Interracial Marriage

Today my mother told me about an interracial marriage that is going to happen in the summer, in which I will be attending. The marriage is between my mother's African American friend, Nancy, and her white partner, Greg. Greg is very influential, owns a hedge fund, and has a very nice house in Scarsdale, NY. Nancy owns a very prominent clothing store, in which all of my friends enjoy going to, and she does very well. The fact that both of their economic standings are similarly positive, makes me believe the marriage is due to true love. It makes me think the marriage is also based on the fact that both people do not see race or feelings of racism. There is no sign of the exchange hypothesis, in which one characteristic, such as race, is exchanged for economic standings.

It is always nice to hear about unions, such as interracial unions, that progress the world. This marriage is just another addition to the rates that have been increasing progressively of interracial marriage. it makes me happy to experience first hand the change of society toward views of African Americans and the acceptance of miscegenation. Loving v. Virginia sparked a huge social change, which I can say has been carried into the 20th century. The fact that my mother told me about the marriage without mentioning race shows that there is hope society can become more lenient and accepting of the mixing of races. I knew through knowing the people that this would be an interracial marriage, but it is of upmost importance to see this marriage as a happy union of two people, in love and equal. I am curious to see who attends the wedding, what music is played, and what everyone is wearing to see how cultural symbols and other social constructs and topics touched upon in class pertain to the real world!

Communication is Key

When I was eight years old, my family hired a live in housekeep to watch over me and my 2 younger siblings. Sandra was black and had not yet become a citizen of the United States yet. When I was in high school, around age 14, Sandra no longer lived with my family, but would come and clean the house around 3 to 5 times a week. After living with my family for twelve years, Sandra became one of us. I would one hundred percent call her part of my family. She watched as me, my brother and sister all grew up. She watched as I had my bar-mitzvah celebration and coming of age in the Jewish community, as well as watch me graduate from high school and encounter future college endeavors. Although black, never once did any member of my family ever judge her or treat her differently because of her skin family. She was one of us, she would even come and sit down at our family dinners sometimes too. However, this past week, my mom became weary as she noticed money missing from her wallet gradually each day. This seemed rather odd to her, as she questioned if maybe she was spending it, or gave some money to my siblings, or any possibility that she may have mishandled her money. Thinking, that this was all just some strange coincidence, my mom continued with her daily routines, until one day, after taking a shower, she watched as Sandra removed a 20 dollar bill from her wallet. My mom, as well as the rest of my family was appalled. She couldn't believe that anyone would take her money under her own roof, better yet someone who has become part of my family for the past twelve years.

All my life I have never once heard my mom utter a racist comment or though, but after this incident, my mom now has become extremely critical of people of color. She completely lost all trust, and constantly refers to Sandra, and worse, sometimes the entire black community as thieves and criminals. Now, we don't know the true motives behind why Sandra would ever take my parents money, and I do still truly believe there was a background story my family is unaware about, but this brought up a question for me now. Do we only give minorities one shot to make it right? Are they not allowed mistakes? Once one messes up, do we then resort back to racist or discriminatory beliefs? I think overall good communication is needed. Communication is always key within any relationship, and this is true of the black/white relationship or any minority relationship. If maybe we knew why Sandra needed extra money, or if she felt comfortable enough to explain her predicament, things could have ended better for all. Therefore, i think once communication can be established, we can hope for more equality as well.

Gender Construction

When people think of gender, it is usually about whether someone is male or female. However, in reality it is not as easy to discern between the two. In class we learned that gender is socially constructed along with race. In other words, the media tells society what it means, “to be a man” and what it means, “to be a woman.” Biologically, it is easy to differentiate from a man and women. In society, gender is imposed differently in different places, and what it means to be a man or women continually changes from time to time because people believe and interpret situations differently.

First, the old way of masculinity was a basic male gender role that had to be fulfilled and most people went along with it, while others were not happy. Now, they’re multiple masculinities. There are now competing ways of “being a man” in society. Thus, there is a hierarchy of masculinity, also known as hegemonic masculinity. The top is the dominant male who has the power and support. Yet even in the hegemonic masculinity, access to the ideal is racialized. Therefore, what a man can and cannot do depends on their race. Also, gender is not based on what you are, but by what you do. The media plays a vital part in translating these masculinities; for example, the media tells that black people walk like thugs. Lastly, gender is relevant to terrorism today because factors of masculinity and gender shame are reasons that predicted terrorists. In terrorists eyes it is reason for mass murder.

Television is a medium where many gender roles are displayed and embedded into the minds of audiences. When one watches a television show, for instance an action drama, the male is shown to be strong, aggressive, and independent. On the other hand, women are more likely to be seen graceful, elegant, and submissive. Yes, there are exceptions to this, but for the most part males are the dominant gender. In terms of different male races, there are many discrepancies.

Ethnic minorities did not reappear on television in the 1960’s, yet not all were equally portrayed. As minorities were given more roles, these roles were, for the most, on the lower end of masculinity. They were given minor or insignificant roles and they were also very stereotypical. The main problem, aside from under representing minorities, was that media chose to conceive the television world as middle to upper class prosperity. In other words, in relation to the majority of US population, programs depicted people in affluent situations. In addition, the media refused to deal with class and gender inequalities and the racial character of those inequalities. Consequently, by continuing to view these perspectives, it creates false impression of the real world outside of the television world. In the end, gender-role stereotypes will be kept.

Gender is not just biological, but a social construction. Masculinity has been socially constructed to form multiple forms of masculinity. Through the media, specifically the television, gender roles appear and become ingrained into society. All in all, American society is reaching a point where there is no fine line between what it means to “be a man or woman.”

Reflection

After taking this class, I think it has altered my opinions and thoughts in a lot of ways. First, I think the readings really opened my mind to issues that are going on in our country today that I didn't even realize were happening, or didn't realize the severity of it. Coming from a predominately upper class, white neighborhood, it never hit me how much inequality and how much I have taken for granted. I remember once thinking that a friend of mine from camp did not have free bus transportation to and from their school, and I thought that was crazy. What if your parents worked? How was one suppose to get school? It never in fact hit me that transportation was the least of some school districts worries. From these readings, I realized that many school districts are deprived of transportation, adequate school supplies, adequate classroom sizes and so much more. I also didn't make the connection that this was extremely race related and correlated. I was very much existing in a color blind world. I thought, since I was taught not to discriminate, that in fact I wasn't. But that is highly untrue, many of my beliefs and actions represented an unconscious act of discrimination, that after taking this class I plan on consciously changing. However, I do have fears that sometimes I have been or will be to conscious about not making someone feel uncomfortable that it back fires on me. But I believe that that is part of the process, by realizing what's appropriate and how to help when and where I can. This class has already greatly affected me. In my high school in New York, I was vice president of a community service class, and I have passed along some articles relating to inner city schools in New York City. I think my community service club can begin donating text books and other school supplies that may seem trivial but will in fact make a great difference for these schools. I hope as more people become educated and aware of topics like these, our society can strive for equality.

After watching the movie, "In Whose Honor", I began to ask myself a lot of questions. When watching, I understood the hardships and pain Charlene was going through as she felt as if her heritage and culture was being mocked and torn apart. Watching traditional dances and attire being used in an inappropriate fashion clearly caused her and her family a lot of heartache. However, I do believe that there are two sides and multiple interpretations of each scenario. Growing up, my high school's mascot was the "Braves". Throughout our school you could find pictures of the "Braves" Indian Head posted on hallways and enlarged completely on one side of the gymnasium. This logo was also marked on school shirts and other attire used for fundraisers and such. Being apart of my school district since I was in Kindergarten, I began to love and appreciate the "Braves". Throughout my entire schooling career, I never once thought of it as being offensive and disrespectful to the Indian culture. On the contrary, we were embracing the "Braves". The "Braves" head stood as a symbol of honor, strength and tradition in my school and we all took it very seriously. Eventually, the idea that this could be mocking certain students culture came to the school board, as our school was required to take a vote as to which mascot we would now like to represent our school. Huge outrage and discontent spread about the student body as people now were offended that others can think of the Braves being represented in this way. The Indian head was no co-opted to represent honor of our school. Yes, the meaning did change, however no negative connotations were involved.

I think this is a very sticky subject, because although the indian head was not used to represent traditional Indian American culture, it still represented honor and tradition for our school. The implications were not meant to offend anyone, if anything it was meant to make the entire school and student body proud. For situations like these, I at times think that others are being to sensitive. At least within my high school, no one mocked the indian head, no one made fun of it, in fact everything was quite to the contrary. It was revered and looked highly upon. After much discontent, my school district revoked any further advancements of changing our school mascot, but instead went from "Braves" to "Brave" to remove any connection to actual Indian American tribes. Although there is still discontent amongst a few, I think when there are two sides to an issue or debate there is always going to be discontent amongst a few, and it will be impossible to always make everyone happy.

Reflecting

What I have learned in this class will stay with me for the rest of my life and changed the way I look at the country. Although, I knew I would be learning new information I didn’t expect to take as much away from it as I have. I have always been taught to be open-minded and to be curious about other races, ethnicities, and cultures.

When I reached high school I asked my parents how they chose to live in New Rochelle. There were many factors that went into choosing where to live but something that stood out to me was that they wanted my brother and I to grow up in a diverse community. Both my parents had grown up in predominately White Jewish towns and wanted my brother and I to have a different experience. I have learned so much from growing up in New Rochelle and changed my outlook on life concerning oppression, racism and diversity. My high school encouraged learning about all the different cultures that are represented at our school and accepting everyone for who they are regardless of skin color. However, we never went into specifics and this class made me realized how everything is interconnected and contributes to oppression and privilege.

I have never thought of myself as being racists or feeling that I am more entitled to things because I am white but this class has made me rethink many actions I have taken or the way I view certain things. For example, a couple of weeks ago I was walking home from the library by myself very late at night when I was approaching a group of African American boys. I decided to cross the street because I was more comfortable not walking past anyone. As soon as I made it to the other side I thought, wait why exactly did I cross the street? Was it because they were African American, was it because they were boys, would I have done the same thing if it had been a different configuration of people. I came to the conclusion that regardless of who was standing on the corner I would have crossed the street because I am frightened easily when walking alone at night and feel safer when farther away from a group. But I was still worried that my action may have come across in the wrong way. I am more aware of actions I take that can come across in a negative way and want to change this.

Reading “What Can We Do” was a great capstone to the class. Now that we are more educated about these issues in America we need to be able to take what we learned and share and apply them. Some of the steps that Johnson suggested I found myself already partaking in which made me happy. For example I get very uncomfortable when people make derogatory jokes and always speak up about it. It was very helpful to see what other steps we can take to help our country reach equality, and I am most definitely going to try my hardest to implement them into my life. I really enjoyed this class and learned a lot.

Sports Media Racisim

Mass media contains intended messages to socialize society in a certain way. Sports is just another one of those areas where the media has a great impact on the publics’ perceptions. It does not necessarily mean that stereotypes in sports are valid or that people believe them, because they are not. However, the stereotypes remain and do not seem to be changing anytime soon. First, African Americans are the overwhelming majority in professional basketball and football. And surprisingly these are the only sports were people ask “What makes football or basketball players more inclined to get into fights?” Tt is not fair to only look at sports where African Americans are the majority, but it happens because most people think that black people dominate the most popular sports and thus think black people to be more violent. This is never asked in other sports, like baseball or hockey, where fights still occur in the sport, but the majority of players are not African American. Also, there are many more instances of violence from the rest of the United States that does not receive the attention that professional athletes do. This shows the media chooses the messages and stories they provide the public. Not surprisingly, it is the black athletes that are stereotyped in sports, not white athletes.

There are many possible reasons black people are stereotyped in this fashion. Firstly, because of the violence or contact in sports, it is bound to make the athlete more violent in real life, black or white. Yet, the percentage of athletes that commit violent acts in the public is nothing compared to the rest of the United States. Since athletes are role models, the public holds a higher standard from them. But that still does not excuse the stereotype that football and basketball players are more likely to get into fights or that black athletes are more likely to be violent. These are the most popular sports in the United States and media bias toward these sports is a fact. Ironically, the perceived arrest rate for the NBA and NFL is much lower than in comparison to what the media displays. In other words, violent acts or stories in the media are more likely to about black people over whites, even if white people commit more violent crimes. This goes for professional athletes too. The fact is the people who filter the media are mostly white and stereotypes come from the media, so it creates a bias. According to the book, as of the year 2000, 90 percent of the sports writers from newspapers are white. Thus, the stories writers present will most likely come form white people and in doing so they look at white people in a positive light, while black people in a negative light. Therefore, the media reinforces racial stereotyping because there is no equal representation in the media. For instance, more people remember violent stories where the perpetrator is black and the victim in white, such as when Latrell Spreewell attacked a white referee. Also, graduating rates do not help this perception of black people.

Only 14 percent of freshman athletes graduate in four years. However, the percentage is misleading. For football and basketball, players can leave for college before they graduate college. A lot of players will end up doing this because they need the money because they come from a poor background. Even so, people still discern them as people being dumb. In some cases this can be true, but it is not fair that black athletes do not have the same opportunities as white people. White people dominate mass media and whatever they deem necessary for the public to intake is not up to the control of the reader. The media is where people observe and learn stereotypes, and in this day and age, sports are all over the media, especially television. A sport might be majorly black, but the perceptions do not have to be positive. As stated earlier, football and basketball athletes are looked at as “violent” All in all, it is a shame that black athletes have to suffer the most from the media because they are shown in negative fashions more often then not.

Portrayal of Race in the Media

After discussing the influence of the media on shaping attitudes towards specific races, I have been noticing a lot of negative connotations and stereotypes being displayed. This afternoon I was watching Bring it On: In it to Win It, and it is a typical chick flick cheerleading movie. There is a competition between two squads, but the Shark squad caught my eye in particular. Each character on this squad represented a different stereotype. There is the blonde, ditzy white cheer captain, accompanied by a gay male cheerleader, a ghetto black friend, and a gothic Asian. Particularly the way Aeysha, the black cheerleader is portrayed caught my attention.

Aeysha is from a suburb in New York, however she acts as if she is from the “hood.” While training one day, her coach calls her out and goes, “Why do you talk like that?” Aeysha responds, “ This is how my people talk, so I talk this way.” That quote exemplifies how Aeysha feels as if she needs to fulfill the stereotypical ghetto black girl.

In lecture, we discussed how popular culture influences the way you see yourself, and how you look for validation. We also, explained how there are transcendent and non-transcendent symbols. A transcendent symbol is something you can see past and there are many different types including gender, class and race. A non-transcendent symbol is something you can’t get past including sexual body parts, income, and skin color. Aeysha sees “her people” and acts the way she thinks is socially acceptable. Meanwhile, she is just filling a socially constructed racial stereotype.

On top of Aeysha, feeling the pressure of being the only black girl on the squad. Each other character represents a different stereotype. Why must the captain of the cheerleading squad be a blonde, beautiful ditzy white girl? Or why must there always be a gay male. The media always displays different races, and sexual orientation in the way they “should be displayed.”

After watching the Sarah Silverman clip about chinks, and the various You Tube videos in lecture, I think that the media should stop portraying different races in the way they are constructed by society. I think there have been strides made from the past, but we still have a lot of progress to go. Even though Aeysha came from a wealthy family in New York, just because of her skin color she felt the need to act different from her true self. After the confrontation with her coach, Aeysha dropped the “black girl act” and became her true self, which was refreshing. Just because of her skin color, she felt forced to act in a different manor, but then realized it was stupid. Race is socially constructed, and still people feel the need to shape their beliefs around.

Last weekend, I went out to a club on a Saturday night. I was visiting a friend that I went to high school with and she took me to a place where her and her friends go to at least once a weekend. She explained to me that most of her friends go her weekly as well and that occasionally, the club will see a large population of the black community in Bloomington, Indiana attends as well. She then followed this statement with a precaution for me to be careful and make sure I stayed safe. At first, I did not question this statement, but after taking a large portion of this class, I probably should have. However, we got to the club later in the night only to find that my friends assertion was correct, and a majority of black men and women were there too. We were of course all okay with this, but it was interesting to see the division amongst the two "groups". It was very obvious that towards the front of the club was were the white people were all hanging out, with the exception of a few, and in the black was were most of the blacks were hanging out, again with the exception of a few. As the night continued, more and more of my friends, along with the other white teens that were there, began to dance in the back of the club. However there was still a divide between blacks and whites. They clearly were not socializing nor integrating on the dance floor. It was actually crazy to see this. It reminded be of being "separate but equal". Both blacks and whites were in the same establishment, however they remained completely separate from one another. Finally, after dancing for quite some time now, two courageous black men started dancing with me and another friend of mine. My friend started to laugh and slowly began to back away as I continued dancing. She then pulled me away and claimed that I did not know them and therefore should not be dancing with them. Of course, she was right, I did not know them, so I was completely unaware of their intentions, but did that mean that they were dangerous? I then started to notice as my friend began dancing with another kid, whom neither have us as met, yet none of my friends made any initiative to pull her away. Clearly, they deemed her to be safe because she was dancing with a white man.

It was then when I began to wonder, why the dichotomy? Why is an unknown white man seemingly innocent and an unknown black man seemingly dangerous? This assumption that blacks were inherently more dangerous in a time that we are suppose to be accepting racial boundaries was very saddening to me. I must admit however, I did not feel 100% safe dancing with the black man, which saddened me as well. I knew a friend would pull me away, and I could have guessed their reasoning behind it, because to be honest, I'm sure I would have done that for another friend. We are always taught to stay away from strangers, but not based on the color of their skin. It is clear that our society still has a long way until we become completely integrated and equal, but the more education and knowledge that is brought to the subject, the better. As more and more education is brought to the societal level, changes in the individual level can be seen as well, and hopefully for the better.

Interracial Marriage

Thanksgiving dinner can be extremely overwhelming, especially when you are in a room with 22 New York Jews. Thanksgiving 2008 was defiantly one to remember. My cousin Chloe who is 24 has had a very interesting history with boyfriends. The first boyfriend she brought to dinner was a white boy covered in tattoos from head to toe, the next was a Jewish boy who was in law school. When she walked into Thanksgiving dinner last year, this boyfriend was a jaw dropper. Chloe walks in with a 6 foot 2 black man.

First was the reaction of my grandparents. My grandparents were born in the 1920s and are extremely traditional. They want what’s best for their grandchildren but also have a skewed vision of what that is. They are strong believers in endogamy, which is marrying within your racial, ethnic or social class. My Aunts and Uncles had mixed feelings. My parents however were extremely accepting and proud of Chloe for being different. My cousins, ranging from ages 8-26 couldn’t comprehend it. My older cousins, who were married and one with a kid on the way were against it, while two of my male cousins thought it was really cool. Every family member had a different reaction because of the way they were raised and how they were taught to tolerate race. My parents taught my two younger brothers and I to be accepting and not to quick to judge.

After the whispering had come to a halt, we sat down for a very awkward and silent meal, until my Grandpa voiced his opinion. He asked the Billy, “Do you not feel uncomfortable being in a room with 22 other white people?” Does your family even accept Chloe?” I thought, this man was running out of my house and was never talking to Chloe again. But he answered very calmly and composed, “No I do not feel uncomfortable, you do not have to accept me right away, but the times are changing and I care a lot about Chloe and am very happy.” Everyone sat there astonished and ashamed of being so quick to judge. Chloe didn’t see him as a black man, she saw him as a man she loved.

Chloe and Billy did eventually break up, and there was no interracial marriage. As we learned in class, interracial marriages are becoming more popular in the United States. Family roles are changing, especially after the 2000 census where you can identify as more then one race. As I reflect on each of my family members reaction, it is a perfect example of how being raised influences your beliefs about the social constructs of race. In the reading from the textbook, Redrawing the Color Line/ Problems and Possibilities of Multiracial Families and Group making by McClain and DaCosta they discuss that starting in the 1990s multiracial families and identities are becoming more mainstreamed and accepted. In lecture, since day one we’ve learned that race isn’t a biological category but social and cultural construct. It’s unfair that people are still so quick to judge just on the basis of skin. Looking back through history, starting from the hypo-descent one-drop rule, too present day where you can identify as any race, the racial boundaries are shifting. However, after reflecting on that family dinner, its sad that just because Billy was black, it caused such tension and chaos at a dinner. Just because of his skin color, everyone was so quick to judge. What made the white boy in tattoos or the white boy in law school a better match for Chloe? The color of their skin?

Affirmative Action for the Poor

Affirmative action is a highly debated topic in the country and almost everyone has a strong opinion on it. I think when affirmative action was put in place it was the right thing to do but since it has been many years I think it needs to be reevaluated. After reading the excerpts from Kozol’s Savage Inequalities he makes it clear that money does buy education. I have always felt this way, and that is why I think affirmative action should not only be based on race but also on SES.

Although a huge percentage of the lower class is made up of minorities there are whites in this class as well and they are put at the same disadvantages by attending underfunded schools. Students who attended well-funded schools are given opportunities that students from the inner city could only dream about. Money unfortunately is linked to academic achievement, which gives an upper hand to the rich. They are able to provide their children with tutors, educational computer games, traveling and many other things that will give them an edge academically. This is especially true for college preparation.

I was fortunate enough to have tutors that helped me prepare for the SATs. I benefitted greatly from the months of tutoring I received before taking the test but it put a dent in my parents’ bank account. In Westchester tutors can range from $75 an hour to $200 an hour and many students have one tutor for math and one tutor for English. The SATs are weighted heavily when applying to college and when you don’t have the money to spend for tutors or even a prep class the student is at a lose.

The article that we read that discussed how the admissions process has changed was extremely interesting. The steps that were taken to keep people out of Harvard are now things that help more people get into college. However, many of the activities that students fill their applications with are not available to every student. For example it has become extremely popular to send your child to a developing country for a vacation or summer to do volunteer work to they can put it on their college application. These trips come with a price tag starting at $5,000. Even some of the more prestigious clubs at school require students to spend extra money. For example there are two well-known debate clubs at my high school, Model Congress and the Junior States of America (JSA) require members to go on trips that cost money. And most importantly underfunded schools don’t even offer extra curricular activities like this.

Colleges are always looking to see what type of challenging courses you are taking. Even if a student attends a school that offers Advance Placement classes they may not be able to afford the tests at the end. Each test costs $86, which can quickly add up when taking multiple AP classes. In my high school I know if you receive free lunch from the district you pay a reduced price but not every school district offers this. Each school has their own rules but my high school requires you to take the test at the end of the course which may make a student not take the class because they cant afford it therefore not expressing their academic ability to its fullest.

For all these reasons and more that I didn’t mention I think SES should be taken into consideration during the admissions process. Affirmative action was established because minorities were not put at the same starting line as whites. I feel this is true for comparing the poor and the rich. I don’t think that race should not be a factor at all I just don’t think it should be the only factor. If a student shows promise and illustrates that they have use every opportunity that they have been offered they should be given the chance to show their full potential at the university level.

Multiracialism

Throughout history, there have always been controversies over the color of a person’s skin. Someone else’s race always makes a difference even if huge corporations say it has no effect on getting a job. However, race does matter. At the same time, race has been changing ever since the first European settlers came to America. Social order used to be based on wealth, especially transformative assets, so African Americans had a disadvantage from the start. Nowadays the United States is moving toward equality and the idea of a multiracial community has come to form socially and culturally.

Ever since foreigners have come to America they have been subjugated to prejudice people and discrimination. It is because this that interracial marriage is looked at as taboo. It is not so much about two different marriages; it is how America reacts toward them. But in my opinion, multiracialism is the only method to reach racial equality and get rid of a division. When it gets to the point that no one really knows what race they are, then people cannot suppress other people because of race. When it gets down to it, people just focus on the skin color of a person and not at what is important. I know from a real life experience. I am a Mexican American, but I do not look prototypical Mexican. I have white skin and whenever I tell someone that I am, they are instantly dumbfounded. That is not the reaction I should receive, but its what I get just for the fact that I am Mexican. Hopefully, people can stop caring about someone’s skin color and there will be no more conflict between different races.

According to the course book, South Africa endorses apartheid, which is a state-sanctioned and legally enforced policy of racial segregation. In my opinion, this law would regress multiracial politics and hinder the country’s development. At first, the thought of multiracial was stigmatized and limped into a response to social and cultural pressures. Now, times have changed and more and more people are willing to go find someone who they truly love as opposed to endogamy. By definition, endogamy is the custom of marrying only with one’s racial, ethnic, or social group. I am not trying to state that endogamy is a bad thing, but if marrying outside of one’s race changes peoples perceptions about other races, then so be it. People do not need to live in a society where they are intimidated to have relations with people outside their race. As time has gone on, there have been more marriages between races and not as much of a stigma. Today, people hear about the “multiracial community” everyday, whether it is in the popular press, academic literature, marketplace, and the creation of multiple multiracial organizations.

The way it looks, it seems that history is repeating itself. Americans first went after Blacks and Indians, next they discriminated against Asians and Mexicans, and finally Americans are going after the multiracial community. So according to history, multiracialism should soon be on its way to equality. All in all, I believe multiracialism is a great thing and might be the only way to ever solve racial equality.

After talking about interracial marriages in lecture the other day, the idea of this remained very prevalent on my mind. My family is Jewish, and throughout each generation, it has been apparent that every family mine marries into, is Jewish as well. It has always been a family "tradition" almost of mine to marry within the Jewish community, raise your children to be Jewish and then have them continue the cycle by marrying another Jew. Ever since I was younger, I can vividly remember my grandma reminding me on countless occasions to marry a "nice Jewish boy". She explains how there are enough problems within a marriage, religion does not have to be one of them.

This past summer, my cousin Matt married his wife Vicki. Vicki's family is Cuban and follows in strict Catholic practices. The first time I walked into her house, I was amazed with the amount of decorative crosses I saw placed throughout the house, as well as other decorative pieces that reflected her culture. I think what amazed me more however, was the long and viscous talk almost every member of my family gave to my cousin Matt after meeting her, about making sure this was the right decision for him. Looking back, it also amazes me the amount to which I agreed with the rest of my family, in that this interracial marriage would end up being a catastrophe.

I think what this experience taught me, is that people do in fact believe there are inherent differences across cultures. Why should a different religion amount to an unhappy marriage?

Some arguments my family gave my cousin was the question of how they will raise their children. Will their son have a bris? A christening? Differences in traditions brought upon anger, when they could have been a time to celebrate and appreciate the differences in both of their cultures. Interracial marriage remains a topic that is very much on the individual level and I think other bystanders should learn to appreciate the decisions people make at an individual level instead of making them a societal issue.

At my cousins wedding, the ceremony incorporated traditions of both a Jewish and Catholic wedding, that in fact made the ceremony extremely special and unique. Differences regarding the way in which they will bring up their children, my cousin claims they will "cross that bridge when they get to it", but do intend to be able to incorporate both cultures and traditions. Each individual issue remains to be exactly that, an individual issue. So what makes one couple happy may be different from the next, but does not make them the wrong or bad choice. Of course it is also hard for people, like my grandma, to throw away ideals that have been instilled in them throughout their life time, but I think once people begin to have acceptance and appreciation of peoples individuals decisions, it will extend to acceptance at a societal level as well.

Criminal Justice System.

Everyone always wonders how successful institutions are at reforming their inmates. There is always a variety of outcomes especially for black males. In class, we learned that almost, “40% of the black male population is under the supervision of the correctional system meaning they are either in prison, jail, or on parole or probation. This statistic is extremely high in the sense that almost half of all the black males are incarcerated in the country. So does being a black poor male virtually set you up for failure?

James Woods, was a black male at the age of 18 and was thrown into jail for a drug bust. He was placed on a three-year indeterminate sentence meaning every few months they would evaluate his behavior and see if he was ready to be placed back into the real world. He got out in a year. Jail impacted James in many different ways. He said that he had a white roommate, and they were treated completely differently. James was beaten, taken advantage of, and jail had shook him and changed him forever.

James used to hustle on the street, and sell drugs but after his horrible experience he was never going back, he knew he had to change. He moved to Miami, Fl and decided to give back to the community. He runs a self-owned cleaning service where he will only charge $3 dollars per bedroom and $5 dollars for a kitchen and living room. James lives a very humble, honest and drug free life. He told his story, about being in jail and how institutionalized systems in America are corrupt, I knew I had to blog about this.

Even though, property, violent and rape crimes have decreased since the 70s, the United States still holds the highest incarceration rates in the world. That may just be because we have money, since it is extremely expensive to hold someone in jail. James was deserving of jail time, served and now is a completely changed person. Despite his mistreatment in jail, and his resentment toward “the white privilege” he managed to better himself. He told my friends stories about how 3 white men including his roommate would beat him in the courtyard at least once a week, or when he had to break up bricks, his white roommate got to serve food.

All in all, James Wood is a perfect example of how our institutionalized facilities in the United States, do provide correctional changes, yet racism is still a persisting issue. While discussing the Black Community and their relationship with drugs, there are two overlapping trends we learned about in lecture. Overall, there has been a massive increase in the number of drug arrests in the US, and blacks have constituted an increasing proportion of those arrests. James was one of many members of the black community jailed for his involvement with drugs. As a nation, we need to focus on lowering drug use, which will help decrease incarceration rates. James is a reformed man now, and the institutional system did that. It changed his life, despite some hardships, in a very significant way.

The Meaning of Marriage

Having discussed in class the impact and change of the complexity of interracial marriage, I stated to reflect on my own experience. Coming from a family who follows Judaism and holds the traditions very seriously, my family has made it very clear to me that I must marry a Jewish man. My mother tells my sister and me al the time that we should only date and take men seriously who are Jewish, in order to keep the familiar traditions going. My mom made is so apparent that once when I mentioned the name of an Italian boy I just met, my mother said, "sorry, but you will not date men whose last names end in a vowel" (stating a stereotype that people whose last name end in a vowel are not Jewish). I happened to be appalled by that connotation, for my mother does not have an open mind to the idea that maybe there are more important arts to a person and a relationship than only religion. However, with my mom’s persistence I am living my life knowing I have to marry someone based on guidelines.

I found this incidence with my mom expressing her concern about family heritage to be very interesting after the lecture on interracial marriage. It made me think, is my mothers idea that different religions shall not mix as bad as saying that people of different races should not mix? I happen to think not, for I understand my mother is not saying that people of different religions are subordinate, she just wants me to carry on our family heritage and beliefs.

Interracial marriage is thus a separate issue, with different underlying meanings behind choosing to or not to marry someone of a different race. Interracial marriages have been increasing consistently from the 1970's to present- day. This is a very big step in the history of the world, where there was once a time that marrying someone of a different race was illegal. Loving Vs. Virginia marks a huge social change, and I believe times today confirm that racial barriers are weakening. I happen to know several couples who are interracially married, and are raising their children to be comfortable with their skin color and family history. I believe Hollywood has signified a change in times, with the many celebrities who are now interracially married. With celebrities such as Heidi Klum and Seal, these role models make interracial marriage seem "okay" and "socially acceptable" to the world. I believe that the more interracial marriages become prevalent, the more people's attitudes toward different races will change for the better.

Racism in America

The other day, I watched a youtube video, in which a team of people were trying to prove racist thoughts still present in society. Within the video, two cars were parked in a public park. One car contained 3 white teenage boys completely destroying a car with spray paint while jumping on the roof of the car as well. The experiment was to see if anyone would call the cops on the three boys. It was amazing to see the reactions people had. As people walked by the vandalized car, almost not bystanders said a word. In fact, one older woman joked about how they hoped it was there car and that they wouldn't do that to hers. The boys just continued to laugh and destroy the car. After hours of vandalization, only one passerby decided to approach the boys and threaten to call the police. However, while all of this was going on.. a second car of three black teenage boys were in the same lot, all sleeping in the car. While the white boys were vandalizing what could have been any ones car, no calls to the police were made, were as two calls were made to report suspicious behavior of boys sleeping within a car.

After a couple of hours, the positions were then reversed, and three black boys began to vandalize a car, while three white boys slept in an adjacent car in that same park. Within minutes, three calls were made to the police by passerby's, and two other men approached the kids and told them to stop. When interviewed, those who called the police said they were just looking out for the good of the neighborhood.

This experiment greatly shocked me. It was crazy to see how people could report crime only when it was done by those who were "fit to do crime". This showed how prevalent racism still is in America. People are deterred to report crime if they believe someone of their "own kind" is being the perpetrator.

However, I don't think people realize that they are committing acts of racism. I think people think of racism and discrimination as something of the past, and don't see why it still needs to be combatted. These racist acts are fully adding to the disparities in society as large institutions, such as the criminal justice system, continue to unconsciously or consciously target people of color. I think by having people first realize that they are committing acts of racism, it can really bring about change. People inherently see racism and discrimination as bad, so by pointing out these actions, maybe it can enlighten people to do something about the issue. Maybe asking people if they would be scared to drive in a white neighborhood versus as a black one, and then ask why they feel this way. Or asking if people would mind if blacks or minority groups moved into their neighborhood, how they would react. Maybe, once people see that racism still exists, they will be more willing to try and combat it.

Health Care

Health care access has always been a controversial subject. The United States government has never given citizens the right to free health care. However, around the world developed countries are beginning to supply health care to their citizens and it is greatly paying off for each country. It now seems the United States is moving in that direction; especially now that President Obama passed the health care reform. This new measure will raise taxes based on earned wages and provide more health care for poor citizens. Now the question is, how does the United States decide whom to give medical attention to?

The unusual thing about the United States health care system is that it reports health status based on race as opposed to social class difference. And race differentials are half that of socioeconomic status differentials. In my opinion, that is not the right method to use because it does not account for socioeconomic status. By definition, socioeconomic status is a measure of an individual’s or family’s relative economic and social ranking based on income, education, social standing, and occupation. According to the course book, the socioeconomic differences between racial groups are the reason for the patterns of racial disparities in health status. Therefore, the United States should look to aid minorities first, because they are the ones that need health care most according to statistics based on health status. Also, whites have the lowest rates of mortality. I think much of the health care inequality has to do with the fact that whites earn higher wages and income and also most importantly more assets. In addition, whites are not suspect to racism in comparison to minorities, especially blacks.

First and foremost, blacks have a declining economic status, which results in worsening health status than whites and other minorities, starting during the slavery era. Thus, blacks have been experiencing a widening racial gap in life expectancy caused by many factors. For one, blacks have a history of receiving more illnesses. These illnesses are a consequence living in highly concentrated city neighborhoods where a lot of stress accumulates from poor living conditions. Moreover, the migration to the north after the emancipation changed their lifestyle greatly. It was a shift from church and family life to a more taboo style of tobacco and alcohol. Gradually over time racial equality has grown, however, wealth and income has not. Consequently, on every level of socioeconomic status, blacks have a worse health status than whites. As time has gone on, wealth and health have improved for all citizens, but blacks still do not share equal health care as whites.

All in all, the United States is progressing toward national health care and the new enacted health care reform is a strong indication of things to come. The reason for health inequality seems to be historical and also the method that the US uses to report health care. Over time, the manner should change and progress with the changing state of the US population. Once the US majority are minorities, things must be different. Otherwise many people will be dying and a strong line will be made between whites and nonwhites. Hopefully, in the near future minorities receive equal attention and free health care will revolution the country and produce revenue.

Running Away

An event that I witnessed today truly appalled me, and I find it very worthy of writing about. While walking around, I saw a black man running through the streets of the city. Stopped at a crosswalk, I overheard a white couple saying, "I wonder when the cops will find him." They clearly were insinuating that they believed this man to be a criminal, running away from a robbery or some crime. I was surprised by this reaction, for I saw the man running and just thought he was going for a run on a nice day in the city. This reaction reminded me of some lessons learned in sociology class. The fact that US blacks in prison have the highest rate then US whites in prison no longer surprises me. I believe if this couple had seen a white male running around, they would not question the crime the man has committed, instead they would think he was just enjoying a run. People are so quick to judge another race and associate negative connotations. With nearly 40% of the black population under supervision of the correctional system, and 32% black men expected to spend time in prison in their lifetime, I can see where people's judgments come from. People are quick to assume, if you are black, you are a criminal. But this is terrible. Especially when white collar crime is extremely costly and prevalent. The American business community lost $50 billion in 1980 to white collar crime! Yet people don't assume, if you are white, you are a criminal?

I believe that the racial disparities in the criminal justice system are not only corrupt but also demote progress toward lessening racism and promoting unity. I find that the only solution to this problem is people being honest, and treating everyone equal. There is no reason that one person should be charged of a crime over another due to one's color. Similarly, there is no reason celebrities should get off easier than regular people for the same crime. It has been seen in the media time and time again that celebrities have been pulled over for DUI's and possession of marijuana in their car. However, many times these celebrities are given a warning and get away free of charge. This would never happen for a regular citizen. Martha Stewart stole money, and she was given special treatment in prison; Brittney Spears drove the wrong way while intoxicated on a highway, only sentenced to house arrest. These crimes would never deem the punishment celebrities receive to the average person. Like with the issue of whites and black being charged, the criminal justice system must be improved. It must be as unbiased as possible. Police and witnesses must participate with the mindset that the one who commits the crime is guilty, with no external or physical attributes getting in the way. This sounds difficult when we live in a society of such judgment, hostility, and selfishness, but in order to promote a fair criminal justice system, racism cannot be getting in the way

Being on a 7:00am Sunday morning flight back to school means one thing: sleep on the plane. When I got to my seat I put in my headphones and started to drift into dreamland, until a black man looking like he was in his teens bumped me with his bag. He apologized and him and his mother sat next to me. Behind me, was sitting a mother, daughter, and father from Canton, Ohio. I have never seen more social or happy people in my life. The black mother and son sitting next to me started talking about the college visit that they just went on. The black boy, named Jared was 17, a junior in high school from a small town in Ohio and was looking to play basketball at a college in Florida. Immediately when Jared started talking about his college visit, the people sitting behind us jumped in saying that their daughter Melanie, was also looking to play college softball.

Once this all unraveled I realized that I had to take out my iPod and listen because this completely relates to what we were learning about first hand in class about racial inequalities and the college process. Melanie went to a high school in Canton, Ohio where the grade size was approximately 400 a person and they received a decent amount of college information. The school provided classes for SAT prep. Jared on the other hand, was in a graduating class of around 1,200 with little college help and no one on one attention. Comparing Melanie and Jared to myself, I went to a high school where my graduating class was around 200 people. I had private SAT tutors, and a college and career center at school where different colleges from all over the country would come and give a brief summary of what their school is all about. Here, sitting in two rows on an airplane at 7am were 3 different students with three different backgrounds and three very different college opportunities.

Being that I just learned and took a test on all of the inequalities with the college admissions process, I asked Jared to explain his story. Jared said that his only shot in going to a good college was through playing basketball. He was saying how a few division 3 schools were recruiting him. After saying how he was being recruited he explained that as passionate as he is about basketball, he likes it as an extra curricular activity and isn’t sure that he wants to devote all his time to playing in college. His father and mother both didn’t go to college so he feels the pressure to go. He says that basketball is his ticket in and if not he will, “never leave his small town.”

Is this fair? That Jared needs to make a huge sacrifice and commitment to a college sport just to get into college. This situation supports that racial inequalities do stem from money matters and socioeconomic factors. He said that he did very poorly on the SATs and is GPA is around average. Melanie said that the schools she went too, she was in SAT and GPA range for both and that the softball will give her an extra advantage when applying. Melanie and Jared come from the same state, and their education is so different. Jared’s school had outdated textbooks, and Melanie’s had top of the line technology. Jared is making a huge commitment to play college ball, while Melanie actually wants to play softball and can probably get into the colleges with her boards and GPA alone. I did encourage Jared that colleges are starting to take more under qualified males due to less males applying to college creating a widening gender gap. He laughed, and I said I was just giving him the facts. I mean I doubt the gender gap would play that large of a roll but it could help.

Using the Tools we Have

Inequality is the common link to problems between different classes, ethnicities, and races. The problem is inequalities are not produced from one thing therefore, it is not so easily solvable because it is so deeply ingrained in our society. While talking about inequalities we learned about the cultural structure argument. This argument is supported by the idea of culture as a toolkit, which means that the resources you are presented with and the available strategies to you affect how you live your life and the inequalities that you experience. However, even when you are handed the tools for success I believe there are other obstacles that become very difficult to overcome.

First of all no matter how many resources are put in front of you, if you don’t have the motivation to be successful whether that be in school, or in the work world you will not go far. You have to want something to be able to be successful. My home city, New Rochelle, NY is a good example of how having a great tool kit may not change your path in life. New Rochelle High School is 52% minorities and 48% Caucasian, and the houses in the city range from millions to the projects. The school is the definition of diverse. The school is equipped to work with all types of students and genuinely wants every student to succeed. Although the school educates 3,2000 students they try and make sure no one falls through the cracks and never wants to be considered a school who only cares about its AP students. There are two middle schools in New Rochelle and even though the majority of the students who attend the middle school on the south end are of minority decent and come from families with low SES they are just as prepared for high school as the students from the other middle school. So, if the theory of the tool kit is true why doesn’t every student graduate and utilize all the resources that are offered to them?

I believe that there are other things that get in the way of using these resources. For example, one of my brother’s good friend Franco, found it very difficult growing up in one of the less affluent neighborhood in New Rochelle because although he wanted to work hard and do well in school the other kids in his neighborhood made fun of him for this. When looking back on this situation I thought about the culture of poverty argument and maybe that this boy’s friends had different values. However, as there isn’t much evidence to this theory I think there are other causes to their attitudes. Teenagers sometimes think they are being stereotyped and then they fulfill it because they think that is what is expected of them. Franco was constantly made fun of for hanging out with rich white kids and being in honors classes. When I got to high school I observed a similar phenomenon. The students that came from lower SES backgrounds and worked hard in school usually separated from their friends in their neighborhood and became friends with kids in their classes because they had similar goals and interests. When you are a teenager having the approval of your peers is extremely important and every year there are kids in my high school who break away from their comfort zone because they aren’t willing to give up the opportunities they are being offered. I have a theory that if it were more socially expectable to be doing your homework after school instead of hanging out on the street there would be more students using the resources my high school offers.

Having a well-equipped tool kit definitely makes life easier, but you also have to be willing to use the tools you are given. I find it very frustrating that there are people who don’t use the resources that they are given because there are so many people who have no tools in their kits. For example Jonathan Kozol in his articles exemplifies the many students that will never receive the opportunities the students in my high school have. And what makes it even more saddening is that they don’t understand why they don’t have the same things as the schools only a few miles away and our country isn’t even willing to give them a chance to see what they could if they had the same resources.

Money and the College Process

After the lecture on the college process, I started to think about all of the corruption of the process I witnessed first hand while in high school. I come from a neighborhood that is seen to be affluent, with many successful students and families in my community. With this high regard, the high school I attended, Scarsdale High School, creates a very competitive environment. Students constantly want to perform better than their fellow students, and teachers make it very clear that academics come first, assigning difficult homework and in-depth exams.

The entire obsession with achieving academic success became very apparent junior year, or the year of SAT's. The tutoring process exemplifies the true effect that money has on furthering one's benefits. Some of my friends studied from a textbook they bought on e-bay, some of my friends attended group tutoring sessions, and some of my friends attended a local tutoring business, Advantage, for one-one-one tutoring for $500 an hour. The difference of the tools accessible to one to study all depended on money. Pretty much, the more money one had, the more extensive help one received for the SAT's. I regard this as a major disadvantage for those not able to spend $2,000 a month on tutoring. One can argue that it is unfair that "advantages" are given to students who are able to afford the best tutoring.

This imbalance of opportunities became apparent when people began to get their scores back. Through hearing about people's results, it became apparent that my friends who attended Advantage did significantly better on the SAT's than my friends who had less extensive help. It makes me wonder if changes should be made to the studying process, for affluence should not be the factor depicting who does best on the SAT's.

I believe that changes should and can be made. Non-profit tutoring sessions should be provided to all students who are unable to afford help. There is no reason that just because someone cannot afford private tutoring, that their chances of getting into college should be hindered. If tutoring is provided to everyone, hopefully their will be more incentive for people to access help and raise their chances of doing better on the SAT's, which will then help open their opportunities to apply and attend college.

Legal System Discrimination

In today’s day and age, crime is persistent and its effects can be disastrous and telling. After reading, “No Equal Justice: The Color of Punishment” by David Cole it is evident there are huge racial disparities in the US justice system that no one wants to confront. Looking at the crime statistics divvied up by race, Whites and Blacks commit the vast majority of crimes. For the most part, Whites commit a higher percentage in all crimes, except for in the categories Murder & non-negligent manslaughter and robbery. Yet, even with higher percentages in relatively all criminal categories, the sentencing tells another story, especially related to the war on drugs.

When people are convicted for cocaine charges, there are two different sentences. The one for powdered cocaine is less strict on prison sentencing and 45.2% convicted are White, while 20.7% convicted are Black. On the other hand, the prison sentencing for crack cocaine is much stricter, where the sentence is usually from 5 to 10 years. With 92.6 of convictions are Black and only 4.7% are White. The ironic part is 65% of crack users are White and 90% of violation defendants are black. In other words, the statistics do no match the sentencing and that there is a huge racial disparity. According to the Georgia Surpreme Court, these disparities are not meant to harm the blacks, but in reality they do. To judicial system’s defense, crack is suppose to be a far more potent, more accessible drug to low-income people, and associated with more violence. However, even for cocaine users, black people typically receive a longer sentence then white cocaine users. Overall, by sentencing black far more consistently and for longer periods of time, their future is in jeopardy. They are hurt if they want to get a job as their unemployment rates are the highest of any race. The system must be changed. Blacks should not only receive less jail time then they already do, but whites should receive equal punishment for crimes. It is not fair that on average, black offenders receive up to two more years of jail time over whites. No matter what the system says, the disparities are indeed hurting the black community.

At each successive stage of criminal and juvenile processed suggest blacks are singled out most of the time in drug offenses. A lot of researchers point to the fact that blacks commit more serious crimes and use drugs more frequently as to why blacks are disproportionally the victims of the war on drugs. Looking at the juvenile drug offenses pie chart, Blacks commit 53% of the offenses and whites commit 26% of the drug offenses. At this point, not all crimes are sentenced the same way and this hurts minorities, especially blacks, the most. Since minorities get arrested more on drug charges then nonmonorities. What is really ironic is the fact that 74% of all drug users are white. Nevertheless, blacks constitute 74% of all sentences for drug offenses.

Even though the judicial system states there is no racial discrimination in drug sentences, their evidence is not valid. If anything the evidence contradicts their statement. In my opinion, the legal system is utterly discriminatory toward minorities, especially blacks. It is sad because there does not seem much blacks or anyone else can do until there is irreversible information proving there is racial discrimination in the system. The only step I can think of is to create a system where each race, in proportion to their population in the US, must account for a certain percentage of prison sentences. I do not see any critical changes being made to the legal system in the ear future, but our society should reshape the system to aid minorities.

The Power of Knowledge

Ignorance fuels the fire of racism. After 9/11 Muslim Americans were persecuted and racially profiled. Their lives became more difficult in a country that is supposed to represent freedom. The media has ingrained negative images in the heads of Americans leaving them with nothing but hatred and fear of this religion. In class we watched a documentary about a southern white Christian man who goes to live with a Muslim family in Michigan for a month and leaves with a new perspective. I was very surprised to find out how little Dave knew about the Muslim religion considering it is the second largest religion in the world. Once he got to Michigan he didn’t seem to be very open minded and began to criticize some of their practices. As we learned earlier in the semester cultural pluralism is present in America, which I think it great. It gives everyone a chance to learn from their neighbors and become worldlier, however this is only possible if people remain open minded. During the show Morgan Spurlock asked people on the street what word came to their mind when he said Muslim and I was angered by people’s response. Dave did not even know that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all come from the same roots.

This documentary reminded me of how fortunate I am to have grown up in such a liberal state as New York. Every freshman in every New York high school has to take global history. One of the largest units of the course is the three main religions and the material goes very in depth. Teachers cannot skip over these lessons because at the end of the sophomore year every student in the state of New York has to take a state test and this material will be on it. Because my class freshman year had members of all three religions our teacher had people do presentations as well so we could learn from first hand experience. Learning that Islam is so similar to my own religion gave me a new perspective. Every religion has extremist. The Muslim extremists are in the public eye more often, but this does not mean that every other Muslim should be persecuted.

In class you asked us if Dave’s experience was beneficial and if everyone should go through an experience like his. Although, it is impossible for everyone to have a similar experience I do believe every state should implement learning about the Islamic religion into their curriculum. The more people know about the religion the more they will be able to understand it and not make snap judgments or criticisms. Knowledge won’t end all persecution of Muslim Americans but hopefully it will loosen some of the tension that has been created post 9/11.

The Elevator

The first few weeks of this semester we talked about race as a social construct and different stereotypes attached to the racial hierarchy. I went to a high school in a very affluent neighborhood where the student population was predominately white. Out of the 800 kids in my high school, we had one black person- who was in fact only half black and it was Bernie Williams Junior, Bernie William’s son. Bernie Williams was the star New York Yankee center fielder. Bernie Williams Jr. was half black and half Puerto Rican. The whole entire faculty was white as well.

I was in history class and we were discussing current day racism and prejudices. To start off the lesson, my teacher asked a question: “If it were 12 am and you were in an elevator alone and 2 black guys walked in would you walk out?” Most of the girls on my class said that they would get out of the elevator, and most boys said they would leave as well except one male student said if they tried to jump him he was stronger and could defend himself. A few minutes later, she asked the same question but said, “If it were 12 am and you were in an elevator alone and 2 white guys walked in would you walk out?” The whole class said they would remain in the elevator. Finally, my 30 year-old white female teacher admitted she agreed with the class majority and would also leave the elevator if two black men walked in oppose to two white men.

These questions, and the attitudes of my classmates emphasize institutional racism and race as a social construct. Most people think blacks are more violent and dangerous than whites. The fact that people admit comfortably that they’d leave the elevator because they were “scared for their safety” or “nervous they’d get hurt,” is an extremely sad state of affairs. The two white men could be just as or more dangerous than the two black men, but just because of pigmentation it automatically makes the darker skinned men more dangerous. These stereotypes that black men are dangerous are learned from different media outlets, or the lack of diversity in my school district. Furthermore, social construction is a major part of these questions as well. It almost seemed “natural” or “obvious” for my classmates to say that they’d feel more threatened by the black men than white men due to skin color.

Lastly, whiteness and white privilege is portrayed in this class situation. Since whites have an invisible privilege that provides them with opportunities other races do not have, they have the upper hand and special advantages. Since the “2 white men” in the elevator have white skin, they automatically are let off the hook and my classmates entering this elevator do not see them as a threat. The two black men are at an extreme disadvantage in this situation.

Overall, that class lesson never really impacted me until taking Sociology 134. I’ve learned that stereotypes are extremely detrimental to different races and that whiteness gives me and my other classmates an unfair advantage and invisible privileges. If I were to go back and answer these questions again, I would leave the elevator if it were two black or two white men because I would feel uncomfortable being a twenty-year old girl in a situation like that. Race and skin color have nothing to do with my comfort level. Race should not be a factor in a simple hypothetical elevator situation, or a real life situation. When safety is compromised it has nothing to do with race but that person as a whole.

Whiteness and Colorism

Two issues of debate we studied in class were the issues of "Whiteness" and "Colorism". Whiteness being, white privilege to the white majority in America, and "Colorism" being the discrimination against darker colored people even within a minority group. These issues have been noted, but even as I learned them, I was not aware of how much these ideas contributed to my daily life.

The other day, a friend of mine told me and some others that he was dating a black girl. Our first initial reaction was shock. The shock was not intended to be hurtful or express dissatisfaction with his choice, but nevertheless the shock was still there. But why would this be? In modern society, discrimination is deemed to be inherently bad, so we did not attribute our shock to be an act of discrimination. But if it wasn't discrimination, than what was it? As i thought more about the issue, I realized it must have been a form of "Whiteness" and white privilege. We automatically assumed that our friend, our white friend, would date someone who was in fact just like that, white. But why? Why did our friend have to explicitly state the fact that she was black? And on top of that, why did we assume his girlfriend would be white? Although all of my friends continually said over and over again how her race was not a problem, and we would all be just as friendly and cordial as we would to anyone else, the fact of the matter is, that point had to be brought up. The point that we would not treat her differently was brought up in conversation, proving that to others this may be a problem and furthermore the idea of discrimination still plays a factor in our everyday lives.

The next issue of "Colorism" and assimilating to "white culture" also played a very large part. My friend than went onto explain, that although she was black, she was "just like us". This again perpetuates the idea of Whiteness, but also brings up the question of, what does "just like us" mean? As he showed us pictures, I realized that her skin was a lighter tone, her hair was done so that it was straight, and she wore clothes resembled that of her white peers in the pictures. As my friends and I saw more and more pictures, comments were made about how she looked "normal". Friends noticed and mentioned her straight her as well as her clothing. Another comment was made about her skin tone not being overly dark. The issue of colorism than came clear to me. My friends were inherently more accepting of her because of the way she was able to blend into American culture.

Before this semester, I probably would have been more inclined to jump into conversation with similar comments and judgements. However, as I have learned more about "colorblindness" and the ongoing discrimination problem in America, I now find this to be a huge topic of interest. This is definitely an issue that is still prevalent today, and one that needs to be worked on to enhance equalities. Maybe if more people become aware and realize that problems are still existing, they will be more inclined to stop the problem. It is instilled in us that discrimination is cruel, so by pointing this out and making people open their ideas to the fact that is still in fact going on, like it did for me, maybe the problem can be helped.

Anti-Semitism

The other day in a chapter meeting for my sorority, two guest speakers came to talk about an appalling issue. Bradley Smith had written an article to the Badger Herald in which he speaks about denial of the Holocaust. He argues that the killing of 6 million Jews NEVER even happened. He posts a link to his denial website, in which he is only provoking anti-semitism.

Jason Smathers then writes an article explaining why he will not take the article down from the Badger Herald. He claims that although the piece promotes anti-semitism, it does not rise to the level of threats and so it cannot be rejected. Smathers claims that to remove to article would only suggest that the individuals reading the piece lack intellectual integrity to see the piece as untruthful.

This issue really caught my attention because I think changes need to be made to the Badger Herald. This article has NO right being posted for others to view. The article can potentially gain support and followers, promoting a horrible misconception. I believe that articles must be filtered even stronger before being posted online. This article disgusts me, and it ties back to many lectures and readings from class. This article raises the issue that division of minorities is prevelent and difficult to monitor. Every group of people have their opinions about other groups, due to feelings of inferiority or superiority. Some people find that they have the right to distinguish between different group, whether by minorities, race, or religion. The fact that Brown felt comfortable enough to post his article means he truly believes in what he has written. His misguiding opinion should not be publicly known nor provoked, and this article must be taken down.

The only benefit that I can see about this article is that it has brought the Jewish community together at the University of Wisconsin. The girls who came to my sorority meeting have planned a rally. This week, a rally will be help to stand up for the Jewish community and commemorate the difficult times Jews went through during the holocaust.

Stereotypes

Earlier in the semester we learned that race is not biological, but in reality race is socially constructed. In other words, as the United States population goes through a socialization process; the migrant groups that come to our country have to assimilate to the dominant groups by learning the language, values, and customs. Throughout history, US society has been ruled by racialized social systems, in which racial hierarchy plays a crucial part in the different aspects of society such as economic, political, social, and ideological levels. Ever since African Americans came to the states, they have been subordinated because they were seen as inferior and undomesticated. Thus, leading to slavery and discrimination against a whole race. Still to this day, black are discriminated against in various circumstances; for instance, in the workplace they either never get the chance for high-standing position or they are hired for jobs white Americans do no want to take. In my opinion, the reason people are prejudice and discriminatory toward races in general is because of stereotypes.

By definition, a stereotype is a exaggerated and prejudicial view on a group based on ignorance. One simple example of a racial stereotype is saying all Asians are good at math. The problem is that stereotypes are formed through socialization, with many perspectives coming for the mass media. Therefore, the media has the power to influence social relationships and create an illusion of actual reality. After repeated viewings of references of stereotypes, individuals will begin to exert what they learn from the media into reality with preconceptions. In most cases, individuals will perceive a stereotype in a negative point of view and mass mediums are to blame. One key aspect about stereotyping is that advertisers emphasize easily recognizable features toward consumers to instill perceptions in their memory. In terms of race, minorities are always looked down upon compared to white Americans in the United States media. The frequency and presence of racial stereotypes and ethnic misrepresentations in modern media leads to negative impacts on the images of people, place, religions, and actions of the world. For instance, Native Americans are always portrayed as ignorant savages wearing similar long cloaks. So whenever Native American or Indian comes to mind, personally I think of the conventional view of them portrayed in the media. It is not a good perception whatsoever, but it is was has been instilled in my mind by means of the media.

The media is a powerful engine. It shapes attitudes, behaviors, and communication patterns of its audience through various mediums. The fact is people have to recognize all the different stereotypes portrayed in society, but not jump to assumptions and conclude that all stereotypes are accurate. It is hard though because society is socialized to a certain ideal, the only way to really fight racism and stereotypes is though oppositional culture. But even then, that will only a small portion of society that concurs, so really the key is to infuse in schools that racism is wrong and a detriment to society.

Jew Jokes

Earlier in the semester we discussed making fun of different ethnicities and the idea of sensitivity towards it. Classmates made good points about if a comment or a joke about an ethnicity was made in good fun then it should not be taken too seriously or seen as being derogatory. And the same was said about dressing up in costumes of other ethnicities. However, I think there are certain subjects that should never me made fun of, such as the Holocaust.

Last year the heat in my dorm room was extremely high unless we turned the entire furnace off. During the winter one day my roommate walked in a said, “it’s as hot as Auschwitz in here.” She was referring to the crematoriums of the concentration camp. I immediately told her she should not joke about that and her response was, “it’s ok I’m Jewish too”. Although I will admit I am a pretty sensitive person I do not believe that no matter if you are Jewish or not that the Holocaust is a joking matter. She did not mean to offend anyone and it was said in a lighted hearted manner but I did not think it was appropriate.

Her response of, “it’s ok I’m Jewish too,” also brings up another point we have discussed. In class we watched a video about the teacher who called his student the “N” word. The teacher said that there was a difference between the words “nigga” and “nigger”. He also said that the black students call each other this all the time in the hallways so why can’t he use the word as well. I do not believe that anyone should be calling anyone else the “N” word regardless of race. I went to an extremely diverse high school and walking down the hallways on any given day you will hear this word used in conversation, which made me very uncomfortable. Girls are taught at a young age not to call each other sluts or whores because it makes it ok for boys to call girls by these names. I think this is true of any derogatory word. I am Jewish and I would never go around calling my other Jewish friends Kikes and not expect a non-Jew to think its ok to refer to Jews in this manner as well.

There are racial slurs for every ethnicity. When people began to immigrate to America many ethnicities were referred to by these racial slurs. They worked hard to create a new name for themselves. In the twenty first century we should not be erasing the accomplishments of our ancestors.

People crack jokes about their “own kind” all the time and find it funny but once someone else makes the same joke that is different than them it is not so funny anymore. You can’t have it both ways. If you want to continue to joke then you cant be offended by other people making the same jokes otherwise don’t make them.