Racism in our culture

Going along the lines of what we talked about yesterday, how 1 and 3 black men are in prison and how prisons are just part of our culture, reminded me of a psychology study where neutral faces of white and black men were quickly presented and either a picture of a gun or a hammer was shown for a split second after and participants had to say if it was a gun or a hammer. The results supported the hypothesis that people thought the image was a gun 75% more when it was presented after a picture of a black man versus a white man. I just thought that this provides more evidence that in our culture, black men are stereotypes as aggressive and most likely to commit a crime.

Faulted System

The system that Mauer outlines in the chapter is full of inconsistencies. First, to disenfranchise a felon for life does not make sense especially when "99 percent of felons have not been convicted of electoral offenses." The worst part about this is that in some states electoral offenses are only misdemeanors. As a result, those who do get caught tampering with votes or the electoral process are not subject to disenfranchisement, yet someone convicted of a petty one time drug offense may not be able to vote for the remainder of their lives.

Often times, these felons' votes are valuable. The amount of felons who are unable to vote is so significant that Mauer claims "disenfranchisement policies have affected the outcome of seven U.S. senate races from 1970-1998." Assuming that the majority of these felons would have voted democratic, "disenfranchisement prevented Democratic control of the Senate from 1986 to 2000." I just think that this is kind of crazy to think about.

Perverse Incentives

Corporations are money making machines. If we assume rationality (which is a basic economic premise), corporations respond to incentives due to their focus on maximizing profit. Prisons are a great example of this occurrence, yet, in this case, it is a PERVERSE incentive that drives the desire to put more people in prison for longer. Moreover, this perverse incentive is linked to our ideas on race and classism. It is a good starting point to think more about what perverse incentive structures exist in regards to race? Certainly predatory pricing falls under this category. Any other thoughts?

Racially-Themed Parties and Post-racial White America

I saw this great article, and given our conversations in class about 'themed' parties, this seemed appropriate as the phenomenon appears to be a larger trend. The findings of this study (that 'color-blind' white students tend not to be offended by racially-themed parties) argue that eliminating race from people's view allows for desensitization to the offensiveness of racialized stereotypes. What do you think?

Definition of ghetto

• formerly the restricted quarter of many European cities in which Jews were required to live; "the Warsaw ghetto"
• any segregated mode of living or working that results from bias or stereotyping; "the relative security of the gay ghetto"; "no escape from the ghetto of the typing pool"
• a poor densely populated city district occupied by a minority ethnic group linked together by economic hardship and social restrictions
  wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

This is the definition of ghetto. I've always wondered why young people today use the word ghetto to describe something that is old or crappy? Saying things like "that's so ghetto" is usually in reference to an object that is broken or a person that acts like a stereotypical black person. I know that words and their meanings change over time but the way the word is used today usually implies something to do with the stereotypical black community.

Any thoughts?

Racism as a Pathological Condition

I would like to start off by saying that I disagree so fervently with this position that it made me angry to just read the Zack's words on the page. I am personally of the opinion that people frequently blame all sorts of things that are really under their control on a medical "condition" in order to escape culpability for their actions. Some common examples are: Tiger Woods and his "sex addiction", the millions of people who all of a sudden need adderal in order to do school work, etc. I would also like to say that these things certainly are real conditions, but in my opinion only exist in a fraction of those people who claim to suffer from the illness. Call me an existentialist.

Because of my VERY strong opinion on the issue of free will, I was enraged when I read the account of racism as a pathology that runs from the bottom of pages 47 to the top of page 48 in Thinking About Race. ("If racists are judged to be emotionally disturbed simply because they are racists, this lifts their moral responsibility for the harm done . . .). However, this reminded me of a cartoon a friend, who knows my nearly cathartic opinion on the topic of moral responsibility, sent to me.

Here's the link!

In Response to "What is Good Hair?"

Chishala's post "What is Good Hair?" reminded me of a song called "I Am Not My Hair" by India.Arie and Akon. I think the song also relates the documentary we watched in class about beauty in African American women. I will post both the lyrics and the youtube link--- let me know what you think. Based on what we saw in the video/your understanding, do you think it's an accurate representation or just the experience of one woman?

Link: I Am Not My Hair

[Akon]
Uh-huh
See I can kinda recall
(Little ways back)
Small tryin' to ball
(Always been black)
And my hair I tried it all
(I even went flat)
Had a Gumby curly top and all the crap, now (ohhh)
Was tryin' to be (appreciated)
Nappy headed brothers never had (no ladies) (no ladies)
Then I Hit by the barber shop (real quick )
had the mini little (twist) and it drove them crazy (drove 'em crazyyy)
And then I couldn't get (no job)
Cause corporate wasn't hiring (no dreadlocks) (oh-no)
Then I thought about my dogs (on the block)
Kinda understand why they chose to (steal and rob) (uh-huh)
Was it the hair that (got me this far?) (uh-huh)
All these girls these (cribs these cars) (uh-huh)
Hate to say it but it (seems so flaw)
Success didn't come 'til I (cut it all off) (uh-huh)

[India.Arie]
Little girl with the press and curl
Age eight I got a Jheri curl
Thirteen then I got a relaxer
I was a source of so much laughter
Fifteen when it all broke off
Eighteen when I went all natural
February 2002 I
Went on and did what I had to do (oh)
Because it was time to change my life
To become the woman that I am inside
'97 dreadlocks all gone
I looked in the mirror for the first time and saw that
HEY...

[Chorus]
I am not my hair
I am not this skin
I am not your ex-pec-tations no no (heyy)
I am not my hair
I am not this skin
I am a soul that lives within

[India.Arie]
Good hair means curls and waves (no)
Bad hair means you look like a slave (no)
At the turn of the century
It's time for us to redefine who we be
You can shave it off
Like a South African beauty
Got it on lock
Like Bob Marley
You can rock it straight
Like Oprah Winfrey
If its not what's on your head
It's what's underneath and say
HEY....

[Chorus]
I am not my hair
I am not this skin
I am not your ex-pec-tations no no (heyy)
I am not my hair
I am not this skin
I am a soul that lives within

[Akon]
Who cares if you don't like that
With nothin' to lose posted with the wave cap
When the cops tryin' to harass
Cause I got waves
Aint seen nothin' like that in all my days (noo...)
Man, you gotta change all these feelings
They be judging one another by their appearance
Yes, India I feel ya girl
Now ahead, talk to the rest of the world
Cause, cause, cause

[India.Arie][Bridge]
(oh, oh, oh)
Does the way I wear my hair make me a better person?
(Whoa, whoa, whoa)
Does the way I wear my hair make me a better friend? nooo...
(Whoa, whoa, whoa)
Does the way I wear my hair determine my integrity?
(Whoa, whoa, whoa)
I am expressing my creativity...

[India.Arie]
Breast Cancer and Chemotherapy
Took away her crowning glory
She promised God if she was to survive
She would enjoy everyday of her life ooh...
On national television
Her diamond eyes are sparkling
Bald headed like a full moon shining
Singing out to the whole wide world like
HEY...

[Chorus 2x's]
I am not my hair
I am not this skin
I am not your ex-pec-tations no no (heyy)
I am not my hair
I am not this skin
I am a soul that lives within

(source: http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/i-am-not-my-hair-lyrics-india-arie/531ba18215ef78ce4825710b002a28b2)

interacial romances

i was listening to this South African radio, and the Dj was raising and opening this question out to the listeners, and am going to pass that on to you guys

so he asked, why is it that the most influential (very successful, maybe in sports, entertainment or whatever) black person will go for any plain old white person, actually he said influential black male will go for a plain white female, while a successful white male will go for the most good looking, ideal-body endowed black female?

i thought that was interesting
what do you guys think?
i mean of course there are exceptions

white goddess cookies

Yesterday when I went to Riverside Cafe for lunch, I couldn't help but to realize the "White Goddess" cookies. Perhaps it was because of our museum tour and the whole discussion on the purity of white in art-- but I found the name to be quite interesting.

What could make a cookie warrant such a name?

what is good hair?

after the clip we watched in class i couldnt help but get stuck watching some Tyra Banks, and her show is entitled what is good hair?
one of the striking things that were said is that the reason why African Americans want straight flowy hair (which is the good hair) is because during slavery it was your means for survival, it meant that you had more chance of being appointed to work in the house so you would have access to food, water, shelter and all those necessesities as opposed to one with the darker skin and nappier hair ( by the way nappy hair is kinky, matted hair, kind of like what i have :)).
so then the older generation see straight hair as your means to a better life even though they will not admit to this because it is so ingraved in their subconscious, but the new generatiion are now examining this trend and seeing the harm that chemically straightening your hair can do.
one of the women here said that her mother kicked her out and will not introduce her to people because she is ashamed of her daughter coz of her hair.
i thought that was something
check out the videos if you have the time see the whole 5 videos

The taboo of race: When racial preference is rational

I would like to begin this post by stating that I withhold my personal moral judgement on the following comment/question that I am about to raise.

Today in the video, several curious opinions were expressed. A girl said that all else fixed, she would choose to marry a man with the lighter skin, for she would rather not have dark skin in her gene pool. If we take this statement at face value, in our post-modern economy, it is difficult to assign any blame or fault to the individual preferring light to dark skin, rather we should acknowledge the rationality of such a preference. We see this in many other forms. All else fixed, would you choose the short or tall man, fit or overweight, ugly or stunning? All your choices, while they may be aesthetically based, also play into the economics of individual characteristics that are used as assets in the work force. Unfortunate as it may be, it is nevertheless a reality that employers tend to gravitate and offer greater opportunity to those bearing certain characteristics. The majority of CEO's are tall white men and there is a reason for it, be it merely an extension of the white man's privilege. Nevertheless, certain features open up a greater potential for success than others. This is a saddening yet undeniable fact of the capitalist society we partake in.

Thus, following this line of reasoning, and assuming that individuals are self-interested, it is fully rational, in an economic, game-theory competitive respect, for a women to want to marry a man with lighter skin. She is simple acknowledging the unfortunate fact that he might have a greater chance for success. THIS ARGUMENT IS NOT IN FAVOR OF THIS SOCIAL TRUTH, BUT IT SIMPLY IS SPEAKING IN TERMS OF MECHANISTIC RATIONALITY.

If we want to address racism, we should be less concerned with the women who wants to marry a lighter skin male, and more focused on addressing the heart of the issue, which is why a lighter skin male has a better chance for success. This is the root of the problem, and most likely involves an effort similar to the self-empowerment movement described by du Bois.

Travel

I have been thinking about how traveling is correlated to whiteness. In my art history class my professor explained where the term tourist originated. The word comes from the idea of the grand tour, which was a popular activity for educated individuals in the 17^th century. In order to complete ones education, one would travel through Europe and study antiquity. The grand tour was reserved for people who were white, wealthy, and well educated. Before Dr. Moore mentioned that traveling was a white idea, I did not comprehend that fact. I understand why the grand tour was correlated to wealth and whiteness, but why is the idea of traveling still correlated to whiteness, why is wanting to understand and experience other cultures a white idea? Maybe my impression of traveling is skewed since I grew up immersed in the concept, but traveling has led me to want to live outside of the United States, study other cultures, and learn more about the world. I do not think that these things are necessarily bad, and the way we discussed traveling in class seemed to have a tone of negativity. Is traveling bad, or is it only something reserved for higher socioeconomic classes; therefore, a luxury correlated with whiteness?

I have been meaning to post this link in regards to what we discussed last class involving the subject of "whiteness." In her book, Zack talked about the fact that the idea of "white" is divided into different stereotypes- for example, the stereotype of "white trash," or whites who have not conformed to the "moral standards and tastes" of middle and upper class whites. However, it is clear that there also exist some stereotypes for those middle and upper class whites- many involving money and the materialistic lifestyle. This blog, called "Stuff White People Like," seems particularly relevant- it makes fun of stereotypes about middle and upper class white people while perhaps acknowledging some of the truths behind them, but with a dose of humor. Some of the most interesting articles on the site involve the idea of race and white guilt such as #71 and #73.
Check out the blog here: http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/

American Beauty

I have been meaning to post this for sometime mostly in response to Darcy Bullock's essay regarding the cover page of Vanity Fair. The fact that white is a common attribute of beauty and sexual appeal for women in our culture is a persisting problem. Based on the doll tests performed in Harlem by Kenneth and Mamie Clark in the 1940s, a high school student recently conducted doll tests intended to detect whether or not attitudes toward race and beauty were still persistent. She filmed her study as a documentary. Although I was unable to retrieve a copy of the documentary unedited, here is a link to the news story:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqSFqnUFOns

Also, just wondering what you guys thought about this commercial.
Its for vitamin water.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYVboYqxuDc

Since being in this class, becoming knowledgeable and learning to articulate the different vocabulary that relates to race, I wonder, if put in an uncomfortable situation where someone has said a racial slur/something derogatory, would you actually stand up and say something? In my CCOR facilitating group we are talking about personal/group goals that we would like to accomplish. Many people in my group have said that they will no longer ignore when a friend/acquaintance/stranger/family member says something wrong.

Go Meat!

I saw this Hillshire Farm commercial the other day and naturally our class came to mind. All I can say is have a look and see if you too see anything wrong with it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_CmXCU_LKw

Just a couple of things that stuck out to me were the clothes that the white people wore and how the white girl has this awkwardly off beat clap. Personally I have never seen someone tie a sweater around their shoulders at a cookout. Also I noticed that the black guy has got this little dance to the song and that he throws a "say what" in there. Any thoughts?

Should African-American history be taught in schools?

When doing research for my critical essay, I have noticed that most primary high school institutions primarily focus on how white people founded and made America what it is today. I have found many reasons for why African-American history should be taught in high schools, but I want to know what you think. Do you think it is important to educate our youth not only on how white people colonized America but also how black people played a role in creating America today? Do you think it would help eliminate racism if everyone had this knowledge?

Speaking for Others

A few words in response to our class discussion on speaking for others. It is important to analyze the act of speaking for an external group both quantitatively and qualitatively. Regarding the former, emphasis should be placed on the degree to which this type of event occurs. Every day in every form possible, be it politics or a friendly conversations regarding sports. We use it on a daily basis and it serves the pragmatic role of progressing academia, intellect, and the spread of information. Qualitatively, what does it really consist of?

Well in simplest terms, it essentially is trying to describe a certain event/idea from an "outsiders" perspective. It might be trying to make an argument through citing other peoples experiences. In this sense, it is exactly what we do when we write any research paper. So why then not evaluate it on these terms, as a teacher would grade a paper for accuracy, representation, and breadth of content. Why can't we look at speaking for others through such a lens, and assess its "legitimacy" or "authenticity" based on the degree and depth of its references. It is a very practical approach and generally in line with how we commonly assess speeches or arguments made. Does this person know what he is talking about? Hm, well he did spend x amount of time with the group he is talking about and has talked to x amount of people in depth about the issue. So yes he does have a degree of reliability. Instead of attacking the "morality" or even the epistemic ability for speaking for others, why can't we instead look at it as we would view a paper or a website. Whatever sparks our intuition of why a source is reliable, should be a good ground to base our judgement on authenticity in terms of those speaking for others.

Is "Learnid" even a word?

My senior year in high school I had an English/Social Studies teacher that always said she was "learnid." She would say so only when we were questioning something and she knew she was right. Because she had been through college and graduate school, she could speak with more authority than anyone of us on most subjects. At the end of class today, the point was made that no one should speak at or for, but simply speak to a group so that a conversation could ensue. I don't agree with this statement in its entirety. I think that there is a time and place for dialogue, and most often its necessary and productive. However, why do we and those before us bother to go through college and grad school if we don't have the right to speak about what we've learned? By graduation, after hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent, are we not considered learned individuals in our field of expertise? Can we not speak at a group of economically destitute individuals about economics or how about to a racially segregated intercity high school about racism? Sure, these peoples location provides them with more experience-oriented authority, but shouldn't the economist or philosopher's opinion be more valued?
I know there are exceptions to this argument, and as I've said there are certain situations that call for dialogue. I think most of those situations are extremes that cannot be simply written about, but must be lived. The one experience that sticks out in my mind is going to war. Unless you've seen combat first hand then there's no way you can really speak about it. Obviously, I've never been to war, but seeing my Uncle, a US Marine, struggle after coming home from his combat duty makes me certain its not something that I can learn about in a book. But I'm digressing from my original point, I believe the intellectual has the right to speak for, at, and to a group about their subject area. And can someone tell me if "learnid" is a word? I'm not an English major.

What does it mean to be white?

In watching the amazing race tonight, one man says something like "I can't dance and I have no rhythm; I am as white as can be."

This reminded me of a conversation we once had in class and really got me to wonder what it means to be "white." Is white generic? flareless?

Why is being white associated with lacking unique characteristics?

What are the positive and negative stereotypes of being white?

In thinking about what I know about white stereotypes the things that come to mind are:
white men can't jump
no rhythm
can't dance
preppy or "white trash"
not as athletic

What do you think it means to be white?

the authority to speak on racism

We've talked a lot in our class about what gives someone the authority to comment credibly on a certain racial group. There was an article in the New York times today, which is about the recent comparisons between Pope Benedict XVI and World War II Pope Pius XII. The relevant part of the article is the following quote,

"On Good Friday, the preacher of the papal household, the Rev. Raniero Cantalamessa, delivered a sermon in St. Peter’s Square, citing a letter that he said was from a Jewish friend who had compared what he called 'the violent and concentric attacks against the church' to anti-Semitism, angering both victims and Jewish groups."

My participation in this class made me notice something that I don't think I would have noticed before. In order to make this letter credible, it had to be from a Jewish friend. Not a historian, theologian, philosopher, or International Studies researcher. In my opinion, a thorough knowledge of the subject matter (history, Catholocism, etc) would make someone much more qualified to make that statement than someone who is simply, and solely identified as, a member of a specific religious group. Just an timely example of one of the recurrent themes in our class.

Fair or Unfair Generalizations

At moments in our class, we have bumped into the discussion on the practicality of racial generalizations. Grouping individuals for say economic, organizational, or simply dialectical purposes. Similar generalizations occur frequently on a variety of topics. "I like all fruits," "The Northeast is cold." "White men can't jump." Generalizations help us navigate the world and function more efficiently. Yet some generalizations are deemed offensive or simply unjustified, while others seem reasonable. My question to the class is if you think there are qualitative terms to judge the morality and acceptability of making certain generalizations?

Socioeconomic status and race

In my senior psychology seminar, a study was presented where white doctors that were treating black, latino, white, and asian children asked fewer standard questions to the black and latino children because they believed they had lower socioeconomic status', therefore were less educated and wouldn't understand all the questions. A stereotype is that asians are the "good race" meaning that they are the one's trying to get a better education, study long hours, etc...We have talked about race and socioeconomic status together before, but I am wondering what you think of this study. Do you think that the stereotype that black and latino's do not have as high of an academic background as their white and asian counterparts will ever go away? It seemed to me like the doctors were taking stereotypes to the extreme.

"Some theorists have suggested that when such a rigidity around racial identity manifests itself among oppressed, it is the result of the internalization of oppression and acceptance of racist, self-denigrating cultural values." (The Idea of Race p. 143)

To me, this quote (which is not Alcoff's opinion-- but drawn from another source), leaves out an important dynamic that we mentioned in class about minorities choosing to identify with the title forced upon them. Of course, no rational would choose to be a member of a marginalized group purely for the sake of being marginalized. However, this quote seems to me to attribute the racial rigidity among minorities as totally involuntary and as a result of negative forces. I, however, disagree that the acceptance of racist, denigrating self values must be at the root of this phenomenon. Some minorities, such as the mulattoes who chose to be identified solely as "Negro" even if they could pass for white, embrace a form of racial purity and rigidity for other reasons, such as: genuine affection for that minority group and distaste for white, to make a point about race, etc.

embarrassment

this is after reading the speech by Zadie Smith
towards the end she says; "It's amazing how many of our cross-cultural and cross-class encounters are limited not by hate or pride or shame, but by another equally insidious, less discussed, emotion: embarrassment."

i thought that is very interesting, for me her whole speech was very relevant because i think i can relate to it somewhat, when i went home over jan plan, i was told that my accent has changed and i sound American, this was said with various tones, some people seemed envious, others disgusted and others mockingly, all of these reactions made me feel embarrassed, so that i tried as much as i could to go back to my Swazi accent, which by the way i have never had because i went to an international school which had its own melange of accents which resulted in an undeterminable accent

and then here at Colby, i have been told that if i do not speak like the American person i will not be taken seriously and no one will understand me, i have found that most of the time am understood and taken seriously, but there are times when am not, and i have to say something with an American accent which by the way my American friends will say is not an American accent
on the same note, when i talk with other international students especially Africans, i automatically, well most times, have some 'African' manner of speech when i talk

so i think i will have to agree with Smith, that embarrassment is definitely an emotion that can characterize (for lack of a word) our cross-cultural encounters, one feels the need to fit in so much so that it is at times even involuntary

am wondering if anyone else in the class has a similar experience or just what people think

reality of racism

Maybe it is my peaked awareness, maybe its something else, but lately I have felt that stories about racism in America have been everywhere.

I recently came across an article in the Boston Globe about the desires for a colorless society and thought the article was quite dreamy, but unrealistic. Soon after, there was a comment published from a reader about how great the idea was but arguing that deciding not to identify race doesn't do the trick. The United States has a racist history and this cannot be ignored. People may believe they are not racist, but it almost seems unnatural that someone could actually be oblivious to race and the stereotypes associated with them. In order for the United States to truly overcome racism, it must look it straight in the face and admit to it, accept it, dialog about it, and work to reconcile it.

This story caught my eye over spring break:
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2010/03/18/sotvo.walmart.customers.react.wpvi?iref=allsearch

--while maybe on not such a large scale, incidents like this happen all the time. What should our responsibility be in reconciling this? It doesn't seem like enough to say that I'm not racist, so I am doing my part.

The Bad Translator

After completing an exam, I found myself sitting on my computer avoiding work; therefore, I began to stumble. The popular website stumbleupon.com took me to site with a BAD translator! I was typing in anything I could to see what would come out and on my desk was the book The Idea of Race. I typed in the title to see what would come out and the result after 25 translations of various languages was “the idea that competition.” Even though the point of the site was silly and to mess up the phrase, the translation acknowledges an important concept. Between different groups there is conflict and competition, and this is evident in the history of races. Also, I think that this site points out how complicated the communication process is and the problematic barriers in understanding that can ensue due to the inadequacies of human's capability to comprehend differences in cultures.

Racist vs. Racial

Yesterday morning I was watching the show 1st in 10 on ESPN when they brought up a topic that is relevant to our class. They were discussing whether or not a certain college basketball player named Gordon Heyward should enter the NBA draft after only his sophomore year at Butler University. Initially they weighed the pros and cons, but then someone brought up the potential benefits for the league if a white player were to become a superstar. The entire issue was hypothetical, but it was interesting to see the different attitudes surrounding it. The reporters (both black and white) agreed that it would be good if there was another white NBA superstar, but instead of using the term "white" and including several white Europeans in the NBA, they used the term "North American Caucasian" throughout the debate. Many people argue that since Larry Bird's retirement the league has seen no such star (although some might say Steve Nash). One of the reporters (a middle-aged white male) stated that he (and friends that were around his age) would love to see a white superstar in a league that is predominately represented by African-Americans. He said that it is easier for him to relate to a player like Gordon with things like dribbling and passing, but that he could not relate to players like LeBron James (one of the most talented, strong and athletic players that the game has ever seen). When things really began to heat up, one of the reporters attempted to point out that the topic as a whole was racial and not racist. I just thought that it was weird to wake up and see this racially charged debate on TV right before we had class. Anyways I am skeptical that the whole topic was only racial. Is it racist if the one reporter and other people like him prefer a white NBA superstar? I don't know I am just trying to see if any of you have thoughts on the issue.