Chapter 3 of A Different Mirror is all about how slavery started and how it continued throughout history. In this chapter Takaki starts off talking about the play The Tempest and how the theatergoers were aware of the possibility that Caliban could have been black. He goes on to talk about how blacks are perceiver by the English, he says “In the English mind, the color black was freighted with an array of negative images.” Then he talks about whites and says “The color white, on the other hand, signified purity, innocence, and goodness.” He continues on about Caliban and says how the English noticed him having African traits. He also says that they viewed blacks as cannibals. His thesis for the chapter states, “Though they had been “sold,” the first twenty Africans might not have been slaves, persons reduced to property and required to work without wages for life. Also, Takaki talks about white indentured servants and how they were treated. They were kept with the black slaves, and he talks about how the blacks and whites didn’t have an understanding of each other. They were fearful of each other because they were unsure of the others.
Is what the author saying about how the English perceive the African Americans accurate? Is how Takaki describes it correct, do they really believe that Africans are cannibals and would eat human beings? I believe that at the time that is what the English believe, but over time they realized that this was not true.
This chapter was kind of slow to read, I did not enjoy reading this there was really no excitement or anything fun to read in the chapter. I found a lot of useful information, but the way it was presented could have been better. It could have been more thrilling to read.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Monday, September 17, 2007
Johnson chapter 8
Johnson in chapter 8 says, “No one likes to see themselves as connected to someone else’s misery, no matter how remote the link. Usually their first response is to find a way to get themselves off the hook, and, as I’ll show below there are all kinds of ways to do that.”
He is saying that no matter the situation, when something bad happens, nobody wants to be apart of it. Nobody wants to be known for causing something bad to happen. He goes on in the chapter saying, “Perhaps the easiest way to get off the hook is to deny that it exists in the first place.” He is saying that people try and weasel their way out of sticky situations by lying and saying that they had no idea that anything wrong was ever even going on. Denial and resistance are key components in the chapter. He uses good examples to paint a picture of resistance and denial in the world today. The most grabbing example is on page 109 when he describes a parental situation when a child says that he/she is hurt and the parent says that they aren’t hurt that bad or it doesn’t hurt that much.
The author gives many good examples, but my question is why are so many people in denial in the world? What is wrong with society that nobody wants to take responsibility for their actions? People in the world today have problems with themselves, they have problems with how they see themselves, they have problems with how everyone else sees them. So, that is why nobody will take responsibility for themselves. They do not want to be seen as a person who does bad things, they don’t want to take the fall when they think that they can get out of it. That is a major problem with society today.
This chapter was excellent because it gave an accurate understanding of how the world is today. It told how people act in the world today. Johnson gave great examples of people not wanting to accept something that was wrong, so they just stayed in denial. This was an enjoyable chapter to read about.
He is saying that no matter the situation, when something bad happens, nobody wants to be apart of it. Nobody wants to be known for causing something bad to happen. He goes on in the chapter saying, “Perhaps the easiest way to get off the hook is to deny that it exists in the first place.” He is saying that people try and weasel their way out of sticky situations by lying and saying that they had no idea that anything wrong was ever even going on. Denial and resistance are key components in the chapter. He uses good examples to paint a picture of resistance and denial in the world today. The most grabbing example is on page 109 when he describes a parental situation when a child says that he/she is hurt and the parent says that they aren’t hurt that bad or it doesn’t hurt that much.
The author gives many good examples, but my question is why are so many people in denial in the world? What is wrong with society that nobody wants to take responsibility for their actions? People in the world today have problems with themselves, they have problems with how they see themselves, they have problems with how everyone else sees them. So, that is why nobody will take responsibility for themselves. They do not want to be seen as a person who does bad things, they don’t want to take the fall when they think that they can get out of it. That is a major problem with society today.
This chapter was excellent because it gave an accurate understanding of how the world is today. It told how people act in the world today. Johnson gave great examples of people not wanting to accept something that was wrong, so they just stayed in denial. This was an enjoyable chapter to read about.
Johnson chapter 6
Johnson’s thesis in chapter six states, “Contrary to the individualistic model, social life happens only as people participate in social systems—families, schools, workplaces. religious organizations, and so on. If we want to understand what happens in the world, including patterns of privilege and oppression, we have to understand the dynamic relation between people and social systems.”
The author is saying that as people take part in social systems, we learn that how we are related to the ideas of the world and the people who are in the world. We learn the concept of value and how some things and some people are more important than others. We learn to determine what normal behavior is and what is not. The author uses an example about how he watched television growing up and the message that the TV portrayed was, “straight white men are the most important people on the planet because they’re the ones who supposedly do the most important things. They’re the strong ones who build; the heroes who fight the good fight; the geniuses, writers, and artists who create.” He also goes on to describe how the world puts out messages that men are dominant, and all of the subordinate groups should do what the men say. It goes on to say “men, for example, are encouraged to expect women to tend and take care of them, to defer to and support men not matter how badly men behave. He goes on to use the television show Everybody Loves Raymond as an example.
Is the argument the author is making completely accurate? I believe that the argument that the author has come up with is accurate. He gives multiple examples of how we are to act in social situations and if what is considered normal behavior is altered to something someone is not used to what will happen. He uses an example of standing backwards on an elevator and look at the wall instead of facing forward at the door. See what people do, see how many awkward looks someone will receive.
I felt that this was one of my favorite chapters thus far. He gives examples that I could relate to and have seen before, so that I know what my reaction was compared to the reactions that he received. The example about things people don’t do in movie theaters was a good example, because it was 100% true. Nobody does that and if they did it there would be uproar about it. This was a fun chapter to read.
The author is saying that as people take part in social systems, we learn that how we are related to the ideas of the world and the people who are in the world. We learn the concept of value and how some things and some people are more important than others. We learn to determine what normal behavior is and what is not. The author uses an example about how he watched television growing up and the message that the TV portrayed was, “straight white men are the most important people on the planet because they’re the ones who supposedly do the most important things. They’re the strong ones who build; the heroes who fight the good fight; the geniuses, writers, and artists who create.” He also goes on to describe how the world puts out messages that men are dominant, and all of the subordinate groups should do what the men say. It goes on to say “men, for example, are encouraged to expect women to tend and take care of them, to defer to and support men not matter how badly men behave. He goes on to use the television show Everybody Loves Raymond as an example.
Is the argument the author is making completely accurate? I believe that the argument that the author has come up with is accurate. He gives multiple examples of how we are to act in social situations and if what is considered normal behavior is altered to something someone is not used to what will happen. He uses an example of standing backwards on an elevator and look at the wall instead of facing forward at the door. See what people do, see how many awkward looks someone will receive.
I felt that this was one of my favorite chapters thus far. He gives examples that I could relate to and have seen before, so that I know what my reaction was compared to the reactions that he received. The example about things people don’t do in movie theaters was a good example, because it was 100% true. Nobody does that and if they did it there would be uproar about it. This was a fun chapter to read.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Johnson Chapter 2
The author has a long thesis in this chapter it says “what makes socially constructed reality so powerful is that we rarely if ever experience it as that. We think the way our culture defines something like race or gender is simply the way things are in some objective sense. We think there really is such a thing as “race” and that the words we use simply name an objective reality that is “out there.” The truth is, however, that once human beings give something a name—whether it be skin color or disability –that thing acquires a significance it otherwise would not have. More important, the name quickly takes on a life of its own as we forget the social process that created it and start treating it as “real” in and of itself.
The author is arguing that in our world there is no such thing as race. It is just a word that we use to define the differences of people in our culture. There is a no set meaning of what race and gender are. There is just what we set the definition of these words as. The author talks about how Native American tribes are aloud to pick their own gender, he says “in some Native American plains tribes, people were allowed to choose their gender regardless of their physical characteristics.” He is explaining how Native Americans don’t judge people based on their physical characteristics they accept everyone for who they are no matter the circumstances. In another quote the author poses a question to the readers about seeing a person whom which we can not directly identify which gender they are. He says, “Pass someone on the street whom you can’t identify as clearly male or female, for example, and it can jolt your attention and nag you until you think you’ve figured it out.” Personally I know that I have done this before so I can relate to what he is saying. People judge others based on their looks and in most cases judge people to quickly. Johnson talks to novelist James Baldwin, Baldwin speaks about how we live in a society that recognizes the differences between people. He explains the story of a black woman from Africa, who has never experienced white racism before, so she doesn’t see herself as a black woman. He says she sees herself as a woman, and she sees herself as black, but she doesn’t think of herself as a black woman.
How do Johnson’s arguments affect the way the world is portrayed currently? I believe that Johnson proposes an interesting argument and he has good evidence to back it up. He shows the whole picture of race and gender in the world today. He is explaining how much different cultures are from each other. Going back to the black woman from Africa, he goes on in saying that she comes to the United States, and she is treated differently and is placed in a social category even though she has done nothing to deserve it.
I think that the author does a good job with this point. He paints an accurate picture of what goes on in the world today, and gives real life examples of how people treat each other and how they affect one another.
The author is arguing that in our world there is no such thing as race. It is just a word that we use to define the differences of people in our culture. There is a no set meaning of what race and gender are. There is just what we set the definition of these words as. The author talks about how Native American tribes are aloud to pick their own gender, he says “in some Native American plains tribes, people were allowed to choose their gender regardless of their physical characteristics.” He is explaining how Native Americans don’t judge people based on their physical characteristics they accept everyone for who they are no matter the circumstances. In another quote the author poses a question to the readers about seeing a person whom which we can not directly identify which gender they are. He says, “Pass someone on the street whom you can’t identify as clearly male or female, for example, and it can jolt your attention and nag you until you think you’ve figured it out.” Personally I know that I have done this before so I can relate to what he is saying. People judge others based on their looks and in most cases judge people to quickly. Johnson talks to novelist James Baldwin, Baldwin speaks about how we live in a society that recognizes the differences between people. He explains the story of a black woman from Africa, who has never experienced white racism before, so she doesn’t see herself as a black woman. He says she sees herself as a woman, and she sees herself as black, but she doesn’t think of herself as a black woman.
How do Johnson’s arguments affect the way the world is portrayed currently? I believe that Johnson proposes an interesting argument and he has good evidence to back it up. He shows the whole picture of race and gender in the world today. He is explaining how much different cultures are from each other. Going back to the black woman from Africa, he goes on in saying that she comes to the United States, and she is treated differently and is placed in a social category even though she has done nothing to deserve it.
I think that the author does a good job with this point. He paints an accurate picture of what goes on in the world today, and gives real life examples of how people treat each other and how they affect one another.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Race Video
The movie Race: the power of illusion, the difference between us was a very exciting and informational film to watch. It was a story of 12 kids from different races who through testing proved that their genetics are similar and therefore they are not that much different from each other. The video told of how their should not be racial inequality based on the fact that these different races have genes that are not very different. In this video I think it told a lot about the world and how we treat each other, and that if everyone stopped and realized the facts that are portrayed in this video that there are no tremendous differences between the different races of the world and we should act as if there are no differences.
The most appealing part of the video I found was the part about athletes. Especially the part about African American athletes and the Asian American boy who plays the violin, and when they compare DNA they find out that the differences are minimal. I find that very interesting because most people would think that there are two very different skills required between the two kids, but their really isn’t they both have a close genetic make-up and could be considered close to the same race.
I found this video very interesting. I never in a million years would have thought that the different races could be so closely similar. It puts a completely new look on the way people look at each other and how I look at others. It was an excellent video to watch and I think it should be shown in schools around the world.
The most appealing part of the video I found was the part about athletes. Especially the part about African American athletes and the Asian American boy who plays the violin, and when they compare DNA they find out that the differences are minimal. I find that very interesting because most people would think that there are two very different skills required between the two kids, but their really isn’t they both have a close genetic make-up and could be considered close to the same race.
I found this video very interesting. I never in a million years would have thought that the different races could be so closely similar. It puts a completely new look on the way people look at each other and how I look at others. It was an excellent video to watch and I think it should be shown in schools around the world.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Zinn chapter 2
In Zinn’s chapter about the color line his thesis reads, “In the English colonies, slavery developed quickly into a regular institution, into the normal labor relation of blacks and whites. With it developed that special racial feeling—whether hatred, or contempt, or pity, or patronization—that accompanied the inferior position of blacks in America for the next 350 years: that combination of inferior status and derogatory thought we call racism.” What he is saying is that in England during these times slavery turned into a common theme, a lot of people had slaves and it was not out of the ordinary to see them. And that they are the ones who developed racism because of the slave associations between blacks and whites.
The author truly has no argument in this chapter. He is just stating facts about how slavery began and why it began. He tells about how the blacks were the Englishmen’s second option as slaves, because the Indians were too dangerous to them. The Indians had the English out numbered and with the English having to come to the forests to try and find Indians, the Native Americans were better equipped and more experienced in fighting in the forests. So, the Englishmen knew all of this and did not mess with the Indians, instead they went to plan B which was the blacks. Shortly thereafter began slave trade. Countries shipped blacks who were shackled and chained to one another in a dark boat deck, many of the slaves who were being transported like this often died. Some died of suffocation, some killed others to try and stay alive, and some jumped off the boat and drown. In the later years of slavery the slaves became smarter. They began to team up against the slave owners and run away. The planters were intimidated by the slaves who rebelled against them and rarely would personally chase after them. Plantation owners tried to figure out a way to stop the slaves from happening mainly by sending each other letters warning them. If the slaves were caught they were either burnt, hanged, or executed.
The author says that in some cases white indentured servants were treated just as poorly as the black slaves were. Well, for some reason that is hard to believe. Mainly it is hard to believe because the planters saw black and white, not everyone is a slave. They would not treat a person of the same color as them the same way they did a person of different skin color. They knew they were different from the black slaves and the planters would treat them like they were.
I felt that this reading was nothing new to me. It was nothing that I haven’t heard before; I knew before that the slaves were badly mistreated and that they became slaves just because of the color of their skin. Slavery was a horrible thing and unfortunately it is the reason that racism still exists today. And in answering the question the author posed which was will racism ever end? I see the answer as being no because people treat others who don’t look like them differently.
The author truly has no argument in this chapter. He is just stating facts about how slavery began and why it began. He tells about how the blacks were the Englishmen’s second option as slaves, because the Indians were too dangerous to them. The Indians had the English out numbered and with the English having to come to the forests to try and find Indians, the Native Americans were better equipped and more experienced in fighting in the forests. So, the Englishmen knew all of this and did not mess with the Indians, instead they went to plan B which was the blacks. Shortly thereafter began slave trade. Countries shipped blacks who were shackled and chained to one another in a dark boat deck, many of the slaves who were being transported like this often died. Some died of suffocation, some killed others to try and stay alive, and some jumped off the boat and drown. In the later years of slavery the slaves became smarter. They began to team up against the slave owners and run away. The planters were intimidated by the slaves who rebelled against them and rarely would personally chase after them. Plantation owners tried to figure out a way to stop the slaves from happening mainly by sending each other letters warning them. If the slaves were caught they were either burnt, hanged, or executed.
The author says that in some cases white indentured servants were treated just as poorly as the black slaves were. Well, for some reason that is hard to believe. Mainly it is hard to believe because the planters saw black and white, not everyone is a slave. They would not treat a person of the same color as them the same way they did a person of different skin color. They knew they were different from the black slaves and the planters would treat them like they were.
I felt that this reading was nothing new to me. It was nothing that I haven’t heard before; I knew before that the slaves were badly mistreated and that they became slaves just because of the color of their skin. Slavery was a horrible thing and unfortunately it is the reason that racism still exists today. And in answering the question the author posed which was will racism ever end? I see the answer as being no because people treat others who don’t look like them differently.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Takaki Chapter 2
The author’s thesis is about how unfairly mistreated the Irish and the Native Americans were. They were treated poorly by the people of England. The English wanted to change how the Irish acted and were going to educate them on how to do so. His thesis about the Irish, “The English claimed that they had a God-given responsibility to inhabit and reform so barbarous a nation and to educate the Irish brutes. They would teach them to obey English laws and stop robbing and stealing and killing one another.” And the cruelty to the Indians continued. It gives graphic details about the cruel things that the English did to the Native Americans. It talks about how they poisoned there wine while trying to reach a peace treaty. And the part which states how a member of a tribe “ murdered his wife, ripped the child out of her womb and threw it into the river, and after chopped the mother in pieces and salted her for his food. The author is reiterating how badly these people were treated. They were not treated fairly and were murdered in huge numbers for no apparent reason. Is the author however, missing the bigger picture with this subject, is there a bigger problem than just with the Irish and the Native Americans? I think that the English were going to kill whoever however they wanted to get what they needed. They didn’t care if it was Irish, Native Americans, or anyone else. They were going to kill to get what they wanted. On a personal note, this is very disturbing to read about the things they did to these people. They never did anything wrong, yet the English treated them as if they did. I also was unaware of the number of people who died from diseases that the Europeans brought over. Hundreds and thousands died because of these diseases. This chapter really put into perspective how the English truly were.
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