Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Where you came from is not where you are going.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Exploitation of a Human life.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
I have no clue where I will be in 20 years. And I am okay with that.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Yet another post about discrimination.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Assumed prejudice?
Thursday, June 11, 2009
I might be wrong. But I think I am right.
After class today, I began to think about how many times we apply rules to race and gender that we tag with a double standard. Why are some things acceptable for certain people but not for others? When it comes to being respectful and not crossing the lines of prejudice and racism, should the rules not be universal? I know that there will always be cultural differences, but when it comes to a word that is full of so much negative connotation, can we really allow it to be used by some but not by other? A good point was brought up in class today about the use of the N word. I do not use this word, nor do I think it is appropriate for anyone of any color, race, gender, ethnicity etc. to apply in any conversation. I have very good friends that are African American who use this word frequently in conversation the way I would use the word “friend.” I never think twice about them using it, its very common these days in music and conversation, but only among those of color. Although these are very good friends of mine, I would never consider using this word in their presence, or at all for that matter. While it is a personal choice for African American’s to use this word in conversation, or musicians to use it in their songs, can we really expect all people to understand why it is okay for some and not for others? I feel that society will not understand the negatives that come with this word if it keeps getting used so frequently. I once was told that it’s not the word but it is how you say it. Can a certain ending can change the meaning entirely? The point I am trying to make here is how can we make society understand that this word is offensive if we keep using it, no matter which way we say it?
I brought this point up to two of my friends today just to see what their opinion on the topic was. Their response was that they think it is similar to us calling each other bitches. I can see my best friend and say, “hey bitch”, why we say this I’m not really sure, but it is as common as my African American friends calling each other the N word. If some random person on the street, no matter what race or gender, called me a bitch you better believe that I would be running my mouth to them in a heartbeat. So I guess I practice the same double standard I talked about in the paragraph earlier. Am I going to work to give up using foul language to my friends on a daily basis, probably not. I tried to give it up for lent once and it lasted maybe a week. I talk like a sailor, unattractive yes, but it’s not a habit I can easily change. So unless all words with negative connotation can go unused, I guess society just has to understand there are certain rules that come with dropping these gender and racial bombs. It is not hard to understand what is offensive to some and to others. Only my friends can greet me with a “hey bitch” and I can’t use the N word.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
privilege..what we can't have?
While watching privileged, I found myself a little uneasy about the message. I do feel that people can be “privileged” in certain ways, but this all depends on how you define privilege. Is it the amount of money you have? The education you were able to obtain? I personally believe there are many ways you could consider a person to be privileged. Most people want what they don’t or can’t have, its just human nature. I could sit and consider someone to be better off than I am just if they had something I didn’t have. Who is to say that we can limit being privileged to how much money you have? I consider the girl who can shop everyday for new clothes with no regards to price to be more privileged than me. My qualifications of privilege may be petty in comparison to the racial prejudice our country faces, but I feel that privilege comes in more forms than money and skin color.
So why do I feel that these two points go together? Why do I believe that privilege is how you define it? That the prominence of it in this country is based on the fact that people place the blame for discrimination on others? The idea of privilege is only as strong as the people who allow it. When will we start taking personal responsibility for the roles we take in prejudice acts and take effective steps towards changing racial and gender views on privilege? When will people realize that most people can be considered privileged in some way or another, and the more strain we put on the idea that it is based on race and gender, the further we are pushing ourselves away from equality.
The two links below I found particularly interesting. The first link is about cultural success and the second is about and the second was the Wikipedia definition for White privilege. I found it quite interesting.
http://www.epi.org/publications/entry/webfeatures_viewpoints_dont_blame_culture/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_privilege