In How Jews Became White Folks by Karen Brodkin thesis is “Suddenly the same folks who had promoted nativism and xenophobia were eager to believe that the Euro-orgin people whom they had deported reviled as members of inferior races, and prevented from immigrating only a few years were now model middle-class white suburban citizens.”
In the 1920’s scientific racism said that real Americans were white and that real whites came from northwest Europe. In 1882 racism by white people did not count Chinese in being white. This came to the immigration door being closed on Europeans and Chinese. Jews were the first of the Euro-immigrants to enter schooling and have a significant constant number attending colleges. With this, the Jews were discriminated against being called harsh names. The Seven Sisters schools were being said to be flagrant discriminating. Speech test were becoming difficult to stop Jews from becoming teachers because they did not want them to be teaching Catholics. After World War II, views on whites were changing and it made it easier for Euro-ethnics to become middle class. Economics also played a large role in where you were placed in class.
How come Jews were discriminated against even thought they are white? I think they were discriminated against because they did not follow the Catholic way. So instead of saying it was because of their choices in what they believe in for their god they just said they were not white. This put the Jews at a lower class instead of being where all the other white people were.
I think this article was confusing. I also believe that the Jews were mistreated because of their views instead of what they looked like. As people grew they became more understanding that there are more views on Gods than just their own and began to accept that.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Monday, October 15, 2007
Chapter 9 Zinn Slavery without Submission and Emancipation without Freedom
In Howard Zinn’s chapter 9 Slavery Without Submission, Emancipation Without Freedom, his thesis is that black people still had slavery even though they were free and they were set free but had restrictions on what they could do.
African Americans had a tough time living in the 1800’s. They had to go though more brutal times than most people could say they have today. As the tobacco plantations grew they turned into cotton lands where more slaves were needed. As they slaves were being illegally imported, they started to revolt against the slave owners. One of the largest occurred in New Orleans. In the 1850’s slaves started to run away to Canada and Mexico. They used the Underground Railroad. Harriet Tubman, one of the most famous slaves for making numerous trips back and fourth with having the chance to being caught. She freed 300 slaves knowing she could go back to being slave for the risk of freeing other slaves. In1860, Lincoln was elected president. In 1861 he declared that all slaves to be free. Zinn says “When the Emancipation Proclamation was issued in January 1863, it declared slaves free in those areas still fighting against the Union and said nothing about slaves behind Union lines.” This means people in the Union still could have slaves because they were not fighting. As the blacks joined the Union army, whites became angry for having to sacrifice different things. They had to join the army because they were drafted because the rich paid their way out of being drafted. With this, the whites started to go town to town killing black people. One white person was heard saying, “If we are got to be killed up for the N word, then we kill everyone in this town.” This is saying they are unwilling to fight for black people and would rather kill the side they are on rather than fight for them. Since the states still fighting did not get rid of their slaves, the war produced slaves in select states to rebel and destroy the plantations they were on. As blacks were starting to be respected and get into the government, whites began to rebel on blacks. The Ku Kulx Klan was formed. A white supremacist group who hated blacks and went around killing them and raping them. As blacks started to get jobs they were only paid 55 cents. In the south the plantations owners basically tricked the black workers by not paying them but with “orders” that the black worker could only use where the planter owned.
Why were so many people angry about what Abraham Lincoln did freeing the slaves? I think Abraham Lincoln did the right thing. African Americans did not deserve to be treated unfairly being a citizen. They deserved the same rights as whites. Just because they have a different color of skin they were treated unfairly and Abraham Lincoln saw that they are the same even thought the look different from him.
I think African Americans had a terrible like in the 1800’s and early 1900’s. Today there are still racism problems where blacks are being treated unfairly. Racism needs to stop and everyone needs to be treated fairly especially in the court system. People should follow the laws and respect everyone for who they are not by what they look like.
African Americans had a tough time living in the 1800’s. They had to go though more brutal times than most people could say they have today. As the tobacco plantations grew they turned into cotton lands where more slaves were needed. As they slaves were being illegally imported, they started to revolt against the slave owners. One of the largest occurred in New Orleans. In the 1850’s slaves started to run away to Canada and Mexico. They used the Underground Railroad. Harriet Tubman, one of the most famous slaves for making numerous trips back and fourth with having the chance to being caught. She freed 300 slaves knowing she could go back to being slave for the risk of freeing other slaves. In1860, Lincoln was elected president. In 1861 he declared that all slaves to be free. Zinn says “When the Emancipation Proclamation was issued in January 1863, it declared slaves free in those areas still fighting against the Union and said nothing about slaves behind Union lines.” This means people in the Union still could have slaves because they were not fighting. As the blacks joined the Union army, whites became angry for having to sacrifice different things. They had to join the army because they were drafted because the rich paid their way out of being drafted. With this, the whites started to go town to town killing black people. One white person was heard saying, “If we are got to be killed up for the N word, then we kill everyone in this town.” This is saying they are unwilling to fight for black people and would rather kill the side they are on rather than fight for them. Since the states still fighting did not get rid of their slaves, the war produced slaves in select states to rebel and destroy the plantations they were on. As blacks were starting to be respected and get into the government, whites began to rebel on blacks. The Ku Kulx Klan was formed. A white supremacist group who hated blacks and went around killing them and raping them. As blacks started to get jobs they were only paid 55 cents. In the south the plantations owners basically tricked the black workers by not paying them but with “orders” that the black worker could only use where the planter owned.
Why were so many people angry about what Abraham Lincoln did freeing the slaves? I think Abraham Lincoln did the right thing. African Americans did not deserve to be treated unfairly being a citizen. They deserved the same rights as whites. Just because they have a different color of skin they were treated unfairly and Abraham Lincoln saw that they are the same even thought the look different from him.
I think African Americans had a terrible like in the 1800’s and early 1900’s. Today there are still racism problems where blacks are being treated unfairly. Racism needs to stop and everyone needs to be treated fairly especially in the court system. People should follow the laws and respect everyone for who they are not by what they look like.
Monday, September 17, 2007
What It All Has to Do with Us
Allan Johnson’s thesis in his chapter, “What It All Has to Do with Us” is “Contrary to the individualistic model, social life happens only as people participate in social systems—families, schools, workplaces, religious organizations, and so on” (78). His main point is that individuals make social systems and as people participate in social systems they create individuals and how they act.
Everywhere we go we are shown an image about something. It comes from media, families, and friends and through examples set by parents, peers, coaches, teachers, and public figures (78). We get mindsets of how things are supposed to be and who the all the power belongs to. An example of this is Johnson says, “The message came through loud and clear that straight white men are the most important people on the planet because they’re the ones who supposedly do the most important things” (79). This is told everywhere because this system is creating this image for people. Individualism creates two different groups of people, good and bad. Johnson says that you are good if you don’t have any bad feelings toward racism and you are willing to help the bad people. Bad people are the ones who create problems and see racism and do not want to help the world. Being on the privilege side means you get many benefits. You do not have to worry about a lot of things such as race. Being on the bad side means you are more likely to perform bad actions. The neo-Nazi is an example of this where they go around abusing or killing people of color or gays or lesbians (85). They have joined a system that has similarities to their personality and then they are welcomed by others who share the same beliefs.
Why do people teach images to create such hostile systems? With all these bad groups that are being formed, people should rethink of what they are teaching to children so this world will one day be without anger. Media should not be able to portray certain groups as higher power. For example there should be even amounts of different races on television shows.
I agreed with most of the content in this chapter. Individualism does put people into two different groups. I think there should only be one but that would make the world way to easy. Images are shown to people as they grow up and depending on where you live and what your closer ones believe in is how you are going to see the world and belong to the system you belong to.
Everywhere we go we are shown an image about something. It comes from media, families, and friends and through examples set by parents, peers, coaches, teachers, and public figures (78). We get mindsets of how things are supposed to be and who the all the power belongs to. An example of this is Johnson says, “The message came through loud and clear that straight white men are the most important people on the planet because they’re the ones who supposedly do the most important things” (79). This is told everywhere because this system is creating this image for people. Individualism creates two different groups of people, good and bad. Johnson says that you are good if you don’t have any bad feelings toward racism and you are willing to help the bad people. Bad people are the ones who create problems and see racism and do not want to help the world. Being on the privilege side means you get many benefits. You do not have to worry about a lot of things such as race. Being on the bad side means you are more likely to perform bad actions. The neo-Nazi is an example of this where they go around abusing or killing people of color or gays or lesbians (85). They have joined a system that has similarities to their personality and then they are welcomed by others who share the same beliefs.
Why do people teach images to create such hostile systems? With all these bad groups that are being formed, people should rethink of what they are teaching to children so this world will one day be without anger. Media should not be able to portray certain groups as higher power. For example there should be even amounts of different races on television shows.
I agreed with most of the content in this chapter. Individualism does put people into two different groups. I think there should only be one but that would make the world way to easy. Images are shown to people as they grow up and depending on where you live and what your closer ones believe in is how you are going to see the world and belong to the system you belong to.
Getting Off the Hook: Denial and Resistance
In Allan Johnson’s chapter 8 “Getting Off the Hook: Denial and Resistance,” his thesis is “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” (108). His main point is that everyone is apart of the problem whether they want to be or not.
According to Johnson one of the easiest ways of getting off the hook is denying everything. An example he uses is, “Racism and sexism used to be problems, but they aren’t anymore.” This is saying that racism and sexism has disappeared in the current society and everyone knows that it hasn’t. Denial also promotes describing an experience for another person. An example used is a child falls down and is crying. The adult says it does not hurt that bad, which in fact the adult has no idea how bad it hurts (109). Another way of getting off the hook is to blame someone else. One example is “Whites can say things such as, “If blacks were smarter or worked harder or got an education, they’d be okay” and expect most other whites to go along” (110). This is saying that whites are blaming blacks for not getting better jobs. The whites do not want to take blame for making it harder for blacks to get jobs or saying racism is the reason why blacks are not getting better opportunities. Calling the problem something else is one more way to get off the hook. “Avoiding the trouble by renaming it is most prevalent in matters of gender inequality” (112). An additional way it saying it is better off this way. Johnson uses the example of whites saying black people would prefer to live among other black families (112). “Research has proven though that blacks would much rather prefer to live integrated neighborhoods” (112). This is saying just because whites would rather have blacks live among other blacks does not mean the blacks want to do that. The whites are trying to put it nicely that they do not want blacks to live around them or in their neighborhood. One more way is saying you are sick and tired of hearing about something. “When you are annoyed by something, it can seem as thought it is everywhere as if there is no escaping it” (121). This happens because you are always thinking about it. So every little instance of the thing that is annoying you is reminded by everything.
Why doesn’t anyone ever want to take responsibility for what they say or what they feel? I feel no one wants to take blame because they are scared the way society is going to feel about them. They want to please everyone and not stick up for what they believe in. Also people want to stay out of trouble by some of the comments they make with having harassment or offending someone because of their race.
I completely agreed with everything in this chapter. People do not want to take claim for most of the comments they make and are willing to get out of it however they can.
According to Johnson one of the easiest ways of getting off the hook is denying everything. An example he uses is, “Racism and sexism used to be problems, but they aren’t anymore.” This is saying that racism and sexism has disappeared in the current society and everyone knows that it hasn’t. Denial also promotes describing an experience for another person. An example used is a child falls down and is crying. The adult says it does not hurt that bad, which in fact the adult has no idea how bad it hurts (109). Another way of getting off the hook is to blame someone else. One example is “Whites can say things such as, “If blacks were smarter or worked harder or got an education, they’d be okay” and expect most other whites to go along” (110). This is saying that whites are blaming blacks for not getting better jobs. The whites do not want to take blame for making it harder for blacks to get jobs or saying racism is the reason why blacks are not getting better opportunities. Calling the problem something else is one more way to get off the hook. “Avoiding the trouble by renaming it is most prevalent in matters of gender inequality” (112). An additional way it saying it is better off this way. Johnson uses the example of whites saying black people would prefer to live among other black families (112). “Research has proven though that blacks would much rather prefer to live integrated neighborhoods” (112). This is saying just because whites would rather have blacks live among other blacks does not mean the blacks want to do that. The whites are trying to put it nicely that they do not want blacks to live around them or in their neighborhood. One more way is saying you are sick and tired of hearing about something. “When you are annoyed by something, it can seem as thought it is everywhere as if there is no escaping it” (121). This happens because you are always thinking about it. So every little instance of the thing that is annoying you is reminded by everything.
Why doesn’t anyone ever want to take responsibility for what they say or what they feel? I feel no one wants to take blame because they are scared the way society is going to feel about them. They want to please everyone and not stick up for what they believe in. Also people want to stay out of trouble by some of the comments they make with having harassment or offending someone because of their race.
I completely agreed with everything in this chapter. People do not want to take claim for most of the comments they make and are willing to get out of it however they can.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Capitalism, Class, and the Matrix of Domination
The thesis of Allan G. Johnson’s chapter, “Capitalism, Class, and the Matrix of Domination” is capitalism created white racism along with privileges for the white race.
Johnson begins the chapter by explaining what capitalism is which is making money become a bigger profit out of it. For example capitalist created the sowing machine to create more profit for less cost since the labor workers cost more and took longer to make clothes. He then talks about how money is spilt in the United States. “10 percent of the U.S. population holds more than two-thirds of all the wealth, including almost 90 percent of the cash, almost half the land, more than 90 percent of the business assets, and almost all stocks and bonds.” This is saying that the less fortunate citizens of the country are splitting less money than the smallest group. With capitalism, privileges created white racism due to the enslavement of Africans for their cheap labor. This made the white males feel more dominant than any other race. Even the white males who worked for higher powered capitalists, they still looked at themselves as more superior to a colored person. Once the lower class whites lost their superiority to the colors, this is where the Ku Klux Klan was created. The matrix of domination is having different privileges. You can have privileges in one area but then not have it in another. For example the white male says that an African male is a sex predator. Then women portray the male as a protector and comforter.
What would happen if we did not have capitalism? Without capitalism the United States would not be the power house it is with currency and with their army. Also technology may not be where it is today. If there was not a lot of money then we would not be able to afford all the things we can today to help benefit our country.
I thought this chapter was truthful. With capitalism being a huge problem of why there is white racism in the world. Johnson makes some great points about capitalism and explains to make this chapter make more sense.
Johnson begins the chapter by explaining what capitalism is which is making money become a bigger profit out of it. For example capitalist created the sowing machine to create more profit for less cost since the labor workers cost more and took longer to make clothes. He then talks about how money is spilt in the United States. “10 percent of the U.S. population holds more than two-thirds of all the wealth, including almost 90 percent of the cash, almost half the land, more than 90 percent of the business assets, and almost all stocks and bonds.” This is saying that the less fortunate citizens of the country are splitting less money than the smallest group. With capitalism, privileges created white racism due to the enslavement of Africans for their cheap labor. This made the white males feel more dominant than any other race. Even the white males who worked for higher powered capitalists, they still looked at themselves as more superior to a colored person. Once the lower class whites lost their superiority to the colors, this is where the Ku Klux Klan was created. The matrix of domination is having different privileges. You can have privileges in one area but then not have it in another. For example the white male says that an African male is a sex predator. Then women portray the male as a protector and comforter.
What would happen if we did not have capitalism? Without capitalism the United States would not be the power house it is with currency and with their army. Also technology may not be where it is today. If there was not a lot of money then we would not be able to afford all the things we can today to help benefit our country.
I thought this chapter was truthful. With capitalism being a huge problem of why there is white racism in the world. Johnson makes some great points about capitalism and explains to make this chapter make more sense.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Privilege, Oppression, and Difference
In Howard Zinn’s “Privilege, Oppression, and Difference,” the thesis of the chapter is “What makes socially constructed reality so powerful is that we rarely if ever experience it as that” (20). The main point of the argument is that there is no color difference between people but it is how we make it out to be.
As we grow up everyone is taught things differently through their families, friends, and where they grow up. Zinn says, “For all its popularity, the idea that everyone is naturally frightened by difference is a cultural myth that, more than anything, justifies keeping outsiders on the outside and treating them badly if they happen to get in” (13). This is saying people are welcoming to new things that are unknown but once they learn things about them they decide to not like them and treat them terribly. Like the Native Americans accepted the Europeans when they first met with open arms. The wheel created by Marilyn Loden and Judy Rosener, explains physical characteristics of humans but does not explain the personalities. This is a problem because every one has different personalities and is unique in their own way. People are just judging on their looks and not who they are but what they are. Certain words also create distance between liking someone or disliking them. An example from the book being the word disabled. Being in a wheel chair makes the person disabled because they cannot walk but people all the time get their eyes adjusted to make them have better eye sight (18-19). This could be classified as disable but since they are the popular crowd it is not considered being disabled. Privilege is something everyone enjoys when they have them but get angry when they are on the downside of the privilege. One of the main privileges that people say is being male. This is slowly declining and women are on the rise so both men and women have the same privileges. There will always be privileges on both sides that only men and women can have but most will be the same one day.
Why does racism come into play in separate countries? I agree with Zinn saying that when you visit other places you become the outsider. This is because you are new and they are afraid of what actions you may do. This comes from past actions of the race you part of and people usually expect the worst and do not give everyone an equal chance.
I was familiar with much of this chapter. Not all the details but had a general idea of everything that was told in this chapter. I agreed with Zinn and his ideas. It is terrible to believe that the world is like this but there is not much that can be done to prevent this.
As we grow up everyone is taught things differently through their families, friends, and where they grow up. Zinn says, “For all its popularity, the idea that everyone is naturally frightened by difference is a cultural myth that, more than anything, justifies keeping outsiders on the outside and treating them badly if they happen to get in” (13). This is saying people are welcoming to new things that are unknown but once they learn things about them they decide to not like them and treat them terribly. Like the Native Americans accepted the Europeans when they first met with open arms. The wheel created by Marilyn Loden and Judy Rosener, explains physical characteristics of humans but does not explain the personalities. This is a problem because every one has different personalities and is unique in their own way. People are just judging on their looks and not who they are but what they are. Certain words also create distance between liking someone or disliking them. An example from the book being the word disabled. Being in a wheel chair makes the person disabled because they cannot walk but people all the time get their eyes adjusted to make them have better eye sight (18-19). This could be classified as disable but since they are the popular crowd it is not considered being disabled. Privilege is something everyone enjoys when they have them but get angry when they are on the downside of the privilege. One of the main privileges that people say is being male. This is slowly declining and women are on the rise so both men and women have the same privileges. There will always be privileges on both sides that only men and women can have but most will be the same one day.
Why does racism come into play in separate countries? I agree with Zinn saying that when you visit other places you become the outsider. This is because you are new and they are afraid of what actions you may do. This comes from past actions of the race you part of and people usually expect the worst and do not give everyone an equal chance.
I was familiar with much of this chapter. Not all the details but had a general idea of everything that was told in this chapter. I agreed with Zinn and his ideas. It is terrible to believe that the world is like this but there is not much that can be done to prevent this.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Race: The Power of an Illusion; Difference Between Us
In the movie, “Race: The Power of an Illusion; Difference Between Us,” it talks about race being an idea. Race has been attempted to be proven as biological but lack of evidence is stopping that argument keeping race an idea.
The movie talks about race being an idea. Technically it is not biological but it is still real. The idea is taken more serious but by certain people. This is racism and causes many problems in the world. An example from the movie is that African Americans are better than everyone else. They win many more athletic events such as the Olympics and basketball. People have said the African Americans have different types of bodies compared to everyone else. Like I have heard that they have an extra calf muscle and that is why they can jump higher than everyone else. Though it has been proven that African Americans have the same body as everyone else and does not have this extra calf muscle that they have been falsely accused of. The movie says that they are biological because of diseases they carry. They said that African Americans will die off. As we all know of looking at today’s society, they have gone no where and will be here for as long as mankind is.
Why would scientists think that race is biological? Race cannot be biological because we all have the same bodies inside. Just our skin colors are different.
I thought the movie was king of interesting to learn how people thought about how race was created. I personally believe that race is an idea and cannot be biological. The movie made me become more of a believer that race is an idea as well.
The movie talks about race being an idea. Technically it is not biological but it is still real. The idea is taken more serious but by certain people. This is racism and causes many problems in the world. An example from the movie is that African Americans are better than everyone else. They win many more athletic events such as the Olympics and basketball. People have said the African Americans have different types of bodies compared to everyone else. Like I have heard that they have an extra calf muscle and that is why they can jump higher than everyone else. Though it has been proven that African Americans have the same body as everyone else and does not have this extra calf muscle that they have been falsely accused of. The movie says that they are biological because of diseases they carry. They said that African Americans will die off. As we all know of looking at today’s society, they have gone no where and will be here for as long as mankind is.
Why would scientists think that race is biological? Race cannot be biological because we all have the same bodies inside. Just our skin colors are different.
I thought the movie was king of interesting to learn how people thought about how race was created. I personally believe that race is an idea and cannot be biological. The movie made me become more of a believer that race is an idea as well.
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