Blog Post #2 Racism
Racism, one of the big controversial issue in the United States. It’s been around for a long time now if you count the 1600’s. When black people were being fled from their homes in Africa and brought here in the United States as slaves. As someone who is black living in a rural and non-diverse state where quite some people are anti-racism, I haven’t really experienced this issue. But that doesn’t means other people with the same skin color as I haven’t. In fact, the more time progress, the more these people experience this issue while it continues to hurt them both mentally and physically. Every day on TV, there is always a problem with this issue. People getting cops called on them for just having a skin color that not in the category of what people now days call the “superior race”. This idea of there being a race that better than the other really gets under my skin. It’s so stupid that even well-respected men would go so far to say stuff like: “It’s a fact that white people are better than black”. As a black person, I found this so insulting to the point where my head just goes wow. It makes me feel like I don’t belong here. This whole thing is such a mess but at the same time, the President of the United States somehow support it. Sometimes, I just don’t understand why there is such a thing as racism, why can’t people just come together in perfect harmony and stop all these race stuff and accept one another. Racism is all around us, and it just needs to stop, one way or another. People have suffered for a long time now. Black people getting shot month by month, for only just protesting for their right. NFL players being disrespected by none other than the man who won the whole country, President Trump, and for only just protesting for their freedom again. Black men and women are getting paid less money just for being black. Mexicans are being called rapist. These are some high-level discrimination, and I want help make a change. This is my problem too, I’m also a person of color, which means I’m in the same boat as these people. I’m not going to let them get discriminate just because they are not in the “superior race”, I want to fight for them just like those NFL players did.
As I said, racism is a controversial issue, meaning there a lot into it that leaves us wondering. Some of the questions I had about racism were:
- What does racism have to do with idea of “superior race”?
- What can we do to stop racism?
- Is racism something that happens to every race, or just for the darker ones?
- Is racism something we can stop?
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Hussein,
Thanks for your thoughtful post about racism. Your writing has captured the fact that racism is present in so many different aspects of our lives. You mention television, politics, and sports among others. You also generated questions that are interesting and worth pursuing answers to. Your first question about racism and the idea of a ‘superior race’ got me thinking about the relationship between racism and the notion of what is a ‘true’ or ‘real’ Vermonter. This being election season, local politicians are likely touting how many generations their families have lived in Vermont and playing up their expertise around farming and hunting, all in an effort to portray themselves as ‘true’ Vermonters. For some, there is superiority in being a ‘true’ Vermonter and Vermonters can also be very skeptical of ‘flatlanders’. In fact 20 years ago, an older farmer named Fred Tuttle won a primary election against a rich and relatively new resident of the state in large part because Fred was seen as a ‘true’ Vermonter. I’m curious if you’ve encountered this idea of what it means to be a ‘true’ Vermonter and I wonder if there is some inherent racism in the notion of a ‘true’ Vermonter.
Erik
If you are interested, more information on Fred Tuttle can be found here: http://digital.vpr.net/post/cow-teats-how-say-calais-reflecting-1998-tuttle-mcmullen-debate#stream/0
Erik,
Thank you for your warm comment on my Blog, really appreciate. But coming to your idea about a “real” and a “true” Vermonter. To be honest, I’ve never encountered this concept at all here in Vermont, in fact, you are the first to tell me about it. But at some point in my life here, I have wonder whether if I should call Vermont my home state. I have always thought that to call a state your home depends on the amount of time you have lived in that state, or whether you, your family or anybody relate to you was born there. To me, none of my family members were born here, and we haven’t really lived that long too, so I’m kinda stuck. But this idea has really grabbed my attention, maybe you can feel me more in it when we meet again. Also, thank you for the Fred Tuttle link.
Peace,
Hussein
Hussein,
I agree with your post so much. Racism is such a hard and controversial topic, but I also think that it really needs to be talked about. The only way to get past this is to talk about it. Your writing style is great because it makes you want to keep reading makes you want to talk to someone about it. I can’t wait to see your next blog and to hear more from you.
Hussein,
I agree completely. Racism is very controversial and a very difficult topic to talk about. It makes a lot of people uncomfortable, therefore it isn’t brought up in conversation. I love the facts you stated and how you mentioned the idea of a ‘superior race’. You’re doing great!!
Hello Hussein,
The questions you raise are ones that I have grappled with all of my life, just like you are. Why is there racism? Can’t we all get along and love one another? Why is there hate and discrimination? I am by no means an expert, but these are things I’ve thought about for some time. Whenever talking about racism, I think it’s important to define what it is, what bias is, and what privilege is. Racism, as in institutionalized racism, describes societal patterns that impose oppressive or otherwise negative conditions on identifiable groups on the basis of race or ethnicity. Oppression may come from the government, schools or the court. It’s different than individual racism, where someone’s ideas might be hateful, by that those ideas alone might not have an effect on another’s life’s prospects.
In the US, white people have a hard time accepting that they are the “superior class” . As a default, “white” is so rarely used to describe white people as a whole that some people feel offended by the term. There is a strong myth in America that everyone has the same opportunities to be successful, or to “pull oneself up by the bootstraps”. This is a myth for anyone not white and male, because our system in America privileges whites and privileges males. Even the most anti-racist, anti-bias, and loving white people are a part of the system of white supremacy in the US that has bestowed advantages and privileges, welcomed or not.
I think the idea of a “native Vermonter” having more status or clout than a “flatlander” is more about bias, than racism since both are presumably demographics are white. I am curious to know about the divisions among people iin Tanzania and what the power structures look like from your homeland. Do you see similarities in the US?
These kind of courageous conversations about race are beginning to happen more and more, in our schools and around Vermont. There is a lot to unpack and I am honored to be a part of the conversation.
These resources from Teaching Tolerance about Race & Ethnicity are top- notch. I encourage you to look at them.
Kindly,
Meg.
Dear Meg,
Thank you for your kind comment on this blog of mine, I appreciate. But anyway, you sure took a lot out of me with this comment. It is so thoughtful and covers a lot of important ideas that I feel like I need to know before jumping on this topic. I wish there was a way we could meet and talk about this, you see, I’m new to the US and don’t really know that much about this topic but it bothers me. I could use any help I could get.
Peace,
Hussein
Hussein,
Thanks for writing this. Rather than echo the other comments, I’d simply ask this question: “How does race affect your life and the lives of your classmates?” Within that comes personal stories that can lead to further exploration of actions, of a strategy for telling the larger story.
In my experience, and from my paper’s extensive reporting on the impact of race both in 1994 and 1997, ignorance — and lack of interaction between people who are different — was a powerful foundation for racism and stereotyping. We (the newspaper) brought together people who were different, they quickly began seeing each other as people rather than through racially stereotyped lenses.
I admire your drive and ambition in this project and the work you are doing on Young Writers Project. I look forward to working with you.
geoff