"The Change We Need"

On our first day of class, most of the students seemed to be weary or in denial of the fact that racism is still alive and present in today’s society. Most of us tried to act like today is so different and equal, and while it is true that we have come along way, prejudice has not completely diminished.            

            In today’s class, a week later, it seemed as though the class had opened up. There was much more discussion about race in society, especially personal experiences. This class was a perfect example of how society reacts to the discussions of race and gender. When the topics of racism and sexism first get brought up in discussion, people often try to deny its existence, or belittle its impacts that are felt all over the world. But once discussion begins, people often become more comfortable with the subject and are more apt to accept these sad facts, and also try to understand how to reverse these horrible traditions that have been passed down through generations.

            One topic discussed in our class was the question of whether a person’s racial and socioeconomic background affects the way they view racism. This is definitely true. Tim Wise spoke in a video of a survey done in white suburbs. When asked if they thought racism was an important issue effecting American’s today, a huge majority said no. But if you asked a member of a different race, they would most likely tell you that they have dealt with the issue of race personally.

            But it’s hard to understand things that you are not exposed to. Just like after the 9/11 attacks, everyone that looked like they could have come from the Middle East was subjected to racism, because people are scared of things that they don’t understand. It’s sad that the United States of America let the actions of a few people completely change their ideas of the Indian and Muslim cultures.

            On the flip side, when we see white male teenagers performing gruesome acts such as school, for some reason we don’t allow this to change our opinion of the rest of the male population. Why is this? Maybe it’s because your brother, son, father, grandfather, uncle, neighbor, and boyfriend would all fall under that category. But this is the hypocritical society that we have been born into to and it is taking way to long to reverse these ugly cycles.

             Possibly the most disturbing survey discussed in class was taken of African American children. When shown identical pictures of a white and black child, and asked which ones they thought were prettier, smarter, cleaner, and more well liked, most of these children would point at the white child. How awful is it that these children believe that at such a young age. But my faith was restored when one child pointed to the picture of the black girl and said, “She’s pretty because she’s black.”

            I agreed with the woman who conducted this survey when she said that all children need to be constantly told at a very young age that they are all beautiful, smart, and well liked. It is starting to become more and more of a self confidence issue that effects everyone, especially women. As mentioned in my last blog, the media and society have the power to convince groups of people that they should be treated or act a certain way- and usually it is wrong. It is taking groups like Dove, and classes like Race, Gender, and the Media, to at least start the discussion. If these topics are never brought up, then neither will change. 

www.TimWise.org

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3Xe1kX7Wsc