this is a different music video than the original, and its shortened, but its the one that airs on TV and just after like 2 minutes he enters a bar called the "Smog Cutter" but it doesnt really cut through the smog. just a place and a means for people to forget. its a solid video, my favorite of the song, despite the fact that the song gets cut short.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBUlTu7tZ8A
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Firefighter Racism.... seriously? Lou Dobbs?
Ok, so I was just channel surfing or whatever while workin on my paper and saw "RACIAL DISCRIMINATION" on lou dobbs tonight... never watched him before really, but thus far, its raising some important questions. the firefighters' lawyer claims that the large numbers of people in almost all government institutions, firefighters, police men, teachers, etc. across the nation in large cities are being discriminated upon because of their race- because they are white. 20 white men are involved in the lawsuit, and Title IV is being used by both sides, different interpretations. heres some interesting quotes i found from an article online:
http://www.firerescue1.com/labor-issues/articles/482889-Supreme-Court-prepares-for-firefighter-racial-case/
"Besides affecting how race can be considered in filling government and perhaps even private jobs, the dispute also addresses broader questions about racial progress: Do minorities and women still need legal protection from discrimination, or do the monumental civil rights laws that created a more equal nation now cause more harm than good?"
"But after the results came back, the city says it found evidence that the tests were potentially flawed. Sources of bias included that the written section measured memorization rather than actual skills needed for the jobs; giving too much weight to the written section; and lack of testing for leadership in emergency conditions, according to a brief filed by officers of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology."
"It is not white racism that plays the deciding role in the success of minorities any more," says Edward Blum, a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute who believes that race should not be considered in employment decisions. That was the case in the '60s and '70s and maybe even part of the '80s," he says. "But it is no longer the case in the 21st century that because you are black you are being held back from achieving what your parents and your ambitions will allow you to achieve. I think that has been crystallized with the election of President Obama."
(ohhhh.... i get it! we have a black president now, racism hasnt existed since the 80's, what the hell are we all talkin about??)
I must have missed when this originally hit the media, because the lawsuit has been going on for a while now, but I think that last quote and some of the stuff that I just heard out of the mouth of the lawyer of the defendents that were racially discriminated because of affirmative action-like ideals, is just frustrating. the website breaks down some of the percentages of the people that qualify for promotion
http://www.firerescue1.com/labor-issues/articles/482889-Supreme-Court-prepares-for-firefighter-racial-case/
"Besides affecting how race can be considered in filling government and perhaps even private jobs, the dispute also addresses broader questions about racial progress: Do minorities and women still need legal protection from discrimination, or do the monumental civil rights laws that created a more equal nation now cause more harm than good?"
"But after the results came back, the city says it found evidence that the tests were potentially flawed. Sources of bias included that the written section measured memorization rather than actual skills needed for the jobs; giving too much weight to the written section; and lack of testing for leadership in emergency conditions, according to a brief filed by officers of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology."
"It is not white racism that plays the deciding role in the success of minorities any more," says Edward Blum, a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute who believes that race should not be considered in employment decisions. That was the case in the '60s and '70s and maybe even part of the '80s," he says. "But it is no longer the case in the 21st century that because you are black you are being held back from achieving what your parents and your ambitions will allow you to achieve. I think that has been crystallized with the election of President Obama."
(ohhhh.... i get it! we have a black president now, racism hasnt existed since the 80's, what the hell are we all talkin about??)
I must have missed when this originally hit the media, because the lawsuit has been going on for a while now, but I think that last quote and some of the stuff that I just heard out of the mouth of the lawyer of the defendents that were racially discriminated because of affirmative action-like ideals, is just frustrating. the website breaks down some of the percentages of the people that qualify for promotion
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
that time of year :-( catching up from last Tuesday (14th)
Okay, this blog should have been here last week but I'm begging for some lenience... the weekend before was crazy bad. and ive been runnin' around with my head in cosmic chaos for the past week. one day, ill learn how to put myself n my needs first... but it never seems like good timing. oye.
Connolly and Noumair- Crossing Boundaries
Group Relations model is beyond merely the in-group/out-group paradigm, theorizing that the "other" designation on the basis of a difference acts through forces that are both conscious (i.e. signifying the difference, in this context, as being undesirable) and unconscious (splitting and projective) processes of identification. Inherently, this model encompasses both psychological and social forces :-) I approve. Projections are grouped with stereotypes under the group relations model, and in semi-sociological terms because every interaction has a symbolically attached meaning, whether it be to a word, color, object, whatever is being identified as the "other", rapid symbolic interaction serves as the projections and stereotypes that the mind uses constantly. The dialogue between the black and white females reveal the levels on which they connect, such as their sexuality, and the levels on which they themselves become the "other"
the "projective identification dynamic" that Medria mentions is interesting in that as a white woman, she feared most her identification as a lesbian, while Debra feared most that her identity as a black woman would fall short in that people would like what Medria had to say over what she did, both presenting vulnerabilities in certain aspects of their identities.
Medria reveals that the most daunting aspect of her black self is the arena of American culture's ideal of beauty. she feels that on the majority, her beauty will never measure up to the beauty that Debra inherently holds, being a white woman. she also reveals the stereotype of white women being weak, whiny, and in need of everyone to take care of them- this bothers her because she does not have the opportunity to take on the same role- "the legacy of slavery has taught us that we must take care of ourselves". Underneath the anger at the hatred of the negative sanctions that come with being black is being Hurt. and this hurt often leads her to act in certain situations as what others call "a wanna be white girl", a behavior that has some truth in it because talking "properly" and presenting herself as neutral, rather than angry or hurt. a lot of projection arises from this identity dynamic and she finds herself in avoidance of discussions about race, latching on to discussion about sexism, which is accepted across all women, rather than only black women. Such an aversion of racial identity greatly contributes to her perceived "white" characteristics. This seems somewhat counter-intuitive as most people of color are more in touch with their racial identity, therefore should be more comfortable with issues surrounding the topic, yet Medria finds herself immersed in white culture and latching on to her lesbian identity, as opposed to her black identity. We are all products of society, but we especially are products of situation- Medria being a well-educated black woman puts forth a 'face' that she deems more acceptable
Connolly and Noumair- Crossing Boundaries
Group Relations model is beyond merely the in-group/out-group paradigm, theorizing that the "other" designation on the basis of a difference acts through forces that are both conscious (i.e. signifying the difference, in this context, as being undesirable) and unconscious (splitting and projective) processes of identification. Inherently, this model encompasses both psychological and social forces :-) I approve. Projections are grouped with stereotypes under the group relations model, and in semi-sociological terms because every interaction has a symbolically attached meaning, whether it be to a word, color, object, whatever is being identified as the "other", rapid symbolic interaction serves as the projections and stereotypes that the mind uses constantly. The dialogue between the black and white females reveal the levels on which they connect, such as their sexuality, and the levels on which they themselves become the "other"
the "projective identification dynamic" that Medria mentions is interesting in that as a white woman, she feared most her identification as a lesbian, while Debra feared most that her identity as a black woman would fall short in that people would like what Medria had to say over what she did, both presenting vulnerabilities in certain aspects of their identities.
Medria reveals that the most daunting aspect of her black self is the arena of American culture's ideal of beauty. she feels that on the majority, her beauty will never measure up to the beauty that Debra inherently holds, being a white woman. she also reveals the stereotype of white women being weak, whiny, and in need of everyone to take care of them- this bothers her because she does not have the opportunity to take on the same role- "the legacy of slavery has taught us that we must take care of ourselves". Underneath the anger at the hatred of the negative sanctions that come with being black is being Hurt. and this hurt often leads her to act in certain situations as what others call "a wanna be white girl", a behavior that has some truth in it because talking "properly" and presenting herself as neutral, rather than angry or hurt. a lot of projection arises from this identity dynamic and she finds herself in avoidance of discussions about race, latching on to discussion about sexism, which is accepted across all women, rather than only black women. Such an aversion of racial identity greatly contributes to her perceived "white" characteristics. This seems somewhat counter-intuitive as most people of color are more in touch with their racial identity, therefore should be more comfortable with issues surrounding the topic, yet Medria finds herself immersed in white culture and latching on to her lesbian identity, as opposed to her black identity. We are all products of society, but we especially are products of situation- Medria being a well-educated black woman puts forth a 'face' that she deems more acceptable
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
affirmative action
one place to start with this issue i think is to educate people on what affirmative action really is... but as we talked about in class, i think it is easier to talk about what it is NOT. like, for example, only a race related issue. i encountered many opinions about affirmative action while writing my paper over the weekend, and for the most part people really make it all about race. and the misconceptions that both tatum and kivel talk about reappear quite frequently, like that it gives unwarrented points to college applicants, it gives jobs that should be 'there's' to people that are less deserving, that it is based on an actual quota and that it is a means of oppressing white people by giving the advantage to minorities. what is most frustrating for me is that even my friends that are women, that are at a disadvantage in the business world, find affirmative action to be not a great idea because they feel like even their jobs are being given away to people of color.
white privilege ideology is this huge overwhelming paradigm that constructs peoples' perception of the world and when asked about solutions to the issue of inequality i am speechless.... where the hell do we start with something that is so big, so enforced, so prevelant in the Way that people think??? the easiest answer is in the education system, but that doesn't affect the other forces like that of the system that we abide by and the ideologies of parents, the general conception of the community, of our society.... it seems like its just such a big issue that the only way we can shift this paradigm is to gather the masses and start the marching. groups supporting anti-racism are unheard-of in my life, like i dont know any that stand out in my mind, which in turn perpetuates the idea that racism isnt an issue.
i cringed when dr. banks said in class "there are people that actually arent gonna change".... because to me, those are the people with the most power, those are the people that are benefitting from white privilege the most and are going to be the biggest obstacle, yet we cant change them??
i think workshops and like team-building things are a great idea, i recall doing tons of them on little retreats back in elementary, middle, and even high school, but still, they were done so within a 99% white community. so we can preach diversity and teach the inequalities, but i dont think anything can reallly be learned without the experience... so now, not only do we have an overarching system, general paradigmatic framework of belief, jacked up education system, but a lack of diversity within communities. how do we change that? build the projects in the middle of upper-class america?? wait, we cant do that.... they have gates...
so theres this color line that is drawn across the business world, the academic world, the communities, the churches, the schools, the cafeteria, its EveryWhere, where do we start??
this is the question that has been hanging in my head since the first time i heard my uncle bitch about them [insert racial slurs, curse words, racial slurs, some more curse words] and my dad telling me that racism is bad and to always block out everything like that and that everybody is equal.... except not everybody is equal. people dont have equal opportunities to education, so there children dont have equal opportunities to education... people dont have equal opp. to jobs, so they stay in the cycle of poverty.... people dont have equal opp. in life, so they live a different life, and nobody around me seems to give a damn, because that problem doesnt exist for them in their world...
im at a loss. i wish i had some more charisma. then i could change some people. start the trend. the trend of equality.... wow, i cant even come up with a trendy slogan about it, how am i going to come up with the rest of the details.
white privilege ideology is this huge overwhelming paradigm that constructs peoples' perception of the world and when asked about solutions to the issue of inequality i am speechless.... where the hell do we start with something that is so big, so enforced, so prevelant in the Way that people think??? the easiest answer is in the education system, but that doesn't affect the other forces like that of the system that we abide by and the ideologies of parents, the general conception of the community, of our society.... it seems like its just such a big issue that the only way we can shift this paradigm is to gather the masses and start the marching. groups supporting anti-racism are unheard-of in my life, like i dont know any that stand out in my mind, which in turn perpetuates the idea that racism isnt an issue.
i cringed when dr. banks said in class "there are people that actually arent gonna change".... because to me, those are the people with the most power, those are the people that are benefitting from white privilege the most and are going to be the biggest obstacle, yet we cant change them??
i think workshops and like team-building things are a great idea, i recall doing tons of them on little retreats back in elementary, middle, and even high school, but still, they were done so within a 99% white community. so we can preach diversity and teach the inequalities, but i dont think anything can reallly be learned without the experience... so now, not only do we have an overarching system, general paradigmatic framework of belief, jacked up education system, but a lack of diversity within communities. how do we change that? build the projects in the middle of upper-class america?? wait, we cant do that.... they have gates...
so theres this color line that is drawn across the business world, the academic world, the communities, the churches, the schools, the cafeteria, its EveryWhere, where do we start??
this is the question that has been hanging in my head since the first time i heard my uncle bitch about them [insert racial slurs, curse words, racial slurs, some more curse words] and my dad telling me that racism is bad and to always block out everything like that and that everybody is equal.... except not everybody is equal. people dont have equal opportunities to education, so there children dont have equal opportunities to education... people dont have equal opp. to jobs, so they stay in the cycle of poverty.... people dont have equal opp. in life, so they live a different life, and nobody around me seems to give a damn, because that problem doesnt exist for them in their world...
im at a loss. i wish i had some more charisma. then i could change some people. start the trend. the trend of equality.... wow, i cant even come up with a trendy slogan about it, how am i going to come up with the rest of the details.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
thoughts on readings for 3/31
Tatum Chapter 10:
i feel as thought i have overcome the fears that tatum talks about regarding the negative sanctions about the engaging in the dialogue, and do not really remember a time that i had such fears... i always was confident in knowing that i am right in what i feel about the issues of racism in our country, but the difficult task of making the dialogue Meaningful remains. most of the experiences i have with such discussions are among friends and in classes, but most of the ones at school or home are often displaced by the people i am trying to educate. i am fine with being marked as 'deviant' by others in my opinions regarding the topic because i know that they still see the issues through an "us-them" scope. it is breaking this framework that proves to be something that i have yet to acquire...
"unchallenged personal, cultural, and institutional racism results in the loss of human potential, lowered productivity, and a rising tide of fear and violence in out society" 200
making this statement understandable and relatabel for whites that have no introduction or possibilities for diversity in their lives do not posess the potential to relate... so how do i make someone relate?
Tatum refers to something said by Miller in response to a discussion group that talked about race having "felt the energy and the desire" resulting from the issue. this energy is a good thing that needs to be brought out more for people earlier in life so that by the time they begin to develop their own identities, the energy derived from the problematic racism can be channelled by both whites and minorities into a productive, positive form.
she says that it is 'courage' through education that needs to support the transformation, but i do not think courage is necessarily the right word. i think it should be more of a sense of morality after the education that should support the change like knowing what is wrong with the current situation and then taking an active approach to the change. and i strongly agree that the issue is indeed applicable to all disciplines, which is why it needs to be integrated into people's education well before the completion of high school. as tatum says, "we must begin to speak, knowing that words alone are insufficient" 206 Thus, the words must come well before a person gains more potential and influence as an agent acting for correcting a MAJOR problem with our society.
E&F Chapter 10:
in such a multicultural society, the fear of the unknown intertwined with a lack of understanding or knowledge about other races or cultures and fear of being interpreted as being racist or having prejudices after breaking the line of silence is the source of these constricted relationships. most white americans feel positive about integration, but still the underlying assumptions remain in the subconscious and in order avoid the discomfort that may arise from an attempt to be enlightened, whites are afraid to speak and still have an outsiders view of race. the challenge that minorities have is the second guessing that arises when situations of discrimination occur, analysing the treatment with an uncertainty of the motive behind the treatment.
thus, both sides have vast uncertainties. social interaction between people of different groups is Always filled with uncertainties of how to act, what to say, what role is the other person expecting me to play, what role do You expect them to fit, etc. and this occurs in Any interaction across groups, not just those regarding different races and cultures.
limitations of past research: looking at the interaction and not its individual subjects, seeing the problem resting in the majority group's attitudes, rather than the attitudes that Each participant has.... i mean, they are being social here, they are playing off of each other, each person is the link to the next sentance, thus the attitudes of both groups must be addressed. people are reactionary to their surroundings, interpreting and then producing.... this happens on both sides.
i feel as thought i have overcome the fears that tatum talks about regarding the negative sanctions about the engaging in the dialogue, and do not really remember a time that i had such fears... i always was confident in knowing that i am right in what i feel about the issues of racism in our country, but the difficult task of making the dialogue Meaningful remains. most of the experiences i have with such discussions are among friends and in classes, but most of the ones at school or home are often displaced by the people i am trying to educate. i am fine with being marked as 'deviant' by others in my opinions regarding the topic because i know that they still see the issues through an "us-them" scope. it is breaking this framework that proves to be something that i have yet to acquire...
"unchallenged personal, cultural, and institutional racism results in the loss of human potential, lowered productivity, and a rising tide of fear and violence in out society" 200
making this statement understandable and relatabel for whites that have no introduction or possibilities for diversity in their lives do not posess the potential to relate... so how do i make someone relate?
Tatum refers to something said by Miller in response to a discussion group that talked about race having "felt the energy and the desire" resulting from the issue. this energy is a good thing that needs to be brought out more for people earlier in life so that by the time they begin to develop their own identities, the energy derived from the problematic racism can be channelled by both whites and minorities into a productive, positive form.
she says that it is 'courage' through education that needs to support the transformation, but i do not think courage is necessarily the right word. i think it should be more of a sense of morality after the education that should support the change like knowing what is wrong with the current situation and then taking an active approach to the change. and i strongly agree that the issue is indeed applicable to all disciplines, which is why it needs to be integrated into people's education well before the completion of high school. as tatum says, "we must begin to speak, knowing that words alone are insufficient" 206 Thus, the words must come well before a person gains more potential and influence as an agent acting for correcting a MAJOR problem with our society.
E&F Chapter 10:
in such a multicultural society, the fear of the unknown intertwined with a lack of understanding or knowledge about other races or cultures and fear of being interpreted as being racist or having prejudices after breaking the line of silence is the source of these constricted relationships. most white americans feel positive about integration, but still the underlying assumptions remain in the subconscious and in order avoid the discomfort that may arise from an attempt to be enlightened, whites are afraid to speak and still have an outsiders view of race. the challenge that minorities have is the second guessing that arises when situations of discrimination occur, analysing the treatment with an uncertainty of the motive behind the treatment.
thus, both sides have vast uncertainties. social interaction between people of different groups is Always filled with uncertainties of how to act, what to say, what role is the other person expecting me to play, what role do You expect them to fit, etc. and this occurs in Any interaction across groups, not just those regarding different races and cultures.
limitations of past research: looking at the interaction and not its individual subjects, seeing the problem resting in the majority group's attitudes, rather than the attitudes that Each participant has.... i mean, they are being social here, they are playing off of each other, each person is the link to the next sentance, thus the attitudes of both groups must be addressed. people are reactionary to their surroundings, interpreting and then producing.... this happens on both sides.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Whoa. reaction to the very recent discourse on race... we have such a long way to go!
ok, i know i've said this before but i just do Not want to try to rationalize or understand whY n How a person could have gone through a class such as race and ethnic relations and come out still a racist ready to argue the 'facts'... like, i get that friend A wants to have a critical eye to some of the aspects of theories behind racim in a sociological theology, because of how repetitive and limited its scope was within the course (based on personal experience), but why in conversation does he so convincingly take the position of a 'naturalist' when in reality, i got Really excited when he mentioned that he had taken that class because I thought for a brief moment I was going to get to talk about race outside of our classroom without being disappointed :-(
then again, the other bird in the convo, that chirped his two cents in here and there, is like seriously the most close-minded student at iwu. that may be a Biased opinion since i think he just has irreversable personality flaws to put it nicely. but really, his position on blacks, affirmative action, concept of racism, black culture, Even Freakin Rap music are just one ignorant racist-filled slur of 'opinion' after another. didnt the KKK start in Indiana? maybe thats where it comes from...... lol jk. nvm. but maybe the friend that i respect was just sorta 'acting in-group' or maybe he just couldnt ever get out of the framework of knowledge/thought that blacks and whites are two completely different and the only Logical way for blacks to rise up from their oppressed state is to indeed "act white". he actually stated this term too, knowingly so, which i found interesting because he seemed to have an economically orientated theory on that and we talked about for a while...
[read if you want some sorta-juicy venting, otherwise omit]
and then dumbass Indy was like "well, i don't think its 'acting white', thats not right, they just need to "ARTICULATE' themselves, act properly for a business world, and not be racist against us white people. thats not acting white, thats just how a person should BE." my inner monologue: "omg dude, its like talking to a wall. "all that psychology and sociology stuff" that you ConstantlY tell ME you can just "absolutely cant stand, would never want to take a class in, and do not see any point in that crap" is BEYOND YOU AND YOUR WORLD. how can you not see that?? youve never even taken a sociology class. why does everything that comes out of your mouth have to be dripping with such negativity and narcissism..... how can you sit there and go through that routine... that habitual routine that IS your personality... especially when ur opinion is so obviously unappreciated and often times disregarded by even ur friends... dude. wake up. evolve a little." [obvious seemingly unwarrented anger and resentment does not lie in the fact that his is an obvious 'white John' from last weeks film but somewhere else. and totally is warrented. but only one more month man :-) and then adiós blanco, asno de cierra-tiene inconveniente en.] k i feel better.
ok, back to more rational recollection of my recent inter-group discussion on race. i eventually found myself asking the questions that i knew the friend-that-i-have-respect-for would have to agree on, like proportions, unequal education opportunity, institutionalized racism, etc. its like i was fitting the discussion to his beliefs in order to find the places where we agree only because everything that i said in response to his opposition to accept and embrace other cultures was simply disputed with... well, key terms: violence, gangs, drugs, "responsibility of a community", "responsibility of an entire Race to help each other and bring themselves up"... i know these are like 'classic' claims, but its just so hard to converse about race when both people think they are right but cannot agree on one fundamental idea: White culture has the Responsibility to help those that we oppress. and i mean, its not like european domination from colonialism is way in the past... whites clearly have the upper-hand and run this country and this world.
oye... wheres the luv, man. open ur eyes and look around. doesnt Something seem wrong??? No? It doesn't? Oh yeah, thats right, I forgot... your world doesn't include blacks. maybe a minority here and there, but your world has a true absence of color and thats how you like it. thats why when you open your eyes and see the segregated schools and communities, the economically disadvantaged 'sustaining the cycle', and not a single black person confidently expressing their black culture... things... dont look wrong. or out of place. the order is just perfect; white on top. thats the spirit. It has been since the enlightenment...
I wish I could see the day that the paradigm shifts. I wish i was immersed in a white culture of people that had a lot less whiteness.... which is pretty damn hard to find round iwu. maybe im just lookin in the wrong places but maybe its somethin else...
then again, the other bird in the convo, that chirped his two cents in here and there, is like seriously the most close-minded student at iwu. that may be a Biased opinion since i think he just has irreversable personality flaws to put it nicely. but really, his position on blacks, affirmative action, concept of racism, black culture, Even Freakin Rap music are just one ignorant racist-filled slur of 'opinion' after another. didnt the KKK start in Indiana? maybe thats where it comes from...... lol jk. nvm. but maybe the friend that i respect was just sorta 'acting in-group' or maybe he just couldnt ever get out of the framework of knowledge/thought that blacks and whites are two completely different and the only Logical way for blacks to rise up from their oppressed state is to indeed "act white". he actually stated this term too, knowingly so, which i found interesting because he seemed to have an economically orientated theory on that and we talked about for a while...
[read if you want some sorta-juicy venting, otherwise omit]
and then dumbass Indy was like "well, i don't think its 'acting white', thats not right, they just need to "ARTICULATE' themselves, act properly for a business world, and not be racist against us white people. thats not acting white, thats just how a person should BE." my inner monologue: "omg dude, its like talking to a wall. "all that psychology and sociology stuff" that you ConstantlY tell ME you can just "absolutely cant stand, would never want to take a class in, and do not see any point in that crap" is BEYOND YOU AND YOUR WORLD. how can you not see that?? youve never even taken a sociology class. why does everything that comes out of your mouth have to be dripping with such negativity and narcissism..... how can you sit there and go through that routine... that habitual routine that IS your personality... especially when ur opinion is so obviously unappreciated and often times disregarded by even ur friends... dude. wake up. evolve a little." [obvious seemingly unwarrented anger and resentment does not lie in the fact that his is an obvious 'white John' from last weeks film but somewhere else. and totally is warrented. but only one more month man :-) and then adiós blanco, asno de cierra-tiene inconveniente en.] k i feel better.
ok, back to more rational recollection of my recent inter-group discussion on race. i eventually found myself asking the questions that i knew the friend-that-i-have-respect-for would have to agree on, like proportions, unequal education opportunity, institutionalized racism, etc. its like i was fitting the discussion to his beliefs in order to find the places where we agree only because everything that i said in response to his opposition to accept and embrace other cultures was simply disputed with... well, key terms: violence, gangs, drugs, "responsibility of a community", "responsibility of an entire Race to help each other and bring themselves up"... i know these are like 'classic' claims, but its just so hard to converse about race when both people think they are right but cannot agree on one fundamental idea: White culture has the Responsibility to help those that we oppress. and i mean, its not like european domination from colonialism is way in the past... whites clearly have the upper-hand and run this country and this world.
oye... wheres the luv, man. open ur eyes and look around. doesnt Something seem wrong??? No? It doesn't? Oh yeah, thats right, I forgot... your world doesn't include blacks. maybe a minority here and there, but your world has a true absence of color and thats how you like it. thats why when you open your eyes and see the segregated schools and communities, the economically disadvantaged 'sustaining the cycle', and not a single black person confidently expressing their black culture... things... dont look wrong. or out of place. the order is just perfect; white on top. thats the spirit. It has been since the enlightenment...
I wish I could see the day that the paradigm shifts. I wish i was immersed in a white culture of people that had a lot less whiteness.... which is pretty damn hard to find round iwu. maybe im just lookin in the wrong places but maybe its somethin else...
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
spring break... worked 62 hours in a week! what a break!
so, im from a small town and i also work in a small town. im a CNA (nurses assistant) and whenever a black person is sent by an agency to come work at our facility, the word spreads like wildfire. who they are, if they've ever been here before, what they have done wrong in the past, and Especially what they have done that makes he or she "exceptional" to their small town, all white farming community's expectations. No matter what, the person's description is always prefaced with their race if they are anything but white; for some reason, this really makes a difference in how the person is anticipated to perform. so i was curious if there were any experiences to back this general theory up, and tried to pry into the reasonings that people had for the ways they described any fellow employees that were not white. now, i did this discretely as possible in order to avoid stepping on any toes too hard just because I have to work with these people every break and summer, and for the most part responses were just as racist as their original descriptions; "you know how Those people usually are" "them kind", small-town responses like that. so then i started wondering, how is everyone going to get exposure to multicultural america and gain an understanding of how and why to be supportive of diversity if they do not even have the opportunity to? do these types of people even matter? i'd like to think so...
but maybe the change needs to start with people in higher education... people that can actually make a change in the institutionalized racism... people that can become leaders for others... so is it a waste of time and breath to try to convince people to change their views when they simply do not have the education or experience to support any sort of connection in order to disconnect their naturalized and integrated racism?
but maybe the change needs to start with people in higher education... people that can actually make a change in the institutionalized racism... people that can become leaders for others... so is it a waste of time and breath to try to convince people to change their views when they simply do not have the education or experience to support any sort of connection in order to disconnect their naturalized and integrated racism?
Thursday, March 12, 2009
oh, back to what i said that the beginning of the last post... people dont understand what its like to truly have nothing. even i dont, and ive seen what its like to have nothing. i dont really have much more to elaborate on that except that if anyone wants to argue that they know the struggles of being financially unbenefitted or not being able to go out with friends because they have no money, that aint havin nuthin.
so i was thinking about just one brief comment that Esther made to... i forget who, but thats besides the point. TBA was commenting on how difficult life was when you had nothing... Esther thought to herself "you dont know what its like to have nothing until you literally have nothing." ive been having more and more flashbacks to my time in new york this past summer. i was visiting a friend around the 4th of july who was there on an internship and ended up experiencing things that were beyond my imagination. my friends roommate, whom was randomly assigned in an apartment complex literally three buildings down from the empire state building and across the street from macey's (they had it rough, lemme tell u), was actually doing an intership for RBI, a youth summer baseball/summer school program for kids from the age of 9 to 14. this program was located in the heart of spanish harlem, the baseball field she worked at only blocks from the Washington housing projects and the metropolis hospital in the area. it was surreal. me, being me, wanting to kick it with emily the entire time, as opposed to walking around the fashion district and eating sushi with my friend that i was visiting.... at the heart of the spanish harlem, every body that had a chance to look at me without me wearin my sunglasses to hide my blue eyes, since in the summer my skin turns quite brown, made me feel like i had that "dubois-ian" veil that W.E.B. Du Bois spoke about in his writings before the turn of the 20th century. its wierd to be looked at as an outsider and to have that unspoken, psychological establisment that i am not part of this community and sure as hell aint welcomed.
in NY i briefly tipped my toes in the bronx... the reason for which i was kicken it in in the bronx shall be unmentioned, but the fact of the matter is the community level, the brother and sisterhood, is extreme. yet it is divided by districts and and city blocks. there are SO many people that live in a single city block, without going there, you cannot even imagine. so the problem lies, then, with the abstraction of how to unite so many individual groups, communities, familes, and lives that are solely interdependentent on each other and maybe have run dry of any heart or passion to work towards a better good because they are struggling for the survival of their children, brothers, sisters, parents, and anyone else that is in their immediate community.
there are so many people in this world. why doesnt anyone help their brothers and sisters, their fellow people, fellow human beings... last i checked, it was proven that melanin does not mean racial inferiority. apparantly that useful bit of information hasnt gone mainstream.
in NY i briefly tipped my toes in the bronx... the reason for which i was kicken it in in the bronx shall be unmentioned, but the fact of the matter is the community level, the brother and sisterhood, is extreme. yet it is divided by districts and and city blocks. there are SO many people that live in a single city block, without going there, you cannot even imagine. so the problem lies, then, with the abstraction of how to unite so many individual groups, communities, familes, and lives that are solely interdependentent on each other and maybe have run dry of any heart or passion to work towards a better good because they are struggling for the survival of their children, brothers, sisters, parents, and anyone else that is in their immediate community.
there are so many people in this world. why doesnt anyone help their brothers and sisters, their fellow people, fellow human beings... last i checked, it was proven that melanin does not mean racial inferiority. apparantly that useful bit of information hasnt gone mainstream.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
readings for 3/10
Kivel, 22-247
multiculturalism in America is neither democratic nor anti-racist... quite the opposite. still. nobody is striving for a (i know these politically have negative connotations) socialist/humanist ideal where you reach out to your neighbor rather than say its their problem and their fault. common solutions is a theme, but competition and individuality and this sense that "everyone has the same opportunity, you just have to work hard" is so thoroughly imprinted in our society's blueprint that is passed on generation after generation, along with numerous other prescribed/ascribed statuses and roles, that the framework has to be rebuilt with some MAJOR renovations. and these renovations are not to be purely bureaucratic, because our democracy is clearly devoid of color (white), but something that is based on multicultural inclusion.
in order for this to happen though, each subculture must have a competent voice that is at an equal level as all the others; white superiority starts superficially but is integrated in education, family structure, health opportunities, well-being, etc etc. it is instituted throughout the nation and lack of knowledge is what continues to keep oppressed races in standing. tolerance should be the theme of a nation that has such a successful reputation for the opposite and the deculturalization of entire peoples.
as long as the dominant white race remains in its dormant, naive state where integration has occurred, racism died after the civil rights movement, and those of us white people fail to spread the wealth found in understanding and compassion, inequalities shall reign free and strong.
racism without racists- chapter 3
because the normative climate of racism has changed post-Civil Rights/Jim Crow, so have the linguistic manners/rhetorical strategies when talking about race
whites' avoidance of direct racial language to express their racial views (like the old guy at the restaurant saying "Homeboy" rather than the N word), using projection as a rhetorical tool to defend any accusations someone might have about you, like saying that they segregate themselves... "why are all the black kids sitting together in the cafeteria, eh??"
in many of the responses to questions about race, the rhetoric is so round about, its hard to even understand what they are trying to say! incoherence is just another indication that if they cannot talk about race, they do not know about race, and are inevitably socialized in a racist society.
multiculturalism in America is neither democratic nor anti-racist... quite the opposite. still. nobody is striving for a (i know these politically have negative connotations) socialist/humanist ideal where you reach out to your neighbor rather than say its their problem and their fault. common solutions is a theme, but competition and individuality and this sense that "everyone has the same opportunity, you just have to work hard" is so thoroughly imprinted in our society's blueprint that is passed on generation after generation, along with numerous other prescribed/ascribed statuses and roles, that the framework has to be rebuilt with some MAJOR renovations. and these renovations are not to be purely bureaucratic, because our democracy is clearly devoid of color (white), but something that is based on multicultural inclusion.
in order for this to happen though, each subculture must have a competent voice that is at an equal level as all the others; white superiority starts superficially but is integrated in education, family structure, health opportunities, well-being, etc etc. it is instituted throughout the nation and lack of knowledge is what continues to keep oppressed races in standing. tolerance should be the theme of a nation that has such a successful reputation for the opposite and the deculturalization of entire peoples.
as long as the dominant white race remains in its dormant, naive state where integration has occurred, racism died after the civil rights movement, and those of us white people fail to spread the wealth found in understanding and compassion, inequalities shall reign free and strong.
racism without racists- chapter 3
because the normative climate of racism has changed post-Civil Rights/Jim Crow, so have the linguistic manners/rhetorical strategies when talking about race
whites' avoidance of direct racial language to express their racial views (like the old guy at the restaurant saying "Homeboy" rather than the N word), using projection as a rhetorical tool to defend any accusations someone might have about you, like saying that they segregate themselves... "why are all the black kids sitting together in the cafeteria, eh??"
in many of the responses to questions about race, the rhetoric is so round about, its hard to even understand what they are trying to say! incoherence is just another indication that if they cannot talk about race, they do not know about race, and are inevitably socialized in a racist society.
i really really really want to watch this documentary in full again. it was released in 1992, but its timeless. and i doubt there have been any considerably drastic changes over the past decade and a half.
"A year in the life of two seventh graders reveals the stark contrast in resources and opportunities offered by each of their schools. While the schools are located in the same Bronx school district only a few miles apart, they represent two distinct neighborhoods that are socially and economically worlds apart. Unequal Education bears witness to the colossal failure of the local school system – a tragedy of national proportion. This acclaimed documentary premiered nationally on the PBS series, Listening to America with Bill Moyers."
Unequal Education: Failing Our Children
"A year in the life of two seventh graders reveals the stark contrast in resources and opportunities offered by each of their schools. While the schools are located in the same Bronx school district only a few miles apart, they represent two distinct neighborhoods that are socially and economically worlds apart. Unequal Education bears witness to the colossal failure of the local school system – a tragedy of national proportion. This acclaimed documentary premiered nationally on the PBS series, Listening to America with Bill Moyers."
at the library
one things for sure, black men are not bound by any racial boundaries. whenever im at the public library, literally every time, a black guy comes up to me, whoos me by tellin me how foxy i am and how it would be just the greatest thing if he could take me out on just one date. bf gets in the way of that, but damn am i impressed with the fact that a person could be so confident, so self-assured, so not afraid of rejection or failure. And since when is hollarin back at guys that are chillin in their house, just callin out just because, an "invitation"? i was walking to the bistro last weekend to see a friend of a friend perform in a Drag King show and some black guys started talkin to my two friends and i from a second story window... we weren't running so we weren't moving too quickly, and it was just awkward when my friends were too SomEtHinG to say anything back. so i started just talkin sh*t, told em we were goin to the gay bar and to join, knowing that nothing was going to come of it... but apparently my friends were not so sure because they freaked out and started power-walking like it was life or death. so annoying. and i cant do anything about it.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
things not to talk about at a party: religion, politics, Racism
so its official: doesnt matter if the person is racist, dating a person of color, educated, uneducated, or whatever, everybody seems to be blaming the victim.
"its a choice, if some people can get outta the ghetto then other people can too. "
"if they choose to rebel against how to act and believe their own beliefs, why cant people like the KKK have their own beliefs. its not like we're burning crosses or doing lynching anymore, i mean look at their website. says so right there."
when discussing with a friend who had taken Race and Ethnic relations and had seen the same documentary comparing two public schools just two districts away from each other in New York City....
"Omg, yeah i remember seeing that video. And those kids in the classroom were so roudy and just didnt want to learn or listen to the teacher. I felt so bad for that teacher, there was no hope for him to control his classroom!"
K, so with the first quotes, I think thats just ignorance speaking. But for the last one, from a friend who goes to IWU and TOOK a class on racism, HOW? HUH?? The context of the situation of this uncontrollable classroom was also a music teacher, who wanted to teach DANCE in school, was teaching 7th grade science! how ridiculous! And at the beginning of each class the teacher would announce things such as "Alright, alright, now lets pretend today that we are all nice, smart, Normal human beings for just a moment and pay attention to me!" No wonder these 7th graders are behaving in manner that is less than expected... the teacher obviously does not expect them to be smart enough to grasp anything, let along behave.
self-fulfilling stereotype? i think so. its just unfathomable to me to understand How a school could place someone who wants to teach Dance as the instructer of such a fundamental and critical class. Im sure the same held true for many other classes for these kids before they even reached the 7th grade.
how can people expect these kids, living in one of the lower income districts of NYC, to "choose to succeed" when they have such poor instructors, minimal funding, no equipment for the arts or sports, no early education to build higher on, and no expectations to do well and succeed.
we should robinhood this sh*t and stop providing MORE funding for the districts that already have money, good teachers, and community support and maybe distribute some of those dollars to the people that need it most... how can people be so cold :-( and oblivious
"its a choice, if some people can get outta the ghetto then other people can too. "
"if they choose to rebel against how to act and believe their own beliefs, why cant people like the KKK have their own beliefs. its not like we're burning crosses or doing lynching anymore, i mean look at their website. says so right there."
when discussing with a friend who had taken Race and Ethnic relations and had seen the same documentary comparing two public schools just two districts away from each other in New York City....
"Omg, yeah i remember seeing that video. And those kids in the classroom were so roudy and just didnt want to learn or listen to the teacher. I felt so bad for that teacher, there was no hope for him to control his classroom!"
K, so with the first quotes, I think thats just ignorance speaking. But for the last one, from a friend who goes to IWU and TOOK a class on racism, HOW? HUH?? The context of the situation of this uncontrollable classroom was also a music teacher, who wanted to teach DANCE in school, was teaching 7th grade science! how ridiculous! And at the beginning of each class the teacher would announce things such as "Alright, alright, now lets pretend today that we are all nice, smart, Normal human beings for just a moment and pay attention to me!" No wonder these 7th graders are behaving in manner that is less than expected... the teacher obviously does not expect them to be smart enough to grasp anything, let along behave.
self-fulfilling stereotype? i think so. its just unfathomable to me to understand How a school could place someone who wants to teach Dance as the instructer of such a fundamental and critical class. Im sure the same held true for many other classes for these kids before they even reached the 7th grade.
how can people expect these kids, living in one of the lower income districts of NYC, to "choose to succeed" when they have such poor instructors, minimal funding, no equipment for the arts or sports, no early education to build higher on, and no expectations to do well and succeed.
we should robinhood this sh*t and stop providing MORE funding for the districts that already have money, good teachers, and community support and maybe distribute some of those dollars to the people that need it most... how can people be so cold :-( and oblivious
:-( hope i dont get a zero because i have short term memory loss that sometimes becomes longterm
ok, so the lack of my blogs are not because i am not doing the reading... it is simply because i procrastinate religiously. Thus, here we are, 5 blogs in, and I have been extremely slacking but promise to change!!! So, this is blog entry is regarding the week of Feb 17- Feb 23 reading.
the article 10 quick ways to analyze children's books for racism and sexism seems like it is asking all the right questions, but it is hard to think back to any of the childrens books that i have maybe read, but these questions can be applied to any sort of media that children use for entertainment. racism i feel is a lot more subtle than sexism, as there is a little less awareness about the gender roles that are constructed in our society. and when it comes to games or toys, these are distinctly marketed to be for a specific gender. in all, every aspect of the individual that is constructed in these sorts of entertainment/educational media can be analysed and the pecularities of how the person acts, looks, and Should act, look, etc., will have some sort of stereotypical basis that meets the expectations of the average person in America.
the article looking pretty waiting for the prince makes me wonder how the heck did i miss my presupposed gender role??? I distinctly remember it, 2nd grade, chopped my hair into those awesome 90's style short hair cuts, and fit in with the boys more than ever. i knew i was a girl, i just also knew that i did enjoy playing doctor or dress-up or baking in my easy-bake (definitely had one though!. the underlying cultural stereotypes that are so easy to pick up on now had to have had Some sort of impact on me though... maybe it was an identity issue. i dont know. i was just really really good at football and basketball, one best friend was a boy who enjoyed everything i did (he was also my first boyfriend in the 6th grade) and the other a girl who was a little bit of a tomboy too, but i mean, we werent butch-like or anything. i dont know, i must have just missed something. slow on the uptake.
math and media- photo fairness- my jaw hit da floor, especially with the fact that Every Single woman of color that was issued on the front page of the Washington Post was a VICTIM of fire, poverty, or destroyed homes from drugs. hows that for some stats... ill come back to these biases in the media lata
ABCs of media literacy.... cannot be found by my dumbask
the article 10 quick ways to analyze children's books for racism and sexism seems like it is asking all the right questions, but it is hard to think back to any of the childrens books that i have maybe read, but these questions can be applied to any sort of media that children use for entertainment. racism i feel is a lot more subtle than sexism, as there is a little less awareness about the gender roles that are constructed in our society. and when it comes to games or toys, these are distinctly marketed to be for a specific gender. in all, every aspect of the individual that is constructed in these sorts of entertainment/educational media can be analysed and the pecularities of how the person acts, looks, and Should act, look, etc., will have some sort of stereotypical basis that meets the expectations of the average person in America.
the article looking pretty waiting for the prince makes me wonder how the heck did i miss my presupposed gender role??? I distinctly remember it, 2nd grade, chopped my hair into those awesome 90's style short hair cuts, and fit in with the boys more than ever. i knew i was a girl, i just also knew that i did enjoy playing doctor or dress-up or baking in my easy-bake (definitely had one though!. the underlying cultural stereotypes that are so easy to pick up on now had to have had Some sort of impact on me though... maybe it was an identity issue. i dont know. i was just really really good at football and basketball, one best friend was a boy who enjoyed everything i did (he was also my first boyfriend in the 6th grade) and the other a girl who was a little bit of a tomboy too, but i mean, we werent butch-like or anything. i dont know, i must have just missed something. slow on the uptake.
math and media- photo fairness- my jaw hit da floor, especially with the fact that Every Single woman of color that was issued on the front page of the Washington Post was a VICTIM of fire, poverty, or destroyed homes from drugs. hows that for some stats... ill come back to these biases in the media lata
ABCs of media literacy.... cannot be found by my dumbask
Monday, January 19, 2009
Friday, January 16, 2009
first blog
so ive never really been much of a blogger... had one in high school, did the myspace thang for a while, but i think ive been missin out on something. hopefully this blog will last beyond this class
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