This chapter discusses all issues surrounding race and ethnicity in the USA. However, I'm interested in what YOU think about the topic.
What should the role of race/ethnicity be in American society? Is it only an issue because we're still the dominant/majority group? What happens when we're not the dominant/majority group anymore? Will we ever be a "color-blind" society? Please be honest in your answer.
You need to comment on at least 2 questions that I have posed to you. Your answer should be in complete sentences and in paragraph format.
In addition, you must comment on at least 2 other comments posted by your classmates. These are comments/thoughts...not attacks.
Remember, we're not all going to agree, but I want us to be open enough to post how we really feel. Your post and your 2 additional posts must be completed by Monday, December 9th by 8 am. You get 10 points for your post as long as you follow the format and you get 5 points for each additional post. Please see me if you have any questions!
I believe that we will never be a color-blind society. When we first meet somebody, we will judge them not on their character but by the color of their skin. Whites don't look at other races and believe they are equal with them because of how they perceive the other races. They lump all the negative ideas related to that race to each individual whether it applies to that person or not. I believe that whites will always be the dominant race but not always the majority, sort of like quality over quantity. Regarding the majority, most whites have the amount of kids that they can afford and if necessary, they will get another job or work more hours to get by. However, many other races have multiple children they cannot afford and then expect the whites (working class) to pay for them. Due to this, the whites will eventually be the minority but still the dominant class because they will hold the more powerful positions and with powerful positions comes respect.
ReplyDeleteI agree with that we'll never be a color-blind society. But when we first meet somebody we create our own image on how we see them it isn't only on their skin color. Its mostly by appearances, if you dress down you are going to be thought of as poor. Also, by the race we are we do gather all the stereotypes that we have heard and think of them as that until they create an image to us or until we start to know them. Also, I agree with what you said about whites having the amount of kids they can afford. Other races might have more kids because they are already living off the system and will be able to get more money with more kids.
DeleteI agree with what Morgan said and what Tailor built off of about minorities having too many kids and living off of the system. Caucasians are the only race that have responsible families meaning that they live within their means and do not abuse the system. And because I am a proud white person when I turn 18 I will have a surgery so I look like a minority, probably Black because I can't speak Spanish, the proceed to adopt/have around 500 kids so I can use the system to get a mansion to live in while I eat caviar off of a golden plate while my butler cleans my fleet of Lamborghini and Mustang cars.
DeleteUpon saying that I actually completely disagree with the point that the two of you brought up about minorities. In 2012 a report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities posted in the New York Times says that African-Americans make up 22 percent of the poor in America while Caucasians make up 42 percent of the poor but they recieve 69% of government benefits compared to the 14% that African Americans make. And moving onto having kids that they cannot support as Mrs. Losey said in class these people do not have kids because they want to try and exploit the system but rather that is how they feel like they can be successful with their life because unlike a lot of Caucasians they may not be able to get out of poverty in their life so they want to do something with their life so they don't feel like they wasted it.
DeleteThe Times article if you would like to read it.
Deletehttp://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/13/who-benefits-from-the-safety-net/?_r=0
I strongly agree with Aaron on this matter and as you all know Aaron and I hardly ever agree on any matters. Moving on now I would just like to say that "Ignorance is bliss." When you believe that you are not the problem it is always good to take a step back and analyze your self before you do others. And as a Asian AMERICAN I am ashamed to be considered "white" even just 50% "white." I do not consider myself a minority but after reading these posts I am a very proud minority. Thank you!
DeleteOne more thing. We minorities love milking the system and having you "white" people work for us. The more kids we have the better because more kids=more money+higher population of minorities. Higher population of minorities= much more rapid domination of the "white" people. I'm just messing with you guys.
DeleteI think that race/ethnicity all should be considered equal whether we all agree or disagree. What makes anyone better than any other because of what color their skin is or the amount of money they have? In my opinion nothing makes one person better than another. If we stripped everyone's belongings they had, we should all be seen as equal. But people these days are so judgmental. To make them feel better about themselves they have to belittle one another over petty things that they might not have control over. The only issue is not that we are the dominate/majority group. Over the years this is rapidly changing, we will eventually become the minority group. There are more issues that deal with the groups known as the minority groups. This could deal with drugs and other things. With stereotypes they only do what is expected of them and do not strive to do the best that they can do. They blame racism on caucasian people. If someone of the same color had said a racial slur to them it wouldn't be looked at as racism. But if a Caucasian person said that same slur, its considered racist. Also, lets say an African American says something to a white person, such as "cracker", they don't see it as racist because their the "minority". I think that racism is blown out of proportion because someone might misunderstand you. I don't see what makes other people get to decide what racism is, if it is okay for your same race to say it to you but not a different race.
ReplyDeleteI believe with you that our world is so judgmental and that everyone should be treated equal. with everyone being treated equally you will not have discrimination from one race to another. For American's though, they think 'where is the fun in that?' If people would not judge think of how much better society would be. I guess in a society like that it would be to hard for American's to grasp.
DeleteI agree with you about the fact that your race, wealth, and education should not be a reason why someone is better than someone else. I agree with you completely that people want to judge others over petty things only to make themselves look better. I also think that racism is blown out of portion but at the same time I think people know what offends other people, so they say it only to make someone mad or to hurt them. So why do they even have to say it at all?
DeleteIn my opinion, I think that yes, race is only an issue because we (whites) are still the dominant/majority group. It's always been us going out of our way to prove our dominance and show of our power by forcing our will upon those who don't look like us. We've constantly set ourselves apart from them and looked down on them simply because they are different and we expect everyone to be/look like us. It's because so many whites have acted and thought this way for so long that I believe we'll never be a "color-blind" society. So many people refuse to let go of how our ancestors felt about colored/different people and continue to hate and pass their prejudice on to others. Until whites can get over themselves in thinking that they can do whatever they want just because there are more of us which gives them "power" and also stop hating, there will always be racism.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you about being whites as going out of our way to prove our dominance. We do it all the time and half the time we don't even realize it.
DeleteI have to agree with you that we wont be a color blind society until we whites stop thinking only about ourselves and doing what ever we want. Once we start thinking about others and trying to better ourselves and the society I think we will slowly shape into a color blind society, but even then it may be unrealistic.
DeleteI think you are wrong in saying whites are the issue when it comes to race. I think you are forgetting that white people are referred to as crackers by other races, whites aren't the only ones stating racial slurs. I feel like people blame whites, because it's easy to point your finger at them because of the past. However, whites aren't the only race referring to other races as niggers, porch monkeys, spics, wetbacks, japs, chinks, etc. So yes, whites are apart of the problem but not the whole problem.
DeleteI definitely agree with Morgan on this one. Whites are not the only issue when it comes to race. All of us can point the fingers at race. Everyone does it, its an economical issue that should stop. But everyone is too judgemental for it to stop and for anyone to make a change it takes everyone.
DeleteI think that you are right when you said, “We've constantly set ourselves apart from them and looked down on them simply because they are different and we expect everyone to be/look like us.” I guess sometimes people do not think like that, but we do and we don’t notice it as much because people don’t point it out. I completely agree with you when you talked about how we agree with what our ancestors thought.
DeleteI think that saying that white people are the only ones who can be racist is kind of a stereotype itself. I don't think looking down on other races is something that only certain races do because races are simply a product of society. It's more of a human nature thing, something that all people do regardless of race. So I really don't think whites being the majority makes a too big of a difference because being racist isn't something that only white people can do.
DeleteI don't think that people should focus on the role of race/ethnicity in the first place. I think that people should just accept anyone for who they are as a person and not the color of their skin or the things they believe in, but that's ideal. Our society doesn't really work that way and everyone is subject to judging a person by their color of skin. I think that because we are the dominant group we look down on all other groups. Even though it's wrong we all do it. When the tides change and we aren't the dominant group we are going to be the ones wishing we would be seen as equals and not judged. So I don't know why we think we are above any other race now. I don't think that we will ever be a "color-blind" society because being the dominant group if we can't look past the color of their skin now then how are the next generations supposed to look past it too? Because our kids will learn from us and if we can't look past it then our kids won't be able to either.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that when whites are no longer the majority they will be wishing that they had treated other races as equals all along. When they are the ones being treated as less than others they will finally understand what has been going on for so long. I also agree that these behaviors now are being learned. Kids have no reason to think less of other races until they hear their parents speaking down about other races.
DeleteI agree with you. If we can't get past this then our kids will accept the same thoughts as us, then their kids will be like them, and so forth. We need to take the stand and not let our kids be like us and teach them better than our parents taught us.
DeleteI like how you wrote that people shouldn’t focus on the role of race/ethnicity in the first place. I do think sometimes people put a lot of worry and thought on their race and most of the time it really doesn’t matter what you are. I agree with you that as the dominant group we look down on all other groups I do think most people think that way. As much as some people want to change I think that the generations will keep passing their thoughts into their children.
DeleteIn my personal opinion I don't believe that we should focus solely on race being an issue. I think that we all should be equal no matter what, but that's clearly not the case. I don't think that race is an issue because we are the majority group either. I agree with Taylor that if we became the minority group we would still consider race an issue. I think that if whites become the minority group they will still try to judge the majority group just because we will be jealous that we are no longer dominant in society. I think the new majority group will start judging the other minority groups as well. Race will always be an issue so the thought of having a color-blind society seems nearly impossible.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you completely when you say that having a color-blind society is impossible. The color of someone's skin will always play some role in their life. I think you are right when saying race will always be in issue no matter who is the majority or minority. All the minority groups like to believe that if they were the majority they would treat everyone equal and stereotype no one but that would never be the case.
DeleteI hope we Asians come out on top!
ReplyDeleteI think that the role of race in the American society should be that it should be completely disregarded because it doesn't really matter what color a persons skin is but rather how that person acts. Although saying this I don't believe that race will ever be completely disregarded because people today are always trying to politically correct and if anyone ever strays from this then everyone is expected to condone that persons actions or else they also will be labeled a racist. Another reason that I believe that race will always be a factor in America is that minorities today are being given more opportunities such as earning scholarship money or getting a job so there is an equal number. I don’t believe that we will ever be a color blind society because the people who are in the majority group be it whites that are it right now or a different minority down the road the majority will always going to want to blame the minority for its problems even if those accusations are completely unfounded.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you, people should be only discriminated by how they act rather than the color of their skin. If everyone focused on their actions rather than judging others society would be a better place will less discrimination.
DeleteI agree that it shouldn't matter what race a person is because they have no control over that. You shouldn't not like a person because of something stupid like that. They could be the nicest person in the world but you'd have no idea because you made an assumption based off their race.
DeleteIn America I believe that there should not be a specific role on race/ethnicity. There shouldn’t be because we are all the same in some way or another and should be treated equally. Just because of your race or ethnicity does not change what kind of character you give and pursue yourself to. This is an issue because we are the majority group because whites always want to feel superior to everyone because that is how they were raise, and they believe still that the United States is the place for the Whites and no other races or ethnic groups. With being the dominate group they will try to get their all white society back and continue to do so. If us whites are no longer the majority we will finally be feeling how other minorities felt, and maybe for once we will realize that everyone is the same and should be treated equally. Our society is will never see a color-blind society in the future. If the dominate group discriminate against the minorities, eventually the minorities will be the majority, and all of these minorities were so used to being discriminated that the tradition will still continue because they are so used to it, and sadly to people they believe that it is okay to do so.
ReplyDeleteMy opinion is that I do not think that race is the only issue because whites are the dominant/majority group. Whites might be the majority group now but it’s starting to change and in some time whites will be the minority group. I think that all races have a problem with each other. No matter what race is the majority group it’s going to be a problem for generations and it will always be a problem. When whites are not the majority group anymore I think it will be a big change. Whites typically think of themselves as better people and they soon will not be which may cause tension with other races. White will have to understand that they are the same as any other race no matter what race they are. This will be a challenge but eventually it will occur and whites will have to start changing the way they look at other people. I think in some way every race even the minority group has difficulties with everyone and every person has racism toward another race.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion I don’t think we will ever be a “color- blind” society. I think there will always be some people who will judge someone depending on their race. I think race is always going to be a problem in some people’s opinion, but I think the people who accept other races will have more opportunities because they are will to put people’s skin color behind them. I think that when “whites” are no longer the majority group they will be looked at like the other races are now. I think “blacks” will be the majority group and they will look down on everyone else and the “whites” will have a very hard time with this because of how they were brought up. I think that the “whites” will always see themselves as superior because of the way their grandparents taught them. Sooner or later, the “whites” will have to start changing their behaviors and conforming to the new majority group (“blacks”). I think there will be some people who have a hard time dealing with it and then there will be others who accept it for what it is.
ReplyDeleteI strongly agree with your comment. Escpecailly the part when you said people that put race behind them will have more opportunities and not only for when we become the minority, but also because we might be more open to befriending other races and having good relationships with ore people will only affect you in a positive light. Also if we do become the minority we will have to change our behaviors.
DeleteI agree with you that the whites will eventually become the minority group and when they do the roles will be flipped. I also think the whites will no longer be considered the most racist it will be the new majority group because with power comes big egos. I also agree with you that the U.S. will never be a color-blind society. There will always be people who think that the color of skin makes or breaks a friendship.
ReplyDeleteI really don't think race should have any role in society. It shouldn't matter that a person is black, white, yellow, brown, blue, green, orange, red, or anything because they're all people and they should be judged based on what they've made of themselves and not what they were born with. Race is one of those things that people can't control, and people shouldn't be judged off of things they can't control. At the same time I know that this is the way it should be and not the way it is. Too many people believe stereotypes and associate people with behaviors only because their race matches it. I don't think society will ever be completely color blind simply because we all subconsciously give in to stereotypes all the time. Everyone does it and it doesn't make them racist it's just the way people have been wired. Just because when you hear drug dealer your first thought is of a black person or Hispanic person or whatever doesn't make you racist because that's what we've been taught to think. Now if you actually believe that all black people are drug dealers or anything like that then you might be a little racist. But I think that's why we won't ever be completely color blind. Not because everybody's racist and will always be because that's getting a lot better as we move forward, but because of the small stereotypes and things like that that we will always have in the back of our heads not because we truly believe it but because those are the images society gives us.
ReplyDeleteThe role that race and ethnicity should play in our society is to help us determine the type of culture and language each person is associated with, but other than that, race and ethnicity should not play any role in society because in my opinion it creates racism and discriminations. To me racism and discrimination are only issues, but I think that is just because I do not see this happen on a daily basis so I do not know what is going on with it, but I am sure other people would disagree because people probably see racism and discrimination every day and may be experiencing it. One day if I become the minority and am no longer a part of the dominant group, I may experience racism and discrimination more and think it is more than just an issue. If this were to happen then I think other people would have a hard time with this because whites are so used to being the dominant group that they will have a hard time thinking they aren't on top, which is a hard concept to even think about. I think we could be a color blind society if we tried, but people are too judgmental and stereotypical that it would take a lot and may not ever really happen. People in today's society stick a certain label on a certain group, causing us to have a opinion about someone before we truly get to know them. This to me is wrong because stereotypes might be true in some cases, but in others it may be completely wrong and sometimes that causes us to miss out on potentially meeting a good person. have Since that person has a different skin color and the stereotype for that skin color we think of them badly. We may be getting better at not being so stereotypical and we might keep getting better, but we will always see them in some way because we have been raised in such a judgmental society.
ReplyDeleteI think sometimes it is difficult for a "white" kid who lives in the country to really grasp race/discrimination/prejudice because they've never really experienced it. Watching it on TV or hearing it in music lyrics doesn't count. It's when you leave small town America and go out in the real world do you encounter true diversity. It's out there you experience what it's really like.
ReplyDeleteRace and ethnicity will always be around as long as the different groups in America are treated differently in terms of education, housing, and opportunities. I get so frustrated when people say that "if they work hard, they could improve their lives"..that just shows just how little you know about the real world. It's not that black and white...it never will be.
In order to be a color blind society, we have to also ignore all the culture and history associated with those races and ethnicity....with that being said, we'd lose part of who we are. We don't want that to happen either.
What we need to do in this society is embrace our differences and really, I mean really, treat each other the same. It is up to our children and our grand-children to fix the errors we've made and hopefully smooth things out so we as a nation can progress into the next generation.