The "Sorting People" activity was pretty interesting, but it didn't reveal something new to me. In class we talked about how we as a people, naturally label others based off their race. Though I hate the reality of it, I find this to be very true. I am constantly meeting people or seeing different people around campus and automatically wondering what race they identify with. The crazy thing is, I know that RACE DOES NOT MATTER. I look at it as acknowledging the beauty in every race, ethnicity, culture and the blend of it all.
I do know that every doesn't think like that which brings me to my 3 facts that I thought were interesting.
1. Race and Freedom were born together.
This is very interesting to me because it explains that race became existent when slavery was ending. People in power created race so that people of color would constantly be in chains even though they didn't have the metal as proof. In the article, "The Roots of Racial Classification", the authors talk about how there were white abolitionists who opposed slavery, "but they did not necessarily believe in racial equality." This doesn't any sense to be because racial inequality is slavery.
2.Colorblindness will not end racism.
I agree with this. The different colors of people are necessary to create the rainbow we call world. Pretending that we all look the same is not worse than racism, but it's not better than racism either. We should appreciate and celebrate the different cultures of people.
3.Race has no genetic basis.
I definitely agree with this because race is obviously based off of "what you LOOK like". A person can be mixed with white and Hispanic and be considered white, but if the person was mixed with white and black they would most likely be considered black because of the dominant skin tone.
As far as HISTORY....
"If people knew and discussed more openly the history, would we still be so caught up in the 'race thing'? " YES!!!! I feel as though people (who ever has the longer stick) don't care about the history of other cultures because their main focus is dominance and power. If they did know the history, which I'm sure some if not most do, I think it will make matters worse because they know what people are inherently capable of and would fear that this would interfere with their power and dominance.
Privileges I have:
-Education
-UT Student
-Religion
-Technology
-Family (supporters)
All of my privileges listed give/gave set up many opportunities for me. A lot of those opportunities probably wouldn't have been possible if I didn't fall into one of these categories.
To end off this blog post, I wanted to leave you all with a picture to let you know what I thought about the different labels discussed in my blog.
-Keara :)
I like what you said about colorblindness. I can agree that if we saw everyone the same and eliminated those differences we would ignore the very things that make our country a great place which is diversity. I love seeing and meeting new and different individuals because there is always something we can learn from different cultures and groups.
ReplyDeleteKeara I really enjoyed your post and the fact that you pointed out being able to inquire about the races of others to admire their beauty and differences. This is something that I did not think about and was automatically flooded with the negative aspects that come about when race is brought up as a factor. You were able to point out the positivity in this which is being able to appreciate the differences we each have. Also, your picture at the end about "One earth, one race one people" was very inspiring because it shows that we are all human and we should be at peace in our similarities and differences. Very interesting post.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree that everyone wonders about what race a person is, I even do it, but I do it because like you I admire the beauty of different races. I never ask someone what they are though because I find that annoying when people do that to me and I feel that is to personal. I absolutely fell in love with your picture "One earth. One race. One people." I took it to mean that all that matters is that we are all humans and that is what is important, not what race a certain person is. I wish everyone would think like that, but I know society has a long way to go until they think like that.
ReplyDeleteKeara,
ReplyDeleteYou make some good points. The blog entries are thoughtful. Keep up the good work.
Rose
(class TA)