When talking about racial issues in the United States, I do not think anyone really knows what to do. I would be really upset to learn that forty years from now our schools would be even more segregated than they are now. I think we would really have some problems then. Maybe people in charge need to make more of an effort to put people of different races together, like in the classroom setting, so that they are forced to go outside their comfort zones and interact with other types of people. I think if we made this interact happen over and over people would get used to spending time with people of other races and maybe this would not be such a big deal.
So what does this mean for our society? I had thought we would be over this whole race issue by the time my life ends but now I am not so sure. I was watching the television show Friday Night Lights which takes place in present times and in one episode the black players on the football team all refused to play because of a racist comment one of the coaches had said and their next game was again the only all white team in Texas. I thought it was strange and it reminded me of Remember the Titans or something which took place a long time ago. Then I told myself that this show is in Texas and that people in Texas and the south have a harder time dealing with race relations then people in the northeast or particularly Pennsylvania. I realize now that I may have just been being naive and justifying it in some way. Yet at the end of the episode everyone said they were sorry and everything turned out okay. Yet, that is just a television show not reality and not every happy ending comes that easily. Someone mentioned in my discussion group a while ago that even thought football players are stars on the field, that in Alabama they get turned away from intereing into a frat house full of white males.
We were told in class on Thursday that schools are more segregated now then they were in the seventies. I was very surprised when I heard this because I thought as time goes on we have been moving on a more positive direction but maybe I am wrong. How did this happen? Maybe now we do not worry about race as much as we did in the past and that allowed people to pick where they wanted to be. It seems to me that for the most part, we like to spend time with people that are similar to us and therefore we tend to spend more time with the people of our same color.
So, today when I found myself sympathizing with them it made me uncomfortable. I could now see why people hate Americans. I also know how influenced we are by the information we are given and if know little, and what we do know is bad, we are likely to form our views off that. I understand how people can be swayed in the wrong direction.
My views on the war in Iraq are definitely impacted. I was never really pro war anyways and now I am just even more confused. Before I was just a hippy at heart, but it never occurred to me that we may have used the supposed War on Terrorism as a disguise for something else.
After Sam showed us that first video his friend sent him, I expected him to tell us to try to place ourselves in the shoes of being Islamic or Muslim and living in the United States because of the prejudice and difficulties they face. Yet that is not what I was asked to do. I had always thought that the United States was going over to Iraq to get the few extremists and trying to harm as few civilians as possible. Also, I do know that not everyone from the Middle East shares those views of the extremists, yet still, I did not necessary think of them in a positive light but just because I do not fully understand their lifestyle.
I remember back around the time of September 11th and the United States declared a War on Terrorism. I remember standing outside my house with my mom with a candle lit and I could see my neighbors doing this as well. I was about eleven or twelve so I do not think I fully understood what was happening. As I got older I learned about the oil in the middle east, so I thought since we were over there fighting to stop terrorism, we might as well attain some oil. I know I am bothered by my fifty dollar bill I am charged every time I go to fill up my tank. Until today I do not think I thought about where the oil was really coming from. I thought that the oil came from rural land owned by the governments of different countries and that they were selling their oil to us because they need money so badly. If that is the case, then I think this arrangement is completely moral and okay. However, if this is oil from the land of individuals and underneath people’s houses and they are not willingly making a deal to sell this oil, then I can understand them being outraged. In a way, this reminds me of the way Americans treated Native Americans.
Now on to the next question: Do I think women actually enjoy dressing this way? Yes and no. I am sure some girls live for it, while others are forced into it. For me, it depends on the day. Sometimes I just wish I could wear my sweats out to the frats. Those are the days I wear a loose dress or shirt. There are othere times I look forward to dressing up, like for instance, my formal because it is a special occasion. Sometimes I just want to look pretty. I am not sure why but walking in a high pair of heels can be a real confedence booster. Every girl likes to strut I suppose. I cannot say whether or not a male oriented world has programmed me this way because I cannot look at the situation from outside my shoes, or in tonight’s case, my heels.
So what am I going to do about it? Nothing. Just because its not fair doesn’t mean I am going to go out tonight without makeup and a hoodie. I just would not be comfortable. Am I going to be comfortable in 5 inch heels either? No, but at least I will look good while being uncomfortable. I think things have evolved this way from the way society sees men and women. I think that the way a man looks has a lesser emphasis on the way he is perceived than that of a woman. Men can have a lot of other traits with equal importance. He can be smart, athletic, funny or charming. The main thing people seem to care about when it involves a woman is how appealing and pretty she is. For instance, I think you are more likely to see a good looking girl with a not so attractive man, than the other way around.
I am in a sorority so I dress up a lot. It is a rule actually. Thursdays you can wear whatever you want, Fridays you have to wear heels and Saturday you have to wear heels and a dress. I do not know what happens if you break the rules, probably nothing but I am not sure. When I was first told this I was a little annoyed that I have to wear heels all night but now I am used to it and I enjoy wearing heels because I am short. It did not dawn on me that the guys do not have these sort of rules or norms until recently. Thursday is my sororities formal so I have been shopping for a stand out dress and heels and tanning and dieting and even buying fake eyelashes and all these things while my date just has to throw on a tie and show up. It is not fair.
Sam said in class that the mixed race is the fastest growing, so I guess my generation is telling the world that they do not care what other people think and by doing so creating a more balanced society. Like I said earlier, I am not sure if I would choose to have a mixed baby, but I repeat myself that you really cannot help who you fall in love with.
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Brainchild