Talking Points #6

I really enjoyed watching the videos. I like doing it more then the reading because I feel like I can pay attention to it a lot longer. I think it is very true that even if an African American is just as "mediocre" as a white person, this white person is more likely to get the job over the African American. I am not sure why this. There are no excuses to why the African American should not get the job. African Americans have to work harder a lot than whites do become successful in life and it should not be like that anymore. We are all the same and should not be separated by the color of our skin. We no longer live in the 1950's or before that. I love how Tim Wise is white but he has done so much research to help make people more aware of how African Americans are being treated. I know there is still discrimination in the U.S. and there will always be.It is how people are raised and so that is how they will always see things. It takes a lot to change someone's morals and beliefs, but it can be done. I found this video which I found to be very interesting. I hope you enjoy it!

Talking Points #4

Unlearning the Myths that Bind Us by: Linda Christensen

Quotes:
1.)“When we read children’s books, we aren’t just reading cute little stories; we are discovering the tools with which a young society is manipulated.”

This quote is what the whole article is about. When we are children we watch and read all these stories when we are little and we do not think about the stereotypes that are in there. These ideas of ‘normalcy’ get put into our heads and we grow up thinking that that is how life is. Now that we are older we see that these are other peoples’ ideas that have been put into our heads. We thought we were just watching an innocent little cartoon or reading a fun story.

2.)“The idea of not being completely responsible for how I feel about things today is scary.”

Now reading this article I believe that this is how most of us feel. The fact that my thoughts about certain people is based off of how someone else feels makes me feel manipulated. Which is what my other quote says is what happens to us. It is weird to think that while watching our ‘fun’ cartoons on Saturday mornings we were really just being shown the way to think about ourselves and the people around us.

3.)“People of color and poor people are either absent or servants to the rich, white, pretty people.”

If we look back onto the books we have read and shows we have watched as children we come to notice how real this quote is. In society today this is sadly how some people look at people of color. This quote relates to Delpit because it is stating how there is a ‘culture of power.’ There has never been a princess that is of color, until recently and there is still controversy surrounding it. These shows also portray people that are fat as being stupid. These shows might be going based off of what society is, but they do put ideas in our heads of how to think of people.

Comments:
I found this article very opening, which is not a surprise cause everything we read in this course is like that. I have never found the things I read to and watched as a kid would have formed the way I see people. But when I think about it, they have. It relates to Delpit by proving that there is a ‘culture of power.’ And the culture of power is white people. When we are young we do not think of these ‘innocent’ books and shows as being manipulative. I haven’t even thought of being manipulated in my childhood until now. So, are these books and shows just going based off of society or are they trying to manipulate us?