Class vs Race: Where is The Real Issue?

Thalia gave her final presentation on a dangerous little article that attempted to link the recent riots and movements sparked by Ferguson and the like to class as opposed to race. The way the author argued was a bit disconcerting, as he seemingly aimed to eliminate our need for racial focus in exchange for a focus on class. I can see how these two things are definitely linked... When a white officer shoots an unarmed black man, they aren't doing so because they don't like the color of their skin; they shoot them based off of their assumptions made about this person because the color of their skin. They see a black man approaching them and link their skin color to thievery, aggression, murder, and poverty. One can argue that these assumptions are based on class, poverty to be exact, but this is where the author starts to make very dangerous assertions. The idea that Michael Brown was shot, not because he was black, but because he was assumed to be poor is a bit misconstrued and leads to a call of very dangerous, ineffective actions. The notion that we should take a stance of "racial-blindness" is to ignore a massive factor in the occurrence in these events. People don't make the same assumptions about a poor black man as you do a poor white man. In addition to this, if you're black, you don't even have to be poor to come off as threatening. The idea of a stereotype is that certain attributes are applied to you based off of one small characteristic of your being which, in this case, is the color of your skin.

The Role of Acknowledgement In Problem Solving

So many people today take the emphasis on Blacks in many modern movements, "Black Lives Matter" included, as threatening and condescending towards everyone who is not black. When people see "Black Lives Matter", there IS an emphasis on black lives. The Black Lives Matter movement IS trying to put black lives on a pedestal. When taking this out of the context of what is really happening around us, this emphasis on black lives is seen as a notion of superiority as opposed to equality. People need to acknowledge that there is a fundamental issue in America right now that strictly pertains to blacks. The idea that all black lives matter doesn't mean that other lives don't, it's simply trying to emphasize that black lives do matter, but without a proper understanding of what is really happening in our society right now in terms of the way judicial force is dealt with the murders of unarmed blacks, this movement is nothing more than elitist propaganda.

Those who oppose the Black Lives Matter campaign view the system as such:

The assumption that we are all equal, despite current events, perverts the real issues at hand and makes any valid movement pushing against these injustices look racist and ridiculous. The way the movements perceive the system actually looks like this:

Without acknowledging that there's an issue, no argument or logic can work, as everything will be taken out of context, nothing will link, and the arguments pushing for justice will simply fall apart.

White Privilege 1010 @ Fort Gordon

Outrageous! Army soldiers at Fort Gordon are made to sit through a “white privilege” presentation!
Posted by Fox & Friends First on Monday, April 6, 2015

Fox News has covered a story that took place at Fort Gordon where soldiers were sent an an unauthorized training session. It was called Equal Opportunity training. My guess is that this was a move for the government to make moves to educate and bring up the discussion of race and privilege. I, being an African American male, with views of sexual fluidity, and more of an egalitarian perspective on things that easily picks up on the systematic racism that has been built into this nation's laws; don't think that the government has the jurisdiction to really touch on race relations and education. The government has done enough by failing at its core goal; to protect the citizens, their rights and strive to be a fruitful nation. The government has allowed itself to be purchased by the highest bidder, Capitalism, and barter and trade it's citizens opportunities to Globalism. However I must digress, This Equal Opportunity Training was held in a classroom setting and in one of the slides there was a statement that said, "Race privilege gives whites little reason to pay a lot of attention to African Americans or to how white privilege affects them. To be white in America means not having to think about it." It seems like we aren't the only ones pondering about White Privilege in class... What do you all think about this statement that was found in this presentation? Do you think the Government has the jurisdiction to talk on such a topic as such? Have they been properly educated as such? In light of such, people have voiced their opinions of such all ranging from accusations of government brainwashing to the lecture truly being needed. I think the way they stated white privilege was phrased well.

The Many Problems with #AllLivesMatter

All lives matter. Every life matters. Human lives are "important" which is why there are laws against murder, even suicide. This fact is freakishly obvious, so there's no need to reiterate the blanket statement.

It is important to recognize the lives that are undervalued. Black lives are not valued in the United States the same way white lives are. By suggesting that black lives matter, the claim is that black lives matter too. Stop neglecting black lives because they also matter in addition to white lives that are already highly valued. Saying black lives matter, does not lessen the value of other lives, simply asserts that black lives matter and need to be held to the same regard.

Saying that "All Lives Matter" in response to "Black Lives Matter" is misunderstanding the issue at hand. It supports the colorblind theory that all races should be seen as equal, or not seen at all, which ignores the existing issues that were created on the basis of race. Pretending we are post-racial does more harm than good: just like those who support "All Lives Matter."

Reparations

While researching the HR 40 act that congress, thoughtfully, ignores every time it hits the floor, I kept thinking about the so-called “reparations” that the Native Americans were given, and the outcome of that. While Native Americans do have some benefits such as paid tuition in college and hunting rights throughout the year, the treatment of Native Americans is still slightly negative, in the fact that many of them are still subject to racial prejudices and are still stuck on these reservations.

Since the HR 40 act on the reparations for African Americans includes further education on the serious struggles that African Americans have faces throughout history, would this, in a way, “correct” the problem that still exists with the racial prejudices that Native Americans face consistently, and would it make racism and hate crimes decrease towards African Americans?

Because white parents, and of course children, are so uninformed about the sincere struggles of being a minority, the reparations bill may not be taken very well because they are taught that “it’s all alright. There’s not slavery anymore, so we’re good!” This thought that being a semi-decent human being by “freeing” slaves was enough of reparation is all too common, to the point of trying to justify everything that happened after that (such as the murders of Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin, and Tamir Rice).

Basically, I just wonder how it could even happen when racism is just too common of a thought and practice. We still treat Native Americans as inferior by using ignorant and incorrect stereotypes, and we still “thugify” people of color and ignore the crimes that keep occurring against African Americans. Should we make a step before the entire HR 40 act and just make an Act that makes it absolutely necessary to inform and educate children on the harsh truth of American history? I feel that creating specific courses on African American history and Native American history that are necessary for the curriculum could possibly help the future generation, but then again many Americans couldn’t possibly stand to do so because America admitting it’s faults is just too difficult.

The future of race

(I'm not sure if this is my week to post but I think I might be missing one, so.)

Everyone in our class wants racism to end (I hope), but what would come after that? Let's say we reach a Star Trek-like society where race is just not a big issue anymore. We've managed to gain equality economically, in the media, in the work force, etc, etc. We're free of major race issues, so then what?

Do we let go of the idea of race?

Play along here with me, and let's say that thanks to science, our generation gets to live to be 150, or something, and so we see the changes in society. They're good changes; we're glad for them. But could we let race go? Would our grandchildren, free of the harsh stereotypes and the punches, still use "race"? Would they even identify as anything?

Obviously I can't speak for my imaginary great great grandchildren, but I personally don't think I could let it go. I would always see myself as Hispanic. I would always be watchful of any hateful things that might pop up that are tied to race. And to take it one step further, I think I would even be upset that my descendants wouldn't identify themselves as Hispanic. There's something distressing to me about that thought that I can't quite place. There would technically be no great need for them to still identify themselves that way, but I would want them to anyway.

A few years back there was a race discussion on an online community I was a part of, and I still remember it because it was something I had never thought about. A woman made a comment about how she would take it personally if her son was to marry a white girl. She, being black, felt that her son would be rejecting her in a sense by marrying outside of their race (I can't remember if it was specifically if he married a white girl or just outside of their race in general). It was a rather long thread with some people telling her that was ridiculous and a good handful of others agreeing and saying they felt the same way. In a way that I still can't articulate, I see her point.

I still think about that discussion every now and then, and it actually made me think really hard about who I wanted to marry. The more I think about it, the more I think I want to marry a Hispanic man. And right now, my brother--who is practically my best friend--is dating a white girl, and there are times where I am honestly thrown off by it. It's like the older I get the more I fear losing my Hispanic identity. It doesn't help that my mom remarried to a white man, and the culture clash has been absolutely god awful to go through. 

So while I certainly think that things might have been better if the concept of race had never existed, if the idea had been erased in time to prevent this white supremacy, I'm not sure if I want the future to be race-less. I think we would lose something, though I'm not sure what.

What Are You Really?

The problem cases were problematic to say the least. In order to decide what race someone really is, one criteria would be valued over the rest. I tend to think bodily appearance would take precedence over the rest because that is what it most noticeable during a first impression.

Dr. J requested we find an application of one of the problem cases: I started by searching "Is President Obama black enough?"and found several articles.  In this article (http://www.cjr.org/politics/is_obama_black_enough.php), he said, “I think if you look African-American in this society, you’re treated as an African-American.”  This may seem like an obvious statement, but it suggests the importance of appearance. In a racialized society like ours, if you look black, you're treated as though you are black. 

Many of us were torn about what qualifies the reality of race.  Race in our society does not function as simply as quace and therefore, there will always be aspects of uncertainty. Even is someone is really a race that is unknown, I think the conclusion for most will come from appearance.