Reading Reflection # 4

What was the deal with chapter four this time? Gender neutral roles? I usally agree with the stuff that Newman says, but this time it is ridiculous. In society today male and female roles are socialized. If a boy is raised under gender neutral roles, i think he may develop problems when he sees other people his age acting differently. This may hurt him from developing social skills among his peers because he will seem different. This does not seem healthy and i do not think that it is a very good idea. Children just need to be free to be boys if they are boys and girls if they are girls.

Observation Journal # 2

I was at work the other day and a woman comes up to me and complains that there is a sign written in English with the Spanish translation below it. She said it was “very offensive” to her because Spanish is not the language of this country. I’m thinking in my head “why are you telling me, I just work here I don’t make those decisions.” I listen to her complain a minute longer and then she finally leaves ending it with “that’s the language of the wetbacks.” Me and my co-worker couldn’t believe what we just heard and were both shocked that she said that. I really can’t believe there are people that ignorant and I was kind of offended even though it was no insult to me.

Reading Reflection # 3

“The words are so silly, so juvenile, so utterly pathetic that they hardly qualify as racial slurs at all, let alone slurs on a par with those that have been historically deployed against people of color.”
Once again, I disagree with Tim Wise. He continues to present his ideas from his own experiences and how he perceives things. Of course this may be all that he knows, but he fails to even see any other side of the issue like usual. What he does this time is downplay the use of a racial slur towards whites and make it seem like its something that’s ok to say. You cannot justify a racial slur just because you don’t believe that its as hurtful to a race than some other word. This just doesn’t seem right and I think he is very wrong about this issue. This essay does not persuade me that one racial slur is better than the other and that reverse racism is a myth.
Chapter three was about portraying difference and I usually agree with most of what Newman says because he does make some great points. In this chapter, I had to disagree when he talked about being hung up about the cashier assuming his kid celebrated Christmas. I don’t think its such a big deal for someone to make this generalization and to even dwell on something like that is pretty ridiculous. You cant go through life never being offended by anything, and this was the most minor of all things. I think that letting it go was the right thing to do because the issue really didn’t warrant that kind of attention.

Reading Reflection # 2

"A first step for white people, I think, is to not be afraid to admit that we have benefited from white privilege." -Robert Jensen

Jensen's article about white privledge was pretty one sided. I agree with what he said, but not his explanation to why. He thinks that because he got into grad school and got the job he has was because of other white people hiring him. I disagree with this because in today's world, minorities are more likely to be hired by white people so that they look more diverse. The fact that he was hired and accepted to grad school had a lot more to do with the hard work he did than his race. To think that it was because he was white would be ridiculous. Whites are privledged in the sense that there is less racism towards them and they can relate better to others who look like them because they are the majority. I really dont think that minorities who have the skills for a job lose out to a white person that is less qualified.
Chapter 2: manufacturing identities talks about how identities show our position in the world and how we relate to others. They are based on race, reigion gender, class, etc. Essentialism is the universal essence that determines on thing from another. Racial ethnicity is one kind of identity that ties people together and forms groups that people seperate themselves and others with. This socializes people to continue to accept inequalities and believe that it is natural. sterotypes such as "women are less competitive" suggest that the lower wages they recieve are justified. I think the media gives us this impression and socializes us to think that it is normal. I think that this is where Jensen is getting his idea about Whites being privledged because of these sort of things happening. He may be right, but i do not think his evidence supports the conclusion he came up with. Although this kind of thinking leads to seperating people into groups i do not think it goes as far as preventing someone from getting a job because of their color, race, religion, etc. in most cases.

Observation Journal #1

I heard the word "fag" thrown around quite a bit today just in talking around school. I hear it and do not really think much of it. I just ignore it because i have been so used to hearing it all the time. In this case it was used to describe a person that someone disliked. When i hear the word it is rarely used to put down someone who is homosexual, but rather just to describe something negative. I actually thought about it today and decided that at this point, words like that have lost a lot of their meaning. This is just like how people used the "n" word. The original purpose of the word is no longer what it means today. I think this is interesting and i'm not really sure why this is. It may have something to do with how popularly it is used and fit into everyday life. I feel like this plays a role in sustaining inequality and opression. I have been guilty of using words like this, but i now feel like i will think before saying these things.

Reading Reflection

“In our 230 year history, the tension between similarity and difference-what brings us together and pushes us apart-has been the hallmark of the American experience.”
The chapter “Differences and Similarities” began talking about how after 9/11 people were divided. Those who looked Middle Eastern were treated differently and there was a lot of hostility towards them. It also reminded us that this was not the first time something like this had happened. After slavery had been abolished there was still cruel treatment of blacks and practice of slavery. Japanese during World War II were put in internment camps and forced to relocate. Still, even today homosexuals are discriminated against and are subject to violence. Those are just a few examples of what the chapter was talking about.
The author goes on to talk about how although no too people are alike, we feel reassured that there are other people like ourselves. This is true because without similarities and any way to relate to another person, life becomes impossible. The things that keep everyone reasonably stable are the idea that there are some things we can count on. Commonalities are appreciated from on person to another, but there is a need to balance with different things.
People classify one another and have an us/them mentality. These judgments are the defining parts of social life in our society. Differences in perspectives come from variation in groups, whether it is gender, color, religion, etc. What is considered “normal” is a cultural ideal. For the majority in a group, they are less likely to be examined because it is seen as normal. White people generally think a lot less about race than others because they are the majority and usually have more social advantages.
Stratification through status also identifies similarities and differences between people. Wealth and income play a huge role in this but in the case of a millionaire criminal; they lack the social status that others may have. Power plays into this as well because it sets one apart from another.
Tim Wise’s article on racist socialization also made a good point on differences and similarities. It is part of our culture to identify people (in this case through color) and think of them in a certain way just because how society portrays them. The author’s grandmother who had forgotten her ways of standing up for equality used the “n word” after developing Alzheimer’s. Society conditioned people to be intolerant. It is now important for whites to fight against racism that has been internalized.
Overall, differences have a strong association with inequality. The identity of someone and how they are the same or different from someone else influences many things in a persons life. Everyone draws on the experiences that are the same or different from someone else to live in society.