For my final blog I will reflect back on the work we have done this week that includes what is racism and what are its effects? I will also talk about my family history paper that I worked on for the past 3 weeks. I will also talk about what privileges I may or may not have along with how much my race, sex, and gender afford the advantages and the ways that I have inherited privileges from my family history.
To begin, this past week we have read different readings dealing with racism and the effects of racism. They were very hard for me to understand the concepts of what each author was trying to get at, but I learned a lot from the readings. I learned from the article, “Internalized Racism,” that people of color may feel inferior and different because they have come to believe that they do not belong in today’s society because they are different. I never really thought of color people thinking this way, and maybe this might be all of opinion to some but I learned something new. Also, I learned that internalized racism can lead people of color to question their own thinking and judgment about racism. These feelings of confusion and anger remind people of color of previous harmful actions that whites have called them, example like when whites call blacks “niggers.” I know that people of color have these feelings of confusion about their own identity and anger when being called a hurtful name, but one thing that my race, Caucasian American does not have the advantage of getting school paid for. I am jealous of people of a different race that can get their college education paid for just because they are not Caucasian. I think that this is one advantage that I don’t have.
There are privileges that I do have to my advantage because I am Caucasian American. In today’s society and even in the earlier year’s people of a different race get turned down from jobs because they are of a different race. I think that this is wrong because men and women of a different race can be just as good for the job or even better than a Caucasian American. I still think today that people of color are treated differently. It has definitely got better from the lynchings and sexual abuse, but they are getting turned down by jobs every day. Today for the first time in history we have an African American president and I think he is doing a great job, just my opinion.
To continue I will talk about my family history paper that was very interesting to learn about. I learned that my father was Native American and that was definitely interesting considering now I am part Native American. Once I told my grandmother that I was and she said I could have got some of my college education paid for, but my father never told me because he didn’t realize I could have got money. I also interviewed my cousin, Dale Deniston who served in the military and was a combat fighter pilot in World War 2. Dale, being a combat fighter pilot was also very interesting to know, considering he never told me about it before. I thought that the family history project was not going to be any fun, but I learned a lot about my family history and where I came from.
It was interesting to get a view of the picture from the perspective of the minority groups, as Keith Osajima's essay revealed how it felt to think and feel under the oppression of internalized racism. Also, did your perspective change at all when you found out you had Native American ancestry? That is quite a find!
ReplyDeleteMinority ancestry= college funding :)
ReplyDeleteI understand what you are saying and I think you should take full advantage of your newfound native ancestry. If your going to claim your native american you should learn about the culture and embrace it, dont just use it for college funding reasons (not saying that you are doing so). Will you embrace your new culture? You are young at the same time your already have your morals and beliefs intact do you think you can accept and embrace and make room for something new?
I am going to have to disagree with you on this statement; "Caucasian American does not have the advantage of getting school paid for". This is technically not true since there are millions of dollars in scholarships that are given away everyday that do not care about race. Students who don’t have the greatest grades or are from low end school districts are not always being told about them. If you are Caucasian or not there are many ways to get most if not all of your education paid for if you are willing to do the research and fill out the applications.
ReplyDeleteI also learned a lot that I hadn't realized before from the article Internalized Racism. It must be awful to not feel comfortable around anyone because you don’t physically fit in with whites and you fear fitting in with your own race because you don’t want to be discriminated against. These contradictions could make any person second guess everything around them. This is just another bit of information that many of us would have never been privileged to if we hadn’t taken this class.
It was also a bit of a shock for me to read about internalized racism, but, once I thought about it a bit, it was really not so shocking. I suppose if you hear something enough times, you are bound to start believing it, right?
ReplyDeleteAbout what you said about getting college paid for, well, I can honestly say that I’m jealous, too, but at the same time, I wouldn’t really call that an advantage. When you think about it, we haven’t been repeatedly told that we aren’t good enough for education, nor do we have near the disadvantages that minorities have. Therefore, I think the college funding is a way of making it a bit more fair for them and a way of saying, you are good enough for school, here’s a scholarship that says we’re sure of it. It’s an incentive, and, sorry if it sounds bad to say, but it might be a way of saying “We’re sorry about the crappy things that were done to you in the past and the crappy things that you still have to go through. But here, have some money that will help you get out of whatever crappy situation you’re in.” Of course, that isn’t always the case, but I think that’s part of it.
Cool, what tribe is your father from?
I agree with all that you said about internalized racism and i think that was my favorite article to read. It really got into the head of exactly how those of a different race are impacted on an emotional level by racism. It is very thought provoking and makes me want to strive for a change, i waouldn't want anyone have to grow up worrying and being insecure when really there is absolutley no reason for this. As for the school tuition comment, i completely understand where you are comming from. I could also benefit from a scholarship, but truely if we think of all society and all that we learned from this class, if any thing the minorities should be given more scholarships. With the white privledges that we have, it does make it very difficult for the other races to move out of low income neighborhoods or even think they have a chance at going to college unless they play sports. More funding and scholarships towards them could be the first step to changing racism completely and getting everyone on the same level.
ReplyDeleteThe one think that i couldnt stop thinking about when you brought up the readings is how they seemed to just be so negative towards American Society. Why didnt we read more about the positive sides. I know racism and discrimination are still huge problems in our society, but we have also occomplished some great things as well.
ReplyDeleteIt is unfair that blacks get government money for schooling just because they are black. If our america was really equal there would not be this funding for racial groups because people would be considered equal.
ReplyDeleteAlso you said that because you are white you can get a job easier than a black person. I find this interesting because it is very true. But this is against the law to hire a white person over a black person just because of the color of their skin. Today blacks are not really out of any chances in society but in other countries blacks need to become more equal as well. People forget that discrimination against blacks did not only happen in the US because it is a real problem in other places around the world.
RYAN: I just would like to play devil's advocate with you.
ReplyDeletePerhaps you and I went to schools were textbooks and other school materials were new or nearly new, and perhaps neither of us had to overcome racial slurs, discrimination, and adverse economic conditions while living at home and during high school. Don't you think that through all that struggle, minority students deserve a little extra for their efforts in attaining a higher education?
People should not get money for simply being of color. They should receive government funds only if they are middle class or lower and considered a minority. It is not a matter of race but merely of accomplishing the goals of affirmative action, to help impoverished minorities.
ReplyDelete