Malcolm X Post 2: Barriers in our Social Lives

Although I am not yet finished with the autobiography of Malcolm X, I have concluded that it is one of the few stories that have had such an amazing impact on me. This story has changed my way of thinking about the past and my everyday life. One thing that stood out to me was how surprised Malcolm seemed to be when he was encountering whites in Harlem. I know that peaceful interaction may have been hard to find when Malcolm was growing up, but he  explains it in a way that makes me realize how strained the relationships between blacks and whites really were.  I personally cannot tell if there were a lot of existing relationships, but I know that it was hard to come by. I can honestly say that I am truly grateful that I live in a time where people of two different races can be friends without any suspicions or problems that they would have to encounter. 

Although I know that I do not have to experience the problems that two different races encounter, I know that there are still some people in our country that think it is wrong for people of two different races or ethnic backgrounds to be friends.mI think it is barely attainable to completely destroy the racism amongst people, especially if it is started early in life, like at school. 

http://www.ericdigests.org/pre-9215/racism.htm

When I was younger, probably in pre-school, I didn't know much about the differences in races, except maybe we were different colors. My parents are not racist people, and they did not raise me or my siblings that way. However, in a more diverse pre-school, I became aware of these differences when other white kids would tell me that I shouldn't hang out with the other kids. It wasn't just blacks, put children of a bunch of different ethnic backgrounds. An it wasn't because they were mean, or because we didn't like them. It was because we were different. As 3 year olds, we were naive, we didn't understand many things. It was like a boy vs. girl situation. All of us girls thought that boys had cooties and we weren't supposed to touch them or do what they did because we would then get the cooties.  There was nothing wrong with the other children, we just assumed that they didn't want to interact with us either because they could get our cooties. I can't honestly say that I knew it was wrong then, I was too young, but I can tell you that now, I realize how silly and crazy that idea was.

I do not think that a world without prejudice is completely unreachable, I just think that it is going to take a lot of commitment to make it happen and I think people are really going to have to want to change our world. I can only hope that people realize what needs to happen to make our world a better place where all are equal with the same rights and without having to worry about the effects their skin color will have.

Malcolm X Post 1: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack

Reading this story by Peggy McIntosh made me realize all of the different privilege I, as an individual, receive. I'm not oblivious to the fact that whites are held up higher on the status quo than blacks are in America, but I never would have noticed all of the little things if it weren't for this passage. Little things such as flesh colored bandages. Until this passage, I never realized that the flesh colored bandages were only made for whites, there are no such things as black, flesh colored bandages. To find something like this out is just plain confusing. Whites are not the only people on this world, everyone should think about other races' needs. Just because discrimination isn't as prominent in our lives as it once was does not mean that it doesn't exist. The little things that white people generally wouldn't recognize are probably what other races realize the most. 

After I read this passage, I kept my out for little discriminatory actions that I encountered throughout my day. I was surprised to see how many I could find. Not only was I able to see racial discrimination, but gender discrimination also came up a few times in my day. It's really sad to see that people make racist or gender remarks, but don't realize that they could be hurtful. In lunch, a male friend used to joke and tell another friend to "Make me a sandwich woman!" Although I knew it was a joke, it bothered me to know that he could say something like that and not even feel a little bad about it. I have never personally had someone say that to me, but I know that it would hurt me on the inside. 

I also feel that people who are less outgoing or crazy get the shorter end of the stick in public places such as school. Being a naturally shy and to-myself kind of person, I've never had many advantages in my classes. I notice that some teachers tend to unknowingly separate the class into the more fun, talkative kids, of whom they like to call on, ask for favors, and help more often. Students like me, who may be too self-conscious to speak in front of a class of their peers would probably agree that the help we need is not always given to us, but often handed out to students who make themselves known in that class. 

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/272355/favoritism_in_public_education_the.html?cat=9

In one of my old classes, I realized that my progress report said that I was missing an assignment. The only reason it was missing was because I was absent when it was due. I had the assignment and made the mistake of showing it to my teacher while a more popular student was talking to her. She nodded in acknowledgement that I had the paper but continued to talk to the other student. Our next progress report, I found the same assignment was still missing. My teacher was "too busy" to jot down that I had the assignment and had completely forgotten. My whole grade was affected because she was not particularly interested in what I had to say. It really hurt me and made me feel like I was less important or not worthy. After that, I rarely talked in the class because I felt like my opinion didn't matter. 

Ethnic Notions

This video based on racial discrimination was a huge eye-opener to me. I knew that the way certain races were treated was a very horrible thing, but there were some things in this video that I would never have imagined. One thing that not only confused me, but frustrated me was how blacks were portrayed in movies and television shows. Even if the smartest, most proper black man was to be portrayed, the white society would probably have shown them as idiotic and uncivilized. Then, when blacks were allowed to act as themselves in films, they had to make their faces "blacker" by putting soot on them. I don't understand why white filmmakers would make someone who is already black, do that to themselves. I think something like that is very degrading to not only blacks, but all different ethnic races. What disturbed me even more was that the white society had the nerve to discriminate against black children in the ways that they did. Their ideas of the African-American children being dirty and inhuman should not have resulted in pictures of them being eaten by animals such as alligators. These pictures of Black children trying to escape from savage animals should not have existed, and nevertheless should they have been on a postcard. The fact that people would actually buy these and want to send them to others is something that I will never be able to understand. Discrimination against different races and ethnic groups is something that personally makes me sick. Not only was it existent in the past, but it still exists today. Everyday I hear stereotypes being made against Blacks, Mexicans, Asians; it is not okay. I do understand that the white race has privileges that others may not, but just because whites may hold power over them does not give them the right to treat others the way they do. As much as I wish that I could remove these horrible actions, I know that I will never be able to completely remove them. However, I will do my best to keep it out of my personal life and my family's.