Towards the end of Thursday’s lecture, the story that was retold to six different people changed little by little by the time it was told by the sixth person. Despite the fact that the story lost a sufficient amount of detail after each person told it, I did notice a difference in the way the white people told it versus the way the rest of the volunteers did. The main point of change happened in the middle of the story, when the white characters were introduced. It was obvious to see the first white person who told the story started getting uncomfortable as he approached the line that explicitly used the “n word” to degrade the black students who wanted to use the room as a classroom.
This all relates back to the latent racism and political correctness topic. When white people discuss race with non-whites, or vice versa, there is sometimes a strong sense of discomfort. Most white people are hesitant to say what they truly believe because they are worried it will offend those who they are talking about. The same goes for the story that was told in Thursday’s lecture. White people immediately became hesitant to discuss the “fight” that occurred between the whites and the blacks. I noticed that the confrontation between sugar-coated the violence happened between the two races.
On the other hand, many might believe that there was a difference in the way the white people told the story due to the racism factor. Many believe that the whites may not have wanted to admit to the fact that the white characters were obviously the perpetrators while the blacks were the victims. Although this is how the story was portrayed, I don’t believe it was the blame game that altered the way this story was told between races.
Another fact that we must take into account is the logical explanation that as we continued the game of telephone, numerous details were lost or accidentally changed due to loss of memory, and simple misunderstanding. By the time we reached the sixth person, we got the main idea down that “the black students wanted to take their class in the multi-purpose room, while the white students tried to kick them out.” Although this is still technically true, there are many details that were lost in translation that would have added more background to the story. I do not believe there was an intentional alteration in the way whites told the story versus the volunteers of other races, but I do believe it relates back to the ideas of ‘latent racism’ and ‘political correctness.’ This is another representation of the things we do or say without truly taking notice of how they are portrayed to others.

I have always realized the difference between the way men and women dress to go out on the weekends. While some women say they enjoy dressing up in uncomfortable heels and dresses, most women don’t, but do it anyway. Almost every weekend, I come across the same problem. Although I usually don’t wear heels to go out, I often find myself squeezing into tight, uncomfortable flats just because they match with the rest of my outfit. Usually before going out, my friends and I will be dressed in sweatpants, and we always say we wish we could go out in this. But why don’t we?

The reason why we find ourselves dressing up in such uncomfortable outfits is because everyone else is doing it. And even though we like to think of ourselves as being “above the influence of what other people think, do or say,” no one wants to be the girl at the party who looks like a slob while every other girl looks perfect. Girls always ask each other “what are you going to wear tonight?,” or “is this a good outfit,?” because many of us feel we are competing with each other as to who looks the cutest, thinnest, etc., and in reality, it is extremely pathetic when you think about it. However, every weekend I find myself doing the same thing: wearing nice clothes and dressing in uncomfortable shoes, just because I don’t want to look like the girl who doesn’t care about my appearance compared to the way my other friends look.

After the first few weekends of going out, I realized that guys at parties are more likely to let girls in who are prettier, or dressed sluttier than those girls who look like they just rolled out of bed. And meanwhile, while most women take an extremely long time to get ready to go out, those same guys find themselves slipping on a pair of jeans, a polo and a nice pair of sneakers and they’re ready to go. I think this mainly has to do with the fact that women will always be seen as property—something that a guy can take home and feel accomplished about. And a lot of women get dressed up when they go out for this very reason. The more attention a girl draws to herself because of her clothes and makeup, the greater chance she has of going home with someone she didn’t go there with. Even though guys are planning to do the same, they’re stereotypically the ones who approach the girl in hopes to get something out of her, as if she were a puppy in a shelter waiting to be picked over dozens of other ones.

This is something our society has structured, and I don’t believe it will ever change. Guys will never experience the discomfort girls do when they go out, simply because their clothes are just flat out more comfortable and they have plenty of skimpy-dressed girls to choose from. If they get turned down once, there are probably many other ones he can choose from. This major difference between men and women has been this way for years, and there is no way it is going to change anytime soon unless men start wearing pumps and stilettos as they walk down College Avenue. Until then, women will suffer the freezing cold walk with no jacket every time, just because every other girl is doing the same exact thing.

It seems that majority of people who believe they are a humanitarian, really aren’t. I feel the same way myself. Once Sam introduced the six stages people go through according to racism, I immediately assumed I was a humanitarian. I like to help people of all kinds, regardless of who they are, or what race they are. Although this is true, I still feel like I have a lot more to learn about society regarding race. Sam also mentioned the “comfort” of talking about race with people, and how being more comfortable can move you closer towards the end of the spectrum in this six step process. Although I enjoy talking about race with others, I’m not sure I have gotten to that stage with people who are a different race than I am.
I fall victim to the political correctness problem. I try to be as open as possible to avoid discomfort in conversations like these, but when I am talking about race to those who are other races than I am, I tend to be as politically correct as possible. This technically isn’t a bad thing, but I feel that I am holding back on certain feelings. Unless I am extremely comfortable with the person to whom I’m speaking to, I probably wouldn’t be as upfront as I would be with someone who is the same race as I am, and I want that to change. This is the main obstacle that is preventing me from moving on towards that humanitarian stage. I feel no different helping “my people” versus helping “other people,” everyone is in just as much need as the other.
The truth is, not everyone can reach that sixth stage, or even the fifth stage. We are unable to stop prejudice, but racism is another story—it is something that will always be there. The important thing is that we all need to be civil with each other. We all need to be willing to offer someone a hand regardless of what race they are. We don’t all need to be perfect humanitarians, because frankly not many of us are. We are human and the only thing we need to do is recognize that others, regardless of what race they are, are human as well.
I don’t think that being in one stage is better than being in another. I also don’t think these stages qualify the type of person you are. They cannot label you as being a “good or “bad” one, based on what stage you’re in. They just act as a guideline to represent what most people go through when it comes to being introduced to other races. What’s important is that we recognize that there is not one person who is more deserving of our help than another, just based on his or her race.

I believe most children in our society grow up learning messages that white mean good, while black means bad. We are fortunate enough to be in a generation that is more open to racial diversity than generations were in the past, but there is still an underlying prejudice many people acquire from all types of places. When the children in the video Sam showed us were asked which doll to choose, most of them chose the white doll, because they said the white baby was the “good” baby, while the black baby was “bad.” The part about this that shocked me the most was the fact these children were the same skin color as the black baby, but chose the white doll.
Although the media does not blatantly portray blacks as being “bad,” I believe it definitely places different cultures in different lights. For example, growing up, most of the cartoons I watched had all white characters, with maybe one or two black characters to add diversity and personality to the show. Because white people make up the majority of the population in the United States, I believe TV shows and movies do this, because it is what most of America is comfortable with. I also think it’s important to have cultural diversity of all races, not just white and black, because if one culture is the primary focus of a show, it creates a lack in cultural awareness. Although it is unfortunate, many kids nowadays spend a significant amount of time watching TV, and it is extremely important to portray “real-life” situations on these programs otherwise, an even greater line will be drawn in-between what really goes on, and what the media sugar coats.
Growing up, my town was mostly white, but there was a large minority population as well. I remember sitting in my kindergarten class with a friend I had, who was black, and all of our classmates would ask her “Why is your skin a different color?” Why are you called black when your skin is really brown? Despite the fact we may grow up with a lot of different races, we are definitely more accustomed to what we grow up with. I’m white, and growing up, I was never around different races and cultures until I started going to school. I remember being fascinated by this diffusion, because I was so used to seeing people who looked the same as I did. I also recall growing up with these “messages” that black is “bad,” while white is “good” mostly after learning in school about the racism that happened in our own country years ago. Although the point of the lesson was to teach young children, that all people are equal, part of that lesson confused me. Why did these people think that? Was there a reason for it? The fact that these messages are present in not only white, but black children as well, makes it extremely hard to find a source for such deep problems. I believe that these subtle messages will always be around until all of us will be able to get to the humanitarian stage of the process we discussed in class.

The R-word has been a part of our vocabulary and I'm sure almost all of us are guilty of using it at least once. However, in my opinion, I feel that when we use it, we don't use it for its actual connotation. Most of us don't realize that the R-word is affiliated with people of special needs. People, myself included, use it as a substitute for the word stupid and don't take into consideration that it can potentially be harmful to someone else. We have this problem a lot in the English language. We use the word “gay” to describe something stupid, and the word “faggot” to describe someone who is stupid, or perhaps a male who does something to resemble that of a female, etc. The question is why? Why do we feel it is necessary to use these terms to describe someone negatively. Why must we use hurtful terms that are used to classify certain types of people to classify things that are stupid, or “not normal?”
I think using these terms has a lot to do with political correctness. Years ago, people referred to the disabled as “retarded,” and there was nothing wrong with it. Now, there are campaigns and movements to rid this word of our vocabulary. There are times where I find myself speaking to the elderly, and I still find them referring to the mentally disabled as “retarded” and I am surprised. However, I've realized that even though this word is extremely hurtful, when the majority of people use it nowadays, they don't use it in respect to people who are in fact mentally disabled. Although I try not to use it, I myself sometimes slip and use it. However, the only time I ever use it is if I'm talking about myself. Instead of saying something like “that was stupid of me,” I'll say “what I did was retarded,” or something of that nature. Although I may be talking about myself, it is still wrong to use that word to describe something that is stupid, since that is not what the original definition of that word was. According to Merriam Webster's dictionary, the definition of retard (as a verb) is: to slow up especially by preventing or hindering advance or accomplishment. Over time, this word's definition has transformed from “slow” to “stupid,”and there is no direct correlation between the two.

This word is used by everyone, and according to the video, even the president's chief of staff, who labeled liberal democrats as “f-in retarded.” Retarded is so much more of a hurtful term than “stupid,” or “dumb,” and it hurts not only who it is directed at, but those who are disabled. This situation is not just about being politically correct, but it's about being courteous to a certain group of people. Although this parallels certain racial slurs such as the n word, the r word is much more commonly used among everyone, and many of those who use it are oblivious to the fact that this is a rising concern based on the harm it inflicts on others.

If we were to compile all of the racial problems society has experienced in the past, we would most likely find that white are usually portrayed as the culprit of discrimination. I believe most of this has to do with the fact that centuries ago Europeans were more ethnocentric as they were usually richer, and viewed themselves as superior to other races. This eventually resulted in the enslavement of Africans who were then shipped to the Americas, since Europeans found them inferior. Nowadays, even though that all races and ethnicities are guilty of discriminating and stereotyping, white people are less likely to admit it, because of the fact that they were both guilty of doing it in the past and since the idea of racism seems to gravitate toward white people. However, I personally don’t believe there should be a difference between white people who discriminate and minorities who discriminate.
The other day in lecture, Sam mentioned that white employers were more likely to hire people with “white-sounding” names more frequently than they would hire those with ethnic names on a job application. Of course no one would actually admit to doing this. But could it be because they do this subconsciously? For example, the same day we watched the four girls choose who they wanted to sit next to—the white, the Asian, the Middle Eastern or the black girl. The majority of the class assumed the Asian girl was going to sit next to the Asian, the white girl next to the white, etc. Despite the fact that most of the girls did not end up sitting where we expected them to, I believe they still subconsciously chose their seats based on a number of factors. The races of the other girls were one, while the placement of the seats was another. If I remember correctly, the black girl sat next to the other black girl, but we don’t know why she did this—we only saw her actions, not her thoughts. This could have been because that was the first seat she saw, or because she found herself more comfortable sitting next to someone of the same ethnicity as she is. The same issue goes for white people who are less likely to admit when they commit an act of discrimination. Even if they consciously choose to discriminate towards minorities, they would never want to admit it, because no one wants to be the one who blatantly admits to being a racist.
Although our society is made up of a number of people who are guilty of discriminating, no one would ever admit it. This refers back to the idea of the “Tragedy of the Commons”…everyone automatically assumes that “it’s not me, so it must be someone else who’s doing it.” In reality, we all discriminate against others whether or not we realize it and we sure won’t ever admit it. Because white people are usually deemed as the culprits of racist tendencies, they of course are the least likely to admit it, since society will always point the finger at them first.

More minorities get arrested in urban areas for drug use than white people do, mainly because of the larger police force present in highly populated areas. On Tuesday, the video we watched demonstrated how arrests are more frequently made on blacks and Hispanics. If you were to watch any video about crime in a highly populated urban area, such as Cops or other police shows, the majority of those arrests will be minorities because they are the ones who populate those areas more than whites do. Of course drugs are used by everyone—all races, ages, etc., but I believe it is the blacks and Hispanics who are at a higher risk of getting caught because of where they are doing them. Many minorities across the country that live in urban areas are poor, and a large number of them make money off of selling drugs. It is when transactions like these are done in public that makes minorities a prime target for arrest
Like Sam said in lecture on Tuesday, of course there are white people buying, selling and using drugs, but they might do them in more remote locations, where cops aren’t always on patrol. Cops are less likely to catch someone doing drugs in a private, rural area just based on the lower demand for police force in areas like these. I grew up in the suburbs in a small town about 10 minutes outside of the Bronx, New York. Although there is a police force that would occasionally bust kids in my town for drug use (who were mostly white), it did not compare to the amount of cops I have seen arresting black people just a few miles outside of my town in the Bronx. I grew up in a predominantly white area, and I think this might explain why black people are more likely to get caught with illegal substances. Where minorities make up the majority of the population, oftentimes poverty is a major problem, and when poverty is common, crime may occur. Areas with higher crime rates will be under stricter surveillance by police force, which will lead to a larger number of arrests for drug related crimes.
Many people believe that more minorities get arrested for crimes than white people do, based on judgment, but it seems that is not the case. If we were to look at the demographics—where certain types of people live, their socioeconomic statuses, we will probably find that, even though more whites might use illicit drugs than blacks and other races do, they are usually the least likely to get caught. However, this is due to a number of other reasons, specifically the fact that most minority drug use and distribution is done in areas that have potentially high crime rates in the first place. Although individual police officers may be racist, we cannot classify an entire police force as being racist, because in the long run, they working in hopes to cease illicit drug use, regardless of who is using them.

When it comes to answering questions in class, I feel a lot of it has to do with the way the question is proposed. For example, yesterday, when Sam asked whether or not the black woman who her kids to a “white” school was the victim of racism, the majority of the class responded that she was in fact a victim. Then, nearly two minutes later, after reading some news headlines that covered the story, many people who answered “yes,” then changed their mind to “I don’t know.” At first, Sam described the school as being a “white” school. Then after proposing the question that asked whether or not she was a victim, he read the headlines that referred to it as a “suburban” school, etc. Well depending on how the story is covered, and how the question is asked, many people are going to second guess their first response.
This also refers back to the idea of free will versus determination. Why is there even an issue that comes about when a black woman sends her kid to a white district? The fact that there are schools that are classified based on racial standards should point out that determinism may in fact play a role in dividing society. Based on the statistics that Sam brings up about racial groups, it always seems that Whites and Asians are located at the top of the list when it comes to highest yearly salaries, SAT scores, etc. When he first asked whether or not this was a result of determinism or free will, if I remember correctly, most students answered free will. Then after explaining how having more money brings higher SAT scores, and a bunch of other social issues, it seemed as if we all changed our minds. I feel that once we hear the backgrounds to these questions, we being to second guess our first instincts, and most of what we’ve learned growing up. However, I also believe that we truly cannot know why certain races make less money or get lower SAT scores than others. Although based on his past two lectures, it seems that determinism is one of the main culprits, in reality, every individual is different. Every individual even has his or her own perception of what racism, prejudice or stereotyping is, and it is utterly impossible to group all of those statistics under one reason.
So when it comes to the story about a black woman being jailed for sending her children to a white school district, the majority of people would assume that she is the victim of racism just because of the way the question is proposed. However, once we hear the facts, and hear how the news covered it, we tend to change our minds. It is impossible to say exactly why, but I think it is a result of people realizing that their impulse to assume may not always be correct.

If humans were to never have inhabited the earth, it would certainly not be experiencing all of the problems it currently is. We have evolved, or been “created,” depending on who believes what, with the incredible ability to think, reason, use logic, and take the past and alter it for “better” future. However, has our ability to do all of these things created a seriously negative impact on our world? Obviously, humans have greatly contributed to the environmental problems the earth is currently going through, but we have done so after creating some amazing inventions and technology. The question is not what happens after we’ve done this, but why have we done this? What is the point of every iPad, cell phone, or video game? Is it the fact that we have become so bored so easily, that we continually need to go out of our way to make inventions to keep ourselves happy?
In class on Thursday, we watched the video about how we are all monkeys. I believe this is true—we are nothing more than evolved primates who have the intellect to think and build off of those ideas. However, as our race (the human race) continues to advance, I find it that we are always searching for new ways to make ourselves happy. As soon as one fad goes out of style, we are immediately switching over to the next one. Humans are the only animals with the ability to do this, and I sometimes wonder how simple it would be if we could just think like animals. However, at the same time, we are so lucky to have these abilities. For example, if we thought like all other animals do, we would never have the opportunity to feel happy or excited to the extent that we do. We would never have the ability to laugh at a joke, or express emotion for others. But along with these rewarding qualities, we are stuck with the feeling of emotional hurt and pain that affects us to such a large degree.
As for the world around us, I can’t say whether or not it would be a better place if humans never existed. Although humans are philanthropic in their efforts to “save the rainforest,” or “preventing animal abuse,” we are making this effort to make up for the mistakes we have made in the past. If humans never existed, nature would not be at risk, animals would never get abused, and our ozone layer wouldn’t be depleting at such a rapid rate. Even though we have created some irreversible damage (and will continue to over centuries) we should appreciate the fact that we are able to do certain things, and feel the effects they have on us. Humans are a selfish race, but I believe that we have a purpose being here, and it is up to us to make sure our selfish tendencies don’t corrupt fate.

Part 3:

Personally, I believe the Confederate Flag is nothing more than a symbol of Southern pride. It was an image used to rally support for the south over one hundred years ago, and after losing the battle, I personally believe it has lost a lot of its negative meaning. Just like the John Deere symbol, the Confederate flag has become a symbol for red necks, probably because it represents a life style particular to rural, southern parts of the country. Some people frown upon it, because of its connection to slavery. But in reality, we all know that slavery is probably not going to happen again, and I’m sure bearers of the Confederate flag know that as well. Even though many people do not know the actual meaning or use for the Confederate flag, it has become nothing more than a popular image that has inspired many people to hop on the “Confederate bandwagon.”