It bothers me to hear people say that most people on welfare are lazy and don’t want to work. As Sam said in class, most of the recipients of welfare are children so they clearly cannot be labeled as lazy. The word “lazy” is thrown around so much when it comes to welfare and it truly bothers me! I’m first generation American and when my mother came from Africa she fought to establish herself in society. Even though we were not always wealthy, we never relied on welfare or any government assistance so I’m not an expert on this topic. I brought this up to say that one reason why my mother was able to succeed in this country after a while was because she was never exposed to the stigma of being a minority in this society. Granted there are white people that benefit from welfare but welfare is almost always associated with people of color. I think its so easy for people to say that welfare recipients are lazy just because there are a few people who abuse the system. People abuse EVERY single system that are government has in place so to pinpoint welfare just seems a little ridiculous to me. Also if people are being so “LAZY” then why was our unemployment rate so low prior to the recession? Welfare is NOT a system that has people living in luxurious places for free. Welfare really only gives you enough money just to survive so its not like there is really much room to grow when you only have the basics. The system is far more complex they people think and there are very different services that are provided such as, unemployment or disability benefits and social insurance. Social insurance would include Social Security and Medicare, which are things that many Americans not just the poor depend on.
I look at welfare as a system that was set in place to basically shut poor people of for a while so that the government doesn’t have to address the real problems with our society. If you want people to stop being “lazy” and make something of themselves then there needs to be something done with the system. People aren’t going to be able to get good jobs to support their families if they don’t even have a good enough education to meet the requirements. How about putting school books in poor neighborhoods so they can get a quality education? The government could also try to work on the minimum wage so that the people who do have a steady job can afford to live without government assistance Also, the United States is not the only country to have a welfare system in place so this obviously something that is important to other countries as well.

I have seen this a video a couple time before and each time it hurts my heart. As a dark skinned African American female this video hits me on a very personal level. I think its hard for people to understand what it feels like to not be accepted not only others race but to also not be fully accepted by your own race because your skin is darker. There are many things that contribute to an African American girl wanting to play with the White doll over the doll that resembles her. I grew up in a family that embraces my darkness and it was never an issue, but as soon as I started going to school, I quickly learned that it mattered to other people. When Sam told the story of his friend’s daughter coming home in tears because of what her white friend said about her skin color, it really hit home. Her friend is young and i'm sure she has no idea how much her innocent comment will affect that child. It takes situation like this to completely change the way a dark skinned person looks at them selves.
As an African American person I think it easy for us to say that it’s the white people in media that made us feel that being light is better but I think as a culture, Black people need to take more responsibility for why this is happening. Even before media took over our society, division among African Americans based on skin color was rampant. There were clubs that were created just for the light skinned African Americans. In the exclusive clubs there were silly things used to determine if a person would worthy enough to be part of, such as the brown paper bag rule. If a person was darker than that brown paper bag, they were considered too dark to be part of the club. Even in society now, I get more discrimination from Black s in regard to my dark skin than I ever have from Whites. African American culture has been influenced by whites; however, I don’t think that it s the only reason why little girls feel that black is “evil” and white is “good”.
I was watching the new Jessica Simpson show “The Price of Beauty” and she was on a trip in Thailand. They were in a market and their tour guide was showing them the various skin whitening products that are used in their country. In Thailand, having tan skin is a sign being poor because the darker you are means that you do hard labor in the fields. This show made me realize that this issue is present among all minorities not just Blacks. I’ve heard about color discrimination occurring among Asians and Hispanics. It makes me sad that people that have spent so many years trying to fight for equality with other races would tear their own race using the same tactics they complain about.

Are you kidding me? Now its one thing to not agree with the Health Care Bill or the things that are going on in our government but the things going on in this “protest” are ridiculous. Although I agree with the Health Care bill , I can understand the fact that not everyone shares the same sentiment. There are many decisions that the government makes that people don’t agree with and I doubt that there will ever be a time when everyone in America will share the same views. Our differences are what make our country unique and special but the behavior being displayed here is very embarrassing. If the issue is the Health Care bill then stick to that issue; to make racial slurs or be derogatory is uncalled for. People can argue that calling Rep. John Lewis the n-word is just allowing a person his or her to freedom of speech but when politicians and government officials are being threatened, things are going way too far. From time to time I watch Fox News because I’m interested in trying to understand the ideas and beliefs of Conservatives and I believe the newscasters on the channel encourage this behavior. I also feel that the newscasters incite this horrible behavior by advising Republicans and Conservatives to wipe out the Democrats and Liberals. In the Huffington Post article Rep. James Clyburn made a very good point. He said, “A lot of us have been saying for a long time that much of this, much of this is not about health care a all. And I think a lot of those people today demonstrated that this is not about health care... it is about trying to extend a basic fundamental right to people who are less powerful." I completely agree with him because if this were just about healthcare then there would be no need to be racist, threatening or derogatory at all.

Im all for freedom of speech but when it gets to the point where politicians and government officials are being threatened then I feel that something needs to be done. These people need to realize that there are limits to what you can say or do to other people. The “tea party” protesters are fueled by so much anger and it causes them to act recklessly. If we continue to ignore this behavior and don’t take action then its basically as if we don’t care about our people in office. The picture posted in this blog says “ If Brown can’t stop it, a Browning can.” The protester even went as far as putting a gun on the poster! Personally, it scares me that people will make statements like this publicly. I think things like this should be taken seriously to try and prevent the actions from ever happening.

I agree with you when you say that you’re not surprised about this situation happening. I’m honestly more shocked that it has taken so long for something like this to happen. When I think about the school that I went to, it wasn’t a surprise that a school would cancel the prom over something as simple as sexual orientation. I went to a really conservative high school and wearing a dress that showed a little too much cleavage would get you kicked out of prom. There was a situation where a lesbian female was prohibited from taking her girlfriend to prom. This girl was very masculine in her appearance; she never wore dresses or makeup. Not only was she forced to take a male to prom with her, but also they refused to let her wear pants. That left her with a big decision, either she miss out on prom and stand up for herself or she follow the rules. In the end she decided to put her pride to the side and obey the rules, but it amazes me that something so trivial would even be an issue on society today.
I’m glad the media has shared this story because I think people need to learn to embrace each other’s differences. When people are very close-minded things like this are going to happen. I don’t understand why a school would go to the extreme of cancelling the whole prom. Now when students in the high school think of the prom they are going to associate the cancelation of prom with Constance McMillen instead with the intolerance of their school. I doubt that very many people will say that prom was cancelled because their high school doesn’t accept people’s difference. I’m sure that a lot of people will focus on the fact that a lesbian girl refused to follow the rules and obey they norms that were in place. Its unfortunate that she may receive some backlash for standing up for herself but at the end of the day what she did was admirable.
Even though the opinions and ideals of many Americans are transforming, this story just shows that we still have a long way to go. We have to keep in mind that the Itawamba County Agricultural High School is in Mississippi and from what I know the state still holds pretty conservative views. If we cant get everyone to agree on gay marriage, its going to be very difficult to get everyone to agree to allows homosexuals to go to prom together. My only hope is that this will open up the dialogue and allow more people to stand up for their beliefs because things like this should not be taking place in our society.

I find it interesting that so many people feel that a person of color would automatically choose another person of color if they were in charge of the hiring person. Although I do agree that there would be some people of color that would be more inclined to hire another person of color, for the most part I don’t think that would be the result. I think if a colored person was in charge of hiring there would be several factors that would affect their final decision on who deserves to have the job. The first factor would of course be qualification. They would need to make sure that the person meets certain requirements to obtain the job. The next factor would have to be the type of job the applicant is applying. If two people of different color were applying for a job at a grocery store, I think there would be less of a chance for a colored person to turn anyone down based on color. In contrast, if two people of different color were applying for a job in the corporate world, I think the Caucasian person would have an advantage even if the person in charge of hiring were African American. I feel this way because there are a lot of African Americans in the corporate world that identify more with their Caucasian counterparts than “normal” African Americans. In the corporate world, white males are dominant so if an African American has the opportunity to make into that world, they have to make decisions that will preserve their status. In this case choosing a black male over a white male applicant could jeopardize their job if their manager doesn’t agree with their decision.
There is a HUGE misconception that all African Americans stick together no matter what because the color of their skin and that is not true at all. Contrary to popular belief, not all black people have the same views of the world. We don’t all have the same struggles as one another. We don’t all know what it’s like to grow up poor or not have good education. With that said, all African Americans don’t feel the need to reach out or support every person of their race. There are even some African Americans that look down on their race and try to distance themselves from that as much as possible. Since being white seems to be “right” in our society, some African Americans just want to be part of that world and accepted by the majority. For that reason alone I don’t think it is safe to assume that a person of color would automatically choose another person of color if they were in charge of hiring applicants.

I wanted to wait until I saw Avatar before I responded to this post. Now that I have seen the movie I have to say that I agree with what Brooks said. First, I would like to start by saying that I think its funny when I see people saying that Brooks is reading too much into the film and that other people are being way to sensitive about what the movie is portraying. In my opinion, a movie like this is meant to be critically analyzed because the situations depicted in this film say a lot about our culture. I don’t know how anyone could watch this film and only digest it on superficial level because I think the message it sends is very deep. Yes, there have been other films with the same kind of movie plots but if anything I think it should show that there is a link between our culture and the things being shown in the films. There is this need sometimes in our culture to have the “White Messiah” that comes in and saves the day. Now I don’t know exactly why that is but that’s just how things are portrayed in films for the most part. I’ve heard people say what if the “ Messiah” would have been Black, or Spanish or Asian but our culture so far has shown that it will never happen. And I feel the thing that makes the “White Messiah” different from it were any other race is that in American culture the “white man” has gone into civilizations and caused disruption. I’m not an expert in history so I can’t be 100% certain but I really haven’t heard of Asians, or African Americans invading White civilizations and then having someone from their culture saving the white people. If anyone knows the last time there has been a plot of that sort please let me know. It also bothers me that people can reduce Brooks’ analysis as just a reason to complain about something. I think his intentions in analyzing the was to get people to think about the bigger picture. I didn’t even listen to Prof. Richards’s video or read what David Brooks had to say until tonight but I when I saw the film I shared their opinions in regards to the film. Now I don’t know if its because I’m not White and I have immigrant parents that makes me more accepting or understanding of what Brooks had to say, but I do think the Whites need examine what his argument. I think sometimes Whites tend to be a little oblivious to the way things happen in society so I would say instead getting angry, they need to actually take some time to see where Brooks is coming from.

Honestly, Andre Bauer’s comment was absolutely ridiculous. The main thing that upsets me about what he said was that fact that he implied the people that are on welfare are animals. Bauer can feel however he wants to feel about welfare and government assistance but he definitely crossed the line with that comment. As a politician you should know when what you’re saying is inappropriate and you should know when to be politically correct. He probably thought that using the metaphor about the not feeding would help make his argument but all it did was insult a whole group of people. He made a huge generalization about people without knowing their situation. Andre Bauer has probably never even met a person who is in a situation where they need some kind of government assistance. He’s probably never been to poor neighborhoods to see the kind of living situations these people live in so it puzzles me that he is so eager to criticize.
I know that there are just because you are receiving assistance that you are lazy and just want to live off the system. Yes, welfare does help families but they are getting just what they need to survive and I don’t think that many people on welfare are complacent with where they are socially and economically.
Professor Richards brought up an interesting point when he mentioned the wealthy and their subsidies. Even though they are the elite of our society, they still benefit from our government in some way, but they would never think twice about their actions. I think its easier for the wealthy to point fingers at poorer citizen who receive welfare than to come to terms that they are not that different from each other in regards to government assistance. In my mind this all stems back to classic conflict theory; the elite have the power and help shape the norms. They’ve used their status to portray people on welfare as lazy individuals who would rather leech off of the government instead of working hard. So in the end I think the anger should be directed to the system that we have and some people out there who abuse government assistance and probably don’t need all of the help that their getting; however, there are far more people that actually benefit from the services. It really upsets me when people look down on someone because they are on welfare to support their family. Its sad to me that people assume that not Andre Bauer because he got his ideas from the people around him.

Wow this video has truly made me appreciate how far the United States has come in regard to race relations. In America we are constantly talking about race and all the inequality that exists but I’m proud of the fact the actions I witnessed in the video would not be accepted by most people in the U.S. Although there is inequality in our culture, I think it would be taboo to go to a NFL, NBA, NHL or MLB game and hear fans screaming or displaying such racist things. Even to have a coach videotaped saying any kind of racial slur would be denounced and I’m sure it would result in a lot more than just a $ 5,000 fine.
It amazes me how the men in the video such as, Carlos Kameni or Thierry Henry are considered some of the best soccer players in the league but they are treated like dirt. The fact that is has taken so long for anyone to step in and enforce any regulations basically makes me feel that these Black players were seen possessions and not humans. They were good enough to play, win games, and get money for the team but they weren’t important enough to get the respect they deserved. At this point I think this situation has gotten so bad in Europe that it would be extremely difficult to make any significant change in the behavior.
I ‘m honestly amazed at how long these players were able to maintain their composure during this extreme discrimination. I don’t think I would be able to focus on a game with all of those distractions around me. They endure so much and it took them a while to even get to a point where they don’t want to play anymore. It may not even be that bad if it were just the fans from the opposing team but it’s their own fans that are launching racial slurs at their African American players. What makes this situation so horrible is that there isn’t a large number of African Americans in these European countries , so it is very difficult for them to come together to create some kind of social change movement.
A main factor in why race relations in the U.S. have come so far is because African Americans in the country were able to create a social movement and gain social awareness of the issue. I’m so proud that the U.S is more accepting of other races but it saddens me that it will probably take a long time for in kind of change to happen in Europe. I hope that one day Europe will be able to experience social change movement and make some serious changes in regards to race.

As an African American female I feel that there is truth in the words that Harry Reid spoke BUT he should have been smart enough to know that the statement was not politically correct or would not be received well. In our society anything you say regarding race will be scrutinized especially if you are Caucasian. Initially when I heard about what Harry Reid said I was a little upset but I wasn't really sure why it made me so made. It wasn't until I watched the MSNBC special Obama's America: 2010 and Beyond on Monday night that I finally figured out where my anger came from. One of the anchors of the special, Tom Joyner, had a great quote that made things very clear for me. Tom Joyner, an African American said, We like watermelon, but don't offer me any because I will get offended . It is very stereotypical for people to assume that all black people like watermelon and fried chicken. Although many African American do like those foods, it would cause anger for a Caucasian person to offer it to them. With this statement I think Tom Joyner was trying to emphasize the fact that even though there may be truth to words that are being said, there are some things that people prefer to be left unsaid.