Saturday, May 29, 2010
Racism
In my personal experience as a middle class white american i do feel that it is very easy to forget about racism and simply think of it as a thing of the past, of our parents and grandparents generations. But as Tatum wrote about in "Defining Racisim" , racism is still very much prominat in our society. popular culture still uses degrading sterotypical images in TV and such, and as we watch these growing up we learn these images and views subconsciouly. we also gain these views from our parents and our grandparents generations, as they grew up in more raciest times. and if we simply do not think about it we also go along in life projecting these views. the first thing to do to stop racism is simply to know what it is, and once you realize it you can stop yourself from thing or projecting racest thoughts. even if someone does not actively fight againt racism, just having them realize that racism is wrong is a big step.
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ReplyDeleteI agree that people find it very easy to forget about racism. Like Tatum explains, prejudice is a preconceived judgment that comes initially from what we've been taught by our parents and secondly by media. Along with these two ideas I think location is also key in defining prejudices and racism. For example in New York city people are more liberal and accepting of everything. Your gender, race, sexual preferences, nothing matters much. While maybe somewhere in the south or midwest where a conservative mindset has been part of their culture for a majority of their history the previously mentions aspects of a person are heavily criticized.
ReplyDeleteToday people might not believe racism exists because a large part of it has taken a subliminal form. Firstly we are introduced to many of the prejudices our parents have while we are raised. I find that this is more prevalent with ethnic parents. Secondly what I find to be the major contributor to the hidden racism of our day is the media, specifically our comedic movies/shows. A lot of movies perpetuate stereotypes and make it seem funny. These scenes inscribe in our minds racist ideas and make them out to be amusing. This leads to someone making a joke or comment thinking it's funny, because it was on a movie, when in fact it insulting and racist.
-Adolfo