The subject in sociology this week is discrimination and social inequality.
I feel now a days this isn't such a strong subject like it used to be back in the 50's and 60's, but I will say that we still have our problems.
In sociology we have to post a question and answer about the material we are studying.
I really wanted to talk about racism because I think it is a huge social issue in our society.
Back in 8th grade my US history teacher said to me "I think everyone is racist in their own mind". He didn't mean it in a bad way, he was just saying that everyone judges people, and I completely agree. In the material we are studying they talked about stereotypes and how they can easily hurt someone.
When I was going into high school we had an assignment in my Personal Health class about stereotypes. This was a summer class so different kids from different highschools were in it. I had gone to a "gifted" school for my first year of high school. It was amazing what people thought of the people that went to that school. We were called "goody too shoes" or "teachers pet" and "book worms", when we were nothing like that. Of course you then looked at the other high schools in the county and you had "potheads", "jocks", and the "popular" crowd.
I ended up in one of the other high schools from 10th to 12th grade. I loved it there.
We had a unity day, which is where we took a day from school and a bunch of kids were picked of all races and all ages, and put in a room. We talked about issues and what bothers us about what people say sometimes. It was amazing how close I felt with those people after one day.
I am not the racist type, never have and never will. I just wish people would get over the facts of life sometimes. We are all different in a unique way. Whether our eyes are a different color or our skin is a different color we are all different.
So today:
What have been your experiences with racism and discrimination? What have been some stereotypes you have been associated with? What do you think can help everyone in this nation to come together as one instead of always turning a shoulder on someone of color, race, or ethnicity?
Peace
Chelss*
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3 comments:
I love this post....and so proud that I brought you up to feel this way...not seeing color and knowing we are all created equally...
peace
mom
Well Chelsea I was too there, and to be completely honest. I agree with that professor who told you that we are all racist in some kind of way.
Others feel the need to openly express it where others feel it, but only express it with certain people.
I disagree with the fact when people say "i dont see color" because whether or not people want to admit it, we do.
I mean color probably affect the way you feel about someone but when you are placed in a situation where you are the minority... you cant help but feel different. When i say minority, i mean if your black surrounded by all whites, if your white surrounded by all blacs, if your asian or hispanic surrounded by a different race. You just cant help that gut feeling you have.
a couple weekend ago, i was actually told i couldnt go to a party because i was black. i never thought that i would have to deal with that, now that its a new decade, but i was wrong. there are ignorant people out there but we cant change people. they have to want to change.
Well the only thing i think we can do, is educate and it starts at home. If someone comes across someone who is racist or prejudice, learn to try not to get offended because simple words such as derogatory ones do not have power unless we give them power.
<3Shawnda! :)
chels,
its rachel polley. this post was beautiful. it gave me goosebumps numerous times while i was reading it. i took a sex, race and class course this year and we learned a lot about this kind of stuff. when my teacher asked me about my views on racism i said that i wasn't racist and i saw everyone as equal. i feel exactly the same as you do. she then told me that i was racist. believing that everyone is equal is actually a type of racism, called color blind racism. i had never heard of this before, but its when one believes everyone is equal, when in reality, they aren't. look it up on the internet. its really interesting.
when i switched from pine view to riverview people automatically thought that i was extremely rich and super intelligent and stuck up. it hurt my feelings that people looked at me that way before they even got to know me. but i have to admit that i was extremely overwhelmed by riverview. the first day i was there, i witnessed a fight and one of the kids in my classes was so high on xanex that he couldn't function and he passed out.lets be real, the schools are VERY different. pine is very goody goody compared to some public schools. coming from pine view, where the only black people we knew were petra and eddie, i was so surprised when i got to rhs. the black kids hung out together and the chinese people separated themselves and so did the spanish people. thats just how it is. not that we all weren't friends with eachother, we just spent the majority of our time with people of the same race. we don't like to believe that we still have segregation in our lives, but we do. its obviously much better now than it was in earlier years, but it is still an issue. my eyes were completely opened to this when i took this class. before i liked to think that people that were prejudice are the ones that are irrational and that there are hardly any people left like that. but i see it more and more everyday. i have lots of black friends and my best friend is cuban. i would never determine whether or not you can be my friend because if the color of your skin. and we may not realize it because were white, but there are more problems with racism than we think. my best friend raquel is half cuban, half german. you can definitely tell shes spanish. however, she is very self conscious about it and says that she worries that she wont be accepted by spanish people because she is only half spanish and she can't speak the language but she also worries that she wont be accepted by white people because shes mixed. this never even crossed my mind until she mentioned it and i was completely shocked. she's the sweetest girl i know and i told her people will love her for who she is and she said that i dont understand. other races are racist just as well. not just white people. thats another issue that isn't addressed.
last year i went to prom with one of my good friends named c.j. shelley. last year i also interned with a fifth grade teacher as a teacher assistant.my teacher asked me to bring in some pictures, so i brought in a few to show the kids. c.j is black and i didn't think the kids would think anything of it cause they're so young but almost every single kid made a comment about his skin color. obviously the only one who didn't was the only black girl in the class. i helped out in the gifted class and there was only one black kid in the class. what does that show? its really sad and its difficult to grasp. but we all don't have the same opportunities due to our background.
haha sory for writing you a book chels. this topic just really gets me going. love you and miss you! <33
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