I want you to really think about this question before you answer it. It requires you to closely examine yourself, your surroundings and your experiences.
From your own perspective, what is your definition of racism?
Does ignorance of racism promote or prevent it from becoming an ideology? By ignorance I just mean the lack of knowledge that it exists. Because, if you were raised in an area that is predominantly white and you're white, odds are, you don't see much evidence that it does exist--right? Or wrong?
If you were never exposed to a multicultural environment, would you be more or less attuned to the cultural differences that exist in society? And for that matter...Do you believe that there ARE cultural differences? If so, what are they?
Do you think people hide behind the definition of cultural differences to excuse rude, inappropriate or obnoxious behavior? (450-500 words/60pts)
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Wow, this is a hard one. In my mind, racism is any prejudice against a person based solely on their race. By prejudice I mean verbal abuse, physical abuse, or just not being looked at the same by people of another race.
I think ignorance of racism prevents it from becoming an ideology. If a person is raised by a family that is not racist, that person is most likely not going to be racist. Someone who is not exposed to racism on a daily basis will probably not think they're better than the next person because they're white. But ignorance of racism also makes a person more aware of it when they witness it. I was raised by parents who were not racist at all. The people I grew up with were not racist either, so I really wasn't exposed to it until later in school. The first time I heard someone say something racial about another person, I just remember thinking, "Wow. That was so mean. You're not better than the person you just said that to." I have grown up in a predominantly white neighborhood, and am not exposed to racism when I am at home. But at school, I see it every day. I know our school is not nearly as bad with racism as other schools, but I still see it.
I think this question can go both ways. If someone is brought up in an environment where the culture is consistent and never strays from that, they would be less attuned to cultural differences in society. If another person is brought up in the same situation but exposed to cultural differences later in life, they will be much more attuned to the differences in culture.
I believe there are cultural differences in society. The United States is one of the best places in the world to see the differences in culture. Taking a trip to New York City (or any major city in America for that matter) will open up anyone's eyes to all the cultures that exist mostly in harmony. You have Chinatown, Harlem, Manhattan, the Upper East Side, and Greenwich Village all in the same city. All of these areas have a different personality, a different group of people living there, and a different culture.
I do believe that people hide behind the excuse of cultural differences to pardon bad behavior. I have heard students in school say they're being discriminated against when they're given a detention by a teacher or administrator. The similar saying is, "I'm only getting a detention because I'm ______." Obviously, you're getting reprimanded for something that teacher or administrator saw you doing wrong. The world's not out to get you because you're different. There are plenty of other people like you.
I agree with Hannah this IS a hard one. In my opinion, racism can be a very simple act or a very complicated one- half the time I don't think people even realize they're being racist. An act of racism can be something you say OR do. There are plenty of obvious examples relating to racist things people say, in fact, in our society we hear these offending and condescending words all the time. However, an act of racism can be as subtle as not wanting to get too close to the homeless person sitting on the curb of the street, as if he has some kind of cooties or something. The truth is that people don't CHOOSE to be homeless (I guess some of them do), but the ones that only make poor financial decisions should be considered too. I don't think racism has to only be related to skin color...it can be religion, socioeconomic background, or even hair color. Everyone recalls poor Ms. Bunje's story of the red-haired-hating Mormons. With of all that said, I think the word "racism" goes hand-in-hand with the word "elite." Racism is driven by the fact that one group or person thinks they are better or "too good" for another group/person.
Using Ms. Bunje's example, I think people are more likely to be racist if they grow up in an area with no other cultures. They are therefore insensitive to every culture but their own because they don't know any better.
With that said, I think you would be more attuned to the cultural differences that exist in society. You would be able to recognize them, because they would stick out like a sore thumb to you. An example of this is people who grew up in rural areas going to New York City. The city is a crammed area where all cultures are all forced to live around each other. They're used to homeless people begging for money, and don't walk a different way down the street to avoid them. I think they're a lot less naive than the average American is, and are used to many different kinds of people passing them in the streets every day. The city is like one huge melting pot, and NYC was the original area where immigrant from all over the world came.
I do think that there are cultural differences between people, but I don't think that makes me racist if I don't discriminate against these different cultures. As Hannah said, NYC is again the perfect example of many different cultures living together. I think people should be proud of their culture or heritage. If they want to hide where they come from or what they believe in, I think they are discriminating against themselves. I don't think there's anything to be ashamed of at all, and people should acknowlege the fact that every culture is different and respect that. Unless someone forces their culture upon you, there is no reason to discriminate.
Racism. I’ve never really tried to define it. It’s just something you know. I agree with Hannah’s definition that racism is discriminating against someone based solely on their race. This includes verbal and physical abuse. The dictionary defines it as hatred or intolerance of another race. Intolerance. That’s the perfect word to describe racism because, well…you’re not tolerant.
I also believe that ignorance of racism prevents it from becoming an ideology. If you’re not raised with racism around you, you aren’t attached to it. You or your family members don’t have to be racist for racism to be around you. As long as you aren’t constantly hearing about it, being intolerant of others, or having other being intolerant towards you, it isn’t an ideology. I was raised in an area that was mainly white so I didn’t see too much racism. In Brigantine, there was like 2% minorities. I seriously knew 6 Indian kids and one girl from the Dominican Republic. Sure, some of my friend’s parents were racist but I was never put in an environment where I saw someone being discriminated against. Heck, my grandpop hates everyone under the sun. He doesn’t like anyone that’s not white, he hates people that are overweight (including my mother), and he hates people who are divorced (even though he’s been divorced before). I really don’t like him very much. He’s a cold hearted mother f-er. But that made me want to not be racist even more because I don’t want to be like him.
By not being exposed to a multicultural environment, I was more aware of races. I guess since I wasn’t used to being around different people, it was more noticeable to me. However, being exposed to this big melting pot called Oakcrest, I think I’ve become more attuned. I’m glad I got out of that little bubble because it’s not like the real world. There are so many different kinds of people out there and you need to know how to interact with all of them. I think there are cultural differences. Here’s a funny story. I’ll keep it short. I went to get my eyebrows waxed a few weeks ago and the Korean lady thought it was okay to take my Uggs off of me and try them on herself. What was she thinking ?! It just goes to show that we’re all different and it’s not just our race that makes us different.
And I definitely without a doubt 100% think that people hide behind their cultural differences. I CAN NOT stand when people do it. You don’t get in trouble because you’re Hispanic. I’m not gonna say something about someone because they’re black. I’m gonna say something because they’re a pain in my ass. The color of your skin isn’t at fault for you getting in trouble. Accept responsibility for your actions and grow up. I see this all the time and I hate it more than anything. You can’t hide behind your race. By thinking you can, you’re only promoting racism because people start to create stereotypes. I only wish some people would realize that.
For those of you who may not know, Port Republic does not exactly have the most diverse population. While attending the K-8th school in Port, only one person was African-American, and I didn’t even realize that until 7th grade. The fact that it took me eight years to recognize that this boy was a different race, although slightly embarrassing, goes to show how ignorance of racism can take place in predominantly white towns like mine.
I’m trying to think when I was first exposed to the concept of racism. I don’ think I knew about it all when I was younger, but I must have first heard about it through some book or social studies class in school. I’ve never been able to see racism as justifiable. From what I understand, racism is hate or grudges against a certain race of people simply because of their different customs and appearance without having a specific reason for doing so.
In my case, ignorance of racism prevented it from becoming an ideology. When I got old enough to understand what racism was, I always had to apply it to foreign situations, never personal experiences. But, as I grew even older, I was able to recognize the racism present in my own town. In some ways, my historic town has not only kept the old country appearance, but also the old beliefs that came with that time period. Sometimes I wonder if the Ku Klux Klan is still alive here, which is kind of scary. So, like Hannah, I think the assumption that since I was raised in an area that is predominately white, I didn’t see much evidence that racism existed is part right and part wrong. The factor that determines whether this statement is right or wrong is the person. Some people are not very observant and will never really understand what’s going on around them because they fail to be perceptive of their surroundings. Others pick up on things right away. Me, I’m kind of in between. Our personal observation skills are what will make racism real or distant.
I think that never being exposed to a multicultural environment would cause one to be less attuned to the cultural differences that exist in society. Honestly, I probably stared the first time I saw a Muslim women dressed in her full body coverings, and I was most likely surprised when I first saw a Jewish boy with a Yakima on his head. Although I was not familiar with these different cultural practices that take place, that does not mean that I ridiculed them and persecuted them for their cultural beliefs. In fact, I was amazed by the diverse cultural differences that exist in society and desired to know more about them. These differences range from a culture’s religion to their styles in fashion, and their language. The sad fact is that people everyday use these cultural differences as excuses to partake in rude, inappropriate or obnoxious behavior. I think this is mostly seen in adolescents in Oakcrest hallways and other schools, as Hannah pointed out, and also in adults who haven’t matured yet. To me their behavior is despicable. These people are in a way, disgracing their own culture by intentionally accusing others of discriminating against them, even when they know that they aren’t. People like these are most likely ignorant about other cultures, and don’t care enough to find out. It seems completely selfish to me.
Racism is such a controversial thing, like Megan I never really thought of the actual definition, but I know that it is around. The actual definition of racism from the dictionary is prejudice or animosity against people who belong to other races and the belief that people of different races have different qualities and abilities, and that some races are inherently superior or inferior. My definition is kind of different. I think racism is prejudice against another person that belongs to another group. It can be any kind of act against them ranging from verbal to physical. Racism to me can go beyond race and go on to a group’s single or multiple beliefs and their attitude. Overall, it is just a hatred for another’s race, belief, qualities and abilities. It is a disgrace to human kind and an attack on physical features to beliefs.
I think ignorance of racism does prevent it from becoming an ideology. People being unaware of racism will prevent it because they really don’t know what is going on. And if they are not exposed to it, then hopefully they will never pick up the habit of racism. Also, hopefully they will follow the ways they were raised with the unawareness of racism. If you were white and was raised in a predominantly white area, you most likely won’t be exposed to racism because you are like the others. You may see little bits of racism against other groups, but I think you will still be unaware to it. This is also true in the way of ignorance meaning unpleasant and harsh because if you are never introduced to racism, you most likely will find it horrible if you stumble upon it. Then when someone sees how ignorant and horrible racism can be they will think “I never want to be like that person and hurt others for such a stupid reason.”
If you were never exposed to a multicultural environment, you would be less accustomed to cultural differences that exist in our society. This is because if you were raised with a specific group most likely they share many of the same beliefs. And all the other groups that have different accustoms you would be unfamiliar with them. This could cause a type of racism if you were to open yourself to other cultural environments and not like them. Then you might feel hatred or some other feeling against them and act in a racist way.
I do believe there are cultural differences. They are everywhere in today’s world, especially in the U.S. They range from different beliefs to different acts from different styles and different ways of going about things. Cultural differences are split up and also scattered in today’s world. You can see many different cultural differences, like Hannah said, in New York City. All these things may open one’s eyes to a new world.
I do think people hide behind the definition of cultural differences to excuse rude, inappropriate or obnoxious behavior. I commonly hear people saying things like they are being harassed or disciplined because they are a certain race. I really think it is plain stupid to accuse someone of acting against you if you did something wrong, and it is not because of race or different cultural differences. People try to get out of different events by saying they should be because of their cultural difference. So overall, people do hide behind cultural differences.
Commenting on Hannah’s blog it seems we share many of the same views. I believe her ideas and thoughts are true and help back up my views. I also agree with Joanna when she says people should be proud of their heritage, but I think they shouldn’t be too proud and confident of it because this may lead to racism and thinking their race is inferior to others.
I agree with Emily when she says that she will never be able to justify an act of racism. It's never going to be the right thing to do, no matter how much you want to fit in or be a part of the crowd. It's not okay.
My definition of racism is something like this: Prejudice or discrimination based solely on an individual's race. Prejudice is the process of "pre-judging" an individual, often associated with a negative attitude. Discrimination is the act of prejudice, unfair treatment of a person or group based solely on prejudice.
With today’s means of communication, particularly enabled by the internet and television, one is not easily sheltered from topics such as racism. So much information is out there and it’s at your fingertips 24/7. However, it is possible to genuinely arrogant on the topic. On the other hand, I do not believe that ignorance of racism helps prevent it from becoming an ideology. I grew up with a racist grandfather. He is an extremely right winged republican and he is also coincidentally a racist. Neither of my parents are racist, nor do I consider myself one. I will admit, however, that I conventionally cater to the stereotypes often associated with racism. In my opinion, these stereotypes are mere observations, therefore I do not consider them to be offensive or wrong.
If you were never exposed to a multicultural environment, then you obviously would be less attuned to the cultural differences that exist in society. America is the melting pot. (And no, I am not referring to that deliciously expensive restaurant that just opened in Atlantic City.) Many ethnic backgrounds exist in American, especially in urban area such as NYC, Boston and LA. However if you are in a rural area, with not much then a very close circle of friends or the nearest neighbor being a mile away, you aren’t exposed to much. You would be less accustomed to the cultural differences you were never exposed to.
I agree with Hanna’s answer to your last question of the blog. As a student Oakcrest, I do believe that I am exposed to a multicultural environment. However, you also see the downsides of a multicultural environment. You see that people hide under this idea of racism to explain irrational behavior. This is why racial discrimination exists, but not in the way many students at Oakcrest would think so. You hear a lot of reasons at Oakcrest to justify irrational behavior, which usually ranges from “it’s because I’m [insert race]” to the overused statement “You’re racist.” I think of a classmate that sits at my lunch table. He obviously has no idea what racism really is, because you could do anything and be called a racist. You could complement on someone’s shirt color and then he will find some way to turn it into an argument involving racism. Yes, he is doing just for shits and giggles most of the time, but he also isn’t helping a stereotype. Like I said, stereotypes become fact when they are observations.
Wow, I do agree with everyone who so far has said this a hard blog question but I also believe it is a wonderful topic and is something that should be discussed.
All the while that I’ve been growing up I have been taught to believe racism is discriminating against a certain race; hence, the word RACE- ism. Racism is not liking a certain race because beliefs, color, culture, etc.. Racism and prejudice are closely tied together in my opinion because most people that are racist are only racist because that is the only way they know how to be to a certain group and being prejudice as defined by your dictionary.com is a judgment or opinion formed before the facts are known.
In my opinion I do think that ignorance of racism prevents it from becoming an ideology. If one doesn’t know that racism exist than there wouldn’t be any hatred toward a certain type or group of people. If they is any hatred towards a person it would only solely be because you truly don’t like that person not because if there race.
Though I think that the ignorance of racism can be prevented from becoming an ideology I do believe that it is what you are around and brought up to believe that molds you into the type of person you are. For instance if a white child is brought up not liking black people the child obliviously isn’t not going to like black people for the simple fact that this is all they know and in that case I don’t think you can blame the child. Also if all your life you are raised in an environment where it is predominantly white and this is all you know when you do get around different people you tend to act differently and in my opinion that is not being racist but I think it is being ignorant of your outside world. Which is also tied in with the question whether you would be more or less attuned to cultural difference. Like I said before if a person is only brought up knowing one type of cultural and is ignorant of the rest they would less attuned with cultural difference in the outside society.
Are they Cultural differences? Of course they are! As you walk the tight, clustered hallways of Oakcrest you see different cultures. There are Whites, Blacks, Asians and so forth so imagine if you go to a city such as New York City where all different cultures come live near or around each other. To my opinion I think people do use cultural differences as a way to excuse boisterous behaviors in situations that are un called for. Like for example you would most of they hear a black girl saying “I’m black that’s why I’m so loud”.
In my opinion Hannah and I have most of the same views when it comes down to this topic. I realized that I agreed a lot with what she was saying in her blog. But with what Megan said at the end of her blog I tend to disagree. I think that no matter what and in any situation, stuff like getting in trouble because your black or hispanic will occur because that is just how society is. I’m not saying that racial profiling is apart of your character I’m just saying it is present in society and tends to occur.
Racism: uncalled for disrespect towards a person or people of another color.
At least, this is how I view it. But it really makes me wonder, does an example of racism have to be a completely out-of-line act towards another individual, or could it be as simple as an awkward thought kept to oneself? I, myself, can sit here and shout that racism is the worst facet of life, is completely ridiculous, and so not acceptable in my generation. But I have to admit that I have thought thoughts that make me question my actual standpoint on the issue.
Now I can assure to you that I am not vehemently racist. I've just stumbled upon a thought or two once in my life, based on certain incidents. I do think, though, that ignorance of racism does promote its becoming an ideology. Look what I've just recently typed: "[Racism is] so not acceptable in my generation." Does just thinking that mean it's gone forever? Accepting that it is "gone forever" really just opens a door for it to walk right back through, doesn't it?
Yes, I was raised in a white household. I've even been noted as the "Whitest white person I've ever seen". However, I have witnessed racism. I remember sitting at the kitchen table of my aunt (whom is now a frequent drug user and alcoholic, go figure), staring in shock as I heard her refer to certain black people as "nigs". Even my own mother, whom I've glorified so much (and believe me, she does deserve it) has been known to identify Indians as "dot-heads". The worst racist in my life, I am ashamed to say, is my Aunt Tootie (weird name, I know) who can't even be near black people, and who refuses to shop at Target because it is "owned by the French". I recognize this behavior as completely ridiculous, and I can't really believe it myself. These are the points of my family in which I am most ashamed of. (Besides, of course, the drug-using alcoholic. I've actually found life to be much better without her.)
Obviously, there are cultural differences. How awkward would it be to see me walking down the street shouting, "Yo homie yo homie yo!" I don't even know if I spelled that right! I don't sit down to a meal with chopsticks in my hand (on a regular basis), and I don't stop to pray to Allah five times a day. In fact, being in a white household has really made me notice these differences. People act differently than I do, and I accept that. I actually think it's kind of cool. Like EmCap said in her blog, I might stare, but I don't want to be rude. I just want to take in the differences of the world. Take Rosy Vu, my dear friend. We spent nearly a whole period trying to get me to correctly pronounce her Vietnamese name. (Hwung Who??)
Definitely people hide behind cultural differences. I can't tell you how many times I've heard the phrase, "It's because I'm black, isn't it?" NO! IT'S NOT BECAUSE YOU'RE BLACK!!!!!!!! Listen to me, Queen Latifah, you did not not get that job in Beauty Parlor because you are black. You didn't get it because you are rude. Not blackness, rudeness. Dominic McNabb- people don't discredit you because you're black, it's because you're a whiny excuse for a player who just happens to "magically get hurt" every time your team starts losing! THREE QUARTERS OF THE NFL IS BLACK, FOR PETE'S SAKE! (shout out, Pete!) And Barack Obama- I can't remember exactly what you said, but I do remember you pulled the race card, and whatever you said, it's not because you're black!
In conclusion, RACISM=POOP. There is no excuse for racism these days. That being said, we should all be careful not to slip a racist remark, because no matter how small it may seem, it can be incredibly hurtful to someone out there.
P.S. Queen Latifah- Watching "Beauty Shop" was the worst waste of my life ever.
I completely agree with Hannah on this one. I define racism as any negative action toward someone based solely on their race. I think that if there is ignorance to racism it prevents it from becoming ideology. As both Hannah and Megan say, if you have not grown up around racist remarks then you are most likely not going to know of any racism and thus racism would not be part of your ideology. On the other hand, if you are grown up in an environment where it is very evident that the people around you make a distinct difference between you and another race, then you are likely to believe it is okay. A prime example of this is my grandmother. She grew up in a very racist house and is now because of that someone racist herself. The effects of it have diminished and she is far less racist than her parents were, but there is still a twinge of racist is some things she says. I don’t think that just by living in a place that is predominantly white means that you are unaware of racism but I think the effects of racism are definitely greater in an area with different races in it. But I have always found that to be at school, especially Oakcrest. Each day we walk through the doors of school we are entering an environment that lurks with racism. Just walking down the hallways you are aware of the racial prejudices “Those ____ sure are crazy!” or the intimidation saying “Don‘t you see I’m ___ , you better watch out!” or even just the routine talking habits to many have become accustomed to such as “You know, that black girl.” I’ve always felt that it shouldn’t matter your race and I absolutely hate when people start off a story saying, “Yeah that white girl” or “You know, that Asian” or whatever race it may be.
I feel like society is becoming more aware of cultural differences and the importance of a wide knowledge and understanding of different cultures in hopes to lessen the effects of racism that are still in place today. Society has started drilling kids at a young age that difference is good. You can’t pick up a children’s book anymore without noticing every character seems to have a white, African American, and Asian friend. These books try to teach diversity to even young children and shy away from a predominantly white character filled plot as they may not have worried about before. So I think that even now not being exposed to a multicultural environment is no excuse the cultural differences. I think everyone at this point has become aware of the differences there. I definitely think there are these differences for example, February is a very important month for African Americans and is a time they can celebrate the hard work of others in their race. Feeling a connection with people such as Martin Luther King Jr. is significant to all of us, yet is even more so in African Americans. This is a feeling that people of other cultures just can not completely compare to which makes our cultures different. Also, African Americans will always be more sensitive to the subject of slavery more so than maybe a white person, it’s just because of our differences in culture.
I completely agree with Megan for the last question. It is so ridiculous when people think that a teacher gave them a detention based solely on their race. It is merely an excuse people use to not admit to their bad behavior. Teachers can not and would not simply give you a detention because of your race. Our cultures are going to be different but that doesn’t mean that everyone takes that out through racism. I think the fact that people still blame teachers for this sort of thing is a prime example that racism is still very much alive, unfortunately.
I agree with Jo, I dont believe racism is simply prejudice against skin color. It has adapted to a new definition; prejudice against sexuality, religion, appearance, personality, or of course, race. It’s grown to such an excessive definition because racism has definitely grown in itself.
I believe that if one is ignorant to racism then, like Brittany said, it wont be apart of their ideology. If someone has lived their whole life with other people of the same race, sexuality, religion, then yes, chances are they are completely ignorant to the fact that racism is out in the real world. And for this matter, I believe that if you threw them out into a big city, such as NYC, then they probably would be racist, because cultures ARE different. They would probably judge and criticize. If they grew up knowing one single thing, then they won't be used to seeing other people's lives lived differently. I'm not sure exactly what these different cultures are, because honestly, I haven't been exposed to many. I have at least been exposed to some, so that's good. I think from what I have seen, different cultures are in a way of speaking, acting, and living.
From working, I have experienced a lot of racist acts. So many people are so open about it. I remember one day a woman was standing in line and a family of black people were ordering subs. Sure, they were loud, but it wasn’t like blowing out ear drums. They were just laughing and talking. It’s not like we were in a library. When they left and it was the woman in line’s turn, she walked up and shook her head and said, “God, they are so obnoxious. Can I have a loaf of bread?” Just like that. Like it was normal to stereotype people like that. I was so dumbfounded. I just got her the bread, and realized how rude people can be. She didn’t know them. And you know what? They left a better tip. They at least told me to have a good day. So I actually enjoyed their loud company a heck of a lot more than her racist company.
I definitely think people hide behind different cultures to excuse inappropriate behavior though. I completely agree with Brittany's example about the detentions. I seriously hear that all the time. Racism is still alive in today's society, but I'm pretty sure teachers and principals know better than to simply hand out detentions just because someone is Asian, or black, or white. It's obvious when someone has done something wrong and deserves the punishment. There's no need to cry out, "It's just because I'm (fill in race here)," while the rest of the class completely denies that "fact".
Gray’s Anatomy. The show everyone loves. I am not hooked on this show and am not an avid watcher, however my sister is and it is very ironic how I was JUST watching a re-run of the show 5 minutes ago and it’s on right now. I’m sure anyone reading this is probably like, “what the heck is this girl talking about.” BUT it goes with this blog PERFECTLY! The re-run has a patient who is severely hurt but refuses to receive medical attention from an African American. He is not overtly loud, obnoxious, nor blunt about his racist views, though he stays true to his beliefs and feelings and is not afraid to take any risks or consequences for his opinion on “cultural differences,” even if that includes dying.
Everyone has their own interpretation of what racism means, all of which connect in some way referring to one’s hatred or disrespect for another not among their culture or “kind.” My personal perspective of racism as of this point in my life has not been able to come up with a solid definition for racism. I am too inexperienced in our society to be able to make a statement such as that even after thinking about it for a pretty long time. Then again, these eyes of mine have not been wearing a blindfold for the past 16 years either. I know of prejudice actions when I see one. If people are ignorant of racism occurring in their everyday lives, they would be less likely to practice any actions or make any claims against other human being racially on their own. Therefore, lack of this significant knowledge would prevent the ideology of racism. For example, take a public school, where students range from black to white to Asian to Hispanic to Hawaiian; if all students are educated together on the same level, receiving the same amount of knowledge, attention, treatment, and respect, chances are those students would grow up with a nature and state of mind less controlled by racial thoughts and beliefs. Then, take a private school where the entire population consists of white students. They are sheltered from other cultures and are isolated from the diversity of the world. Without given experiences to interact and communicate with others not of their kind, any stereotype or idea they heard about others will be the first thing they go by when trying to come up with their own ideology of others who are of a different race. Being a part of this school, or community where white people are the mass majority would not necessarily make you think racism does not exist. You may not experience it first-hand, however your mind will constantly take things heard from others and start forming conclusions and opinions of your own.
With the amount of diversity I have been growing up with around me, in my school, community, friends, etc., I do believe there are cultural differences amongst people. I have seen differences from what people say to what people eat, from what people wear to how they study, from how they approach others to their unique hand motions. All cultures have their own aspects and traditions its people follow, maybe even unconsciously. Cultural differences definitely exist and that’s a good thing. They are what keep life in America interesting and diversified. Traveling would be dull if everywhere you went in the world you saw people who acted and behaved just like you. Seeing these differences and recognizing them does not make someone possess any bit of racism at all. They are just ingredients which make life’s big melting pot brew with more taste.
As for the use of cultural differences as a shield for being able to openly be rude or mean or obnoxious, I strongly believe this is done, at least once a day from half of the entire population of all cultures. For example, some people may feel they can talk back to any teacher they wish saying, “You can’t tell me what to do. You’re not my mom.” However, if doesn’t matter how you were brought up or what your parents taught you, there is a level of respect everyone must have for an elder or an authoritative figure, that should exist naturally. People know the line and limit of what to be able to do or say and choose to do their own actions anyway. Ultimately, at the end of the day, it is up to the individual to decide and decipher their own ideology or beliefs of other people’s cultures.
I agree with Megan when she said she was happy to get out of that little bubble because it was not like the real world. However, I think those “bubbles” are what help make the “real world” real. I mean, if it weren’t for those people who were only surrounded by people of their own kind, no one would be able to make perceptions of others. Wherever you go in life, its reality. I HATE when teachers say, “well, we’re just trying to prepare you for the real world.” I know I’m going off topic but seriously, is going to school and getting an education not part of the reality in life?
Merriam-Webster defines racism as “A belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race “I find this a very accurate definition of racism, not only is racism prejudice against people for their race, but also a mistaken belief that race is a determining trait in a persons character and abilities. To answer the second question, I suppose I’d better take into account my own personal experiences. I grew up in a predominantly white household, except for my adopted cousin, who is black. In this environment up until, I guess when I first came into middle school and began hearing people in the hallways, and on my bus begin to make racist comments, and it seemed absurd to me that any judgments could be made based on someone’s race. So in the end I guess I believe that if you were raised in a monocultural environment then you do tend to notice differences in culture more, and if there was no trace of racism in that environment then you tend not to make judgments based on those judgments. I have to say that there are differences in culture, but those differences are a result mostly of environment that a person was raised in and not the race of that person and partially from the stereotypes society places upon those people, and when differences are .
It is my belief that if someone from one race if he were raised, if I were raised in a foreign country, saw Estonia but my family and my race said I was from Madagascar, but was raised in the traditional Estonian fashion I believe I would display traits of traditional Estonian culture. And so I believe that culture and attitude are mainly formed the environment in which someone is raised. The other important part of how the culture and the attitudes of a person are formed is society views that person. Keeping with my Estonian example if in Estonian society people from Madagascar were regarded as patently terrible soup makers then I would probably never try to make the soup, and everyone myself included would be predisposed to judge the soup harshly. If I went against my inclination and actually made myself some soup, and it was horrible I would probably find myself saying that people from Madagascar make terrible soup and would use that as my excuse for my lack of soup making expertise.
I’ve also noticed that people often manage to use the fact that their culture is different and society today’s heightened sensitivity to racism to try and excuse their actions. I agree with Brittany, race usually isn’t the reason you got in trouble and crying racism every time you do or say something against the school rules isn’t going to get you anywhere. I remember that in the sixth grade there was one girl would be rude and mean to the rest of the class and whenever someone confronted her about being mean and rude and disruptive whether it was a teacher or student, she would insist that she didn’t get in trouble because she defied the rules set out by the teacher, it was because she was black. And frankly I found it quite annoying how every time she got in trouble it was not because of her race, it was because she and her friends decided that it would be appropriate not only to have their own conversations but to distract the rest of the class.
Unlike Courtney T, I fully believe that prejudice in the mind is not racism at all. It can turn to racism but by itself is simply something that every single person does every single time they talk to someone. Prejudice is simply pre-judging, oftentimes with negative aspects due to their ethnicity, clique, or appearance. So therefore, I think racism is the outward expression of a hateful prejudice. And like Mikey T said out of the dictionary, racism deals with horrible prejudice of race only. So, racism is the outward expression of a hateful racial prejudice, in my own terms.
In personal experience, I grew up with primarily white people as Hannah and Emily C have, but I was exposed to other races from a young age. I was always taught that we are all Americans. That’s my dad’s view. But I didn’t interact much with those people, I was sheltered to my family and my next door neighbors as friends really. Growing up in Weymouth where the houses are further apart and not many kids live, my sister and I didn’t really interact with many people. But Weymouth, well on my side of the Black Horse Pike, has many non-white people living in the further back on the outskirts of Newtonville and Buena. So my neighborhood wasn’t completely white. But I knew what racism was. Some people that my parents were friends of were quite racist at times and I didn’t really understand it then. I think I have taken some prejudices from that but it never made me racist.
So if I were to actually answer the question, I do believe that ignorance of racism would ultimately prevent it as an ideology. People learn their prejudices from their environment, friends, family, teachers, parents, and just other people. It has to come from somewhere. If there was a total, pure ignorance of racism, people would never be racist; everyone would be one color (pink in my eyes because I’m colorblind). But then again, since racism does exist to some degree, those who grow up in it and are ignorant that it is racism would be affected adversely. They would see it as okay. Just like how the South was, and still is, during the Civil War. But it’s like religion; if your parents are Catholic, you’re going to become Catholic, not Buddhist. And yes, if you grow up where everyone is of one race, mostly white that is, racism will be masked because it will either be the norm or taboo.
I believe that without a multicultural environment ever in life, a person would be more attuned to the difference if they saw it but less if they never saw it. Emily Capille never really saw different cultures apparently, and she said she probably gaped at a fully dressed Muslim women. I don’t know why I knew what Muslims were, but in fourth grade I saw a fully dressed woman and just knew she was Muslim which I thought was cool. I actually wanted to talk to her because I knew she must have seen things differently. But still, I didn’t grow up with many cultures; I was simply exposed to them. So still, people who don’t grow up with that environment are less attuned to the differences. I was ignorant that the girl only did it because her parents did and she was absolutely no different.
I do believe that there are cultural differences simply because people have different cultures. A culture is something unique to every race and family. But American culture still permeates each and every American. You can see that with Americans who can trace ancestors to America. If a person is related to someone from a different country then their culture will be more different than that same type of person who has ancestors from America. But cultures never die out of people and are simply carried on and mixed. So therefore, there obviously are at Oakcrest people who hide behind their culture as an excuse for their behavior. Just look at our halls. Oakcrest hallways really can make some people racist sometimes. I’m sorry to say it, but it’s true. People act like jerks simply because people were jerks to their ancestors. It makes no sense and I can’t stand it. I hate Oakcrest hallways.
Racism. That is a hard word to define and I think everyone pretty much agrees. I couldn’t quite put the appropriate words together which would adequately describe the word racism. However, I read what Joanna had to say. I knew Joanna would have a good answer because her point of view is always interesting… Anyway, I agree with Joanna’s definition of racism. Racism could be simple, but yet complicated. It could be as simple as avoiding a certain city because there are homeless people there or using harsh, derogatory words and even violence towards a particular group. The group is also varied. A group, targeted by racism, could be based on color, ethnicity, religion, socioeconomic background, education, or even appearance (not just skin color). I can personally victimize myself as holding racist views towards certain groups. Though, I wouldn’t say I am racist, or I don’t totally discriminate against them, I just have a certain opinion.
“Does ignorance of racism promote or prevent it from being an ideology?” Using Ms. Bunje’s example, I fully agree that a white person who grew up in a predominately white area would be more racist towards blacks because they were never exposed to them. The white person wouldn’t know any other culture and therefore, would not be immune to other cultures.
I am going to put this into perspective. Living our high schools lives in Oakcrest, full of so much culture and ethnicity, allow students to be more accepting of different groups. I walk through the halls of Oakcrest and look around at all of the different types of groups- Blacks, Whites, Hispanics, and Asians and even the foreign exchange students from all different parts of the world. There is a girl in my French class who was born in Africa, in a French speaking country, and moved to America in her early youth. I think that is so cool. Last year, there was a foreign exchange student on my field hockey team from Germany. It was so amazing listening to her stories about her home country and town. Granted, the halls of Oakcrest annoy the heck out of me. The people are rude and obnoxious. But, the point is that spending four very important years here, surrounded by a melting pot of cultures, allow students, myself included, to be more attuned to cultural differences in our society today. I think there are tons of differences between cultures. For example, the culture of an African is different from an Asian. There celebration of particular holidays, their views on life, politics, and even household behaviors, demonstrate a few of the many differences between not only Africans and Asians, but groups in general.
I, most definitely, think people use cultural differences to excuse rude, inappropriate, or obnoxious behavior. I want to use Blacks as an example. I have heard plenty of times, whether it was from television or in person, that black people have changed because of slavery. What I mean is that I have heard some Black people being rude to a white person and when questioned about the rudeness, the black person would use the excuse that Whites need to respect them because of how “we” mistreated them. I find this absurd and obtuse. For Black people to use slavery as an excuse to be rude to Whites is just wrong. Yes, Blacks were mistreated as slaves, but that was years ago. I personally do not know any ancestors who had slaves and I’m sure they don’t personally know any ancestor who was a slave. In general, I think people do use their cultural differences as an excuse to be rude or inappropriate or obnoxious.
This is definitely one difficult topic to discuss basically like what almost everyone has said in this blog. Racism in my own words is the way some people act superior to people with a different race or skin color. I agree with Megan and Hannah that racism is not just discriminating against people with a different race but verbally and physically abusing them, too.
As Gary, Hannah, and Emily C said how they grew up in homes that where ignorant towards racism I agree. I believe that if your grow up in a home and live in an area that everyone is predominately ignorant towards racism then that will prevent you from the ideology of racism. Also, like Hannah mentioned it wasn’t until high school really until I was exposed to racism. Even though my brother would tell me different things to inform me about high school, I didn’t experience it myself until I entered the hallways of Oakcrest. I am sure if I went to Mainland or Shawnee, there isn’t any racism because I know they have like five people who are of different color skin in their whole school. This causes all the people in the school to be ignorant towards their race. I have talked to people from these schools and racism is not a problem in their schools.
As I said above with my Mainland and Shawnee situation since they are in a predominantly white area, I believe that there is less racism and less evidence that it exists. I see racism at Oakcrest though because our school is not predominantly white and people cant handle that so they become racist towards people of a different race.
I believe if you are never exposed to a multicultural environment you would definitely be less attuned to the cultural differences that exist in society. If you have never seen people of different cultures you would be less attuned to culture differences. This just makes me think of people who go to private schools or who are home schooled. They are constantly with the same group of people who should be of the same cultures in a way. If a kid is going to a private Christian school most likely he is of the same type culture as another kid in that school. They are less exposed to the outside world of mutliculture, which could end up being a bad thing when they experience the real world or could just intrigue their minds.
I do think there are cultural differences in society. There are girl Muslims that I have seen walk around covered from head to toe in cloth. My culture does not insist for me to dress like that but that’s the way their culture is made. Eventually when people move over to America, the culture start to combine with one another but that’s why America is called the “Melting pot.” We take people of different races and cultures and combine them all together to form America. That is what makes America unique and special, the fact we can accept everyone for who they are even if they maybe different from the norm. Yes, I think people hide behind their cultural differences and use it as an excuse. Like Gary said people hide behind their culture as an excuse for their behavior, especially in the Oakcrest hallways. He is definitely right and I think people try to take it too far and act as if some people are racist and make a bid scene but in reality they are just trying to pass the other person.
This is defiantly a hard question. Well racism to me is a hatred or disapproval of another race or ethnic belief.
I agree with Hannah, ignorance of racism prevents it from becoming an ideology. Like she said, if you grow up in a home where they are not racist then you are most likely not going to be racist. If people don’t know it exists then they wont ever experience it.
Well in a way that is true and yet again not true. When I was younger I lived in Northfield and I don’t think there was an African American family in a 10 mile radius from me. It is not that my parents are racist it was just how it was. Now when we moved from house to house we lived in Hamilton Green for a short period of time, where I was surrounded by African American families, still I was not racists though I did see it. The people next to us were extremely racists and used to tell my parents that they were doing wrong in letting me play with kids of different races. So yea I saw it and was around it me. Now I live in a neighborhood with not as many African American families around me, though Niah lives behind me and they are pretty cool people. Now my area I live in predominantly white but I see it everyday; in school.
If you were never exposed to a multicultural environment, I believe it would depend on the person themselves and their family background. If they were brought up to be racist they are most likely to be racist and be less attuned to the cultural differences. Though on the other hand if they are open people and believe in accepting everyone then they will be most attuned to the cultural differences. It all depends on the person.
Yes there are cultural differences. Everyone is different, which makes the United States the melting pot it is today. We all have different beliefs and morals, aside from the differences of color or religion. Just because we are different does not mean we can not get along though.
Yes I seriously believe they do sometimes. I see it the most in school and the biggest way is, “Its because I’m [fill in race]. Everyone uses now a days and I hate it. Every race has their thing, thinking that they are better than the next person. The white people, and not all of them, think well we have more money or we have more power so we are better than you. So maybe some have more money and we did have the power WAY back in the day but things have changed, and you are not better than ANYONE. Now the African American‘s, and not all of them, think that we owe them something. That because their great great great great uncle was a slave, that we offended them. First off that was so long ago, its over now. The only reason racism is so bad today is because of the extremist people who hate white people or hate black people or Chinese or Asian or whatever. The racism is so bad today and it is eventually going to get worse. I believe it keeps getting worse because of all the immigration. People aren’t used to it and it is coming in quick, which makes people scared, causing them to become racist.
I think racism is when someone does not like someone else of a different group of people because of what they look like, their beliefs, or where they come from. Ignorance of racism both promotes it and prevents it from becoming an ideology. People who are ignorant about racism and do not that it is wrong could possibly follow others in carrying out racist acts. In the same way people, people could also never have the idea in their mind which could prevent it from occurring. If you were raised in an area that is predominantly white and you're white, odds are, you can see evidence that it does exist, if you are aware of your surroundings. White people could be racist of other white people because of different things such as the clothes a group may wear, the music a group may listen to, or the acts they may carry out. Also, just because of where you were raised in does not mean that you have never stepped out of the box your whole life and witnessed racism in other areas or from other sources. I agree with Devon S. when she says that everyone is different, which makes the United States the melting pot it is today. Talking a walk down any street just 15 miles west of Oakcrest High School will land you on the streets of Atlantic City which will present you will people of all different ethic groups, rich, middle class, and poor, people covered in tattoos, business executives, people who can’t speak English, and people who speak 5 languages. In today’s day and age, I find it very difficult to pin point a location in America where someone was never exposed to a multicultural environment. I believe that cultural differences are the food that you eat, the dress that you wear, or the religion you study. I do not think that people hide behind the definition of cultural differences to excuse rude, inappropriate or obnoxious behavior. I think some people of different cultural groups may assume behaviors are rude, inappropriate or obnoxious behavior because they are have ignorance or do not completely understand the group. I find it hard to understand how someone can be racist. I have always grown up around very diverse people. Black, White, Puerto Rican, Chinese, Arabic. I am aware of the cultural differences of each group and still cannot find a simple thing that I could ever HATE about any of them. However you look at racism, it is wrong. It is something that should have never started and is important that it doesn’t get any worse, and hopefully in the future is nothing at all.
Okay I'm posting again basically, because I have nothing better to do with my life, and because something just popped into my head. I was watching the news one day and they were talking about multicultural families. The anchor said something about the rate of multicultural marriages rising dramatically throughout the world, and how one day there could be only one race because there won't be enough of any one race or culture left. I, however, believe that the people of different races and cultures won't let that happen, because they want to preserve their culture for future generations. Just putting that out there.
I agree with Hannah with this blog. Ignorance of racism prevents it from becoming ideology. If you grow up in a home where you are not exposed to racism daily, then you most likely will not become racist. To me, racism is everywhere and whether people want to admit it or not, we are all a little bit racist inside. Everyday I hear in the hallways, "That stupid white girl!" or "That stupid black girl!" Subtle racist comments are all around us and have become apart of our everyday speech.
I believe racism to be people showing any sort of prejudice against someone for their race. On the streets of Atlantic City to the streets of New York, racism is floating all around us. There are so many cultures and religions now-a-days that people are so against whatever is not their own lifestyle. I would consider myself to live in a multi-cultural environment, but even if you didn't, you should be more attuned to multi-cultural environments. Afterall, we live in America, the home of many cultures and the freedom to be who you want to be. Of course, having that freedom doesn't mean it is accepted, but times are changing. Homosexuals are able to parade around on the streets now and religions are popping up everywhere you turn. The multicultural environment we live in should have less racism. You'd think that with all the many cultures we have had over the years, people would grow up and just become acceptant of other people's lifestyles. You should not discriminate against anyone for having a different culture. People should be respectful and be happy that we have so many different types of choices to live our lives by.
Everyday people try and use racism to get out of trouble. You hear it on the news and in school. I'm sorry, but your skin color, white, black, or even purple, does not excuse you for breaking the rules. If you do what you weren't supposed to, you must suffer the consequences and not get mad if you get caught and punished for it.
Wow, this one�s a toughy. I guess I would say racism is a discrimination against someone�s skin color, religion, beliefs, or race/ethnicity. Now I�m going to look up the real definition on dictionary.com. This is their definition:
1. The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others.
That�s cool. Pretty much the same thing I thought.
I don�t even know how to start this, but I definitely agree with Hannah Bear on this one. I think ignorance of racism prevents it from becoming an ideology. Depending on the environment you grew up in, you�re view on racism is most likely going to resemble that of your household or the people you were raised around. I live in a house where racism isn�t an issue, but yet again I think I have caught myself saying racial comments about people I see out shopping or in school, but I don�t think I would ever say something to someone�s face that I whispered behind them as rude as that may sound. Everyone says something racial about someone once in a while. It�s not the end of the world. I see it everyday in school, but I think things seem to get more out of control in our environment because were dealing with a bunch of teenagers. Anger and mood swings probably have an effect, but on the other hand, if someone said it they had to have meant it. Even though I don�t feel like I�m a racial person, I still see evidence that it exists around me. I don�t in a bubble where I�m unaware of issues that don�t concern me. I go to Oakcrest. Period.
I think that I would be more attuned to a cultural difference in society because I�m used to seeing it. Not that it�s a major issue, but I recognize when someone is being made fun of and I want to go up to the person who said it and slap them, if they deserve to be slapped of course. Of course there are cultural difference. This is obvious, not only by what different ethnicities wear, but by the way they talk, carry themselves, and their attitude. For example, there are different cultures that go to Oakcrest. Everyday in the lunch line there are these two Muslim kids who always seem to get in front of me and they talk in a different language. They have to adapt to mainly white, black, and Hispanic kids that go to Oakcrest, so I�m sure they�re looked at more frequently for their differences.
I agree with Megan when I say this. The color of your skin isn�t going to make me say something about you. I�m saying it because that�s how you act and that�s how you are. If you�re being rude, I�m going to tell you to stop no matter what color you are. Just the other day I was walking out of lunch when I felt these hands pressing on my back and pushing me out the door into the people in front of me. I turned around and said, �Excuse me! What are you doing?� Instead of the person saying of I�m sorry, she said something like, �OMG, that white girl is so %$#^$#$! Dat�s right! You keep walking! &#*^*$%(*&()#!� She was racist against me and that�s not right. Hiding behind you�re race is stupid and these people annoy me.
I think that ignoring racism does prevent it from becoming an ideology. The reason racism refuses to die out is because people are so attached to it. It's like women's rights. Girls, if you'd stop proclaiming that men think you are lesser creatures, perhaps men would stop thinking they should think you are lesser creatures. It's the same with racism. Racist remarks have become assimilated into our culture, and I think that in a way, many people of different races do hide behind their race. They use it as a shield - from everything. From authority, from expectations, from people of other colors. I think that racism is alive and well because people want it to be so.
This blog question is so multifaceted, as many of the questions tend to be. I normally don't do this, but I actually looked up the dictionary definition for racism because I had no idea how to pinpoint one specific, or even right, definition for something that in my mind is so broad and free-floating. Like Courtney T and Gary disagreed on, does racism extend to your thoughts? Or is it a conscious disregard for all laws of decency by prejudicing against someone because of their race? Is it subtle or blatant? I've always thought that saying a truly "racist" remark was abhorrent, something that warrants not only being called a racist but a jerk. But there are so many more shades of grey to racism.
I went into this with the assumption (being someone who has never really given racism as a serious problem much thought) that racism was the acknowledgment of differences and perhaps certain biases based on a person's race. Perhaps racism is the stubborn clinging to preconcieved notions about a certain race. But does racism apply to discriminating against a race as a whole, or its people?
I think racism is alive and well in American society, but, like I said before, because people stubbornly refuse to let it go. Colleges, even, totally allow for the proliferation of racism, and they can't even deny it. They say racism is such a terrible thing? Then why do they have quotas, as if without them they wouldn't pick any black girls, or Puerto Ricans, or Asians? Should colleges not pick applicants who are best qualified for the job, regardless of their race? I don't know. I'm going off. So here's the answer to a different facet of this blog: you don't hear much talk about racism in predominantly (insert color here) communities. I think the odds are, since you don't see much evidence that it exists, like Ms. Bunje said, it doesn't. However, once you get into a multicultural environment, racism abounds, and I think that is largely due to stereotypes certain races establish, and foster with a certain type of pride. I think everyone is racist, because no one is immune to noticing other people's race, and in the very process of noticing, the fact they are "different from you" is being acknowledged. It's like not caring what other people think. You can say that you don't, just to be self-righteous. The same goes for racism. People who say they are completely unbiased and free of any racism whatsoever are flat out lying to you. Point blank.
PS: Hi Becca! (We posted at the same time =)
When I think of racism I think of a people disliking someone just because of their skin color. I’ve seen it plenty of times. People do not accept one another just because of their skin color. I even witnessed it today on my bus ride home. There is only one African American that lives in my neighborhood. A kid that lives down the street disliked him from the day he moved in and never gave him a chance to be accepted. This led to many arguments and fights nearly broke out. To me racism is when a certain person or group is treated differently because of their skin color. Even though we are all the same on the inside, it is hard for people to see that and not judge someone by the color of their skin.
I believe that the lack of knowledge that racism exists promotes it. We walk the halls in school and racism is all around us even though we don’t see it or we don’t know that it exists. Sometimes racism is hard to see. It’s like the Where’s Woldo books. If someone were to live in a certain location and the amount you are exposed to racism was very little, the evidence that it does exist is not there. It someone were to live in a predominately all white neighborhood; they would not be exposed to racism. All they would see would be things on television or on the internet. Even at that they probably would not be able to identify racism. If I were exposed to racism and a multicultural environment, I would be more attuned to the cultural differences that exist in society. Everyday when I walk into Oakcrest I see the different cultures that group together. You usually have the African Americans in one hall, the Hispanics in another, and the Caucasians in another. (Whatever happened to using Caucasian anyway?) When seeing these different cultures interact, I can tell each group has there differences. For the most part they dress alike and talk very similar. I am happy I came to Oakcrest because I’m getting a taste of the real world and at the same time getting a good education. I will be more prepared for the real world when I leave Oakcrest compared to someone who has been in private school all their life and has not been exposed to a multi cultural environment. Just spend five minutes in our school and you’ll agree that people hide behind the definition of cultural differences to excuse rude, inappropriate or obnoxious behavior. Gretchen said it perfectly.
I would have to agree with Alli in a way. Everyone should respect one another the way they would like to be treated. (that’s the golden rule by the way) Even though I understand that that was rude for that lady to say, sometimes it is hard not to be stereotypical. For example, my brother was held up at gun point in Philadelphia a couple of weeks ago by three African Americans. After hearing what had happened I was upset and pissed. I would have to admit during that time I was stereotypical. It made me start to think. I wouldn’t blame a girl dressed very nicely with her purse in hand to get scared and walk to the other side of the street if she was approaching a similar situation.
Racism, like almost everyone else has previously stated, is discrimination against a certain group of people because of their skin color, religion, beliefs, or basically anything that labels them. Discrimination doesn't even have to neccessarily be physical or mental abuse, it could even be so little as treating a certain group of people differently.
This is where it gets tough. Although I'd like to say that growing up in an environment where racism isn't really an issue causes there to be less racism, I sometimes believe that after living in such a closeknit environment, there eventually will be racism. A great example for this would simply be living in Mullica. Everyone knows that there's only about 100 new Mullicans entering into Oakcrest each school year. Out of these 100 kids, I want to say that about 94 of them were white. Racism really wasn't ever an issue in middle school for any of the Mullicans because we were all so used to "white" kids, and even the non-white kids were basically white to everyone. We all got along and there was never any segregation or anything. Coming in to high school called for adjustments, though. All the sudden there were so many different races, religions, and people from different backgrounds that it was almost overwhelming. I, personally, haven't felt any racism, but I'm sure that a lot of Mullica kids have.
I agree with Danny that if you were never exposed to a multicultural environment you'd definitely be less attuned to cultural differences. Like your example, Ms Bunje, if you're raised in a predominantely white area, you probably won't know too much about how diverse our society really is. Things are much easier to understand when you have experienced them for yourself. If you haven't been placed in a room with different people of different cultures and backgrounds, you probably won't understand diversity and racism.
I also agree with the Carlson Cousins on the "using your race to shield you" issue. Especially with the hallways. People can be so rude and disrespectful and then blame the fact that THEY'RE walking slow or standing in the middle of the hallway for no reason on someone else, and that they were only picked out because of their race. It's so ridiculous, but it's so true.
Racism is blind. We are all it's victims indrectly, directly, knowingly, or unknowingly. It doesnt make anybody feel good. I know the few times that i;ve expirienced it it left me feeling pretty worthless and degraded and the expriences that i;ve hade with them are pretty light. I honestly couldnt ever image feeling like Emit Till or Rosa Parks. In theory racism is the idea that the slightest human characteristic can make a race more superior, whether it be physical or mental. I dont like racism and i cant think of anyone you does, but history can trace its roots all the way back to when Jesus was healing the Leapors or when the Hindu's used the cast system. Racism hasn't died out It's only developed more and more overtime. The result of this development has been people like A. Oscar Martinez claiming that everybody is out to get him because he's Hispanic, but doest choose to make decisions that reside over and above the standards people have set for him and B. people like Hitler who have money, power and influence to make a change. Which isn't necessarily for the common good of ALL man.
I don't think that someone who's white that hasn't lived in a multicultural environment knows very much about racism if any at all. i don't think that i would be able to seriously consider an opinion about racism coming from a person who's never experienced or seen it in action.I think what the world needs is more tolerance towards other cultures and not ID somebody by actions that people of the same culture have done. This way when you walk into the check cashing place you don't have to look at that black man, that Arabic student, that Chinese woman, or that Hispanic teen any differently than you would look at someone of your own cultural background. Are there cultural differences? Well, is it ironic that there's more African Americans and Hispanics in urban areas than white people? Of course there are cultural differences. It's a shame because people spawn these differences then continue to pass them down to each generation.I agree with Hannah that if someone was raised by a bunch of racist then that person is more likely to be a racist. There are lots of stereotypes concerning cultural difference. Black people listen to rap. Spanish people eat rice and beans everyday. White men cant jump. I think people do tend to hide behind their stereotypes to to excuse inappropriate behavior. They do it because that's what socially expected of them so they do it.
Racism, what is it to me? I think that racism is the unawareness, disrespect, and or ignorance of a specific race, culture, or group. Due to the severe ignorance in my immediate experience, Oakcrest High, the ignorance does promote it to become an ideology. There is no such thing as a brisk walk down the hallways of Oakcrest without hearing racist slang and or profanity directed toward a certain group or individual of that group. I think of Oakcrest as my first tier of outside experience, then my life out of Oakcrest as the second. It is difficult to say that the ignorance is just plain ignorance, because if it were than it would be acceptable. I know for a fact some of the things heard in the hallways are not adequate anywhere, let alone in a school.
Now we all know that the Oak is a extremely diverse place, but do the question at hand is that a thing of racism fueled by ignorance or just the way the cultures lay. There is no reasonable doubt in my mind that it is a result of ignorance because one look into the second tier, life, and you will immediately see it is inevitable to be segregated among races. I also think that those raised in a predominately white background only know what they taught. In a predominantly white area, black cultures are not being learned, so that person is ignorant the outside cultures. However once they break into that second tier the person has to do one of two things. The first is to not do anything and remain ignorant, which will get you nowhere. The other is to look around and use the diversity around you as a book, and read into it, open your eyes and experience different cultures. By doing that you can be less ignorant and have a better understanding around you which will make you an overall person. Therefore that person who was raised in an all white community will be less aware of the cultural differences and more ignorant to them. The only way to be attuned to them and less ignorant is to experience things, and in that all white community, he or she did not experience anything else but the white way. It is much harder for a person to say I am going to make and effort to be more culturally diverse than to sit back and not do anything. Doing nothing is simple, but in my opinion it is also the wrong thing to do.
I totally agree with Megan because I to feel that there is no way someone can be so ignorant without realizing it. Whoever says that is simply a coward and has extremely low self standards. To say you “didn’t know” is just an excuse for hiding from the truth.
According to the Jake Taylor Dictionary, racism is defined as "discrimination against a specific race."
In reading a few of the other posts, I believe that some of my classmates' examples are stereotypical, and not necessarily, racist remarks. Sure, both terms do tie together, but they are still very different words. For example, if someone were to say that Ricky Phommathep aka Papa Wonka got a good grade on a test because he is Asian, would that be a racist remark? Or is someone just stating a form of the stereotype that Asians are smart?
For me, racism still does exist in America. The Ku Klux Klan is still active (though on a much, much lesser scale), Nazis are still out there, and many World War II vets still do not have kind words for the "Japs". This is why I believe that if you are exposed to a multicultural environment, you are less attuned to the cultural differences that exist in society. What I mean is that you see the cultural differences and realize that they're there, but you are more likely to have thoughts against another culture. For example, my younger cousin goes to pre-school in Mullica Hill in a predominantly white area. One day, a new student, who happened to be black, came to his pre-school. My cousin, not knowing anything about racism, said that this new student looked like he had chocolate on his face. Because he did not know about racism, he simply stated what he saw, not intending to be offensive. So, sure he stated something that might have been considered "politically incorrect," but the fact is that he did not intend his statement to have a racist meaning. In fact, he played with the kid for a good part of the day and is now good friends with the student.
However, I do not believe that just because you live in a predominantly white area, you don't see much evidence of racism. Deptford is a very white area. However, there is still a good amount of racism in that area. (I believe that the KKK might have had a headquarters there). So, I believe that racism is a result of an individual and his surroundings (peers, background, etc.) and not necessarily a result of whether their area has ethnic variability.
This idea of racism has definitely caused people to hide behind the definition of cultural differences to excuse rude, inappropriate, or obnoxious behavior. As many previous posts have stated, people in Oakcrest constantly blame the fact that they were punished on their race. To me, they are the ones being racist in saying that.
I find it unbelievable that race is still an issue in today's society, and I genuinely hope that people change their tune and learn to be more tolerant of each other.
P.S. - Courtney, the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback is Donovan McNabb, not Dominic McNabb. And I just want to say that his statements might have seemed like he was whining, but the one interview was taped months prior and became public when the Eagles were in a rough point in the beginning of the season. The reporter asked him a question regarding racism towards black quarterbacks, and he answered the question honestly. I give him credit for that. I think that McNabb has been a great quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles, and I don't think that just because he was having a rough year we should crucify him.
My definition of racism is the belief that one race, especially one’s own race, is better than another race of people. The ignorance of racism surely promotes its acceptance as an ideology, because if you’re not aware of what racism is you won’t know that it’s a bad ideal to possess. So you will much more readily accept it as a truth and believe it to be true yourself. A person who lives in a predominantly white community will see evidence that racism exists, they just won’t know that it’s racism. For example, there will still be television programs where the people of the community can see people of different races and it would be likely that a racist would make his/her racist comments. So people would still be exposes to the racism and not even know it because it wouldn’t be a personal experience because there won’t be other people directly involved.
If a person never lived in a multicultural environment they would be far less attuned to the cultural differences that exist in society, because they would have never been exposed to the differences. Even if a person was exposed to these cultural differences through books, television and such, they still wouldn’t be as accustom to cultural differences as a person who lived in multicultural environment. There are certainly cultural differences from one culture to another. Although the person will be fundamentally the same as a person from another culture, their beliefs, lifestyle, and even physical appearance may vary from culture to culture.
I agree with Hannah and Emily when they say that there are definitely people who hide behind the definition of cultural differences to excuse rude, inappropriate or obnoxious behavior and it drives me insane. I see people all the time “pull the race card” so to say to attempt to get out of trouble and it has no validity whatsoever. A perfect example is my volleyball team in gym; I’m the only white kid on the team most of the time and the other kids are really rude. Whenever someone confronts them about it they say, “It’s cuz I’m black right!?!” I just can’t stand this type of attitude, it makes my blood boil. First of all, there is absolutely no reason for them to be rude like they are and secondly they aren’t being confronted because of there race, it’s because of there despicable attitude.
I would define Racism as being the belief that one group of people is naturally superior to another based on their heritage and nationality. When Alli and Joanna both claimed that racism can nowadays be used to describe hatred based off of factors such as sexuality or religion they miss a key fact. While those may be defined as hatred and bigotry, they are not in fact racism. Racism by definition is based off of race. If it were based off of sex it would be sexism, if it were based on religion, it would be religious hatred.
Ignorance of racism honestly does not foster true equality. To ignore the actual concept of racism, does not necessarily make you exempt from feelings of hatred towards such a race, it merely means that you don’t have a word to sum it up with. True equality comes when we can look at a man and not let the color of his skin determine what we believe the content of his character to be. It lies in first seeing that he is a child of God, endowed by the great almighty with all of the grace which is given to any human being.
If a man were to exist in an entirely monocultural environment, racism would stop, but hatred would not. People would still judge others as lesser based off of trivial matters, but they would do it based off of other lines than race. They would do it based off of religion, economic class, or any other set of variables that don’t come to mind right now. Hatred will always exist in one form or another, it just depends on the circumstances how and why it happens. Of course if you ever were to leave this group the cultural differences would seem all the more bazaar. I’m not sure if that would lead necessarily to hatred though it quite often does. For example in Ragtime one of the major ideas is that there is this group of explicitly white people in New York and suddenly they experience an influx of immigrants and African-Americans entering the area and their reactions show a lot of hatred and racism as they are shocked by the sharp cultural differences.
People often have said that what causes racism is the fact that people are afraid of what is different to them. I’ve never thought it was that simple personally. Racism is a societal growth. At the beginning of any form of hatred there must have been some sort of cause. For some reason one group stood to gain by treating another group poorly. But even after the original reason for this hatred disappears or becomes irrelevant the hatred it produced continued to be passed on. This establishes distinct cultural qualities that are hard to avoid.
Obviously all cultures have their own unique qualities. These can both be positive and negative in nature. They can exist through, traditions, musical styles, foods, and other really interesting cultural factors. Unfortunately with culture also comes cultural expectations. People have images people automatically feel about someone based solely on their race. The greatest tragedy of this sort of situation is men of all races can begin to accept these stereotypes about what they can and cannot do as fact. There are too many people who accept that because they are of a certain race their fate is predetermined. These expectations are at the very heart lies, and it is the responsibility of all men to defy them. Rather than letting cultural expectations determine their life, all men must live so that their life determines future cultural expectations.
Happy Day of the Ninja everyone
I just want to add in the url of this video, it’s a touching story about racism:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAPlTQT9zOw
My definition of racism is a lot like Mikey’s definition. I believe that racism can be vaguely defined as, like Mikey said, “Prejudice or discrimination based solely on an individual’s race.” Prejudice itself is just the act of pre-judging, whether it be on the basis of race, sex, creed, or any other distinguishing factor. Racism has taken on a negative connotation and most basically refers to a person’s negative beliefs, feelings toward, or actions toward another race of people. I believe that the ignorance of racism is a fertile breeding ground for racism. Rachel Carlson said, “As I said above with my Mainland and Shawnee situation since they are in a predominantly white area, I believe that there is less racism and less evidence that it exists”, but I do not agree at all. I believe that if you live in predominantly white area, such as “Yuppie-land” (Mainland) as Mr. Cervi likes to call it, than you are more likely know only of your race, in this case that would be white. Only knowing of your own race, some new race coming along would be new and strange to you, and history has shown us that people do not respond well to the new and strange. People brought up in this type of an environment do not exactly know that racism is all around them, but that does not mean it does not exist. You can not see the wind, but we know that it exists. We see the effects of wind, like trees blowing. Just like the wind, we can see the effects of racism, but still might not realize that it is there. It has been over a hundred years since slavery was abolished and forty years since the passing of the Civil Rights Acts, and racism still exists in society. Jake has left numerous common example of this fact, and I will list some personal ones. My family, although they will vehemently deny it, fit into the definition of racist. Of course they do not realize it because they were, for the most part sequestered in their own little world that just consisted of their white family. Back when my parents were still together (this was shortly after my parents and I, even though I was two, moved down here from North Jersey) my father (who, for those of you who don’t know, is not involved in my life any more, but not because of the reason I will list in a second) observed students at Oakcrest High School and mixed-raced couples. Appalled by this notion, he preceded to tell my mother that he would never allow his daughter to “go around with a black boy”. Irony at its best, isn’t it? For those of you who don’t know, my boyfriend is black, and I am pretty sure my father would murder me if he ever knew. Lucky for me, he is pretty much out of my life, and has been for quite a long time, but my experiences with racism do not end there. I see the way people look at me and my boyfriend, and I can read their faces. Each person who is over the age of 30 has a look of utter distain and confusion. People younger than that are usually just surprised, but sometimes it isn’t a bad thing. The world has changed a lot since the 1860s and 1960s, but unfortunately the people in it have not changed along with it.
If you grew up in a culturally diverse environment, you can tell the differences between different cultures, but it is something you get used to, so you don’t find it strange or new to you. Therefore, you are less likely to be racist. I believe that there are cultural differences in the world. America is known as the “melting pot” (like Rachel said), of cultures and that nickname refers to the different people in the world blending and mixing their cultural difference. Culture refers to the patterns of human activity and the symbolic structure of a people. They can be the way someone dresses, the food that they eat, certain traditions, certain beliefs, or anything that exemplifies a person’s identity. They can be pertaining to different religions, countries, race, sex, or geographical location.
I 127% believe that people hide behind their cultural differences to excuse their rude and obnoxious behavior. Countless times I have seen people act inappropriately and ridiculously, and used the excuse that “Oh, that’s because I’m ______”. And society lets them get away with it. We agree and just accept that. People believe that they are just the way they are because of where they came from of from what ethnicity they are and they can not change it.
PS. Sorry for writing so much. I tried to keep it short, but there was just so much to say.
Racism (idea) is the act or idea of hating or disliking another race or culture other then your own. I also agree with HANNAH when she said it’s a prejudice that can be seen verbally and physically, that was very well put. I believe that ignorance prevents it from becoming an ideology. Most likely if you lack the knowledge of racism you are not racist because you weren’t brought up knowing that it existed. Now if you’re raised in a predominantly white neighborhood and you’re white most likely no there’s no evidence it exist because your not constantly being reminded of the difference in culture and race because you’re surrounded by people that are just like you. I believe people brought up this way are in for a rude awakening when they leave their nest. I live in a predominantly white neighborhood and it’s always funny meeting the neighbors sometimes my family jokes about how the white people are quick to move when to many blacks move in, this doesn’t make us racist we’re just poking fun at how ignorant people can be.
I believe that if you are never exposed to a multicultural environment you would be less familiar with the cultural differences that exist in society. I believe that this exist in all races mainly white. There are plenty of cultural differences, yet they go unseen and are mistaken fir stereotypes. Especially seen in America we are a very diverse country and it’s not just black and white like back in the day. But you see a mix now and I think the differences really aren’t as noticeable. A lot of stereotypes are seen as differences like all black people eat fried chicken and still think Tupac is alive. Or white people can’t jump or dance. Those aren’t differences.
Yes people do in fact hide behind what they perceive to be cultural differences. Like when black girls are being loud in the hallway because their black and supposedly black people are loud. I agree with Caitlyn when she said that people are always quick to defend their rude behavior with the weak excuse of “Oh, that’s because I’m ______”. And that’s the problem your skin color doesn’t give you the excuse for anything. We even see this idea with celebrities. Like with the show flavor of love flavor of love set black people back twenty years. It’s a disgrace but hey he’s black right it’s expected, but NO its not! I feel disrespected because when people use that excuse it allows other races to link black people to this and that or Puerto Ricans and whites to this, but I am black and no because I’m black doesn’t mean I can yell and act all ghetto there’s no excuse.
I feel that the ignorance of racism is ridiculous. How could you be so far away from this planet to think that the issue of racism doesn’t affect everyone living on this planet. People feel that racism is specifically between Black and White people but because of the large number of different cultures in America there is racism towards and from every racial or ethnic group. The stereotypical jokes that people hear and say is a type of racism, a type of racism that for the most part people don’t catch onto. I am a culprit, because I do tell stereotypical jokes between my friends and me, usually either about my friend who is ok with me telling a joke about him. I think that isn’t meant to be harmful to anyone. The one thing that I think everyone needs to remember while telling any type of joke is that do dish anything out that you can’t take yourself. I’ve noticed that about people in this day and age, people want to do whatever to whoever but as soon as it happens to them it’s a big deal.
Sorry about that I went a little off topic. I don’t think that you culture has a huge effect on your personality. It is you personality and you can do whatever you want with your personality because it is yours. I understand that the conditions you grow up under can affect the way your personality, but this is where my point comes in. Let’s say you have a Black kid and a White kid living in the same neighborhood. Let’s also say that this not a nice neighborhood. It is human nature to adapt to your surroundings to survive. These two people are both of two different cultures but they both grew up in the same community. These people can’t use their cultures to explain why they are who they are because they are who they are because of the environment they grew up in and their personalities are their own.
I’m going to agree with Gary here. Racism is not a premeditated idea of someone for the same reasons he stated. We do it all the time for everyone. It does become racism when you have this premeditated idea of a person and you base it solely on race and/or religion. I also feel that racism is just as strong when it comes from race as it does when it comes from religion.
After thought I hate when people link proper english to white people. I was made fun of all the time because i spoke so proper. "Oh Niah so white! White girl you talk proper." Since when is it a crime to conjugate a verb? Last i checked proper english wasn't for a specific race!
Racism is something that we witness in our everyday lives, whether we realize it or not. Racism, in my opinion, is the discrimination towards one specific group of people. I agree with Hannah when she says that racism can be in a number of forms, such as verbal or physical. I believe that ignorance of racism does in fact prevent it from becoming an ideology. There is no way for one to become familiar with racism if they do not experience it or if they are not surrounded by it to see it's effects. However, the fact that racism plays a huge role in the creator of problems in todays society is known to mostly every human being, regardless of where they live and what they experience on a daily basis. Therefore, i dont think that anyone is really completely unfamiliar with the subject of racism. The cause and effects of racism are constantly broadcasted on television, radio, discussed and studied in school,etc. Even if people are not directly subject to it, there is no way to escape the negative connections of racism in every single persons life. I strongly believe, though, that racism can take on different levels of a role in peoples lives. Whether one is racist or not seems to stem from their inheritance or their surroundings while growing up. The more that someone is encouraged by racism, the more brainwashed they will become, or at least it seems this way. In my household, my paretns always treated everyone, no matter what type of race, religion, or culture, equally. Being surrounded by this type of attitude towards racism, I am now the same way and have the same feelings towards being just to all people. I think that most of us can agree Mays Landing is pretty much a diverse town. Growing up here, I became accustomed to accepting people of all types. Maybe it is true, however, that people that grow up in speicic racial areas are more proned to being racist. I feel as i'm writing this, my ideas and thoughts are so jumbled and all over the place. I guess this is because I have so much to say about racism that I don't even know where to being or how to go about stating my thoughts. It has taken so much peace out of our world if you really think about it. Sure, there are cultural differences. Many people believe many different things, and even though that may be braod, so are the types of people in our world. Aside from being different from one another, this should certainly not affect the behavior of any group. Differentiating beliefs and customs is no excuse to act out in any inappropraite manner, it's as simple as that. Basically, our world needs to learn how to accept everyone for who they are and it would sure be a better place.
Racism by my definition is any teasing or degrading comment or action that are said by the color of someone’s skin. I believe that the ignorance of racism is promoting it to an ideology. If someone does not realize what their doing, they could pass that on to their children or other people in the community which will lead to other people thinking it is alright to say or do things of that nature. The idea though of someone going up in a predominately white neighborhood not knowing of slavery is kind of not realistic because those people that live there probably want it to be like that because they are racist and probably do not want to be intermingled with different races. I believe that if you are never exposed to a multicultural environment will not be tolerate to cultural differences because they would have never been experienced to it and will not be able to handle it. This creates problems because if you are never exposed to it or taught about it and with the amount of different races in the world almost every place in the world you can live is diverse. So you need to be diverse and able to adjust to the people around you and live in harmony with different races not judging, but accepting each other. I also believe that cultural differences do occur since every race has difference backgrounds or traditions that their races practiced before they migrated to a different area. The thing some people forget is say they are racist against a race like African Americans, well the white man brought them here so they did not want to be here anymore than the white people wanted them so now they have to deal with what they caused by forcing them for their home country. People do not think about their actions until the affects of their actions finally catch up with them. Sometimes people might use cultural differences to excuse rude behavior, but it is not the answer for everything. Even though someone has cultural differences, they have to be able to hold themselves accountable for their actions and to their moral standards. Although something might be allowed in some other society, you have to hold yourself to the standards of the people in the region that you resign in. Such as if you live in a different country and then you move to the United States, you need to obey those rules that are put in place by the government. An example of this is that in some countries things like animal sacrifices and other religious or cultural experiences, but once these people move to the United States they are not allowed to practice these experiences anymore. The law only takes into consideration religious beliefs and not cultural beliefs like certain religions use drugs as part of their religious experiences and allowed to do so under the law.
As most of my classmates have already said, racism is the ignorance, prejudice, discrimination, or verbal/physical abuse of a specific race. Growing up in Mullica, racism was not much of an issue, as Emily Rheault already said. In Mullica, less than probably 5-10 kids weren't white. This made racism harder to imagine because to us, race didn't matter. I also think it is pretty funny that Emily Capille didn't notice there was a black person in her school until seventh grade. Racism becomes an ideology when you don't know about it. I was raised in a family of white people, obviously and no one in my family really talked about black people or made comments about them.
Then came freshman year...at Oakcrest. That sentence basically says it all. Oakcrest is, to use Megan's word, a "melting pot" of cultures which is the most diverse of schools. We are made up of most cultures that can be found: White, Hispanic, Black, Asian, Indian, etc. It is impossible to ignore racism in the hallways of Oakcrest because it literally is EVERYWHERE. You could just be walking during a period going to the bathroom and hear someone saying something derogatory.
The cultural differences are definitely obvious because the different cultures usually blame their race for something that goes wrong. The classic example is that someone gets in trouble and the first words of defense out of their mouths are, "It's just because I'm (insert appropriate race here) isn't it ?!?!?!" It is the easiest way people believe to get out of trouble, to blame it on what you look like. I think that this is absolutely ridiculous because you didn't get in trouble because you are black, or asian, or white. You got in trouble for being stupid and doing something you shouldn't have. That's it. Accept that your consequences are based on you, not the color of your skin. My last example is similar to Becca's. There have probably been at least ten seperate instances in Oakcrest where I have accidentally bumped into someone. Or maybe, usually, they bump into me or stop dead in front of me in the hallway and I crash into them. A simple, "Oh, sorry." would be sufficient. Possibly even saying nothing at all. But it is almost 99% guaranteed that the person will proceed to rant down the hallway, "That white girl is an effin @(*#&^@#*&!" Yes, this is the epitome of Oakcrest High School interaction. You get bumped into then get screamed about for being white. The cultural differences here are clear and the racism definitely exists whether it be to whites, blacks, hispanics, or asians. This is just wrong, but unfortunately, virtually impossible to stop.
*I would just like to make an extra comment on Leslie's blog. Her thought about the various schools that you are educated in and how different races can all learn the same material in the same way, but be culturally diverse was well-thought out. Also, I watched the Grey's Anatomy episode that she is talking about and she is exactly right! That episode coincides perfectly with this blog, it is pretty funny. Just wanted to throw that in there.
Wow, this is difficult. I’m going to base my answer solely on the perspective of my surroundings, because I’ve always tried to avoid the subject of racism unless it is 1) part of a class discussion or 2) used in a light-hearted manner. The latter seems kind of oxymoronic, doesn’t it? I’ve never thought of racism as something to joke around about, but yet, I’ve witnessed tons of people everyday that do.
I absolutely agree with Hannah about the definitions of both racism and prejudice. Definitions are usually black and white, as if there could be no question about their credibility. Of course, that’s only true until discussion arises and the definition begins to melt away. So, for the sole purpose of sticking to the definition, racism is prejudice against a person or group of people based on their race; prejudice is the abuse caused by racist thoughts or beliefs. Plain and simple.
Some say ignorance is bliss. I forget who coined the phrase, but sometimes I like to think of it as a “Get Out of Jail Free!” card for life. Ignorance of racism undoubtedly causes tension, even if it is unintentional. I mean, if you’ve never been exposed to racism, then how do you know what in the world it is? Because I am both a pedestrian in the halls of Oakcrest and a member of the band, I know what a racist joke sounds like. The ironic part is that NO ONE finds them offensive! And they are totally all around us. Here’s some more irony for you: I’ve got Project Runway on the TV right next to me, and just a moment ago, a man said, “I ran for that fabric like a Mexican crossing the border!” It’s shocking! Now, I can assume that those people know what they’re talking about, so they are obviously not ignorant. If ignorant people were exposed to the type of jokes and languages that I hear on a daily basis, it might seem socially acceptable.
As for the “raised in an area that is predominantly white” situation, I can’t relate. I’d say that Hess, Shaner, Davies, and Oakcrest are very racially and culturally diverse, so my classmates and I have never thought anything of it. I’m going to use my mom-mom for an example. She is, put simply, a Southern belle. She grew up in Georgia. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that she is racist, but she could be classified in the “blissfully ignorant” category. When our family has discussions about stuff like television or the radio, she can come off slightly racist, unbeknownst that no one else in our family speaks like that. She has no problem with black or Hispanic people, for instance, but her mentality is a reflection of the culture that she grew up in. And I never blame her either, because she doesn’t seem to get it.
At first thought, I came to the conclusion right off the bat that people from a predominantly white surrounding wouldn’t have the capacity to assimilate into a culturally diverse society. It’s difficult for teenagers to go from middle school to high school; imagine going from a white majority to a white minority! That’s no more than a culture shock, unless they’re like my mom-mom. She might find it strange, to say the least. I suppose I should bring up the “blank slate” argument, though. Maybe the blissfully ignorant wouldn’t have a problem accepting new people and situations. Emily Capille said that she only had one African-American boy in her class and didn’t even notice until 7th grade. I think that goes to show that it is possible to be completely vulnerable to new people of all races, with or without racism.
I think that it’s because of racism in America’s history that causes people to hide behind their race as an excuse. They may feel obligated to be defensive; look at the institution of slavery, or the fence at the Mexican border. It’s imbedded in their culture to feel alienated or belittled. It shouldn’t be an excuse though! That makes me mad. One could go so far as saying that white people should feel obligated to be racist because we used to be slave owners, just like African-Americans used to be slaves. I’m guess that those are just generalizations, but racism and racial profiling is a part of our history. Judgment of “rude, inappropriate, or obnoxious behavior” sees no color.
Racism. Another touchy subject in the world of blogs. To me, racism means the hatred of a race or an ethnic group. It is quite simple, but that's what I think racism means. If people don't acknowledge that racism is around this day and age, then they are fooling themselves. That's why the NAACP is still around because African Americans still aren't getting equal rights in the work force. Well at least that's what I think. However, If someone lives in a neighbor hood where their race is the majority, they more than likely won't see it as much. Unless, of course, that race bullies the minorities in that neighbor hood. That sort of event, I believe, takes place in today's society. It's ridiculous how people can't view others equal to them selves. Everyone wants to be superior to the person next to them and that will always cause a problem.
If someone was never exposed to a multicultural environment, I feel that they would have trouble getting a long with people of a different race. I went to private school for about five years and most of classes were predominantly white kids. So when I transfered to a public school, Hess, it was a major change for me. However, when I was younger, I wasn't as shy as I was the past few years. Don't ask me why, but I guess I didn't care back then and I was only in fourth grade. Anyway, it wasn't that difficult to get used to seeing different people everyday. Actually, i liked it. I felt singled out in my private school because every year the classes were practically the same. But, being around new people, opened my eyes to how many different people there were. Not that I have never seen someone of a different race before, just I was sort of provincial and wasn't exposed to different walks of life. I'm glad I did transfer when I did because I have many more friends because of it.
As Caitlin M. said, I believe that people hide behind their cultural difference. Her example was sort of the one I was thinking of. "Is it because I'm _____?" I've heard that plenty of times. Many times they were from people I know and they were joking, but sometimes people are serious. However, majority of the time, the reason people get into trouble isn't because of their race, it's the things they do. Say a someone kills someone else of a different race. They will charge them with murder and possibly with a hate crime (South Park Episode). Just becasue someone killed someone of another race, it doesn't mean that it is a hate crime. maybe that guy felt like killing someone. I'm getting slightly off topic, but I think about that stuff sometimes. Not about killing, but why people always include race with everything that happens. It's a crazy world and race will always be a debatable topic of discussion.
Racism is a very strong word. To me, racism is when a person acts on their negative feelings towards a race or group of pepople. There is a fine line between prejudicism and racism. Predjudism is when someone has negative feelings toward a group or race, and racism is when people take that prejudism to the physical level.
I think that ignorance of the fact that racism exists promotes racism from becoming an ideology. If you never knew that racism existed, then you would not be able to notice it in yourself when you show signs of it. But just because you live in a predominantly white community, does not mean that you don't see evidence that it exists. Racism is all over the TV, in the movies, in music, and on the news. The town I grew up in was not as predominantly white as Port Republic, but it was mostly white, with only a few kids that were either Black, Spanish, or Indian. I knew that racism existed, and saw I knew that I didn't want to become racist like the people I saw. If I hadn't known of racism, I don't think I would have been able to distinguish between what was right and wrong.
There are definitely cultural differences. That is the whole point in living in America. It is the "melting pot" of cultures. Like Hannah said, look at New York, or any other major city. You have Chinatown, Harlem, Upper East Side, Greenwich village, Manhattan, and the Bronx all on one island. But I think that the less you are exposed to a multicultural environment the MORE attuned you are to the differences. Once you live with someone for long enough, you start picking up that person's idiosyncrasies. Like when I go down to Georgia in the winter and summer, I usually go for more then a week, and by the end of the time, I find myself saying "Y'all!" Like in New York, it is completely normal to see a drag queen, cowboy in underwear, women in full Muslim attire, and Jewish men in Yakimas, all walking next to each other. If that happened it Port, Mullica, or Mays Landing, it would be like they were from another world. It's just that New Yorkers are used to the differences, and soon they don't seem so different. But here, we are not used to seeing that.
Of course I think that people hide behind the cultural differences. That is the whole reasoning behind the Civil War and the segregation in the 60's. Look at Rosaleen in Bee's. She was beaten in jail because she spit snuff on white men's boots, but it was all right, because the men who beat her were white, and she was a lowly black woman. The way slaves were treated in the South in the 1800s was fine because the slaves were black, and the owners were white and superior. Not to mention, people use it all the time at our very own Oakcrest.
What Hannah said technically sums up what racism really is, physical and mental abuse. Ignorance of the racism around you definitely prevents it from becoming an ideology. And like what Racheal said about how Gary, Hannah, and Emily C, and how they grew up in places that are completely ignorant of racism, I think it’s true. Living in homes with parents who aren’t prejudice or are prejudice can really effect your understanding and living conditions around multicultural places. If you were born in a prejudice family, you most definitely will grow up prejudice yourself, even if you still associate with other multicultured people, inside you still feel a bit of prejudice inside you when one race does something to you. Like the example Bunje gave us, it’s correct that if you live in a relatively white area, being white yourself, then you are completely ignorant towards racism, it doesn’t exist for you!
I guess if I lived in an area where there are only Asian people, I guess I would be more attuned to other cultures. Especially since it would be like aliens coming to show us there culture, it’s different and new. And yes, of course there are different cultures, maybe they have something in common, but they are most definitely different. The difference between a Vietnamese girl and a “white girl” (Sorry not trying to be racist^^) is their background. I would be taught to bring my elders around, like my grandma, shopping. Never will an old lady be caught alone without either her grandchildren or her children. I was also taught to bow and say “Chao ….” I have to call each person that is my age and older. If I was to properly address Bunje, I would say, “Co Giao,” if I was caught saying Bunje, then that would mean I was being disrespectful. I would also call those that are a bit older than me in the same generation, Chi, like “Chi Leslie,” or if I was calling to a boy, “Anh James.” In France you would have to address people, “vous” to show respect to the person you’re speaking with. Depending on what culture you were raised in, you act that certain way.
People often do use their cultural differences to hide their rude remarks. They believe they can do anything to hurt others because they have a reason to do so. I’ve seen many people use their cultural differences to hide their racism, especially in religion. Religion is a big issue that involves many hurt race besides it. It’s not stated specifically in a book, that it’s right to act obnoxious and treat other races improperly. Many of those types of people interpret too many things in their culture to hide the fact that they are being bias, prejudice and also hiding their embarrassment.
Racism-the belief that a race or many races are inferior because of their ethnic background. Definition © by Alexander Peralejo
If you have no idea or you are ignorant about racism, this doesn’t make it an ideology. An ideology is theories or ideas of a individual, group, or culture. I agree with Hannah and Megan on that if there is an ignorance of racism then it prevents it from being an ideology. Without the idea of racism or knowing that racism exists means, that there are no ideas or theories to form ideology. I believe that if you were surrounded by the same race as you are, a form of racism will occur. Although this doesn’t refer to me at all. Racism is all over the world. I wasn’t surrounded by racism to an extent where I hated a group of people. I have seen racists acts occur and I never dwelled on it in my mind. I’ve always looked at people and thought them to be pure in the heart. But some of the racist things I’ve seen just takes that purity out of my mind. I will never look at someone and say oh, that’s a good kid if they’ve done something so disrespectful. There is always some sort of way society can pick out the faults of someone or other people. It is horrible to say that society has come to this point where many people are so judgmental and that the smallest things in from the smallest accessory to the way someone fixes their hair can be judged and then complemented and then made fun of. There will always be cultural differences with a multicultural society. I was always taught that everyone has their own differences and that I should respect other’s ideas and beliefs. I have many friends of all ethnicities and has never looked at someone in a negative manner. Many of the cultural differences there are can be from the clothing a culture wears or the way you speak. I have seen many of my friends get made fun of because of their accent. My friends who are ethnic though are really good people. I hate it also when, my friends get made fun of about their whole ethnicity altogether. For example, I know ignorant people that make fun of all people who look Indian and refer to them as terrorists. Some other cultural differences are ideas passed down from older family members. It’s horrible how parents can mold children into believing such disrespectful and false things. In all I think I have always done the right deeds and things. I have always respected everyone who deserves it.
Okay I already wrote my blog but I feel like I censored myself a lot in order to not offend people but I’m really angry right now. Let me just preface this by saying one of my best friends is black. Today when I was walking into school, this black girl put her hand on my back and felt the need to push me through the door. Now if I ever put my hands on her, she would punch me in my face. And if I said something to her, it would turn out like Becca’s story. Just because you’re black doesn’t mean you can put your hands on someone else or scream at the top of your lungs or stand in the middle of the hallway so no one can get by or walk so slow that everyone’s late to class or talk back to a teacher. As long as they won’t accept responsibility for their actions, they’re just perpetuating racism. They’re the reason why people are so racist because they’re confirming the stereotype. So stop blaming the world for everything that goes wrong in your life. Like Hannah said, everyone’s not out to get you. So shut the hell up in the hallways, don’t touch me, walk faster, and take responsibility. Alright, I feel a little better now. But everything won’t be okay until people realize the mess that they’re creating for themselves.
To me, a racist is someone who discriminates or prejudices against other ethnic groups or nationalities. A racist usually has a preconceived notion as to what a person will behave like based on personal experiences or upbringing based on that person’s ethnicity or nationality.
I feel that ignorance of racism promotes it to become an ideology. If you are raised in a predominately white community or a predominately black community, you are not exposed to the other races out there and thus have to rely on things you are told and not on your own personal experiences. If one person in your “community” has met someone from another race and has had a bad experience with them the rest of the community will get a preconceived notion about that race because of what they have been told. Then once you, the person who has only heard bad things about said race, is thrown into a situation where you are required to interact with that other race you will already have a negative opinion on that person based on what you have heard.
If you were never exposed to a multicultural environment you would be way more attuned to the cultural differences that exist in society. By only experiencing one way of living and only one culture, when you are exposed to a different way of living you will be more critical and overly analytical. You will look at everything they do differently from your culture and compare. Most people thrown into a situation like this would think that the other culture was weird just because it was different.
I definitely think that there are cultural differences. When I think cultural differences the first thing I think of is food. Almost every culture has specific foods that scream their individual culture. For example. One of my close friends is Russian and some of their foods are quite different than anything I was used to having. Another cultural difference is the way you dress, how you treat women, and the way you talk. Dress can be based on religion or just on what the people you associate with wear. Women. In some cultures women are treated as subhuman. The dirt they walk on is treated better than they are. Depending on where you are from you will have different words that mean different things. When I went to camp in Georgia, my friend I met down there, Hayley, called a room a rum and a roof a ruff. Things like that differ no matter where you go.
I think Megan nailed the last question right on. When she said you don’t get in trouble because of what you look like. You get in trouble because of how you act. And like she said you’re not an ass because of your race, you’re an ass because you’re a pain in one. Although not all people hide behind their races, certain people definitely do and they shouldn’t.
I completely agree with Hannah Banana on this topic and her definition of racism. People that have prejudice on other people based on their race is what racism means.
Like Hannah, I’ve been raised in a white neighborhood, but I was exposed to racism ever since I understood the difference between white and black. If a black family was moving in down the street there would be a group of elders in someone’s yard yelling about how our neighborhood could allow “things” to come and ruin our neighborhood. That is when I said, “Wow, you are an idiot. They are people just like us but with a different skin tone.” I feel like being exposed to racism since I was young prepared me for my school environment. I believe ignorance of racism prevents it from becoming an ideology, and also, like Hannah had mentioned, if someone is raised in a not racist home then they will probably also not be racist. Being exposed to racism allowed me to be able to notice it when I witnessed racism for the first time when I was subjected to seeing people put down others in school.
Just because someone lives in an environment where they only are faced with one culture does not mean that they aren’t attuned to the other cultures in the world. The television has many different shows that deal with different environments, some absolutely fake and some true. I’m not saying a person that doesn’t know any other culture besides the one they are living in should watch television to branch out their cultural learning, but it is a way of people that don’t have the opportunity to go into a city, like Hannah’s example of New York, and see the different cultures with their own eyes. There are cultural differences, like the different parts of New York City. Different nationalities have different cultures and New York City is the place to see America as the “melting pot” of many different cultures.
I strongly believe that people do hide behind cultural differences to excuse their rude, inappropriate or obnoxious behavior. In school kids hear “They are picking on me because I’m ________.” “They are giving me a detention just because I’m ______.” “I only know how to act like this because I’m _______.” It aggravates me too no end when kids hide behind what they are to make a scene. They did something wrong, so get over it. I hate how some people take pity on them when they use those lines above to excuse their actions. It’s aggravating.
Racism…it’s a big deal when you think about racism to me can described as hatred toward a certain race, religion, or creed because they differ from you. I people that ignorance does help it from becoming a ideology but I think there is also two sides of the fence to look at this for example if you are never exposed to that racism from a young age then those morals whether you consider them bad or good are not instilled in you. But, on the other I know this from personal experience now please don’t think I’m a racist by this story I’m about to tell because I’m certainly not so please don’t take offense to this. When I was younger lets say about six or seven I was running around the wildwood water park with my god sister racing to get to the next water ride. While I was running I happened to trip over this Indian ladies cane. Before I could even open my mouth and turn to apologize to the lady she starts yelling at me in a foreign language and poked me in the eye with her cane. That’s right she poked the six or seven year old in the eye with a cane. Naturally I cried and ran to tell my mother but when I went to bring her back to the lady she was gone. For a very long time after that that made me have dislike for all Indian people because of that one ladies ignorance it made me believe for a long time that all Indian people were rude heartless people. Now my parents never knew about this strong dislike or else they would have nipped it in the bud and made me realize all Indians are not necessarily like her. My point of telling this story is to show that racism doesn’t always have to something that is taught to you but it can stem from a personal experience. Now of course I don’t think that way now because I’m older and have more of an understanding but you see my point. I think that the white students at Oakcrest don’t realize the racism. Students in school you can hear them say some pretty cruel things by for you to retaliate is wrong. You can even she the racism when it comes to discipline. Not to say that I think there racist a better word would be bias. Teachers and administrators are more willing to over look white kids who act out in class or give them more of a chance whereas when it comes to black kids they have no tolerance which like Megan says deals with racism. Even in the world around us to me white celebrities and or new casters arte getting away with slinging around racist slurs but all they have to do is say they are sorry they didn’t know and they didn’t mean it to be taken the way it did everything is alright. Personally I feel that’s crap how don’t you know. These men are thirty and forty years old and no one has told you that calling a whole black basketball team nappy headed hoes or saying nigger get out is wrong. If it had do feel like a black mans career would have been ended instantly because of that time of behavior. Racism exist everywhere I think that is pretty sad ignorance to racism can not only help to not breed it in people but it can also allow it to keep going on. When people are exposed to a multicultural environment they are more likely to be aware of cultural differences. I think there are cultural differences and they come from the way you are raised. People do tend to hide behind cultural differences and I don’t think they should. Me as a young black women feel as though I want to break the stereotype of the angry black women because there is no such thing. You skin color doesn’t make you angry but that all has to deal with your temperament. Like Du said your color also doesn’t make you loud. Society needs to begin to move pas these racist ideas if they plan to make a change in the world and reduce the amount of racism going around.
The textbook definition of racism is “prejudice or discrimination based on the belief that race is the primary factor determining human traits and abilities. Racism includes the belief that genetic or inherited differences produce the inherent superiority or inferiority of one race over another. ...” In my own opinion I can very much agree with what this definition says. It is obvious that much of the world today still looks down on different races just because they are different and not white. This is a horribly mistaken judgement that is seriously wrong to even think. There are Blacks out there who can and have accomplished more then ever thought possible, yet to this day we have a lowered sense of dignity for them. Not all people view different races like this but the stubborn ones do, and just because of the color of one’s skin they think there is a lack in the abilities and intelligence of that person. Racism could probably be most defined as one’s fear or doubt towards a race due to the wat someone looks.
Just as Gary and Emily C. And Rachel have, I can also say I grew up in a white dominated environment. However, this is not to say I was not exposed to different races, and learned about how blacks and Asians and Mexicans are all the same if brought up the right. With this said, I never really noticed any big signs of racism occurring where I was, even though there was only 1 black person throughout a majority of my life at St. Vincent de Paul school. So sure, I guess you can say I was ignorant as to what was happening racially in our country, which could mean that I did not grow up to have any kind of hate towards another race.
Without being exposed to something you are bound to not be used to seeing the different types of people who live in our country and the different religions and ideologies they follow. This could then mean that people would be less attuned to the situation, but does not meant that they will consider them a different form of life rather than a human being. Just as anything, people will become accustomed to seeing a variety of people and their lifestyles as they progress through life. As far as cultural differences go; I do believe they exist. If people come from different parts of the world they will obviously have different traditions and will act in different ways, and then passing down their traits to their younger generations. As a living example of an Oakcrest student who see’s obnoxious people every day I can say that there are in fact people who hide behind their culture and use it as an excuse to be rude.
Racism is an act out of ignorance. There is no positive reason for racism. People who don't have the brain to realize that we are equal are lacking knowledge of backgrounds and honestly, they fear the other race. People are racist because they are scared of on race taking over another. If people came to their senses, we'd come to together as a whole;
diminishing the racism.
There are very few minority families in my neighborhood. At school though, everyday you interact with other races. Some kids handle this well, but others tend to turn to racism for their lack of ability to interact. There is a lot of evidence.
In a multicultural environment I think I would be attuned to it. There is enough sense and knowledge of other cultural. I would not be prawn to being rude because of cultural differences; I would just go with the flow.
Of course there are cultural differences in society. Whenever you enter a major city it is set up like a buffet. The sections are all divided depending on cultural. There is always a China Town, the Italian part, the Spanish section ect... What makes up these different cultures are "traditions" and each cultural must carry it out. This is what separates the cultures from each other. The traditions don’t mix with other cultures.
The threat of another culture being better than yours is what raises the poisonous mind set of a "racist".
Joe Camp takes a good approach on his thoughts on racism. He raises many good arguments and backs up his theories. The way racism is defined in his argument is very well put. I disagree with his thought of being attuned to a multicultural environment. He feels you can’t be attuned I think the exact opposite. Other than that Joe Camp had a very good entry.
Racism is deliberate disrespect for someone just because they are different. In my opinion, though it is called racism, it is not subjected specifically to race. I think it is a disgusting excuse for not being able to accept someone who is unlike you. It is a way to place blame, and not face the truth of simply being a hateful person.
I think the way you are raised has a great deal to do with how you view others in this aspect, but you can change. And it is terrible to blame your parents for how YOU treat other people. I know kids who say well this is the way I grew up. And it takes everything in me to not go, "Oh and you don't have a brain of your own?" It simple irks me.
I do believe that their are many cultural differences in our society. The definition of culture is the act of developing the intellectual and moral faculties especially in education. But, developing is a mere part of it. It is how you progress later in life to decide how you view people.
I do believe that people hide behind their cultures and colors to excuse obnoxious behaviors and outbursts. Just because your black does not mean you can scream out at a concert. Being white doesn't mean you can talk with poor grammar and end your sentences with a preposition. And why can African Americans call each other "the N word" but if you are white it's an insult? It works both ways though. Just because I am white doesn't mean I have no rhythm. Just because your Asian does not mean you can do nails.
This whole subject makes me sick to my stomach. I feel as though Lily Owens does, Why could God have not erased skin color all together? But yet, I think we would find another way to differentiate ourselves. We can't stand being different, yet we would DIE being all the same.
I think racism is something fairly easy to define. It’s simple. Just like Hannah said, “...racism is any prejudice against a person based solely on their race. By prejudice I mean verbal abuse, physical abuse, or just not being looked at the same by people of another race.” I think racism is something nearly impossible to get rid of too, which is unfortunate.
I think people are more likely to be racist if they were not exposed to other races growing up, and if they are not exposed to the idea of racism. If people are not exposed to other races they cannot make their own opinions about them and they will rely solely on what they are told by others. While growing up people also have to understand that racism exists and that it is wrong, otherwise they are just as bad as the people who weren’t exposed at all. I grew up in ML so I’ve been around lots of different types of people. My history teacher told me that the way Oakcrest is balanced racially is about the same ratio as the US. I think that is a good thing. We are able to experience all different types of people.
People definitely hide behind their race or use it as an excuse to behave a certain way. People try to blame things that happen in their life, things that are usually their fault, on the fact that they’re black, white, Spanish and every other race. The fact is though, it’s their personality that’s causing the problems and they should just grow up and take responsibility for themselves.
If I was never exposed to different cultures I probably wouldn’t be as open and non-judgmental of people. I’m not trying to say I don’t judge people, because I definitely do. I just know I don’t judge them on their skin color or ethnic background. If I don’t like someone it’s because they said or did something to make me not like them and when they did it I did not say, “Of course they’re like that. They’re _____.” I was just plain old annoyed. I’m probably like that because I’ve met all different kinds of people within different races. We’re all different. Some are different in a good way and some are different in a bad way, it’s just the way it goes.
There are definitely cultural differences. I think those differences reside more in the food types, religion, and other specific things like that. Behaviorally I think everyone has the choice to be whoever they want and that sort of thing should not be intertwined with race.
As an additional thought, I don’t think that standardized testing and things like that should ask what the race if of the person taking the test. Why does it matter? We all have brains. I wish it wasn’t required. Otherwise I wouldn’t even fill it out.
Racism is a word we hear all the time and has been so overused it has seemed to lose its meaning. For example, I know one kid who calls anyone who corrects him a racist, but most of the time he isn’t really serious. Mr. Cervi talked about the 4 different levels of racism in history one day, and I thought that made sense. You can look at a person and guess at certain things about their personality based on their appearance, but change this impression after getting to know them. I think true racism is hating or treating someone unfairly based on their race, or skin color. I don’t think that growing up in a neighborhood where everyone looks the same will prevent racism. Just because you don’t see racism doesn’t mean you won’t hear it or hear about it. Not to mention I’m sure you’d have a really strange reaction to the first person of a much different race that you came in contact with. I grew up in a really wasp-y neighborhood. Most of us simply did not really understand all the different cultures and races; we didn’t even know all the stereotypes. In my elementary school, I knew 2 spanish kids and maybe 3-4 black kids (who were all related, either as siblings or cousins). I don’t remember any asian kids. Mind you, my school was pretty small, and the middle and high schools were more diverse. Moving here, with a much more diverse population of kids, was a lot different, but I’m really glad it is. I like learning about everyone else’s cultures and getting to know people who are different than me. Growing up in a diverse community that doesn’t show racism, or at least very little, is the kind of ignorance that prevents racism. You see all different kinds of people as just what they are, with no nasty discriminatory stereotypes attached.
I agree with Hannah about cultural differences. Of course there are many differences between cultures, but what I think is cool is that each can have their own customs, and still celebrate have American ones too, like Thanksgiving (or at least most do). America is really made great by all the different groups of people that make it up. At the same time people use their culture as a way to excuse often ridiculous stuff. I don’t think people exactly “hide” behind their race/culture, but they do defend unrelated behavior or deflect blame. I’ve heard “She took my phone away because I’m Hispanic,” “they only gave me a detention because I’m black,” etc. so many times, when it was painfully obvious to everyone else that they did something wrong to deserve it. I definitely agree with Hannah and Megan about this. It really is ridiculous.
P.S. Sorry this is late, Ms. Bunje. I thought it was due tomorrow, and I didn’t get home until 9:30 after I realized.
Well, when I first saw this blog question, I admit I thought the same thing probably everyone else thought, it was a tough one. I saw Hannah's comment first, which impacted me the most and I totally agree with her definition. "Racism is any prejudice against a person based solely on their race." Unlike Jon Miller, I disagree when he said "Racism is an act out of ignorance." I believe racism is done deliberately. People should realize what's right and wrong. Obviously, being mean to someone for not being like you is mean and wrong. It's so weird how people actually try to blame ignorance for being racist. Ignorant people aren't stupid; they know what's not right. It's a shame how families raise their children to be racist when they are young. There are some people that aren't racist on purpose, but they should still be nice to people who are different from them. For example, like Hannah, growing up in a predominantly white neighborhood, she is not prejudice. If you were white and not used to seeing others, it might be different, however, it leaves no reason to be mean or prejudice.
I believe prejudice and racism is closely tied together, obviously. Long ago, whites were racist against a lot of people; blacks, Mexicans, anyone, especially blacks. To this day, I know people in my school, who have grandparents that are racist, to black people. THE BOY ISN'T RACIST. So, in fact, that proves that it is not because of the family and how the person is raised, people have their own minds, right?
Personally, I believe that it promotes ideology. Without being introduced to other cultures, people may not be used to other cultures; that seems to promote racism because they would think other types of people are weird or they may think there is something wrong with them. They may even begin to believe that they are actually better than other races.
If I was never exposed to a multicultural environment, I would be less attuned to the cultural differences that exist in society? Because I would be used to seeing other cultures, there would be no ignorance and no prejudices, at least no when it comes to cultures and races, maybe something else weird.
You know what makes me mad? When white boys say, "What’s up, my nigga?" to another white person, I think that is the weirdest thing ever. Also, some of them have the heart to call blacks "their nigga." I think that is extremely uncalled for. I hate that to a high extent. What makes it worse is that some black people tell whites to say the word "nigga" because they think it's funny and I find no humor in it.
To change the subject now that I have vented, there are many cultural differences. This may include food, religion, traditions, clothing, and many more. However, these cultural differences don't leave an excuse for racism or prejudice. What messes this up is when people begin to believe that their culture is better than another. That's the problem, especially when it comes to race, religion, culture, etc.
I do think people hide behind the definition of cultural differences to excuse rude, inappropriate or obnoxious behavior. For example, I would have to disagree with Kylie, although there probably are racist teachers, I think they base judgment based on their character. I haven't really met someone mean to me because of my skin color. Well, I don't remember, obviously, it wasn't that important to me. I guess whoever said it, if they did, didn’t mean that much to me. I hate when people say "she wrote me up because I'm black." Um, no, how about she wrote you up because you're acting like an ass. Get it together! I hate racism, I wish it would all just go away, but it won't so I guess we'll just have to cope with it or something. Wow.
Racism is discrimination against someone due solely on the outside things, such as color, race, ethnicity, and other stuff like that. The main focus of racism is the color of someone’s skin. I disagree with Michael T when he says he does not agree that ignorance of racism will not make it an ideology. I honestly believe that if people were not taught to be racist, racism would no longer exist. If no one knew what it was or why they should believe in it, no one would. I have personally witnessed children who had no idea what was the big problem with being a different color learn by example how to hate someone simply because their skin is a darker shade. Because of their parent’s side comments and cruel names, they lost friends. They lost memories and experiences they can never get back, merely because they were taught to be racist. However, before their parents intervened and changed their views on people because of skin color, they were accepting of everyone and were too busy with more important things to be hung up on someone’s skin.
Growing up in an area where you do not see much of another race does not necessarily eliminate any racism someone may have. All it does is keep racism more contained and quiet until it is unleashed on an unsuspecting outsider. People will still learn racism in ways other than seeing someone who is not the same as them on the outside. People still have TVs which teaches racism. People still have radios, which teach racism. People shop at certain stores, which may also teach racism. Not being around it all of the time does not make it nonexistent. Parents can still teach their children to be unaccepting without the “other” people present. Whether or not you are more or less attuned to cultural differences depends on whether or not your parents decide to teach you people of a difference race are good, or people of a different race are bad.
Though most people have come to make up a few cultural differences merely to justify their behaviors, there are many true and real cultural differences. People eat different foods, where different clothes, and even sing different songs based on the different factors of their culture. Some people try and use the excuse of a “cultural difference” when trying to justify any rude or even loud actions. I do not believe being loud or rude is any sort of difference based solely on someone’s culture. Without the genuine cultural differences I do not believe we would be as good of a nation even all today. We have all different varieties of foods and clothings because of this blessing. People have to learn to be accepting of the colors that come along with the foods, clothings, and other good stuff.
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I am SO sorry this is late. I have no excuse. I honestly just forgot. I am so sorry and this will not happen again.
Racism is the negative treatment of a person because of their ethnicity or religion. Ignorance of this terrible thing can only make things get worse. “Ignorance is bliss” until knowledge is attained. Unless one lives in a bubble, a person cannot go through his or her entire life without experiencing racism of some sort. If he or she is black, then racism is probably going to be experienced at least once in his or her life. If the person is white, then racism will probably be displayed by people who feel they are victims of racism. If a person is surrounded by people of one ethnicity, then the person is that much more likely have racism instilled into his or her mind.
Being surrounded by people of other ethnicities helps to create a sense of acceptance of other races and religions. I know this from personal experience. I grew up in Mullica, so being surrounded by other ethnicities was the norm for me. This has forced me to accept people of other races because in a school of one hundred people, it is just about impossible to stay away from people of other ethnicities. I think it may seem that I’m unappreciative of this, but I think I am incredibly lucky because of this. Tolerance is one of the most important things to have for other people. I have been given this gift, and I am quite thankful for it.
If I grew up in a less cultured society then I would definitely not be as accepting of people from other ethnicities. I think that if I were surrounded by white people constantly then I would not have been willing to become as close to some friends, such as Blake, as I have been.
I think that there is definitely a different mindset between cultures. African Americans believe that they are suppressed, and that is there are more African Americans that are unsuccessful when compared with Caucasians. African Americans are given opportunities, but many don’t know just how many opportunities they have open for them, and that is why many of this ethnicity do not try as hard to be successful academically. They only limit themselves.
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