they look. This one girl in my French class walks into class EVERYDAY late. She is late, but our teacher doesn’t do anything about it. If I walked in late to class, I would be asked for a pass.
I think that the class levels promote racial divide. Let’s face it; there aren’t many black kids in AP. Because of this, we never get the social experience to interact with the minorities as often. We are in our bubble, of the mainly upper middle class kids who think they are entitled to everything they want. We don’t get to see what life is like for those who come from broken homes, and those who aren’t as fortunate as many of us. Because of our title as “AP Kids” that is what we will be known as in high school. But where ever you go, racial divide is inevitable.
We are all racist. We have all made those remarks about others who seem different or odd to us. And we have made ourselves feel superior to others, judging them on their appearance. Our world isn’t perfect, and I don’t think that racism will ever go away.
Racism is the illogical dislike for or avoidance of a person based on their race. Also, forbidding or restricting a person in the workplace, based on race. That was simple. It could be expanded to mean any group they are affiliated with. Thus it would include gender, or outward appearance.
Ignorance of racism is a shield against it developing only as long as a person remains isolated. As long as you are in a community that does not have racism for whatever reason (either one race is predominate, or it is already integrated) the issue simply does not arise. If you have never seen anyone outside your own race, your opinion of outsiders is likely to be similar to your opinion on dragons; dictated entirely by your own imagination and the stories you’ve heard. If you live among people of different races, your opinion will be dictated by their personalities. Thus, though my family is very isolated, it never occurred to me to dislike people of another race, because my half-sister is Indian. I respected her, admired her, and imitated her shamelessly. So you would have a hard time convincing me of any of the stereotypes believed, say, in imperial England, simply because they do not tally with my own experience.
Once you leave the isolation, your opinions would be dictated by whatever illusions you held in your former ignorance and by whatever experiences you later experience. If you are a logical person, you will try to judge people on merit (though this is often impossible) and not by their appearances. Clinging to your ignorance would be impossible, stupid. Closing your eyes doesn’t make a problem go away. Sooner or later you would learn, and pretend not to know would be as bad as supporting the problem. Not doing anything is as fatal as taking part in wrongdoing. Dr. King said that much more eloquently, but I cannot remember his exact words.
If you were raised in a monocultural society, you would be sharply aware of the differences. What this would make you do depends on who you are. Cower? Turn scornful and chauvinistic? Try to find out as much as you can about as many cultures as possible? Try to integrate yourself into one, which you find matches your mindset better than the one you were raised with? All are possible responses.
Yes, there are differences in culture. Music, language, folk stories, the names for plants animals and people, these are distinct in every culture. This should hardly be surprising. After all, humanity has evolved all over the globe. With such vast difference in geography and time, should we expect everyone to have developed the same culture? And, frankly, would we want them to? Life would be considerably less interesting without other cultures to observe and admire.
If people use their race as an excuse for rude behavior, it’s because the stereotypes were set up for them. And, any time we do not follow the rules of another society when interacting with them, we Americans are being incredibly rude. So yes, they do, and no, I will not fault them for it. Blaming rude behavior on genetics is silly, and blaming it on culture is identical to blaming it on oneself.
The educational levels are unequal distributed. Obviously. But I don’t think this is the high school’s fault; the choice of where we are now was made long before, and barring moving there’s no way to escape the opinions that were made of you back in kindergarten and first grade. Long ago, someone decided I was of honors material, and put me on the track to go into these classes. The same decision was made for the general kids about the same time. It’s tragic, since no one really has the right to say whether someone is intelligent or not, particularly at such a young age. But that’s the way things are choosen. And, sadly, I think race does play a huge role in what kids are placed where. I know that people favor people like themselves, and all my teachers around that time were Caucasian females. If you look around the class, most of the kids in it fit that description.
Feel free to disagree. This is just what I’ve observed.
Jani, much as I would like to argue against the "hick" thing, the truth remains that practically everyone on my street owns at least one gun, our road wasn't paved until a couple years ago, one of our favorite activities is to have everyone on the street gather at someone's house to sit around a bonfire and get drunk, and the attendance record at Mullica dropped dramatically whenever deer hunting season would roll around.
So, I can't argue with you, really.
Oh, also Danny, and this isn't meant to insinuate anything, but your blog reminded me of something I thought I'd just through out there:
A serial killer is most likely to be a white, middle-aged male.
Seriously, I'm not making any accusations against Danny. I just thought it was interesting.
To Eva:
You guys were placed on the track towards Honors early? o.o; How early? Like 7th grade, right? But I don't really understand what you mean. I mean, most of my teachers were Caucasian males until recently, but still...I mean isn't it based on how smart you are? If the system isn't based on that and based on race, wouldn't that just make us stupid if we won't let the smart people get a chance to be where they are supposed to be? o.O; Okay, I don't really know what I'm talking about anymore, but yeah... I just kinda disagree is all.
Racism- a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to rule others. In other words when on race thinks that it is more superior than another. Racism exists, not only in America but in the entire world. Racism is like what parents tell you bullies do. Bullies make fun of other to feel as they are better than others. Well racism is the same. In Martin Luther King Jr.’s racism was a major of America. White people thought that they were better than any other race. They oppressed African Americans to make themselves feel better. African Americans weren’t given credible jobs, they were paid less, the children didn’t have any sort of advanced technology in school. But even currently I personally know people that are racist. They feel that they are more superior than another race.
Not knowing that racism exists just promotes the problem. People then don’t know what they are doing wrong. People are aware that the are hurting others. But if someone was raised in a completely isolated society that had only one race it would still exist. Even if someone lives with white people, goes to school with people, shop with white people (only white people) then they are just going to have judged-by-book opinion of other races. What they see in movies and hear on the news is all that they will be aware of. If they only hear about African Americans and Hispanics committing crimes then their view will be that all of them are criminals. If the children are raised in such an environment then it’s not their fault that they are benighted about the fact that everyone is the same regardless of their skin color. It’s mostly their parents fault for having them raised in such an environment. They should have realized that the child is going to need an open mind therefore they should be exposed to more types of people. Unless their parents are racist which is why the children were raised in such an environment.
But really everyone is racist. Yah everyone, no one can deny it because deep down inside you know you are. You know that you have make a rude comment may be in private here and there. Like in the paper today, breaking news!!! 200 people sued Marshalls for $300 million. When people of other races (other than white) asked for a raise or a promotion, they were denied because they were told that they were lazy. But when a white person asked they were given the emotion almost immediately even if, they did much less work than others. Marshalls is probably going to give promotions to a lot of people soon to cover up this scandal. But this just proves that everyone is racist no matter what they say.
AP and honors courses are supposed to desegregate the public but really promote it. I mean when you look around I am the only dark person in our English class, and even in last years cohort Jani and I were the only dark people. I don’t mean to say that the white race is better but those are the facts.
Racism is every where and is almost impossible to avoid. Everyone has their own thoughts about others but everyone denies it when the question pops up “Are you racist?”
Not exactly placed on the Honors track, Alice, but groomed for it. And your perception of how smart someone is based either on how much they are like you, or how far beyond you they are. I can spout gibberish at people, and they'll take it as something brilliant and deep because they can't understand it.
And so many kids are catorgorized as "worthless" because they don't see the point in coloring or time-out. The teachers don't measure how much you can accomplish. They measure how well you fit in the system.
Or at least they did for me. Your school may have been different. But think. Who did you admire? Were they the ones promoted? Or the ones left behind, and you could never see why?
Or was this just me?
Sarah: I completely agree with you on the whole parents thing. If your parents aren't racist then most likely you would be racist as well. If your parents are racist then you will also develop those traits. So really your parents also influence your opinion on racism.
I think that the most general definition of racism qualifies as the stereotyping of a person(s) because of the way they look, act, or speak. There is, of course, the literal definition which is acting out on one’s belief that one race is superior to the other (aka: genocide, violence, or unfair treatment).
Would a predominantly white child raised in a white community even be aware of the existence of different races or of racism? This question is a bit unclear. I’m going to assume the latter of the two and say no. A white child who is raised in an all white community would not necessarily recognize racism per se, for its proper title, but this does not mean that they are not conscious to the fact that it exists. Keeping the theme of living and being raised in this neighborhood, entering a multi-cultural environment for the first time might be intimidating. This child could either ease into acceptance after being in this type of environment for a while, or take an aggressive attitude towards these unfamiliar cultures. The outcome of this is really a tossup. With that being said- did you hear how a coin flip is supposedly not 50/50? Apparently, it is a 60/20 chance. I would have to say that the sixtieth percent range would stand for resentfulness and twenty for adjusting. I say this because if a child is raised around whites, he is going to develop a strong pride for his race. Just like Americans show patriotism. At the same time though, there will always be that ten or fifteen percent that fall somewhere in the middle. They either A. don’t show any preference or B totally hate their background.
There are definitely cultural differences depending on where you live or are from, the way you are raised, and the extent of traditional value within your family. In accordance with traditional value, there can also be no definite culture within your household-this is probably rare though. Culture can be anything from the foods you eat, dress, activities you practice on a daily basis, basically it is your lifestyle. For example, I am Puerto Rican so my family eats rice, dances a lot, is loud and obnoxious, and cooks non-stop. (Notice I say family—this is because I am weird. I HATE rice, pastels, empanadiallas, pastelillos, and another of the nasty island-originated food they like to eat) My family’s culture is most-likely different from my neighbors and piers. I do not mean that they are ALL different, but depending on race, location, and preference, cultures differ from house to house.
Now, as I said before: family is loud and obnoxious, and cooks non-stop. This is a big stereotype, but most Puerto-Ricans have accepted this premise to explain their activities. And who is to say that we don’t use the rationale that food is important to us just as an excuse to be fat? It could happen… So, what I am getting at is that culture can definitely be used as a rationale or excuse for obnoxious behavior.
In response to your question about class levels, I would have to say that it is hard to say. I know you probably hate the person who chooses to defend the “grey-area”, but hear me out before you yell at me. Levels do not necessarily promote or prevent racial divides because a person’s level of intelligence has nothing to do with race…pretty much everyone has a potential to be wherever in their class that they want. It all depends on drive, how well a person has been taught, and the influence of a person’s surroundings. In accordance, you have the racial stereotypes. Asians= smart= AP, white= medium= CP or Honors, African- American or Spanish dissent= dumb= general or CP if they’re lucky. Take a look around the classroom next time you’re in school. Sure some census somewhere might prove these stereotypes, but disproving them is no issue either. Really, it all is up to the person to shape their culture, and future for the matter. (As dumb as that may sound)
Response:
Caitlin M is definitely right when it comes to the definition of racism- I think it is kind of universally known though. I really agree with her ideas and points on the white child question as well. Foe the most part, I absolutely agree with her whole blog, here. (Of course, everyone has their own, individual opinions on this topic, as similar as they might be. People are going to disagree on some points and agree on others. I will not point out anything that I disagree with because it is HER response, she has stated her opinions, and I have with mine. I have never been much of the heated-debating type…)
Sitting in my thinking chair…..
Well I believe that racism is like ethnocentrism. An individual or group believes that their culture or race is superior to others hence they treat others like lower life specimens aka dirt.
Of course ignorance doesn’t help prevent racism from becoming an ideology. People are not educated enough about it. They just see it as “Oh I guess I shouldn’t call you a Gringo.” But they do it anyway. Everything around the ignoramuses is the least of their concern. As long as they are having a good time they don’t care about anyone they inevitably hurt in the process. The more people don’t care, the more people think that racism isn’t a problem or even a big deal.
If you live in an area that is predominantly one race, there will be more evidence that it exists. It’s peoples’ instinct to pick out things or people that are different. You do it since you’re a baby. “Look mommy that man is a big mashmellow!” The less people see something different the more they pick at it and this may lead to bullying then eventually racism. You see it in small towns all the time. It’s like the “different” race is a show to them. From the time they step into the door to the time they leave they are stalked down like they are some animals. –No offense-
Yes there are culture differences. That’s what makes the world so beautiful. Everyone is special, special. Everyone is special. Everyone in his or her own way. Sorry the topic reminded me of Barney. HaHa! Anyways, America is a perfect example of this. It is a melting pot of all the different cultures of the world. Each culture has its own beliefs, backgrounds, and FOOD! They may or may not look the same. Just because you are Mexican doesn’t mean your tan and/or short as the stereotype depicts. Hint Hint! But at the same time these differences are what all brings us together to learn about each other so that we can lead a more peaceful life with our multi cultures.
Well I think everyone makes excuses for their inappropriate behavior. It may be race or something completely off topic. Sometimes people mistake obnoxiousness with pride of one’s own race or country. If we can put an American flag outside our front door why can’t other cultures do the same?
Class levels? Ooooo! Your race doesn’t determine what classes you are and are not going to get into. You do! We all pick our classes every year and we have the choice to take whatever level we want. Of course AP and honors classes are harder to get into but anyone who really wants to take those classes will try their best to get them.
Bye peoples!
Leonor <3
Harleen<3
I liked the part in your blog where you said that it’s the parents’ fault for not teaching their children about different races. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, unless it’s on a hill. =) But anyways if all they are taught about a race is that they are troublemakers that are always on the news then that is what they will believe. In the end though I think that it’s an individual’s decision to know what is right and wrong.
Leonor signing off!
The other day, I was drowsily driving home in the car close to my house not paying attention to much. I noticed a man on a bicycle. After taking a closer look, it pains me to say that my first reaction to seeing him was surprise. The man was African American, and I had never seen him before. I live in the part of Sweetwater that is commonly referred to as the “lagoons” as I hate to hear it called. I feel that there is definitely a negative connotation attached to that word. If you ask any other Mullican about it, they will probably say that the lagoons are where the “snobby” part of Mullica is. I hate to hear this because I know most of my neighbors here are very generous and kind people. The only real set back I can see is that there is not one black family that lives within my neighborhood of about thirty-five houses. I remember the first time I realized that this was true. I was a little baffled, but then someone explained how it is a very pretty development (if you could even call it that compared with some of the large ones in Mays Landing) where all the houses are built on the water. As I have gotten older, the racism and stereotyping has become more apparent. There are definitely people who live around me that love the fact that there are no black people around. It is obviously stereotypical to say that African American people don’t live here because it is a moderately expensive area, but the facts are the facts. I think this aids to the racist belief that “they” are lower than “us.” All of Mullica is really very sparingly populated with African American people. I am certainly not ignorant to the fact that racism exists. I am perfectly aware that there are no African American kids on my bus, which means the racist kids are able to publically announce their feelings about them with no hesitation. It really makes me sick to have to marinate in that environment everyday with no escape. I feel embarrassed for them because they must not realize how stupid they look. I often want to scream and tell them that they are the reason our world has so much hate and violence in it. There are so many things that people could stereotype about these country-loving chewing tobacco losers on my bus, but they are too completely engulfed in their own world to realize this. The few more intelligent tolerant people on my bus often make silent faces to each other that say “how retarded can you get…” when they go off talking about one black kid or another or when they yell comments out at people on the road as the bus passes. It is truly disheartening to see how little improvement we have made in the hopes of equality for all as far as people’s opinions of other races go. My mother would tell me about how her father made their family of ten go to all-black churches and tried to raise their awareness of other cultures. My mother and father have both made it perfectly clear to me that racism is not tolerable and that we are all people living on this earth together. I think this is why I am truly disgusted with the world. I know how it should be, but it seems that no matter how hard we try, our society just does not have it in them to be compassionate of one another and live together peacefully.
Because I live in a predominantly white neighborhood as well as city (there are some Indians and Asians, but they are not exempt from the racist remarks either), I feel that the racists in my area are way more free to express themselves and gain new followers by constantly putting down other cultures. There are not many black people that come around. I know that no one would have the stones to say something if they were ever actually present. The cultural differences that we all have are what intimidate others. The way others dress, act towards each other, the way they talk, the music they listen to, the people they look up to, as well as other things all play a part in a person’s culture. Some of these differences are categorized as obnoxious and rude by other cultures. This is where racism usually comes into play. We are uninformed about other people’s different ways and forms of reasoning. Therefore, we fear it and make jokes about the differences when they are not around. Of course, our culture is always the best. This is how the average person reacts to protect him or herself. In order to not be made fun of, they feel it is better to make fun of others first before they become the target of judgment. It becomes a circle of hatred and disgust. Racism is just an extreme form of bullying. Instead of one person as a target, a whole sect of people is under fire. If everyone would just stop judging, there would be nothing to be afraid of. I don’t see an end to it in sight, so for now I just do my part by not being too quick to judge.
“The whole class levels within schools really piss me off. People aren't smart because they take AP classes, and people aren't dumb because they're in general. It's just a matter of who has more motivation, and who's willing to handle intense stress.”
Jen,
This is exactly how I feel. The people that want to work hard and do well later in life are the people on the AP and honors track. It makes no difference what color your skin is. If you have the determination and will to try and better yourself, it’s always possible. I think that it is even possible that some cultures often rely on their own stereotypes to slack off. If an individual, regardless of race, wants to get ahead, they can do it by working hard.
“You aren’t saying something about what I am wearing or something that I said, but about who I am.”
Molly,
I think that if more people thought about this as they casually are about to make a racist remark, they would hold their tongues. Your religion or color of your skin is not something that varies from day to day. It is always a present factor that can not change. To attack a person’s beliefs or culture is really a low blow. The fact that you are forced to brush off these harsh comments really is a terrible thing. No one should have to feel this way, and it really and truly angers me.
My definition of racism is an embellishment of differences that people choose to acknowledge against someone that is different. It is a stereotyping done by categorically putting people into groups that should all look, act, and feel the same. By doing this we form conclusions about people as a whole and no longer look at the individual. We take subtle nuances, and decide them to be importance details that divide and conquer all humanity. No one is immune from racism, and almost everyone is guilty of it. We pick out things we find foreign to us, and decided them as change and most people hate change. Racism is people reacting to change that they have no control over, this is no way is me neither justifying racism nor making up an excuse. It is simply what I classify racism as.
Because racism happens it is an issue. It is an issue that is always being swept under the rug. It’s a problem that has been pushed aside and merely ‘dealt’ with since the beginning of our country. The only real issue is that someone looks different than us. It is not an ideology because of this. No one wants to be known as a racist, and furthermore people look at you differently when you are a racist and as we’ve discussed before no one likes to be out of the crowd. Plus, how can you create an ideology based on the color of skin, or even the religion someone was BROUGHT up on. Think about it historically, (sorry bunje at least it’s not math.) When the issue of slavery was first brought up the conventions completely ignored it and said that it could be dealt with on a state to state basis. This pacified the northerners, because their slaves could be free, and made the southerners happy because they got to keep their slaves working. Then again we revisit the issue of slavery with Honest Abe. The Emancipation Proclamation was great and all fine and dandy in a perfect world. Yet, although slaves were ‘free’ they were in no way really free. Most of them were still slaves, or working in exactly the same position as before except it was worse they now had to pay and weren’t earning enough to actually survive. The Emancipation Proclamation sounded great, and made everyone have the illusion of freedom, but was anyone really free? That’s still a question I could ask today, and Mr. Sera did last year numerous times. The Emancipation Proclamation was once again just something to pacify the people that were being upset, and to cover up what was really happening. Then we come to the Civil War, where blacks and white fought side by side to ensure an equal amount of freedom to all. This did in fact end the act of slavery, but racism still went on. Groups were allowed to grow and prosper around the hatred of another way of being, another culture, I’m pretty sure we’re all familiar with the KKK. We’ve always pushed the issue aside which keeps it from growing an ideology. People think it has been ‘taken care of’ hence no need to hash out old arguments. But think again good people this is a problem that is universal and not just against African Americans. (This is not limited to African Americans. It’s just an example…more to come.)
I have one bone to pick with society here. We let people get away with using their own stereotypes for their benefit. We think just because we give them the stereotype, the least we can do is let people live up to them. COME ON! And just because someone has a stereotype doesn’t mean we should let them compensate for it by letting them live up to it. Everyone should be pushed and held to the same standards. We’re all human aren’t we? Isn’t that a universal thing?
Everyone so far has said some form of racism done to them. To me I honestly used the racism to me as examples. It’s never really happened to me first hand. Maybe I’ve been naïve and not noticed it happening to me, but I feel like racism isn’t as bad as it was. You can’t discrimination against anything as an employer, and that’s the world I’ve grown up in. I’ve gone to school with kids from different backgrounds my entire life. It’s never just been one central amount of people. I’ve grown up being put in situations where the N word was used, and it’s never really phased me. This made Oakcrest no shock like Devon said. I went in with the same attitude I had in Davies, it’s just another day of school. Crowded hallways ? Profanity? Totally normal. It has affected me. I was in no way in culture shock when I came to high school. Everyone has their own beliefs so yeah there are multicultural differences. We have a multicultural night here, which proves that people have their own vibe. Some people have salsa running through their veins, and others can cook a mean meatball.
Levels within school are a dividing factor in itself. This is why as a school we are on this mix it up day kick. Student leadership programs to fix the fact that people don’t like to associate people on the outside of their realm. We sit with people that are in our classes, that we know and have common interests with. This sometimes causes a racial divide. I think it doesn’t do anything to prevent it. Because although everyone can apply and everyone can actually be in the classes, but do we honestly get a good minority turn out in our classes? Not at all, it’s the same kids basically every year. I love these same kids, and the new ones we do pick up, but it is still very segregated. I’m an AP kid, oh my! That means I’m snobby, self centered and only care about school. So anyone who doesn’t have all three of those values can’t make it in an AP class. It’s all a lie. I care about more than school, and in no way am self centered.
Man I love stereotypes. (Which totally feeds into racism.)
Now, Sarah-
Blonde thing I totally understand. I also hate the fact that people let me live up to my stereotype and use blonde hair as an excuse for doing something ditzy. I too am i guilty of being smart, but using my hair color as a crutch. It’s not a good thing to do and I admire you for trying to be above it. It is a problem when people let you live up to your stereotype, because when something becomes generally accepted as true, people tend to just go with it. It’s not fair to any stereotype.
Devon-
Remember the Titans made me cry. I loved the message of how much we can overcome if we truly try to change things. It shows me t hat there is goodness in people and that it doesn’t really matter what skin color we are, and it’s just a really great movie with a great story line and signing scenes. ( oh yeah and Ryan Goslings #48 can you say amazing?) I actually just watched it recently, Ponzo made me watch it one night and I really feel in love with it.
Racism can have a numerous amount of definitions. In reality, the definition for racism is still being defined. Every time there is new incident of racism, the definition expands more greatly. To me, racism is the complete neglect of a classification of people. In other words, verbally or physically mistreating a group of people due to reasons such as gender, race, religion, sexuality, height, eye color, who knows!? Racism is developing ideas about other people and judging them upon it.
I think the ignorance of racism definitely promotes it to become an ideology. Everyone knows racism exists. It does not matter if you have grown up in a society that is predominantly white or predominantly black or predominant whatever. Racism still exists. Sure, living in these societies as part of the majority will probably guarantee that you don’t face racism yourself, but it does not mean that there should be complete denial. Another part of the problem is that I think the majority of people relate racism to white against black. They do not understand that racism occurs everyday, right before our own eyes. Not only that, but I think people have grown up in society making racial comments that they believe are okay because they don’t know or don’t consider it racism. This ignorance is what causes racism to grow without any of us knowing it is.
If a person was never exposed to a multicultural environment, I believe that person would be quite less attuned to the cultural differences. Since most have compared Mullica to Oakcrest, I will continue to use that as an example as well. Now, I don’t really know how it really was in Mullica, but if I were to make a guess, I would say that it would be far far more peculiar for Mullicans to see… let’s say an interracial couple than it is for people at Oakcrest. It doesn’t mean Mullicans are racist. Definitely in no shape or form. I’m just trying to prove that by growing in a society that is not multicultural, of course people will be less attuned to cultural differences. You cannot be truly aware of the cultural differences that exist until you are able to experience them.
Of course, there are cultural differences. It is one of the major differences between groups of people. These differences (race, religion, gender) usually play a role on how we act. It also plays a role on who we are. I definitely believe that sometimes these differences dictate actions and behavior. People do use cultural differences to excuse rude behavior. The most common and stereotypical example I have is when a group of black girls scream and yell in the middle of the cafeteria. Or when a group of girls congregate in front of my locker and when I ask them to please excuse me, they give me a dirty look and move away. Do they think that’s okay? But this is very general. I have black friends who I know are kind, intelligent, and generous. And I admire them because they contradict this stereotype. They are who they are and they don’t let the opportunity to act obnoxious affect them.
Personally, I haven’t suffered through a great deal of racial prejudice, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t gotten my fair share of name-calling. Growing up, I never realized that I was any different from everyone else around me. It was around fifth grade when I realized that I was indeed different. I’m different because I am Asian, more specifically Vietnamese. And I was quite comfortable in my own skin until the ridicule began. Yes, I’ve been called a "chink." I’ve been made fun of for my slanty eyes. People have mocked me saying things like “ching chang chong.” (Even though that makes absolutely no sense.) And the worse is when they generalized me as Chinese all the time. With all of this affecting me, I started to shy away from my culture, running as far away as I possibly could because I didn’t want to be different. I hated being part of a minority. It was hard to handle being so young. It was really hard being the only Asian in a group of white friends. Now that I am in high school, I’ve come to accept it more. Partially, because I know there is so much more to me than my race. That doesn’t mean I don’t get a few awful comments directed to me here and there. And it’s a terrible feeling being pointed out. But I just try to deal with it.
I can see how the division of class “levels” can promote racial divide. Sometimes, I think by being AP/Honors students, we tend to develop an idea of the type of people that are in general classes. This causes us to look down upon them and sometimes even separating ourselves from them. I know this is a very awful thing to say, but it happens. At the same time, however, I know how some people view us AP kids. A lot of people think that we’re snooty or goody-too-shoes. For me, this isn’t really a problem. Most of my friends aren’t in AP classes. But I know that people still put in the steretypical category of the “smart asian.” This just goes to show that there is no real way to escape racism.
Molly- “So those comments that everyone thinks are so funny, they aren’t. Although I may laugh and brush it off, it hurts, deep down to know that I will always be known as “the Jewish girl.”
Trust me, I know exactly how you feel. For so long, I was known as the “Chinese girl,” which is not only factually incorrect, but just a terrible generalization. I get by, just as you do, by the people that don’t make me feel ashamed of who I am. But for me, it’s taking me quite a long time to find piece with my race. I still find that sometimes I am ashamed of my ethnicity. When people ask me to say something in Viet, I never can because I am embarrassed. When my parents call me, I always have to walk to another room because I don’t want to speak Viet in front of everyone. It is terrible that it has come to this.
Personally, I’m sick and tired of this entire issue. Racism is a simple issue, and I can’t stand how complicated it’s become. To me, racism is simply bullying- it’s nothing more than that. Forget about all the social implications. The core of the problem is no different than if we were talking about discriminating against the elderly or the overweight. Why is it then that our society insists on bringing an issue, which is nothing more than a single strand of a common virus, into the limelight time and time again?
It makes me sick when I hear about a television scandal in which a late night talk show performed a “racially incorrect” skit, offending his ethnic viewers across the country. To my remembrance, there was no fuss made about the skit from the week before, where he ridiculed the overweight, the ugly, and the poor. Why is our perception of discrimination so warped? I cannot say. It seems to me, however, that ALL forms of discrimination have the same emotional effects, and therefore, should be viewed equally as “social no-nos.”
I don’t necessarily believe that ignorance will simply make discrimination go away, especially since I’m a strong proponent of the saying “ignorance kills.” To a certain extent, I feel as if our ignorance for the core of the issue, being discrimination in all its forms, has brought the racial issue to such heights. I think if we recognized that discrimination does not only come in the form of racial remarks and intolerance, then we will place less importance on this one facet of the matter, and will be better equipped to take on this matter as a whole.
The problem is, however, is that political correctness and racial tolerance has become such a common theme that it has become obsolete. For the most part, I don’t think it matters where you live, or who surrounds you. Being racially correct has been drilled into our minds since birth, and it’s gotten to the point where we are so desensitized to it that we can’t even comprehend the emotional scarring that must result from it.
As for cultural differences in society, I think they are there because we created them. I’m sorry, but I really think that the black culture of late has contributed to our racial dilemma. Whenever one wishes to criticize a black person, no matter what the comment is, it automatically becomes a question of race. Personally, I find this completely ridiculous, and whenever someone pulls the “It’s ‘cause I’m black, right?” card on me, I shoot back, “No, it’s because you’re [insert criticism here].” I find, for the most part, that this technique is usually effective in making people realize that my problem lays not in the color of their skin but in their moral or mental prowess. It annoys me to no end when people think that they are special just because they have a different color skin. No offense, but just because you have more melanin than me, you shouldn’t expect to be excused from facing the consequences of your obnoxious behavior.
The divisions in classes, in my opinion, should have nothing to do with race. As long as a person can keep up with the class requirements, then there should be nothing holding them back from joining. However, it seems as if this philosophy is not applied. I know so many people who deserve to be in higher level classes, but choose to stick to the CP and General level. Why? It’s in their comfort zone. This seems to be the case for a lot of people, of all colors, and I think that it’s really unnecessary and ridiculous.
CARLY-FRY:
So, I loved the plot synopsis of Crash in your blog. I've never seen that movie, but it sounds pretty intense. And, c'mon, what's not to love about LUDA?! :P
Anyways, I liked how you presented both sides of the issue. In the case of Sandra Bullock embracing her husband when two black guys walk by, it really could have gone either way. I think you did a nice job of showing how racism goes both ways. I didn't really mention it too much in my blog, because I knew that I'd go on this tireless rant, and then everyone would hate me and I'd lose my mind, but I really think that there's some definite racism against white people as well as black. Thanks for pointing this out in a much more subtle way. :D
The more I read the comments and blog responses the more frustrated I become with this topic, but I am just going to let it go for now.
I'm not sure if there is a concrete definition for racism. When Janiru said that 'everyone is racist,' I thought about it and don't necessarily agree because of my perspective of the definition of a racist. Because of our society today based highly off of the media and communications, stereotypes are hard to ignore. Unless you've never watched television in your life, you would know almost all the ridiculous stereotypes that arise among cultures. Are stereotypes necessarily a bad thing; I don't think so. Sure, for certain people from specific religious or cultural backgrounds, being compared to a stereotype before you are even introduced to someone is absurd. However, I don't feel that stereotypes are the main factor in racism. A 'racist' basically encompasses an overall hatred towards any alternate race besides their own, and looks at them as inferior. They don't even concern themselves with stereotypes. It's simply, "they have darker skin then men so I'm better than them," or "they read a different sacred text then me so I'm better." Obviously this is a ridiculous statement, but yet it still exists today. This is basically why I believe that although everyone participates in stereotyping people, not everyone is racist.
I've already said what I think about growing up in lesser cultures societies, but in general I don't think this is the major factor of ignorance and racism. Someone can grow up in Alaska with ten other students in there class, all of the same race and origin. Still, when they travel to other cultures, they don't judge or look down on another race simply because they have DECENCY! There are plenty of honorable people in the world that come from numerous backgrounds small and large. I believe that the main factor of becoming racist is basic morals and principles an individual maintains. There are plenty of people who grow up in a cultural melting pot and still treat others badly because they simply are assholes.
People are definitely overly sensitive with race and whatnot. After all, it is just your race. If you claim to want people to not look at your race, but your character and personality that you bring everyday, then don’t flip when someone unintentionally offends you. Don’t even get me started with culture shields. Basically, if someone can’t make a joke with you about a religion or race, then don’t hide behind your culture and blame any good or bad thing on it. Everyone responds to situation by the way they were raised, however, if you know something is wrong, don’t hide behind your culture so you can feel better about what you did.
I would like to respond to MOLLY, one of the most amazing persons in the world. Mol, you will NEVER be known as just “the Jewish girl.” So many people know you for how brilliant, intelligent and crazy sarcastic you are. The true friends I know you have, don’t look at your religion as an issue in any friendship. Molly, you are pretty much the coolest person in the world and anyone who refers to you by the religion you practice is blasphemous!!!
Racism to me is any type of discrimination towards a person or group based on their beliefs, looks, background, and of course, skin color. Ignorance of racism promotes it from becoming an ideology. If a person is unaware of what a certain type of groups is like, they make conjectures. I know if I meet one person from a certain country or group and I like them, I automatically like the country better. For example, I was always under the impression that Italians were crazy, loud and dangerous, but when I met a man from Italy, who was nothing like I imagined an Italian would be, it changed my whole outlook on the country, and I gained more respect for it.
If you live in a predominantly white neighborhood, and you’re white, you don’t see a lot of racism. When I lived in Georgia, the only racism I ever heard of was against Russians (because Georgians and Russians are natural born enemies). Racism was not something people had on their minds, since there were only Georgians around, and no other ethnicities. The first time I ever saw a black person was when I was seven, when I was migrating to America. I’d heard about black people before so when I saw one, I started jumping up and down excitedly and pointing at the confused black man who sat reading a newspaper. I got my sisters in on it too, and the three of us stood there pointing and looking bewildered.
Growing up, I was never exposed to a multicultural environment, but now I am MORE attuned to the cultural differences that exist in society. I love meeting different people from different backgrounds, and different personalities. I have all sorts of friends from all sorts of different places and backgrounds, and most of my friends are black. And one of the main things I adore and love about America is its cultural mixes. We are not limited to see just one type of person, but people from all over the world.
But there are definitely cultural differences. I think one of the biggest differences that people discriminate against each other for is religion. I know because I am guilty of this. Don’t get me wrong, I have respect for different religions, (I myself am an Orthodox Christian) but I have made negative comments about Jehovah’s witnesses and their beliefs, after they showed up at my door. I have a friend though, who is a Jehovah’s Witness, and after being so close with him, I am more understanding of that religion. And the main reason we judge people is because of their skin tone, which is a problem which will never cease to exist.
People quite often hide behind the definition of cultural differences to excuse their rude behavior. For example, in the case of the “N” word. This word is inexcusable said by a white person; however, black people parade the “N” word like an epidemic. It’s a wholly hypocritical concept.
The division of class "levels" at Oakcrest does not promote a racial divide. It’s not like we are placed in these classes because of who we are; we choose to be in these classes. Most of my friends are in college prep classes and some in general. I associate with all types of people, and being in an AP class does not make me think I am superior to anyone else.
For me racism, contradictory to what the name directly implies, can be discrimination and preconceived notions based on a group or individuals ethnicity, religion, sociality and physical characteristics as well as race. It is any one of these types of discrimination in which the group attacked is single out for traits that do not have to be true. This is true of everyone in the world; it suddenly becomes ok to associate with someone once they are on your "level".
The largest problem with racism is that most people do not consider themselves to be racists. I know the first thing I thought when I read this blog was, "I’m not racist, I have a lot of mixed friends." and I’m sure a lot of the other bloggers thought the exact same thing .But then I realized that all the black and Hispanic and sri Lankan (1) friends that I have are only because I accept them to be of my level. Now that sounds really bad but subliminally it is so true. The majority of my friends who are not white I made on my athletic teams. These are people who I probably never would have talked to if I saw them on the street but have become some of my best friends. And when it comes down to it the only reason we ever associated was because we had common ground in track and cross country.
The racist tendencies of society are also supported by the media and pop culture. Two of the most popular shows among young adults are family guy and South Park. Each one has their token black guy and a lovable Jewish character. And on that same show every episode has severe and cruel racial and ethnic slurs, but because we are exposed to it so much we generally become unaffected by it and see that action as normal. Pop culture has also done a lot to segregate people. Mainly on today's basis of being "white". "White" is something you don't want to be, it's nerdy has no friends and no matter what cannot dance! While the latter may be true the fact is that today's society is pushing people farther apart on the basis of racial identity.
What I find ironic though is that Mays landing is a very culturally diverse area. There is a wide variety of people from many different backgrounds and yet we all seem to find a way to hate each other. You think that as we grew up we’d have learned to understand each other but instead everyone just separated into groups. Just look at the lunch tables in school. 50%of the tables are the kids that I don’t even know about because they take lower level classes. 25% are all Hispanic tables and 15% are black and the remaining 10% are the two tables that consist of the periods 12 and 10 AP Lang classes. Instead of embracing the wonderful diversity that is around us we just separate into areas where we feel unthreatened by change. And from what I’ve seen from my friends at other schools such as mainland just because the population is mostly white doesn’t mean that they’re not all a bunch of self righteous snobs (my boy Jeff Feinberg).
I think the tendency to develop racist ideas is based on the individual’s personality. What it comes down to is a person’s ability to understand something that is different from themselves. A perfect example of this is a black friend I have Aaron Johnson who has a habit of stalking around by himself before our cross country meets. We call this his “black guy moment” and even though it’s something none of us do we accept it because he’s a friend and it doesn’t really matter if he does things I don’t understand. Now I’m not trying to preach that I am someone free from prejudice because I know I stereotype on a daily basis. But the fact is that yes there are cultural differences and it would be ignorant to think otherwise. To say we all behave the same way culturally is to deny our heritage. We all eat differently we dress differently and we think differently. The actions of our ancestors affect the ideals and values we have and also shape our actions. Cultural identity I think is mistaken here with racial identity because cultural identity is really traits you acquire from where you are from, your origins while racial identity is the characteristics of a race that usually originate from the same area. But you don’t have to be of a certain race to have a characteristic of an area. Anyway, aside from my half-wit logic we needed to realize that there are differences between each of us but noticing those differences is not racist, it is attacking and hating someone for those differences that is.
While these cultural differences are realistic they are often misinterpreted by people. Again on the basis of misunderstanding a lot of people will take these differences as the other cultures inferiority to their own culture. This is the epitome of the Christmas vs. Chanukah argument that you always hear rear its head around the holiday season. The in toleration of the religion of others makes people believe they have a right to attack someone else. This mentality is ignorant and flat out wrong because from the other side of the spectrum they never realize that their own customs can be seen as weird and foreign through another person’s eyes. Just because what you do is what the majority of the world does doesn’t mean that it is right
And yes our beloved AP classes are also driving factors behind the thoughts of segregation. But really it does make perfect sense. I take harder classes than you>I’m smarter than you>I’m better than you>I don’t need to understand you. Isn’t this the inbred train of thought that results from being constantly told we are the crème of the crop, the top 10%? We are our own club of elitists that no one else is allowed entry into. The dilemma we face here is that how do you give someone a better education without installing these ideas of superiority in them? We see oak crests feeble attempts to sway our mindsets. Oooh I just love mix it up day! Disrupt my freaking schedule by making me go sit with people I don’t like for three hours! That’s sounds like a barrel of fun! But that barrel is kicked into the river and floats down towards the waterfall of reality when the faculty realizes that you’re just building anxiety between students who are forced to sit with one another. I know that I sit here and criticize but I can’t offer a better solution. The way I see it there will always be prejudice as long as there are differences between people. It’s kind of a healthy indicator that this world still has diversity to it.
In response the J-Roo’s comment:
Personally I would have smacked the taste out of that little boy’s mouth. Although I understand that you were hurt by his comment I can’t help thinking that this is the way things should be. This world needs a degree of disdain for everyone else’s culture. If there wasn’t than we would most likely lose ourselves and our history. There’s an amount of pride to be taken in knowing where you came from and who you are and you need to have that bit of superiority (or feel like you have it) over others because it preserves your being. It provides competition in the world; you wouldn’t be a fierce competitor if you felt the person you were facing was representing everything you were. “Imagine there's no countries It isn't hard to do Nothing to kill or die for and no religion too” no john Lennon, no! I do not want to imagine this world. There is an inherent struggle for life and competition that you need to survive. Not survive physically but on an emotional and mental level. I think abolishing the worlds differences would lead to an unnatural desecration of the world’s culture and that is not something anybody wants.
MEGGY PEGGY! (I loved how you brought back pre-calc memories<3)
So, first I would like to say repeat that you are the most amazing speaker/writer and cana put any viewpoint into a believable and persuasive style.
Basically, you make the boldest comments, and I agreed with your entire blog.
"The core of the problem is no different than if we were talking about discriminating against the elderly or the overweight. Why is it then that our society insists on bringing an issue, which is nothing more than a single strand of a common virus, into the limelight time and time again? "
You nailed it on that one, and the "social no-nos" comment. Your completly right. How come comedians can joke about the elderly, poor, and obese and not be punished, but one racial joke, and the media tears them apart? For real, I don't know why. It's completely overrated and I am done talking about it. I just wanted to reming you of how brilliant you are:P
to Leonor:
"Yes there are culture differences. That’s what makes the world so beautiful. Everyone is special, special. Everyone is special. Everyone in his or her own way."
well said. Everyone IS special, and different that's what makes them interesting.
What is racism? Personally, I believe the closest to an all-enclosing definition would be “an irrational preference of a race over that of another.” Of course, it’s notable that, at times, it is hard to define a race. For example, to the shock and horror of countless souls, Latinos can be white. In addition, “racist” could be applied to both a person, and the actions of a person. For example, a person who mocks someone relating to their race would be using racist comments. However, the actual person may be only joking, and not be a racist person.
Take a look around. We are surrounding by many quirks. It’s not only skin color, but clothing, food, traditions and experiences. It’s shocking, but there are cases where people are sheltered, with their own race completely dominating their life. When a person doesn’t know of the horrors of racism, there are two possibilities: They feel that there is no racism, and everything seems fine and dandy, or they do not know their own racism, and are prejudice against others. In the first case, there is no harm done. Sure, it doesn’t help to prevent racism, but there is no real negative effect. On the other hand, that child who has grown accustomed to discrimination against others will only fan the flames. That child doesn’t see it as such a inappropriate act, and partake in it without knowing the harm he’s doing. I, of course, have personal experience with this. Just about every person in my family from the previous generation are racist. Just about every conversation about my education degrades to asking me how many blacks there are at Oakcrest and frankly, just about every time, I want to punch them across the face. The only thing that prevents me from doing so is the fact that they don’t know any better. They grew up that way, and frankly, I’m surprised I didn’t grow up that way either. Thank goodness that my father is logical enough.
Cultural differences. They sure do exist. We can see them at every turn of a corner. What would I think of it if I was sheltered from other cultures, much like my parents? No matter how strange it seems, I would probably notice parts of culture more if I was uninformed. As a kid, I was surprised people used bare hands to eat foods, and that milk came in cartons. Though not racism, imagine how I would react today if those things were completely new to me. Yet, it is not so for me, and racism has grown to the point that it is a nonfactor in daily life. There have been even times where race has reappeared, and I think, “Whoa, I’m Asian.” Heck, even when I directly mention “China”, somehow I don’t associate it with myself. I don’t even try to avoid it. Perhaps I’m insane, but it doesn’t make the point any less valid. I just think of people as individuals more, and culture is just a small part of a person.
Do people use cultural differences as an excuse? Yes, even if they are not aware of it. Just look at all the minorities. Yes, that includes me. There is some strange double standard that doesn’t make discrimination against whites racist, while anything out of line done by said whites is racist. Did that black gangster wannabe (Despite being a stereotype, true at times) call a Caucasian boy a “cracka?” Perfectly fine. If anybody calls it out, they’re pathetic. Did a random white child say how blacks who fall into this stereotype are stupid? Oh, the horror! Call it out, and you’re a hero. Heck, even my whole “There’s a problem in the world. Let’s blame China” gag would be viewed as racist if anybody not Asian said it, despite the fact that it’s sarcasm in the first place.
The order of class levels does make racism worse. However, that is not due to the way it’s been selected, but more of a snowball effect, effectively making certain cultures more likely to succeed or fail. Yes, there is a chance to break from such culture, but frankly, people like to complain more than they like to take action. Let me simplify it by replacing races with “Group A” and “Group “B”. Group A has more people in the high classes. Group B has fewer people in those classes, but those who are, are just as proficient. However, because most people of Group B aren’t on such levels, they pay less mind to education, as most think they won’t go as far. Thus, the educated in Group B grows even smaller over time, due to the change in culture. In our case, Group A would be those who are well settled, or have a cultural attraction to education, which happen to be mostly Caucasians, most of whom had families move to America generations ago. On the other hand group B would be those who did not have the luxury of good education, making it less important to most. In this case, it is mostly blacks, due to the remains of racism from times passed.
I can’t say I like it at all, but there are just so many problems. People are just too quick to forge hatred. Perhaps we can solve it once people forget about the past and instead work for the future.
~~~
Well, that was my attempt to spice up the post before the ends. I just can’t get into this blog for some reason. I feel strong about this issue, but the questions seemed so…limited…
Off I go...after a repost.
Racism has been around for hundreds of years and is an idea that will not ever be destroyed. There will always be someone who sees the difference between themselves and others who may not be the same skin color. I think in a few cases people have truly been ignorant to this idea of racism. Most people use it as a defense to not take a side on racism or so they don’t have to admit their reasons for being racist. If a person can say they didn’t know it wasn’t right to treat someone differently because of where they grew up then they can make an excuse.
Generally people who don’t like a certain group know that it is wrong to hate them but do it anyway. I do believe that there are cultural differences when it comes to races. Yet, there are cultural differences between the same races as well. So when someone discriminates against a certain color because of their cultures they are ignorant of the fact everyone has different cultures.
I believe the worst thing to do is ignore discrimination even though I push it out of my head. I think Matt makes a real point about racism. He states that it is hard for him (us) to know about racism because we are in a “bubble” or are not around it as often as some people are. The most racism we have seen is people laughing and making fun of each other. When in other places discrimination most of the time leads to someone getting killed. There are so many gangs and even just groups that separate themselves from others because they believe they are "“pure"” compared to others. As for being in an AP class I don’t think that shields hardly none if any racism. Even if you are not mixed in with the general crowds you still hear and see people being picked on because of what they wear, how they talk, or their color. Another thing I haven’t realized until recently is how many people are harassed because of what they believe in. That falls under the cultural differences and is maybe one of the most personal ones. Alice H wrote exactly what I was thinking! I am also confused how it is okay for one group to call themselves one things ( Negro) and then it is offensive when someone else calls them it. I mean how is it possible to call that racism after you’ve heard them call themselves it and not mean it as an insult. But I guess I answered myself right there, when other ethnic groups say it they see it as an insult to their culture. Some try and help stop racism while some find it best to ignore it. I guess I fall somewhere in-between, there is only so much I can do because I don’t know enough about the idea of discrimination.
Racism is the process of categorizing a particular person for a characteristic that is common in one region. This comes from a kid who grew up in Mullica. Now, on my street, there are only white people, in Sweetwater, there may be one or two that fly below the radar, as for the whole of Mullica, there are far less than the white population. However, there are other races as well mostly of Hispanic descent, but these people were never predominant. Mullica School, which is k-8 for all those who are unaware, had approximately 4-6 African American people, 8 or 10 Hispanic, and Sergei. I always knew these people were different, but I never judged them by their appearance, only by the morals of their character. This came natural to me. I never thought that I was better than a certain person solely due to their religion, skin tone, or dissent. In fact, I was envious that some of those that were of Hispanic descent knew Spanish as a first or second language. To me this gave them an unfair advantage in Spanish class. I believe that if a person was completely ignorant of racism and suddenly thrust into a place like Oakcrest, it would prevent the ideology of racism. Each person has a varied reaction to a different race. If the person does not know that race is important, which it isn’t, they won’t think twice before trying to make friends with those of a different race. This means that the person would be less attuned to the cultural differences of society. If that person make a new friend that has dietary restrictions the person would most likely just accept this fact and move on. Cultural differences are almost unavoidable in modern day America. Through different religions and heritage, makes cultural differences. Outside of these religious and hereditary differences, there are cultures within the financial sections of society. Those of the higher income are expected to behave in a certain way, to reflect their status in society. Those of a lower income bracket are expected to be less refined. This means they curse, spit and are more disrespectful than the “more refined” upper income individuals. This is of course a stereotype, but people do use this as a barrier to the consequences of saying disrespectful things. Take a walk through the halls of Oakcrest, listen and look at the people that surround you. The slow moving, chatty people are normally the ones that use obscenities. Look in their hands. There are usually no books, and they are normally of lower class. Now look to the person that is one pace short of sprinting to their next class lugging a book bag full of books. This person is normally more respectful and is from a higher economic status. The people who are moving slow in the halls are going to low level classes. As an AP student, if you are late even a minute or two, the lesson has already been started and there are notes you must take to get up to speed. Defying the class structure, whether it be economic, racial or religious; it is truly an uphill battle. Can we ask for change? Sure, but it most likely will not come, people are who they are, and there is little anyone can do about that.
“Personally, I find this completely ridiculous, and whenever someone pulls the “It’s ‘cause I’m black, right?” card on me, I shoot back, “No, it’s because you’re [insert criticism here].” I find, for the most part, that this technique is usually effective in making people realize that my problem lays not in the color of their skin but in their moral or mental prowess. It annoys me to no end when people think that they are special just because they have a different color skin. No offense, but just because you have more melanin than me, you shouldn’t expect to be excused from facing the consequences of your obnoxious behavior.”
MAE MAE- You are an amazing writer. And as we were talking about this blog in Calc, you said that you don’t feel strongly about this topic. But even if you don’t feel strongly about it, you are an amazing amazing amazing writer. And I could totally see you giving lip to the girl that ‘pulls the black card.” And yes they do have more melanin than you, but let me tell you, when you come back from vacation you are DARK! I loved your blog. And I love that you are so honest in everything that you say.
CHARLIE-
“The more I read the comments and blog responses the more frustrated I become with this topic, but I am just going to let it go for now.”
Ditto.
I think I'll play this one by the books. I can be a bit ignorant on this subject, so I think it'd be best to avoid stepping on any toes. I believe racism is, by definition, the stereotyping of all people with a certain physical characteristic as having a certain mental characteristic. Racism is formed in the head, not in the mouth. If you believe all women with blond hair are stupid, I would call that racism. If you believe all men with long legs are flexible, I would not call that racism.
I don't think the knowledge of racism itself has much of an impact on whether or not it flourishes. Certainly the white men who explored Africa did not think it was racism to assume all of the natives were stupid and inferior. And if you call a redneck klan member racist today, he will simply think he is correct in being so. People will always make assumptions about people they don't know. It is a survival skill ingrained into our instinct to keep us from being caught off-guard. It is the knowledge of the people who are unlike you, not the knowledge that people think badly of them, that prevents racism.
Once again, I don't believe something as simple as an environment with or without people of other races would make or break personal racism. It really depends on what kind of people were in the environment. If a white child is raised in a community with only one black family which acts no differently from the other families, the white child is likely to grow up believing all people are really the same inside. However, if that same child was raised in a slum with many people of all kinds, where black children are raised to believe that a glass ceiling will keep them from ever becoming more than criminals, the child is likely to grow up afraid and suspicious of people of other colors. People everywhere will try to group themselves with others and form their own culture. Whether these groups are divided by race depends on the location.
Of course, people will try to excuse their poor behavior with cultural differences. It's really a no-brainer. If people see something they want to do, but cant, and then see an excuse that will allow them to do it, they will use the excuse. It's difficult to say whether or not class levels has an effect on racial divide nationally, but it seems like it makes a difference in Oakcrest at the very least. Look at our AP class. How many white kids do you see? Hispanic? African American? There are a fair number of Asian AP students, but Asian people are often stereotyped as smart. It seems like a vicious cycle. Racism causes segregation in classes, which in turn causes racism. But what can be done?
(I kept this between 450 and 500. I wasn't sure if 500 was supposed to be a maximum or not.)
To Dan: Nice job on the bubble boy reference. Though it's hard to say how it would work out in real life. Someone like that could look at people who are unlike anything they've ever seen with fear, especially if they act differently. I suppose it depends on how sensitive they are.
Meagan Reese:
"The problem is, however, is that political correctness and racial tolerance has become such a common theme that it has become obsolete."
This is so true. I am so sick of this topic too. To me it doesn't even matter whether people get along about race, because they are just going to find something else to fight over anyway.
Morgan:
We all have those battles to face. However, once the enemy is overcome, the momentum is moved in your favor. Good luck.
Ivan D:
Clever. "your response in full.
http://instantrimshot.com/"
“ However, there are other races as well mostly of Hispanic descent, but these people were never predominant. Mullica School, which is k-8 for all those who are unaware, had approximately 4-6 African American people, 8 or 10 Hispanic, and Sergei.”
--John, that seriously made me laugh out loud for a good five minutes.
Molly:
I second Carly "blasphemous"
Second:
Today on they activity bus, and my bus is extremely, for lack of a better word, "ghetto" but that's not the point. I sat down and listend to the conversation blasting from the rear of the bus. the garroluos people in the back almost broke the sound barrier. but what really got me was what they were doing. most of them were hispanic in origin, i know most of them, it is not an guess based on stereotypes, but they were purposefully acting upon the sterotypes society has come to know them by, not saying this is true but just what they are:"rambucntiousness, improper grammer, rudeness, and many more of the stereotypical mannerisms hispanics, puerto ricans, mexicans, and etc have been assocated with. I wondered why do they act that way? Attention, laughs, why? If for attention it is defeitely the wrong kind of attention, although some say all attention is good. and if for laughs, how could they possibly think that thier actions were funny? That's what gets me. People get offended when others classify them by stereotypes but they find it funny when they poke fun at them. It is somewhat of a double standard. all together i think people should be themselves and stereotypes should be forgotten, but let's be real, that's never going to happen is it. So, once again we have somewhat identified the problem but have no real solutions. It is disheartening. :(
Mae:
Completely agree with everything you said 100%. you are an awesome writer and have skills that i can only aspire to replicate in my own writing. truly asombroso!
"Or when a group of girls congregate in front of my locker and when I ask them to please excuse me, they give me a dirty look and move away. Do they think that’s okay?"
-Kelly N.
Kelly, I know exactly what you are saying. This same thing frustrates me too, almost every single time I am in the hallways of Oakcrest. People can be so rude, and I think you pointed it out in a very polite manner. It's not okay. Because honestly, if you or I turned around and gave them a dirty look back, or even said something, they would FLIP. I really think they would throw a punch. People use stereotypes to almost act as though they are better then everyone else. It's so rude and obnoxious.
i think i have finally read everyone's...until the last wave of them come in at 11:58
Racism is any pre conceived judgment you have about a person based solely on the color of their skin. Basically, if u judge a person based on how they look before you meet them, it’s racist.
Racism, unfortunately, I something that we are all exposed to throughout our entire lives. Even the most sheltered person is exposed. Whether it be through a small comment on American Idol or a news article about a hate crime, ignorance of racism in this day and age is nearly impossible. However, not knowing about racism and not experiencing racism are two different things. For example, if a white kid who grew up in a predominantly white area sees racism, like a black person being made fun of by a group of white kids, he is more likely to repeat the action, or at least not do anything to stop it, following the law of mob mentality. We are not naturally racist, it is something that must be taught.
I like to think I’ve grown up in a multicultural society. I went to Hess and Davies, which had a good mix of races in it. But I did grow up in the Honors and AP bubble. I’ve been in the same classes with the same kids since second grade, so I was not the most cultured one of the bunch. It was not until this past summer that I think I was really exposed to all the different people and cultures the world has to offer. My job as a receptionist (no laughing) at my Dad’s doctor’s office really opened my eyes to all the different people of the world because, well, everyone gets sick.
It was at this job that I was forced to talk, and be nice, to every person that walked through the door. And It was through the thousands (yes thousands) of people that I net that I was able to formulate a theory about people. Which is, you show your true character when you are forced into contact with complete strangers. I’ve met people that are jerks, nice, shy, loud, annoying, crazy, stupid, smart, mean, funny and tall… and each type of person is not race specific. Sure, there may be a cultural difference in the clothes we wear, or the food we eat, the ay we talk or the way we greet, but there is no difference in the way we see the world around us. At heart, I think nearly all people are the same. We judge each other based off our cultural differences because it’s easy. They are on the surface and easy to point out. And of course, people will try to use these shallow differences as a cover for their behavior for the same reason, it’s easy.
This applies to the division in class levels too. Us “AP kids” are the minority. The “Top 1%” like everyone says. And we get called nerds just as much as the general kids get called stupid. This creates a divide that is racial by circumstance. If the majority of people in the AP classes wasn’t white, I would go from a “white nerd” to just a “nerd”, and that’s all I ask for.
I feel like I have to end this blog on a positive note. I think that out generation is the most racially accepting generation to date. And even though racism is unavoidable, it can definitely become less obvious and accepted. I think that one day, not in the near future, but possibly in the distant future, racism will be a thing of the past.
its nice to hear something positve mike. an i agree with you ending remarks all of them.
Any gesture that is in result of being stereotypical is my definition of racism. Body language or offensive speech is a "gesture" clarified. Looking at the definition of racism, it is interesting to see how I perceive that word is extremely different than what is actually means. Racism is formally defined as "the belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.".This definition automatically creates the thought of Hitler. As everyone knows, he associated certain physical traits to a race and attempted to force that race to be superior than any other. In our country, it is very rare for someone to be pure blooded of one ethnicity. Most people don't look deeply into what Caucasian, Asian, African American, Pacific Islander, and etc. really indicate. There are a handful of different ethnicities that exist in that one classification of race. In the United States, it's especially common for people to be of a mix race. If people are of a mixed race then how can there really be racism?
Ignorance of racism prevents it from becoming an ideology. It is true that if you are sheltered from a belief then it won't become a part of your beliefs. I am extremely sheltered for the most part, however my parents beliefs have reflected my own in a way. It's kind of frustrating writing this because I want to use the word racist, but most people aren't racist. People just discriminate against others and don't necessarily think that their race is superior, but they may be superior. My parents discriminate a lot. They crack corny jokes about races. For instance, my stepdad jokes that Tommy Hilfiger is really named "Tommy Half Nigger" and when he hated Obama (He likes him now) he created an aphorism for Obama's Change slogan, which was "Can't have a nigger get elected". Sorry for using the "N" word, I used it to quote someone. I personally don't speak like that. All of these jokes are wrong, yet he has many friends that are African Americans and he even told them of these jokes and they all thought it was a great laugh. My parents also for a while didn't allow me to date any guy outside my race, but now they don't care. If you are constantly around racism, you may start to believe in it. Racism is discriminating and is in a way creating stereotypes, but it is a part of life and I doubt anyone is that sheltered that actually lives in a "pure" town. There probably are communities like that, but I say it's rare.
If I was never exposed to a multicultural environment, I know personally I'd be more attuned to the differences. I am a very analytical and observant person. Even if it was someone different, I'm sure with new surroundings and people anyone would be fascinated by the differences physically, emotionally, and culturally. I'm amused by different cultures. I once had a Colombian boyfriend where his family spoke Spanish as their first language. I attentively listened to the language and tried picking out words. I'd always drink their Colombian soda as soon as I got to their house. It was a different life and a different way of living with the food that they cooked, the way they decorated their house, family traditions, how they spoke to each other, and etc. It was just really interesting in general. Although, I learned to stop listening to their conversations because I easily got words mixed up. Once they were talking about tomorrow by using the word manana (sp?) and I thought they said mansana (sp?), which means apple. I then asked my boyfriend at the time, Juan, "Why were you guys talking about apples?" and immediately his whole family busted out in laughter and I just blindly stared.
I don't think anyone hides behind cultural difference to excuse rudeness. It all depends on the people you talk to also. Some people really don't take anything offensively or rude when people make rude comments about traditions in a culture. However, some people may. I was watching a show a couple days ago and this African American lady got offended by a doctor saying that typically it is harder for African American women to lose weight and it is actually easier for them to gain weight as well, which may be because of traditional food. That isn't a rude comment. It is fact proven by studies. If I said to the African American Lady, " Your fat because your black!" I would have some serious confrontation from her and probably broken teeth.
The division between classes promotes a racial divide. If you view the advanced placement and honors, it seems students are primarily Caucasian. African Americans and Asians seem to be a minority. However in college prep and general classes, there seems to be an equal mixture of races. That is why classes like gym are great because you get a mixture of races and knowledge levels in students.
My definition of racism is stereotyping or even referencing the way people act, appear, or sound based on their culture, religion, or skin color. Although very cliché, the way I look at it is, when you meet a Middle-Eastern person, the immediate thought of racism doesn’t think, “He’s Middle Eastern, hence his skin color is different (vice versa).” What we really think is, “ He’s Middle-Eastern, he must act this way, talk that way, and think such and such.”
I believe that the lack of acknowledging racism prevents it from becoming stronger and more of a popular idea or ideology. The same goes for ignorance of racism. I believe that if we weren’t raised to recognize the so called ‘differences’ between black and white, and any ethnicity for that matter, that we it wouldn’t have the stronghold that it has on us today. Some people say that ignorance of racism builds it up, but I believe that acting or even believing that racism doesn’t exist, contributes to its disappearance and invisibility. I believe that we were raised to acknowledge that it exists. For example, if you raised black son and a white son since they were babies, the very thought of a difference amongst them would be nowhere to be found. Now if these two same children had met on different circumstances, but with the background knowledge of their parents teaching them the concept of racism and that this occurs between white and blacks sometimes, inevitably when the two meet they will observe the distinctions that their parents claim are there. What we fail to understand is that most people, (unlike Janiru), don’t experience another’s culture, religion, or way of speaking. But because were exposed to it and are foreign to it, we classify it as ‘black culture’, ‘white culture’, and ‘Asian culture.’ And this is where we create our different distinctions of stereotypes. This leads me to another idea I’d like to point out: classification. By classifying different attitudes and ways of life towards different races, we’re giving into the concept of racism. This is why I say that not acknowledging racism, or not seeking our differences in the people we’ve grown up with, definitely prevents racism from becoming stronger as well as prevents it from becoming an ideology to discuss.
(I couldn’t fit in the statement below, so here it is… =)
You see racism should be as nonexistent as the differences of hair color or eye color. But because we are told that racism exists because of skin color and cultural differences, we as human beings will continue to look out for these distinctions between one another.)
If you were raised in a predominantly white society, I think that you would very much give into the notion of racism simply because of your lack of familiarity with other races. For example if you have lived with white people in your neighborhood for 13 years, and then a black family moves in, your reaction to this doesn’t make you racist, but because of the fact that you don’t have anything to correlate or associate them to, your only left with associating them towards pre-supposed black stereotypes, because it’s the only thing you know. Not actually having relationships or interactions with blacks before, as human beings, we would automatically relate them to something that we know, and that is stereotypes. Therefore racism definitely exists in all-white areas, because these all-white areas know nothing but about themselves, which definitely contributes to racism.
There are without a doubt cultural differences that exist in our society, but these differences shouldn’t dictate the way we treat or view each other. Above this, none of us have gone deep enough into other cultures, as to let cultures influence or affect the way we interact in our society, as well as determine how our society functions. Yes, we at all some point in our ancestry may have come from a different place but most of us were all born and raised in our American culture. We cannot actually say ‘so and so’ is part of African culture, and ‘this’ is part of ‘Latino’ culture, because which of us has actually went and lived in Africa or Columbia to observe this? Above this it’s important to acknowledge that although there may be 100 obnoxious people of a certain group walking down Oakcrest halls, as long as theirs 15 of that group that aren’t obnoxious, we cannot classify them as part of being typical ‘whites’, ‘blacks’, or ‘Latinos’.
‘You can’t blame people for being human.’ I don’t believe that any person goes out of their way to cloak themselves in stereotype in order to act obnoxious, rude, or inappropriate. In life, and in school especially, were all just trying to get through the day and have as much fun as there is to have in school as possible. We all have our moments of rudeness and obnoxious that our friends usually call us out on, but dealing with these traits in people is something that we all have to get used to, and is part of accepting that all people are different. This means people handle things different, will react different, and think different. But all of us being different, kind of makes us the same. Realizing were all different, not just whites, blacks, Asians, and Hispanics that are different, takes away a lot of the differences that come to mind when we think of race.
Also, I would just like to add that intelligence has nothing to do with the color of your skin, your gender, or another traits other you might have. No matter where you’ve come from, you can strive to be whatever your heart desires as you grow up and experience life. Just as men used to be the majority in the area of education, (now women), only time will tell what will become of the many other races in their growing rate of education.
My definition of racism is being prejudice, biased, or discriminating to others because of their race.
If someone does not understand how to set examples and show others that treating races differently is racist then I would consider you a racist. It baffles me though that there would be an “ignorance” of race. How does anyone in this world not have the slightest idea of what racism is? Yet you can be ignorant of racism if you choose to not realize what the situation is and that racism exists.
If in some aboriginal tribe they do not know that other races exist and they have never been exposed, then they do not know what racism is due to never being exposed. Odds are that if you were raised in a predominately white area and you’re white that you do not see much evidence of racism. You may not see it but that doesn’t mean you will not necessarily hear of it. In the process of education everyone will learn about racism and if you are not educated then you are ignorant to the subject matter. Ignorance is born out of the lack of education.
You can only learn so much from a textbook and the best way to be accepting of diverse cultures would be to experience them. We all have different beliefs, religion, and race but we have been taught to solve conflicts through non-violence (even though not everyone uses that method). Your culture is your way of life. I believe 100% that there are cultural differenced. The different foods we eat, clothes we wear, God’s we believe in, etc. I could go on forever on the cultural differences. In some cultures women are considered inferior to men. In the Muslim culture women are not aloud to show their skin in public because it is a sign of promiscuity. Women in many 3rd world countries have no rights within their cultures. The differences are never ending.
Due to a person’s culture, if they have not been educated on a topic then they have ignorance of that subject and blame their culture for not knowing. Some people feel the need to hind behind their culture as an excuse for their actions or behavior. Or possibly they hide behind their culture because there is nothing else to hind behind to excuse their ignorance. Certain situations in our culture may be prosecuted for but when we ask a person from a different culture why they commit such an action the easiest explanation and a way to not feel guilt would be by replying, “It is what I was raised by, it is all I have known, and it is my culture.”
I think that every child if offered the chance to succeed. Last year in my geometry class we did not have assigned seats. So, everyone chose where they wanted to sit. About a week went by and I slowly noticed the segregation that the students created throughout the room. It is sad to say that we created the segregation but we did. I could go back and forth on this question every time that I read it and yet I have to stick with my first thought. I do think that the division of class levels promotes racial divide. Just take a look at the numbers of white students compared to blacks in general classes or in Ap and Honors.
In the words of Mother Teresa, "If you judge people you have no time to love them.”
To Brendan:
" People will always make assumptions about people they don't know. It is a survival skill ingrained into our instinct to keep us from being caught off-guard. It is the knowledge of the people who are unlike you, not the knowledge that people think badly of them, that prevents racism."
I loved your blog and I agree that assumptions are made as a survival skill because it is better to have a preconceived thought of someone then to be caught off- guard like you stated.
To Morgan:
"People should try and accept the fact that everyone is equal. Like I said before, I see it around ALL THE TIME. In lunch, for example, there are all the different tables. If you look around there are usually African Americans sitting amongst each other and Spanish kids sitting together and then there is white people, Asians, and various other ethnicities sitting at their separate tables, though those occasionally mix. Just today, I saw a girl look around the lunch table. There was an empty seat at this table with black people and then an empty seat at a table with white people. She chose to sit with the white people instead. It is like subconscious racism, I think."
You are right, the lunch tables are separated by races. Everyone sticks to the norm of the situation that they know and grew up with and in most cases that deals with your own race and being comfortable with people of the same race. We fear what we don't know and therefore it's intimidating to venture off in territory that we have no clue about.
Well, my definition of racism would probably be the discrimination, mentally or physically, of someone based on their culture, their color, way of life, religion, race, or anything really. There isn’t specifically one, clear-cut definition of racism. We all view racism in different ways and some people consider some acts racist, whereas others don’t. Like Alice says—which I find confusing as well—African Americans called each other “Negros” and the N word, but when someone else calls them that, they’re all of a sudden racist… It’s not very fair in my opinion.
The ignorance of racism definitely promotes it to become an ideology. I think that if you grow up in a predominantly white or black society, there won’t be much evidence about racism existing. Even if you don’t see it, racism is still there and always has been. But racism doesn’t just occur between whites and blacks. It can occur because of any difference in someone. The ‘gingers’, or the redheads, get a lot of beef for their hair color. I can’t lie that I call someone a ginger from time to time. I don’t dislike them at all just because their hair is a different color. It’s just one of those things you catch onto, despite whether you think it’s wrong or right. Also, Jews also hear about their religion often. Most of the people I know make fun of Jewish people, but it’s all out of fun (for us at least), even though it probably aggravates them. Our ignorance to racism just adds to it, even without us realizing it.
By never being exposed to a multicultural environment, you are most likely to be less attuned to society’s cultural differences. I grew up in a primarily white neighborhood, but upon entering middle school, the cultural distinctions started to stand out more than ever to me. We dress differently, talk differently, listen to different music, act differently toward others, and even more factors that affect our culture. Some cultural differences people bring upon themselves, though. Sorry, but the black culture adds to their problems of racism. Like MaeRee says, I really would like nothing more than to tell them to shut their trap hole when they pull that “It’s ‘cause I’m black, right?” Is it really necessary to say that every time a comment is negative directed at them? No, it’s not because of your skin color. You hit it right on, Mae. I definitely agree that people hide behind their cultural differences to excuse their behavior.
It’s pretty obvious that the different class levels promote a racial division in our school. The levels of classes you are in is dependent upon whether you want to do the work or not, and like Molly says, there aren’t many African Americans in the AP and Honors programs. Not many are willing to go the extra mile. We AP kids tend to look down upon those in general, or even CP, classes and those who don’t have the same academic drive as we do. Those in lower classes also have negative views of us, automatically assuming we’re goodie-goodies and such. These stereotypes cause a separation between the different levels of classes. It just goes to show you that racism isn’t going away anytime soon.
Racism. That one word has so many different connotations and meanings to different people, and so much of what people do and say is often based on this word. A dictionary meaning of racism is hatred or intolerance of another race or races. But so frequently, we hear people in media being labeled as racists and losing their jobs for the slightest remark, even ones that might have gone unnoticed by the public. For this reason, newscasters and sports announcers are so reluctant to speak their mind about the most trivial thing, simply out of the fear that it may be misinterpreted by the media. These people are not racists. Sure, there are exceptions. Don Imus was way out of line in his assessment of the Rutger’s women’s basketball team a few years ago, and he suffered the consequences. Too often, though, harsh punishments are doled out to those who were simply making a light joke, in no way intended to be attack on a person’s ethnicity or background. These people are not racists. Racists are those who truly believe that just because of someone’s skin color or heritage, they are less important. Racists are those who wish (and sometimes inflict) harm on someone because of their religious beliefs, disability, or sexual orientation. Racists are those who hate anything that is different than them.
Racism is borne of ignorance and swift judgment. How can you possibly believe that you are better than someone because of the color of your skin? Growing up in the City Of Port Republic, with its population of slightly over one thousand people, (over ninety-five percent of whom are white non-hispanic, and less than two percent are black) I guess you could say I was not very familiar with many other ethnicities. At Port School, not one of the one hundred and thirty or so students was black. The year I graduated, our school was actually very diverse. We had three Hispanics in grades K-8, which had to have been some kind of record. Anyway, back to the question. Although I had no contact with other cultures at school, I was not ignorant to the different people in our society. Playing baseball, basketball, and soccer in Galloway Township as a child introduced me to these different races. As a young boy, I never really thought much about it all. It didn’t matter to me. Sure, their skin was a different color, sometimes they spoke a different language, but we all shared a common bond through sports. To me, everyone was the same. They were just like me. I guess that’s why I never thought about it.
As I grew older, I began to notice some things. I noticed that black kids, white kids, and Hispanic kids dressed differently, listened to different music, and even talked different. And at basketball games, blacks and whites generally sat apart. It didn’t seem that they disliked one another, just that they were comfortable with what they were more familiar with. I realized that there were indeed differences, but it never bothered me. I think September 11 was the first time I really experienced true racism. I couldn’t believe that these people would murder Americans with no remorse simply because they were Americans. I began to see the world for what it truly was, not the place of harmony and unity that we pretend it is, but a place of hatred and discord. I began hearing stories of the KKK, whose hatred of African-Americans did not allow them to see the person beyond their skin tone. I heard of rival gangs who murdered each other because of where they lived and what color they wore. And I heard of the Holocaust, an elimination of six million people because they were Jewish. It disgusted me that people could live this way, discriminating against people for reasons that had nothing to do with the individual.
As for the division of class levels within schools, I do think that it promotes a racial divide. Not intentionally, but if you take a look around our AP Lang class, how diverse is it? It almost makes me feel like I’m back at Port. If you look at the percentage of blacks to whites in Honors and AP classes and compare it to the number of blacks to whites in General and College Prep classes, they are probably exact opposites. I think this has less to do with race than it has to do with personal drive and motivation. Maybe it’s because of expectations. I know that I expect to do well in school and my parents expect me to do well. For many African-Americans, they may not have that same kind of support. Maybe their parents aren’t very active in their child’s life, or are simply indifferent about the matter. Either way, there is an obvious divide in classes, that was not meant to be, but is anyway.
Devon- I liked that shout out to Titans and Peace train. Good song, phenomenal movie.
Morgan – Haha I definitely agree with your little rant. I know exactly what you mean. Every day I hear someone being loud and obnoxious and then trying to make it seem okay because, “I’m Spanish so that’s why I’m loud.” Really? That makes absolutely no sense to me at all.
step on a crack and break your mothers back. turn around and smoke the crack and it breaks your mothers heart.
I see it around ALL THE TIME. In lunch, for example, there are all the different tables. If you look around there are usually African Americans sitting amongst each other and Spanish kids sitting together and then there is white people, Asians, and various other ethnicities sitting at their separate tables, though those occasionally mix. Just today, I saw a girl look around the lunch table. There was an empty seat at this table with black people and then an empty seat at a table with white people.
I thought about that the first day of school, you are so right! (I wish that I had thought of that example)
Like it sounds wrong, but I am just being honest. In period 9/10 there is not one black person in AP Lang, and in Cervi’s period 7/8 there is one. Last year in CP English and History, there were at least four or five in each.
I do not think that your statement sounds wrong at all and I see things the same way as you on that matter. I mean it is what is, it is a fact and I do not think that you sound racist at all.
… and I love making fun of myself. Is that racism? Sure But racism has a very negative connotation I think. Deservedly so, but there are times in which we have to laugh and embrace our differences, or else we’d never get along with our peers.
-Janiru
This is so true! People are so stuck on establishing how and why their not different, we forget that each of us is comparably different from one another and that’s something that we can all agree on. I think that if we could ‘embrace our differences’ we would no longer see things as black and white, but could find middle ground, and maybe find some ease in this are, and maybe a few laughs. =)
In simple terms, I believe racism is the discrimination and/or prejudice against another based on race. A large group of people distinguished from others on the basis of color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation etc.—that is what a race really is. So, a racist would treat someone unequally because of all the previously listed features. All of this, to me, is racism.
America is sometimes considered a melting pot, because of the countless cultures within. However, there are areas where certain ethnicities call home. If you live in a community where all you experience are people like yourself, you aren’t going to know what to expect when the real world comes along. So those who don’t know about different ways of life have no motivation to immediately accept it. Consequently, this is where it all seems to start which supports the fact that ignorance does promote racism.
Yet, I wouldn’t say that ignorance is the most severe problem concerning racism however, it’s there. Racism is everywhere you turn so in this day and age, I do not believe people just don’t know about it. It’s those who CHOOSE to ignore are what make it a problem. Then again, I think people care too little or just have the mind-set, whether from their home or friends, that they just DON’T LIKE a certain type of people. It’s mind-boggling I know, but we all see it. I can’t even count the number of times that I’ve spoken to people who blatantly say, “I hate gay people.” When I ask why, they have no real answer. I get so frustrated! But let me stop myself before I rant.
I am Spanish, Italian and German. Growing up in Galloway and Mays Landing, two very large towns, has forced me to experience people like myself and people completely different—but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love the knowledge I have gained about diverse cultures and ways of life other than my own, and growing up around it definitely caused me to have this opinion. But there is no doubt in my mind that those who grow up in smaller communities with people just like them have more trouble accepting other cultures and races. So personally, if I was unaware of other ways of life, I wouldn’t be the first to board the train of diversity. I would be ignorant towards the subject, so racist thoughts would flow through my mind involuntarily.
There are obvious cultural differences in the world that everyone should come realize. Culture is what makes everyone different and we all know that EVERYONE is different. Nevertheless, diversity is what makes our country so great. BUT, there are those instances where people hide behind their culture to make up for rudeness and obnoxious behavior. Of course this does not apply to everyone of the Spanish ethnicity (especially not myself!) but we all know who I’m referring to when I mention “the group of people who hug and kiss and share each other.” These Latinos and Latinas huddle all over school, right in front of where you need to walk, so they can kiss their many “novios y novias.” (Most of the time it’s just friends hugging and kissing each other non-stop). I know from experience that showing affection is a big part of the Spanish culture, but it’s SCHOOL and we really don’t want to see that. But because it is what they were raised to do, no one is really going to tell them to stop.
Although there shouldn’t be a racial divide among the class levels, there surely is. I don’t really understand why, but every level has a stereotype and/or opinion of the other. Whether it’s the AP nerds, lazy CP kids, or unintelligent general students, I’ve heard it all. We seem to make these judgments by a person’s group of friends or physical appearance and can automatically say “oh yeah he’s in general.” But despite our judgments, I cannot really say why there seems to be such a racial divide. Within both AP classes, we can all safely say that most of those around us are white. But sadly, I cannot give any explanation as to why. But these divisions are only a small part of the racism that goes on every day.
Devieee<3 (P-MO)-
I really believe you made some good points in your blog. I enjoyed your third paragraph and the discussion of all our mullican lovers and I giggled when you said “I was exposed to numerous cultures and first heard the "f bomb" when I was relatively young.” But your perspective really made sense. We both grew up in large schools and had all kinds of people around us at all times so we were accustomed to the diversity. But for our lovely mullicans, it probably took some getting used to. The background information really helped prove your point. :)
To Devon
I think you did a really good job with your blog. I’m so used to your writing I could almost hear your voice as I read it. (Sounds creepy but I swear it’s not.) Anywho, I really liked this sentiment,
“The thing is, we are all different, which is a fact that should be celebrated. However, we go and categorize people based on these differences, and we impose unnecessary judgments.”
I would like to see a world where everyone was identical. If we all looked the same this problem of racism would never exist. People take these stupid little things about a person that are completely irrelevant and make fun of them for it. I just want a world where we can hate someone based on their character, not their appearance.
The dictionary defines racism as a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to rule others. I see racism as any form of malice of unnecessary judgment towards an ethnic group whether it is the one you belong to or not. Yes people can in fact be racist towards their own race. Racism is an issue that has plagued America since its beginning. I the beginning rich white men oppressed Africans that had been dragged from their homes to a new country and forced to do work for room and board. Before that the colonists massacred the Native Americans solely because they were “savage.”
Racism is not a genetic trait but is often times passed from one generation to another. But what I want to know is how people ever came to the conclusion that people were inferior. How could someone ever look at another human being, another precious life and come to the conclusion that they are less valuable or inferior. There are certain things I will never understand and I suppose this is one of them.
I don’t think that ignorance of racism promotes it as an ideology. But at the same time it does not necessarily prevent it either. Ignorance of racism, I feel would cause people to cause a person to form their own opinion. For example if children are never taught about racism they will not know what it is and cannot form prejudices. However as people get older they realize that bullying can help them to look cool and being racist is an easy way of putting others down. Basically what I am trying to say is that we are the product of our parents. In a sense parents brain wash us. We live in their houses and are forced to listen to them gripe about all the problems with the world. But as young children, our parents and the coolest people ever, and we hear everything they say and take it as fact. If from the time you were born, you were raised in a household that was strongly racist, odds are that you will adopt these ideologies.
Growing up in today’s day and age is completely different then when my parents were my age. The world is a more diverse place and has evolved immensely in recent years. Our generation has been imbued with multicultural diversity. Not only is our school system more diverse than it was thirty years ago but the material taught in schools is more diverse. The fact that our whole society is more diverse has caused our generation to be more accepting of all races.
When I think of the differences between races I think of American History X, which happens to be one of my favorite movies of all time. A quote that had me thinking for quite some time was when Edward Norton is on news after a few black men shot his father. This is not a direct quote, but he asks himself why blacks have not progressed like the white have. He says the White Europeans came to America and settled in the new land, and formed their own government. How come the African Americans cannot settle and become respectable citizens. Please do not take what I say and try and call me racist. But he has a point, when you walk down the hallways and see the black kids acting like gangsters, they seem as though they do not wish to improve their ranks upon society. This is not an absolute rule but just an observation. When you go to inner part of cities, are they not predominantly black? The same can be held true for high school. When you look around in your AP classes, there are few African Americans. I not trying to imply anything I am merely making observations. I think many of the African Americans today take for granted the poor state that fellows blacks suffered as little as 40 years ago. Many of them are ignorant of the history their people went through and many of them do not care. There are racial divides among AP classes mainly due to lack of aspiration.
The definition from the dictionary is a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.
My definition of racism is when one person or multiple people feel they are better than another group of people, and put them down to make themselves feel better. This group could be discriminated against because of their skin color, religion, or due to a social group that they are a part of. Throughout our lives, each and every person experiences racism, whether it is firsthand, or through somebody else’s experiences.
There are two different types of ignorance that people could obtain, and one of them does promote racism. When a person chooses not to acknowledge that people are being racist, then they are promoting it, but when a person is so naïve that they don’t even know what racism is, then that is a completely different story. People aren’t just born knowing what racism is; they are either taught about it or hear about its effect on people.
I myself, growing up in Mays Landing, experienced many different races and religions of people at a very young age. First of all, my mom is 100% Puerto Rican, would tell me stories of when she was younger, and how she was discriminated against just because of the dark color of her skin. Everyday she and her two brothers would be tormented by the kids on her bus, and she would have to defend her brothers, who were complete wusses. This defiantly deterred me from bulling anybody, and even the thought of what her punishment would be if I ever hurt somebody like that was terrifying. Even though I could easily pass off for white, I can relate with how these minorities feel, due to how close I am to people who actually experienced the racism.
In the great melting pot of America, most people get to witness all of the different habits, holidays, and hobbies of many different religions. For example a few races are a little more publicly affectionate to each other, where on the other hand different races avoid all contact in public. These mannerisms are learned from the home, where different ideals are thought as acceptable.
Even though a divide in AP and CP classes is not intended, it is obvious that there is one. I’m not saying that it is like this in every high school, but in Oakcrest a divide is made evident. People often use the stereotype that the stuck up AP students do not want to be seen with the not so bright CP students, but what about the other way around? Don’t you think that CP students don’t want to be caught dead hanging out with nerdy, pretentious AP students who suck up to their teachers all day.
Erik:
"Playing baseball, basketball, and soccer in Galloway Township as a child introduced me to these different races. As a young boy, I never really thought much about it all. It didn’t matter to me. Sure, their skin was a different color, sometimes they spoke a different language, but we all shared a common bond through sports. To me, everyone was the same. They were just like me. I guess that’s why I never thought about it."
^Sports can bring everyone together and it is often where cultural barriers were first broken. And what you said about how "They were just like me." is really insightful. You all shared a love for sports and competition, and the bonds you share through activites and similar hobbies is what really matters. (like you said)
My personal definition is quite simple. There are two races: White and Black. Racism is the constant hatred between these two groups. That how racism was started and that is how I perceive it to be right now. Some of you may be wondering where all other groups of people are. Well, hatred among people by their heritage or other characteristics, I qualify as simply “discrimination.” Adding them to Black and White as factions only complicates the idea of racism. To me, racism and discrimination, while similar, are two different things.
Ignorance of racism only promotes more and more of it. Having no knowledge of racial profiling and no knowledge of what racism does to both factions of the war, creates an empty space in our mental structure. That empty space skips over all of the morally wrong and inhumane actions and words that come with the idea of racism. You cannot be aware of your wrong-doings if you never learn what is wrong and what is right. It is this how racism first started with Americans deciding to enslave a different race of people. Ignorant as they were, they failed to take in account all of the damage that they will come to create for these people. Instead of other human beings with feelings and god-given rights, the lazy bastards only saw them as a way to get a lot of work done, with barely any, if not none, physical effort. Slavery for profit was once the hallmark of western ideology. While this trend still continues to exist today, I like to think that America at least has some of control over its country because of the limited existence of slavery.
For 10 years that I have lived in Russia, I have never been exposed to the Black race. I don’t know if it’s just the part of Russia in which I lived or what the cause, but I do not have any recollection of ever meeting a black person during those 10 years. Of course once those 10 years came to a close, I ended up moving my living quarters to New Jersey. Though I have never experienced it before, I did not have a hard time adjusting to the cultural differences in here. Many different cultures exist here, which when I slowly started figuring this country out, surprised me a little. Despite that, the different cultures did not at all change me, and I liked meeting all the different kids in the school.
I know that my first black friend was a kid by name of Rasheed. I’m sure a lot of you mullicans out there know him, and maybe some of you Davies kids too. For those who really payed attention in 4th and 5th grades, Rasheed and I hated each others guts. We could not exchange a word without two insults. It took two years, and a 3rd party mediator, to actually get us to be able to talk to each other like civilized people. Since then, Rasheed became my first black friend for a while. Not to be racist or anything, but most black kids in Mullica were punks who found pleasure in making my life miserable all because of my “heritage.” Then again, it’s not like there were all that many to make be friends with. Of course it’s not like my own race didn’t decide to discriminate against my heritage either. To sum up all of this, my middle school life was a complete and utter HELL. Luckily, a series of events that even I’m not sure of, have turned my life around, and at this point in time, I really don’t see people by races. Though some still like to fill the stereotypes that society has given them (how people dress, I mean come on, it’s pretty damn obvious) people are people, and they act as they have found fit.
I too have found that people tend to hide behind these racial or discrimatory stereotypes in order to be obnoxious. In my case, however, if I hear any kinds of weird, discrimatory comments from people (Communist…etc) it’s usually because a friend of mine (you know who you are) is just teasing me. The stereotypes which once represented “fightin words” are now just jokes that even the person who is used in the stereotype can accept, or at the very least tolerate, as they laugh with their friends.
Lastly, I don’t think it is right to compare racism to the difficulty of the classes available here at Oakcrest. A person’s race or heritage, is a birth right that will follow the person forever; from life all the way till death. Whether a person considers his roots a gift or a curse, it is something that is here to stay. Classes on the other hand, are purely the decision of the person. If one so wishes, then he/she can be an AP student. At the same time, if he/she wishes, they can be a general student…..and every color in between.
Now, I know I said a lot here, and like many other people here on this blog, I probably kind of got lost in all of my words here. Just to make it easier, I would like to make a final statement to represent my summary…..ok here it goes. I believe that whatever you race or heritage, we people are good. The real cause of racism or discrimination is how others view said heritage/race. It takes one bad person, and one bad experience to make a person racist or….you know. I have also found, through personal experience, that whatever the bad experience or whatever the number of them, it can also take one good person who offers a hand of friendship, to compensate for the errors of his own kind. Ok, I’m done, Peace!!!
At Brendan, I say two things. A) "what can be done?" That attitude, while it is 'part of the problem,' is sadly true at the same time. And 2) as to your comment that a Klan member being called a racist will take it as a compliment, I concur. There really isn't much that can be done when dealing that kind of outlook, which lends to the problem of "what can be done."
And to Ivan, my soul brotha, to his comments on his own family, I applaud him for being strong enough to stop the cycle that is racism with him. And also, as to his mentions on sarcasm, I agree again, as the oversensitivity people express over jokes can blow a harmless comment completely out of proportion.
I'm gonna stop there before I go into a rant on Political Correctness, which, Bunje, I really hope we have a blog on one of these days. To those of you unaware of my feelings on this, Meg Reese is to Immigration as Danny P is to Political Correctness.
“What is the point in celebrating black history month if there is no white history month? Why can’t we have a month to recognize people in our history who have made achievements just as great as any of those black people? It just doesn’t make sense.” My father is perhaps not racist, but is certainly not susceptible to change. He just happens to be a part of that generation of fathers who tell their daughters to never “date a blackie”. Racism is a competition in which people of opposite colors try to find flaws in the race opposite of their own. By doing so, they fulfill themselves with a false sense of power or authority over this opposite race. In a way, it makes sense considering the fact that the desire to accumulate power is a part of human nature, and we are also great believers in the survival of the fittest. Hence, some of us feel that we are carrying out a humanistic duty to find which group of people is the weakest or most incompatible. Yet, in another way, it makes no sense for a group of people to fear something such as a simple change of skin color. People fear it to such an extent that they feel they must do everything within their capability to separate themselves from. Eventually, this separation may grow to the point that we will one day have human beings listed under two different species: White Homo Sapiens and Black Homo Sapiens. Society may once again enter the dark caverns of segregation, but it could just be a matter of time for things to change. Perhaps once a few generations die out, segregation may become an extinct idea to the human mind. Nevertheless, such a change is dependent upon environmental factors and the influence our parents’ views have upon us.
If the existence of racism were to be eliminated from the minds of all humans in every society on the face of the earth, only then would it be possible for racism to be prevented from becoming an ideology. The reason is simple: if we do not know that racism exists, then the idea of racism would have no chance or opportunity to even become a thought. In order to flourish into an ideology, that thought would be key in its formation. For example, prejudice is not something that is genetic; it can only be influenced by environmental factors. So, if a person is never exposed to prejudice feelings and has never even thought of such an idea being in existence, it would be impossible for them to become racist; they would have to be exposed to others who share these views. If a white person were to be raised in a community that possessed even a slight number of black people, there would be an increased chance for racist feelings to be introduced than in a community that had all white people. As a result, the increased presence of the opposite skin color within a community measures the likelihood that racism can be introduced. Nevertheless, one must also consider the fact that not all people are the same. If a black group of people were to be introduced to a development that resided only white people, there is a fifty-fifty chance that the population of white people will either welcome them or separate themselves from them. It depends heavily upon the knowledge the white population has of black communities as well. If the white population consistently heard of crimes on the news that involved black people, this information may impair their ability to accept the black population into their development.
While juggling text books, my lunch box, my purse, my gym clothes, my papers, and a poster board in my hands as I walked toward the school, I can recall a particular day that really made think of how black people may perceive those who are white. I was walking with my sister next to me as we walked into the school in the morning just as the buses dropped all of the students off. We walked down one of my favorite hallways with glass walls on either side. With all of the different items in my hands, I felt slightly embarrassed while being surrounded by those who walked into the building with a mere purse or small bag. As I walked next to my sister, I began to hear voices saying, “Man, look at dat white girl. Man, she carryin’ all dos books and think she be so smart. Man, look at her, look at her.” It was like as if my head had been submerged into a hot tub as I felt the sides of my face begin to burn and my heart’s pounding suddenly rush into my head. Inside, I wanted to believe that they were not talking to me as I tried to convince myself that there must be someone else. The criticizing remarks continued until we reached my sister’s locker. As we both stopped at the locker and my sister began to shake her head, one of them gave out a short laugh and came closer to us to say, “Stay white.” My sister, after hearing this, shouted back, “Yeah, I will!” Somehow she was able to contain herself to not say something much worse, and I could see her frustration as she clenched her teeth together and pursed her lips. The event allowed me to see just how much of a competition racism is. The only reason I can see for shouting out such comments would simply be for the purpose of building pride in one’s race. It is ashamed to think that such pride could hurt someone’s own dignity to the extent that the victim may actually begin to believe such false criticism.
If a person was never exposed to a multicultural environment, the person would obviously be less attuned to the cultural differences that exist in society. This person would have no knowledge of what it is like to be around such diverse cultures, and would therefore lack any familiarity with them. Cultural differences are certainly present between races as is seen in their general behavior. White people tend to be very conservative, while black people tend to be more talkative and likely to openly express their views. There is nothing wrong with being talkative; it is just the way in which many of them are brought up. Even Alice Walker in her essay, Only Daughter, states, “The house was throbbing, same as always; hot tamales and sweet tamales hissing in my mother’s pressure cooker, and everybody – mother, six brothers, wives, babies, aunts, cousins – talking too loud and at the same time, like in a Fellini film, because that’s just how we are.” As to whether or not people hide behind these cultural differences to excuse rude, inappropriate, or obnoxious behavior, can be seen when a person says, “Well that’s because he/she is white”, or “he/she is black”, or “he/she is Asian”. When a person is not able to jump very high or dresses like a skater or is found studying for an exam, the phrase “well, that’s because he’s/she’s white” is often used. Then, when a person talks loudly or is very good at basketball or is known to get in trouble with the police, the phrase “well, that’s because he’s/she’s black” is often used. Lastly, when a person is found to have a great musical talent or is very flexible or is very good at math, the phrase “well, that’s because he’s/she’s Asian” is often used. These are all very common phrases heard throughout the hallways of our school every day.
Having a division of class levels within schools does promote a racial divide. For example, not many black students are often seen taking Honors or AP courses. I am sure there are many bright students with black skin color who do take them in this world, but the number is definitely smaller than that of the amount of white students. Personally, I believe it is because they feel that if they were to take such high-level courses, it would bring unwanted attention to them. They may also fear not being accepted into a group of so many white people. Since most of their friends stay in the lower-level courses, that is where they choose to stay as well. Taking the higher-level courses is seen as a “white-student” sort of thing, and black students therefore separate themselves from it. An end needs to be made with this competition that is fostering false sensations of power due to a simple phenotypic trait as skin color. We should be brave enough to rise to power together, and maintain a sense of unity stronger than any of those false pretensions.
In response to Sarah C.:
“It isn't until society makes us aware of the issue of racism that it really becomes an issue at all.” I completely agree with you on this statement. There are a lot of people who try to argue the fact that prejudice/racism is genetic, but it is clearly influenced by our environment only. Society, the one force in this world that has the most impact upon our views, is what controls whether we will grow up possessing racist feelings or not. The moment racism is introduced to us is the moment it possesses the capability of changing our minds. The “issue of racism” does not truly become an issue, as you said, until we are introduced or exposed to it. I wish I could say that one day we will be able to overcome the opinions, views, and morals of society, but reaching such a potential is highly unlikely.
Wow! This is going to be a tough one. From my own perspective racism is drawing differences between people in ability, quality, or entitlement without any prior personal interaction with the person. This qualification is based on appearance and brief (if any) moments of conversation.
Ignorance of racism is most defiantly a cause of it. How can you prevent something if you don't know what it is? If you are raised in an area that is mostly white there are definitely fewer occasions to see racism in action as a young child. However, if you attend a preschool or go to a public school, you are able to see racism in places other than home though the impact may seem significantly less. One point I would like to make is that though there is less "racism" there are still plenty of areas to discriminate against people with, the way their yard looks, the amount of money they make, the way their dog acts are all things that subtly influence the way people interact without any respect to the actual individual.
If a person was never exposed to a multicultural environment they would be much more aware of the cultural differences that exist in society. Myself as an example, I often do not enjoy going to the houses of people whose family I do not know already. When I do go I often feel awkward and like I am in the way, leading to my staying home more than is probably healthy. But that's just me. I'm not sure that I believe in cultural differences so much as I believe in familial traditions. Simple things like the time that a person takes a shower vary from house to house. I shower in the morning simply because it wakes me up to an extent, so I do not fall asleep before I reach the bus.
People are set in their ways. I think that people rely on cultural differences as excuses to not change. When I am comfortable with what I am doing and there are minimal complaints about my actions, I simply continue regardless of the reactions of others to my actions.
The division of class levels in schools is a decision that I can not see a way around with immediate clarity. However I believe that it promotes a divide in the student population, perhaps not one that is racial in nature but one that creates a strict barrier between the people who walk the same halls, change in the same locker room, breath the same air. One way that I can see to fix this devastating rift in the population is to get more people involved in activities. The people who do something at school that they like are more likely to find the place enjoyable, rather than think of the place as a federally mandated prison sentence.
Racism is a broad topic that cannot be but barely scratched in the above discourse. However in a nutshell, the above.
-- Ali B :)
P.S. Devon P. I agree with your feelings on attending Hamilton Twp. Public Schools, it is where I first learned to be face in the crowd. I also am thankful because I also learned quickly that well "sounds like a personal problem."
Sergei, I salute you. I completely agree with you on the discrimination/racism being different things bit, and you accepting barbs like 'commie' as friendly jabs takes a tolerance most people don't have in them.
Fun game for those of you out there who don't talk about your heritage much. Make jokes about your own culture, see how long it takes someone to call you racist against your own people. People are attentive to barbs not even directed at them these days, it's actually pretty inspiring to see them defend another culture from itself.
To Alice (In responce)
To start this of, I agree with you about the whole Matt's blog thing. 1,521 words is quite a bit. Next, I don't think you will be racist like your parents (you did say they were racist right?). You are too kind, and you would probably be the person who can find good in many of these people. Sadly, though, you will never be able to get rid of all traces of rascism and discrimination. As long as people can thing, the can feel emotions; emotions such as anger, hate, and discust. From those emotions, racism and discrimination is born. For you to stop the human mind, it would be mean total control, or wiping out the human race. Either way, its a lose-lose situation. Lastly, I know how you feel about the whole "you are asian" gag. I heard the same thing only replace asian with russian. From my experience, what I found to work was to turn towards the person, squint your eyes, and say "Screw You"
!!! Results May Vary !!!
Alrighty then. First of all, I would like to state that I do not like this topic, and never have for all the years we had some project or another on it. After the first couple years, it gets annoying. However, I shall try to put my heart into, and pray that I won’t have to next year. =)
My definition of racism. My definition of racism would have to be the way a person acts in relationship to someone or something else who differs from them in some way. It stems from uncomfortable feelings and hate. Racism is not limited to just ethnicity or skin color as some may think. Rather, it has unlimited boundaries to which you could label a person “racist”. I think that exists less with people or things with similar attributes. That would be like French people being racist of a guy who spoke French. The whole “pot calling the kettle black” idea. However, this similar way of looking at things is often what leaves room for biases and prejudice. These then lead to racism. Ignorance of racism is good because there would definitely be less racism if everyone around had the same qualities.
The way I was raised is biased to some extent, of course. Everyone is raised with a biased point of view. What’s good and what’s bad. It’s only natural for parents to differentiate for kids what is proper and what is not and so on. Thus, it is also natural for kids to adopt the views of their parents. Take me for example. I was raised by an all Asian family as you all know. They are very conventional and traditional, yet are able to adapt to the modern advances in the world. I didn’t really have much exposure to a multicultural environment when I was younger. It basically consisted of Asian, mainly Thai, people that I knew. My exposure was usually only because of neighbors and my mom’s work friends and their kids. However, as I have grown, I have somehow gained more so-called “intelligence” and realized racism and what it was about. I soon began to realize just how racist some people could be, the extreme racists. I also realized that racism could not be defined by prejudice toward a ethnicity or color of a person, but by other qualities as well. As I became more knowledgeable on the subject, I grew to try to be respectful of other cultures and other religions. My parents helped me to become respectful and told me to be. However, every now and again, you can hear a racist comment slip from their mouths without them realizing it. But I do. I realize it. I don’t think much of it at the time, but it’s always in my mind, unconsciously repeating every time I hear or speak of racism. I think that just because I grew up in a very limited multicultural environment doesn’t mean that I am not less aware than others. I am very much aware as I observe the world around me when they don’t think anyone is looking. The cultural differences would have to basically be based on your beliefs and your lifestyle. The type of cultural differences being spoken of not there, but ARE hiding behind their stereotypes. People do not hide on purpose. They are just merely overlooked when only the extremists get remembered. I believe the quote on Bunje’s white board one day was…I’m not sure something on the lines of, “Respectful women never get remembered through history.” (That is totally off!) Anyways, that fits right in with the idea of some people hiding behind their stereotypes. They are merely being skimmed over as eyes wander toward the extremists of the common stereotype. Oh, and one more note, you guys may say that the weird things I do are because I’m Asian, but to tell you the truth, I rather think it’s because I like being different and not following normal etiquette. I am not hiding behind the Asian stereotype, although I do mock it quite a lot which in turn is taken as seriousness which then leads to me being very, very Asian. I just want to spice of your life. =)
I think that the division of class level does not really have anything to do with racial divide accept promote it, a little. It basically goes like this. It all depends if you are willing to try hard, and take the hits and homework that is given to you. If your plan is to just float on by through high school, then so be it. For some reason, there is a racial divide, and I don’t really understand why. Why are the majority of black students in CP classes or lower? Why are the majority of yellow students in Honors classes or higher? Why? Why? Why? It just happened, and I do not know why. However, the different academic levels definitely show the division of races in our school, whether incidentally or not.
So, while I was writing I said that I just lovvve spicing up everyone’s life. Thus, I shall leave you guys with the lyrics of the super fantastical Spice Girls song, Spice Up Your Life. =)
La la la la la la la la la
La la la la la la la
La la la la la la la la la
La la la la la la la
When youre feeling sad and low
We will take you where you gotta go
Smiling, dancing, everything is free
All you need is positivity
Colours of the world (spice up your life!)
Every boy and every girl (spice up your life!)
People of the world (spice up your life!)
Aah...
Slam it to the left (if youre having a good time)
Shake it to the right (if you know that you feel fine)
Chicas to the front (huh huh) and go round
Slam it to the left (if youre having a good time)
Shake it to the right (if you know that you feel fine)
Chicas to the front (huh huh)
Hai-see YAH, Ho-TAA!!!
I tend to think of racism as the general discrimination against other races. This is a far less all-encompassing definition than some of those posted here, but it is what I believe. As for the ignorance of racism, I’m going to agree with Sarah Crane here and point out the same idea: children not raised in a racist household will not realize there is such thing until the media or their ‘education’ introduces it to them. Children are ignorant of most things, and take all that they observe at face value. It is from this point of view that I say that ignorance of racism prevents it from becoming an ideology. If you truly do not know something exists and have never been exposed to it or the idea of it, how can you believe it? However, as for if you were raised in an all white neighborhood, you might still have been exposed to racism: in the media, in your home, in the neighbors calling their gardeners names. What the people around you feel or think matters more to your status of ignorance than what their skin colors are.
I think it only makes sense that being exposed to a multicultural environment would make you more familiar with the cultural differences in society. On that note, OF COURSE there are cultural differences in society! Have you ever been to another country? From the simple: like how in England, public transpo is amazing, and here it’s difficult to get anywhere without a licenese. To the more complex, like how some cultures require their women to remain covered, head to toe.
People have always hidden behind cultural differences. For instance, an anecdote: I rolled my knee yesterday, and was walking, slowly, to the nurses’ office. Apparently I wasn’t walking fast enough for the two girls behind me, one of whom pushed by me, knocking me into a wall, and yelling “jeez girl, keep yo probums to yoself.” And as her friend brushed by me, she laughed, glancing at me. Then she commented that “damn, you shouldna done that, dat lil white girl look like her eyes gonna pop outta her head.” By now you’ve probably figured out that these girls were African American (not black, because although they’re allowed to call me a ‘lil white girl’ it’s not pc for me to say they were ‘big black girls’). And it was very clear, hearing them, that lil white girl was a bad thing for me to be, and that, given different circumstances, and perhaps a different skin tone for me, they might not have acted as they did.
Yes, I most definitely feel that the class levels segregate our student body. Now to clarify what I’m trying to say: the guidance councilors don’t sit there and go, “oh, well let’s only put 3 African American kids in every honors class, making about 30% of the CP classes’ minorities and put the rest in general.” It doesn’t work quite like that. However, don’t think it passes everyone’s notice, how we’re divided. It probably severely effects the opinions of the general kids, both in that they resent the white AP-ers for their potential and “easy way in” and that they could see their race as one of the things working against them in their quests for honors level classes.
Brendan:
There are a fair number of Asian AP students, but Asian people are often stereotyped as smart.
Eww. I know. I personally can say that i am not that smart, especially compared to all the other Asians in AP classes! So, HA. i consider myself not in that stereotype which has probably absolutely nothing to do with what you were saying. =)
Racism: disliking someone and treating them with disrespect because of their culture, religion, sexuality, color, and/or beliefs.
If you don't know what racism is, and you use it openly and frequently, of course it will become an ideology. For instance, take the people of Iraq. The children from the begining are taught to hate, to fight, to kill themselves because it is for their country and considered a good deed. In turn, these young moldable minds turn into brainwashed psychopaths waiting for their chance to shoot down an American. The children only know what their elders teach them. They honestly don't know any better. It's kind of like a chain; every year a new generation latches on to the past links and they urge eachother to grip tighter so they don't break. Monkey see monkey do, the younger children become like their older counterparts, and it is a never ending chain of killing machines. It really makes me wonder what it must be like to try and explain to an Iraqi child that what they've been taught thus far about conduct of their lives is wrong and unlawful. (for us anyway) The main point is that they have no idea they are doing anything wrong and will continue their harsh training as if it were law not racism.
If anyone would see the evidence of racism, it would be the all white neighborhood. Seeing that they aren't surrounded by the different people, they would notice them more when they did see someone different than themselves. At that point, i am almost certian that the white person would actually say something about the other person. (most likely racist and false notions of their stereotype) This is wrong, but most of these types of people can be jerks like that.
I think many people who don't know much about toher cultures are intrigued and want to know what is going on in someone else's life. People might be oblivious to what's going on around them, but im sure at some point in one's life, they would be interested in investigating the matter. There are a lot of cultural differences you can see with your eyes, such as the text they read, clothing they wear, and even the way they speak. I think anyone can see the differences.
Black people are always late.
Spanish people are insanely loud.
Asian people are super smart.
White people are superior to everyone else.
Society uses all of ^^^ excuses to hide their behaviors. It's like a white guy is allowed to be cocky because he is so much better than the screaming latina girl or the black boy can be late to class while the walking asian brain is never late because he calculates his walking distance by the length of space from point A to point B.
silly right? Not everyone is like this.
Jani <333
I'm sorry you were the only dark boy in Japan. hahaha
that story made me laugh my ass off, but it makes sense. It really shows how the sight of a skin tone can change how/what someone thinks of you. (little kids are mean, don't worry about it bud !)
Where is my hoodie?
This blog has me feeling stupid. I have so much to say. Day to day observations that make me seem like such a racist, but in fact are just examples of people hiding behind their stereotypes. I'm with Janiru on the using racism in jokes: I think stereotypes are some of the best things to laugh at, because if they apply to you (and a lot of them do) then it's a good lesson in humility. Also, if any of you know or knew Paul Brower or Drew Haas (HILARY! isn't drama bland without them? D=) then you've heard some pretty ridiculous things on this topic that kind of make light of something horrific. For instance, Tracy Ngo (you might know her sister Shirley, who's a freshman) and her boyfriend Snickerdoodle... I mean Steven Burricter, are both ninja's in my eyes, partially due to the fact that they are Asian. Things like this happen all the time, and would be interesting to analyze for positive/negative effects on society and for opinions from a variety of people. For instance, Tracy and Steve do not find their Asian-ninja status offensive. In fact, anyone who's seen Stevie run up a wall before can't really come up with a valid "he's not a ninja" argument, so there's obviously some truth to it... But is it still racist?
Mike, I'm not creeped out, I know what you mean :) and thank you!
Just wanted to let everyone know-
Brittany Goetze scored a GOAL today! :D. You go girl!!!!!
(completely unrelated but I don't care)
Just got home from work around 10:45. I was planning on doing this when I got home, but when I got home I got a call from work. Oh well….people need to learn how to not get sick.
"It's night, again
Time for my mind to go wandering
Off on a journey, through space and time
In search of a face I can never find
So I close my eyes and look inside"
Racism(noun)[RAE-sizzm]: the mental classification or sorting of various people by their skin color, ethnicity, or cultural background.
I really wish the question were about prejudice in general, because I'd have a ton more to say....
I really don't think that there is any ignorance of racism, at least conscious ignorance. There are probably a ton of newborns that don't know it exists, but they also don't know the word. In my opinion, anyone who knows the word also knows it exists.
Just because someone doesn’t personally see the evidence that racism exists doesn’t mean they can’t believe it does. If that were so, there would be no religion except atheism, Buddhism, and maybe Daoism as well (does anyone even practice that anymore?). Oh, and you don’t need other races around to see racism. The whites can still be racist to some other race while that race is absent. Still, if somehow someone were to attain such an ignorance, it would prevent a racist ideology in society.
With no exposure to different cultures, it’s not even possible to be “in harmony” with cultural differences. As much as I love to take the road less traveled, there’s really only one possible choice for this ‘fork.’ Furthermore, of course there are cultural differences! That’s why there are different cultures…because they’re different. The main differences are clothing and music taste. For example, a “gangsta” is going to listen to gangster rap and hip hop, and he’ll be wearing some over-sized baggy jeans with some Air Forces or Tim’s. On the other hand, an “emo kid” wears pants from Babies*R*Us, listens to black metal, screamo, and alternative rock. Also, he’ll probably be sporting a T-Shirt with some band on it that you’ve never heard, and sometimes he hasn’t either (I’ve seen it happen all too often).
I don’t believe anyone hides behind cultural differences…at least not to excuse obnoxious behavior. I do believe kids often hide behind cultural differences to excuse shortcomings and immoral actions. I’m one of those people that believes intelligence is a behavioral/environmental trait, even though all testing shows it to be 70% genetic. Besides, school doesn’t test intelligence. It tests motivation and memorization. If you have the right work ethic, it really doesn’t matter how dumb your parents are – you will succeed.
I honestly have no idea what class levels have to do with a racial divide. They’re really just way too irrelevant, but I’ll just say they promote the racial divide, because it’s true that there really isn’t much racial diversity in the AP classes. Now, there is definitely an elitist mindset with the AP kids, which I despise. They think it’s just fine to copy homework from someone else because they need to keep their grades up. They’re always complaining, too. You think your life’s hard? Imagine going home to your mother (you’ve no father), who’s too sick to take care of herself, let alone you and your three siblings. As the oldest, it’s your job to take care of everyone. Sure, you’re smart enough to make it into Princeton, but you have to drop out of high school and work three jobs to support your family. That’s a hard life.
Jani:
“Ever talk to a homeless person? Crazy the amount of stuff they know.”
I’m not so sure…. I have talked to my share of homeless people, and a good chunk of them were either drunk or high. There are a lot of bitter ones, too. They probably hate me because I don’t appreciate the easy life I live, or something like that. I really think you’re trying to glorify something that really isn’t all that great, just like the trip you want to take with Matt, “thumbing” across America. Really, all you’re doing is putting yourself at risk. Now, I’ve talked to a few homeless people that did have their heads about them. I can still remember one my dad introduced me to named Rosy. She was from Atlantic City, and she actually chose to be homeless. She was always carrying around tons of shopping bags, rather than a shopping cart like other homeless people opt to do. I got to talk to her for about an hour and a half one day, and it seemed like she could go on forever about how ‘you don’t need a house to have a home,’ and ‘living under a landlord or a bank is like being a slave.’ Well, she ended up freezing to death during a cold winter night. They found $40,000 cash in those bags. To this day it nearly brings me to tears. Why didn’t she just rent a room in a hotel for the night?
Anyway, back to the point. You can’t plan out memorable experiences. They just sort of happen. If you take the train to Philly just to go bother some homeless people, bad things are gonna happen. But if you really want to get those experiences, you’ve got to look at your interests, and use them. My interests have had me trekkin all over to go to Smash tournies just so I can lose, and the Wii camp-out (that was fun).
Oh, and your blog rocked my socks AND shoes.
”Someone right now is looking pretty tired
staring at a laptop trying to get inspired
Somebody livingright across the street
just wrote the best thing shes written all week
but her best friends coughing up blood in the sink
cant even think
what happened. Feeling so confused
and he knows it looks bad but there’s nothing he can do
I wonder what its like to be right there in his shoes”
Everyday the issue of racism presents itself to me either in the form of a derogatory comment or a harmless joke made by one of my friends, but regardless the nature of the comment a racist comment is still a racist comment. It’s almost impossible for me to mention any form of chicken, watermelon, or anything that is stereotypically black without someone saying something along the lines of “Oh, it’s because you’re black.” After a while, the comments just get old and they begin to slide off of my externally tough mental layer, but even if it doesn’t hurt, it’s still racism. Racism can be defined as mental or physical oppression or praise of a certain race of people due to their unfortunate or fortunate, respectively, fate to be that specific race. I say both oppression and praise because it is still racism if a particular race is being commended for an action that normal people do. For instance, if forty-five percent of white students go on to achieve a college degree and only twenty percent of black students go on to achieve a college degree, but suddenly that twenty percent raises to twenty-five percent and a statistician praises black people in general for the raise its racism. Its racism because the black people are already performing sub par but they are being commended for decreasing their level of "sub parness"? Its like achieving a fifty in class then raising that fifty to a sixty and expecting a pat on the back when you still failed regardless of improvement. This commemoration is a form of racism because its lowering the standards for that specific race although at one point both races were equal but the white race decided to get their act together faster. Obviously oppression due to the race of a certain person or group is racism, which doesn't really need to be explained. Anytime a person is being put down, offended, humiliated, or being defamed in anyway that deprives them of their happiness and comfort is an act of racism. Racism is the canker sore on the mouth of society and hinders people's social relationships and interactions around the world.
Even if a person is completely ignorant to the fact racism is still running rampant throughout the world, it does nothing but promote the spread of it. When people are raised in an area pretty much secluded from all other races but their own, it makes them have a natural dislike of the other races when they encounter them because people are naturally inclined to fear and hate what is different from them. Its almost like an animal instinct to attack intruders that it encounters because it knows it is not one of its kind, which is exactly how racism works. People forget that race is just a almost completely unchangeable way of life and not a dividing factor between levels of humanity. With this in mind, when a person is brought up in a single race dominated area, the person tends to shy away from other races and stick to its own familiar kind that it feels safe around. This is what sparks racism, because when they shy away they create a barrier between themselves and other races. This barrier causes them to see the other race in a different light due to their unfamiliarity, which ultimately leads to the realizations of the bad attributes of individuals of other races. These realizations lead to the abhorrence of the group as a whole due to their bad attributes, which leads to the ideals of racism.
Furthermore, these bad attributes as previously mentioned are the results of the cultural differences that exist in society today. People cannot honestly claim that they see black families share the same cultural beliefs and rituals that white or even Spanish individuals share. It's impossible to say that as a whole a black community is the same as a white community. Famous people, like comedians and inspirational rappers like Lil' Wayne, have clearly talked about the differences between the cultures of America's mixing pot. It seems black and Spanish communities tend to be largely less affluent than the predominately white communities, which redefines every person within the community's actions. Each race tends to have their culturally specific food that they eat, type of clothing style, way of talking, way of walking,way of interacting with each other, way of parenting, and the list goes on. There is literally cultural differences that are obvious just from glances down the hallway in your local high school. Comedians are great ways to identify the differences between cultures, because they are the ones who call out each race on their respective cultural differences. Even though this in itself is a sense of racism, its a type that instead of humiliating a specific race it is racism that is widespread across the gambit, so each race is treated equal in the racism. No one can be angry if all races are being made fun of, because then how can the racist person be accused if they were equally racist to every group including their own. Its sort of like a racism nullification law, that makes it okay for that scenario as long as the law applies. As soon as the law is broken though it returns to being the canker sore known as racism.
Finally, to the long awaited question that I've been itching to answer! Yes people hide behind these cultural differences to excuse their rude, obnoxious, vociferous, and inappropriate behavior and quite frankly it pisses me off! Oh yes it pisses me off to no ends, and no race is safe from my wrath. Lets start with white people's behavior. Cultural differences of white people such as the more eloquent speech of white people allows white people to behave in many instances as if they are the smartest race on the planet, and tend to flaunt this. This is shown when a person takes into consideration that fact that in America, and many European nations the positions of power are mainly comprised of white individuals. This can also be seen by locking a white person who tends to be associated with a majority of white friends, into a room with a person of any other race who tends to be closely associated with people of their own race. Upon hearing the way the other race person speaks, the white person will automatically assert themselves, either directly or indirectly, as the person in charge or the more serious of the two individuals. The white person may ask the other raced person of their opinion, but then they tend to infuse their belief that they will be the one to figure out how to get out. Throughout history white individuals have been the ones who took charge of situations and have been the educated ones of society, and even today white people still encompass this into their beings and culture, unless forced away from this typical culture. Black people are actually the top of my piss-me-off-through-inappropriate-behavior-from-hiding-behind-cultural-differences list, but I felt obligated to say white people first before someone accused me of being a racist. Black people of modern society use differences as a crutch to lean on in explaining the reasoning behind their obnoxious behavior. It is some conceived notion that black people must act as if it is their culture to be oppressed, and that when they are in an situation they can claim "I'm being oppressed," or "My ancestors suffered through slavery, so I deserve to act a certain way to others." No, this is hiding behind the fact that it is black history in which black people were oppressed and slaved, but it is not black culture to be oppressed or slaved. There is no reason to jump around and automatically assume people act towards you in a certain way because you are black, even if ultimately it might be the truth. Although it is typically accepted that black individuals have a greater tendency to come from poverty stricken communities than most other races it doesn't mean that black individuals should act loud and obnoxious as if they were in these areas constantly. It seems that to hide behind a cultural difference grants a black individual all the say they need to transform into a person who has no respect for elders or those in authoritative positions, no care for others preferences, a affinity for violence and lawbreaking, and a cause to create entropy. This is not stereotyping or a form of racism, this is just stating what can occur to a black individual who hides behind cultural differences. Yes my wrath continues for the other races, but they tend to become more stereotypes than hiding behind cultural differences, considering I have not been exposed as much to these other races as I have to the two majority races in America.
Actually, yes I do think that the division of class levels within schools causes a racial divide. We live in an society where minorities tend to not focus on school as much, or have alternate problems that affect their education, causing them to be at lower levels of intelligence than the majority race. This causes the classes to sort of fill out with an abundance of minorities in lower level classes while those who have natural intelligence or were diligently taught until intelligence permeated their brains to be placed in the higher classes. I see the class division everywhere I look. In all my AP classes I look around and I'm the only black kid, there's a total of four Asians, and two Hispanics, which is a sad representation of the school. It's clear that race is divided throughout the class system, but it becomes a problem that can only be fixed by solving a multitude of other problems. In the end racism and racial divides are quite real problems that are around the country and have a direct effect on every person.
In response to Molly
Yeah, I think Mullican's were inevitably subject to having racist feelings at heart, considering it is one of those predominately white towns except for the WPC of course. Even though I'm not from Mullica, some of my closest friends are and I see the way they react to other races and religions and its actually kind of sad. I won't say any names but my friend Cheatham, :), chased after a black kid today at practice and screamed "Hey who let you out, get back." Now anyone who knows Cheatham knows this is one of his racist jokes that are intended to be funny to everyone, but to people who don't know his sense of humor I'm sure that would be no laughing matter. Since he's from Mullica he is a prime example of how when sheltered from other races people become more likely to say or do racist things.
I'd just like to say I know Cheatham isn't a racist but he requested to be used in my blog about racism somehow.
I just want to say I made it before the time limit.
By 5 minutes.
By personal definition of the word racism is the inability of one human to accept another human for a broad difference they have from others. These differences can include anything from creed, color, ethnicity, conditions, and other groups of people that are different from an individual. Racism isn't just found toward African-Americans and Jews, even though their history of racism is one which through suffering should be respected and gained them somewhat of a level of sympathy, but in any groups. When many people think of racism, they think of this old, white redneck with a hillbilly accent sitting there ranting about how African-American groups are ruining America(maybe not so specific, but the picture is evident.) The truth is racism can be found in everyone, whether they are white or black, Jews or Gentiles, or any other group that might be present.
I believe that if you were attuned to one race and newly exposed to another, the reaction depends on each person. In the most horrible perspective on the matter, when a person newly exposed to peoples who are different than themselves and what they are use to they automatically think negative of them. They believe that what they have become adjusted to around them is the only thing that would be considered correct just out of pure ignorance of the other race. They might even try pulling out all the negatives, whether under their own control or out of their nature, because the person is different and begin categorization. For example, a child with this mindset walks in to see his new classmate who is Middle astern hit a bit of bad luck that day and failed his math quiz. This child begins making the connection that this kid just failed his quiz, and this kid is middle astern. Thus the result is a child already discriminating a race, even if he doesn't intentionally do it. To a certain extent this is uncontrollable nature. Some people just naturally have this process of thought in which they believe people should be taken on the broad scale of their life, and anything they do reflects the group. You could see it in someone who wouldn't be considered racist. If a representative of a group in a political rally begins acting like a moron humans are going to think, and to a certain extent rightfully should in this particular case, that that group which he represents is the same way. We just have this natural process of thought to categorize people. Now this is NO excuse for racism to any limit; these thoughts can be easily redeveloped in time if an individual really tries to change. It's just a matter of how ignorant or lack-of-multiple perceptions each person can be. Fortunately there are people who are different from this reaction. In the simplest form of the matter, they simply see the person as another. They may think “ this person is different” anyway, but how they react to that is key. They may not even think twice about it, just take on each person who is “different” from themselves and gain from it. They don't have to think about that persons differences in a broad perspective, but on a very personal level. These train of thoughts are all effected by the individuals experiences, how they were raised, and what their ideals are. Sometimes even the thought process of just regional groups can effect them. However, in its purest form, that was a racist comment by myself, so it's not totally defined, just a broad point to make.
There is no doubt school somewhat creates this different thought about racism, whether it is over intelligence, laziness, or other mind factors. I would further go on about my whole idea on how this was unfortunately a result of early American racism, inevitably caught by the aristocracy which Whites obviously dominated until recently, but there is simply to much to say and fully clarify. I can leave this thoughts for further discussion in class or just if the question pops-up to me elsewhere.
The man who finds himself swimming in the differences of groups, he will soon find himself drowned by all that he swims off, for each man is different in perspective and wisdom, never to be categorized; the man must realize this to get out of this pool of ignorance before it is too late for himself.
I'm sorry for responding so late, and I highly doubt you'll read this Eva, but I didn't really admire too many people... or do you mean adults too? I mean, my group of friends, when we got to high school, was placed on a lower track than me, but I always thought they were really smart. ^_^' So... in other words, I am confused yet again. I don't really like this issue at all. I don't like talking about racism...
To Sergei:
Haha, thank you. I hope to become that kind person you think I am. And will one of the results be life-threatening? I want to try it out sometime, but I really don't want to die or anything, lol XD!!! (Sorry for responding so late)
Everyone, this is Sergei!!! The universal happiness giver and great philosopher!!!
Holy snap! Did I get the 100th comment!! O.O!!! YAY!!! ^_____^
Actually, I find that strange... we usually get about 130 comments by the end...
Yes, friend, you got comment #100. And #101. But your point about the kids you thought were really smart getting put into the lower track is EXACTLY the point I was trying to make.
I have friends in the general classes, and if our position was choosen by merit alone, they would be here. Possibly instead of me.
To Eva:
Wait... but what does race have to do with the class? o.o; I'm confused...
To Myra:
Wah!!! I"m sorry!!!! Please don't be angry, I have been busy lately since, being the idiot I am, I choose a 500-page book for History and I'm only about 130 pages in... ^_^' I'm really sorry!!!
Nothing at all, Alice. But it can slant the teacher's opinion, particularly in the younger grades, when there is nothing at all to go on. All they can say is "This one colors well" "This one sits quitely" and "This one reminds me of me at that age/my own little kid" The last factor is weighed in just as much as the others. And the teachers don't realize just how much they've slantd the kids' futures.
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