Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Race relations have changed a lot in the past 50 years
In the past race was a huge issue. Now in the present we have learned to live together in harmony however the issue of race still exists. People still judge a stranger of a different race differently than they would someone of their own race. This is just part of being human. We make judgements about anyone and everything. So even though we have come very far the issue of race relations in the US is still there and will be for a long time because the sterotypes still exist and are influential in the way people are treated throughout the United States.
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Are we really living in harmony now? It is part of being human to be curious or weirded out by new things but being a human being also entails changing our minds and learning what we can about what we’re curious about. We do make jugdements about anyone and everything but it should be an educated one. Not a superficial one which, sadly is how we do judge things and people. We need to stop being stuck in our ways and think like the hippies. If you think about that generation and decade (the 60’s) changed the world, and got everything started. We need to step away from our perconcieved ideas and what we heard our parents say about other races and decide how we feel. Its our feelings and our childrens feelings that will matter in the future and we need to take advantage of that and try to be more positive. Yes Im blonde but im not stupid, yes he’s black but he’s not poor, ghetto or uneducated. He’s just another dude that lives a life like mine.
ReplyDeleteI do think race relations have changed alot since way back when. I also believe that we will never get away from stereotypes, it is what we do and that is that. I agree with what Becky said about making educated judgments, but I do not believe we should look to a bunch of hippies for guidance. I think it is fact that more stereotypes than minorities are willing to believe are based on fact, and are brought on by the minorities themselves. For example, the stereotype that all blacks are poor, it is false, but, the majority of blacks make less money on average than whites. This is because many blacks persist on growing up in slums and ghettos saying things like "this is all I got" or "this is my life". I also think that some hate crimes and other incidents like the ones with the nooses happen sometimes because of the frustration of whites. Minorities come to America looking for something better, I understand that, but they come and then want to change how we do things to fit what they want, that is wrong of them, they are in our country they need to accept that and be thankful we allow them here. Whites are being more oppressed everyday in America, and Christianity is one of the major sore points, Christians like me are being forced to do make changes so we do not "offend" the minorities, because heaven forbid we offend the minorities. I am getting to be long winded and will stop now. Ian
ReplyDeleteI'd like to politely disagree with several statements. While I agree with Ian that groups such as the hippies aren't anything to look to for how to treat humans, I disagree on that America is somehow "our" as in white people's, country. Last I checked the native Americans were here first. Second, I'm sure there are some black people who are happy to live in the ghettos or slums, but to say that a large amount are content with that simply is untrue. Economics has a large amount to do with that. I've certainly never met someone who was content working for minimum wage. And finally, I disagree that white people are being oppressed more and more these days, I'd sooner say that white people are just no longer allowed to oppress the other races the way they once had anymore. And I don't believe any race has blatantly made a crusade against Christianity. Then again, that's just on my observation and I'm certainly not claiming that I'm correct at all.
ReplyDelete-JT
Race relations has gotten better over the years. Many acts and laws have been put into to place for the better. One step has been enacted. The other step is the way people think. Through our upbriging, our US history, and what we are surrounded by only reinforce the idea of race seperation...intentional or not. We will never overcome race seperation with all those factors around us. They will always be present and impossible to get rid of.
ReplyDeleteI agree with most of the above opinions and comments. I agree with the idea of the hippies in thinking that there should be peace and happiness among everyone no matter of the race or person but i would just say that all of their ideas would be good to go by though just some of them. I also agree with the fact that stereo types will always be around they just might change over the years and transfigured into something other than what they are now like it may change to the complete opposite of what people think now.
ReplyDeleteI think that the statement on how "a lot of blacks like to live in the ghetto's and such" is not very true in the fact that i'm sure some may not have a problem with it but to say most is an over statement. I would say that they just kind of follow i the ways on how they were brought up as children because if you look at all of the races everyone seems to follow what their parents do and feel more at home in the places that they are used to. but all in all i would say that the race issue is somewhat the same as it was 50 years ago just not as intense but we do seem to be more accepting of others as we have grown as a country.
-NatE
I think you are all misunderstanding what I meant about looking to the 60's. I only meant that they stopped being like their parents and revolted against the norm. It goes along with my comment "We need to stop being stuck in our ways" and "we need to step away from...what we heard our parents say" I was not saying we should look to them for guidance because no one is going to learn anything by dropping acid. Please don't take what I said out of context.
ReplyDeleteThe Generation born in the 60's that rebelled against there parents and the "norm", are the same people that have turned America into the spoiled country it is today. With adds everywhere saying "you deserve this" and "you have a right to this". It is the same generation that in the grocery store when asked if the cashier can see there ID they get mad like the cashier is stepping on there rights and being insulting to them. The generation raised in the 60's as a whole is one to use as a reference as what NOT to do.
ReplyDeletethat's exactly what becky is saying (or at least what i think she was trying to say. sorry if i'm wrong) it's not that we should all go off and live like hippies, it's that we can use some of their ideas today.
ReplyDeletewe need to stop following the easy, paved path that's set up for us, and start doing what we actually feel is right. if we ever want race relations to get better, someone has to step up and do something about it, change the way we think. (like the hippies did)
why can't those people be our generation?
Race relation have changed for the past 50 years because of the interreations of everyone,for instans we all leave toghether and leave in the same neighborhood, shop same spot and majority of us have the same interest, and dreams.
ReplyDeleteThe comment of living in harmony, but the issue of race still existing seems to contradict each other! I do agree about people judging people of other races, and making judgements about anyone and everything. We as a society are great at judging others, even the people in our own race. Judging others is not as bad as the fact that we never seem to judge people correctly! If we would just look in the mirror more often when judging, maybe we wouldn't do it to others so much. Who knows, maybe if we do end up with a person of color as president, and he does a good job, people just may become less jugdemental. -But God help us if he screws up- even though we all do at some point in time! There will be way to many people out there judging twice as much! If only people could look past the color of others and see the actual person.
ReplyDeleteI don’t understand what was so bad about the 60’. In 1963 Martin Luther King gave his “I have a dream speech.” That essentially put equality on a whole new level. People all over the U.S. protested against the Vietnam War. The economy was doing better than it is now, and there was a lot less pollution. And hey as to harmony, it might be arguable that it is partially human nature do look at different people differently ( I mean admit, if I come to class with my hair dyed neon green you all are going to look at me different to ) but that is no excuse for some of the “soft racism” that is going on in the U.S.. As for people that live in portions of a city in which members of a minority group live especially because of social, legal, or economic pressure, I’m pretty confident in claiming that if a person thinks that people want to live like that, that person needs to find a hobby other than watching television.
ReplyDeleteIan, are you serious? People BORN in the 60's had nothing to do with haight ashbury or the human-be in. Im talking about the decade of the 60's. During that time and once everyone saw how the "hippies" were changing everything then there came the courage to point out equality issues for blacks, gay and lesbian rights, the sexual revoltion and womens sufferage. Learn something about the decade of the 60's, and realize that they helped the world get started on our issues. Also your little grocery store comment, the people who participated in the 60's are now 50-65 years old, its called old age and that comment didn't make sense! Also your right, this country has a lot of freedoms, which you call being spoiled and thats the point. Your digging waaaaay to deeply into the point when Im trying to say they started something, like we need to do! Instead of being negative about something you don't have a lot of knowledge in, try being more open and accepting of different peoples views.
ReplyDeleteI do accept other peoples views, I just disagree with some of them. By the way, isn't this blog here for the discussion of our views? I am not trying to change any ones mind of anything I am just sharing my thoughts and views. The 60's signifies the start of a major decline of morals that America has been experiencing ever since then. Old is not an excuse to be a jerk, the people of the 60's as a whole are spoiled, someone like you could never change my mind of that (by someone like you Becky I mean in the sense that our relationship is very undeveloped and I wish to keep it that way, for example, my wife would have a much better chance of convincing me I am wrong. Some of the things Becky refers to as good changes in the 60s (sexual revolution) I highly disagree that that was a good thing, it was very bad. So was the whole gay revolution thing, they help to signify the decline in morals and strength of our country. This is of course a blog of our Ethnics class so we should from now on keep it on Ethnics and not on the 60s and how they affected America today.
ReplyDeletejust because morals changed, doesn't mean they "declined". as far as the womens sufferage goes, we're a minority too... there are more women in the world then their are men, but so long ago you guys decided you wanted the power, and even today you refuse to share it equally with us. women, just like any other minority, are able to think, feel, and react just the same as everyone else. i don't think it's fair to say that blacks are equal with whites but women aren't equal with men. try to think about it from our point of view- if you were a female, you'd disagree too...
ReplyDeleteThank you for all your postings. I would like for us to keep in mind that we are here to discuss issues, share our thoughts, listen to others, and explore ideas.
ReplyDeleteIt is essential that we maintain a respectful and open arena that allows for ideas and experiences to be shared and challenged but not mocked or disparaged.
When we get frustrated and/or angry at the postings let’s remember to reconcile with our emotions before we start to catapult our feelings towards the individual/s.
Our intention is not to isolate individuals nor expect everyone to think and function alike.
One has to remember that we all come to the blog with our own experiences and exposures. It is important to recognize that those experiences and exposures inform and shape us. Thus it is vital that we challenge the greater values, beliefs and cultural norms and not the individual. In order for us to challenge the values, we have to be informed about the various experiences of our community.
This requires us to learn, listen, read, and experience the complexities of life. It is my sincere hope that we will all continue to learn, listen, read, and experience life. Meanwhile let us make sure we respect each other and only challenge the ideas and not isolate the individual for attacks, stereotypes or discrimination.
ian- i was just wondering what your thoughts are on McCain choosing a woman as his running mate.
ReplyDeletepersonally i think it is awesome that what is traditionaly considered that conservative party is willing to choose a woman to lead with them. although i support Obama 100%, i definatly gained respect for McCain. do you believe Sarah Palin has what it takes to be the VP?
also- how are you going to explain to your daughters that even though they are told they can do anything, the truth (in your opinion) is that the way God made them, they actually can't?
what do you think that women can do, but men can't?
This is in response to Andreas comment. I think it is fine having a woman as McCains running mate. As far as what I will tell my daughter (I have one already who is 11 monthes old, she is my third child the other 2 are boys) I think that the belief that anyone can do anything if they put there mind to it is only basically true, we all need God to help make us what we are or what we want to be, we do not do it by ourselves. I know nothing about Sarah Palin so I cannot comment on whether or not she would be a good VP. If I am to critical or harsh about some of you other students comments I apologize, I do not mean to be, and I will put more effort into not being as critical. Ian
ReplyDeletebut sarah's a female... i'm not trying to be rude, i'm actually interested in how you see things... what makes it okay to have a female vice president? is it because she's under a man?
ReplyDeleteIt depends on how you look at it. Take for instance, music. Heavy metal used to be predominately white, but with groups like Anthrax who helped bridge the racial gap by performing a song with rap group Public Enemy, to other bands like God Forbid, Sevendust, and Killswitch Engage, who all have people of different races in them. Back in the 80's and 90's to have someone of a different race was unheard of. But then again in some places race relations have not changed much. I witnessed this first hand when I was living in Cincinnati, Ohio a few years back. The town is pretty much still seperated. If white people saw you talking to some one who was not white they would either give you dirty looks or say something rude. Which is is sad.
ReplyDeleteThere are always going to be stereotypes and I think that it's mainly how we are brought up. I was raised in the cities and my parents always told me to never judge or be mean to anyone that is a different nationality but then when we moved closer to Mankato and I went to a school where there was absolutely no diversity. It was almost a culture shock to me. I just don't understand how people can be so blind to the world and think that they're better than everyone that they need to be rude to "minorities"
ReplyDeleteI am wondering out loud about " what has changed" give me some examples of changes that has affected the country at large.
ReplyDeletewho does the change benefit?
are these changes being recognized and implemented at the national and local levels?
I think one of the changes is that especially in our generation we are more accepting of people that have a different background. I graduated from a DODDS High School, so it was very diverse, and I just recently moved back to the U.S., so sometimes it is hard for me to understand some of the stereotypes and judgments that certain people have, because where I grew up, well we just didn’t have that, my Senior class consisted of 53 people, we all sat at one table, and weren’t divided. But the more I live here the more I am beginning to understand what everyone always talks about concerning racism in the U.S.. But I still think that our generation is becoming more diverse and more accepting than the ones before us, and as more time progresses, we will hopefully get to the point of accepting and respecting each other for who we are, equals with different family histories, like what I grew up with and now to be possible.
ReplyDeleteBy the way this is Jamie, I am having some problems with my account and it will only let me post Anonymous now.
I believe most changes are somewhat small, like more minorities becoming involved in Hard Rock and Heavy Metal, which used to be pretty much all white. I think that change benifits minorities, especially blacks, because one stereotype is that all blacks listen to rap music, which alot do listen to rap but I have meet quite a few who like country music or gospel. I think another change is that more and more couples are interracial, that is also good for minorities because it shows that they don't neccesarily feel like they have to stick with each other for security. I also think that change is good for whites as well, it shows that there are a lot of whites are not worried about race or what other more judgmental people may say about them. Ian
ReplyDeleteI don't know about changes in a national level, but in a local level i can say that there has been some changes. I graduated from a small town filled with racism between hispanics and whites. There were many times where a fight would start because of a race issue. This was only 3 years ago that it died down. Now I can say that I am in an interacial relationship with someone whose family is well known in that town, and some people accept that. I'm sure that others have a problem with it, but atleast they don't confront us about it. This is a very obvious change that benefits the whole community and myself as a hispanic.
ReplyDeleteit has changed in many ways over the years and still keeps on changing. i have noticed over just the years i have been alive that there does seem to be more acceptance between races now and it does seem to keep on becoming more and more accepted throughout communities. I'm not sure if it will ever actually go away but i think that it will keep getting less and less intense or turn into other things than they are now. It has been a huge change from long ago when everything was segregated to now where it is a lot more equal than then. even though it may not be completely equal yet for all.
ReplyDeletealso i think that the changes are better for every one because there doesn't seem to be as much tension as before it is just more of a akwardness. i think that at the national level it is affected a lot more because there are a lot more views. but at the local level it can depend on the community and how they perceive things and their values that they have been brought up with and learned from other people.
The movements in the 60's turned away from the "its all about me view". The "hippies" or people rebelling were all about turning away from the materialistic world that has enclosed us today. The hippies were trying to create a new look on society. They changed the "ME" to "WE". The grocery store example makes no sense. They created movements which strived for equal rights among women and homosexuals. I see this as only helping society. If you believe in god, GOD believes everyone is equal: black, white, gay, lesbian, women, men, whatever. THe "hippies" were trying to express this idea of equality and trying to end the war in peace. The hippies revolution only helped society by bringing people together, becoming stronger and unified they didnt reject god or try to turn away from the "norm", they tried to change how other races and minorities were being treated. The only negative thing is they used illicit drugs, its just marijuanna, and it didnt kill anyone like the pointless Vietnam War.
ReplyDeleteBecause of TV I think there will always be some sort of racism or prejudice. There are so many stereotypes created on tv. Shows like Saturday Night Live, Mad TV, Mind of Mencia, and The Capell Show are all shows that create these stereotypes that stick with people in their everyday lives. I think that this will not stop on tv but maybe someday we will be able to see that tv and media stereotypes are only for show and not how we should live our actual lives.
ReplyDelete