Having just covered multiple three weeks on the ideas of both class and race I find myself searching my own soul and brain for what I believed about class divisions and racism. After first evaluating myself, I intended to find a way to challenge myself to see past the idea of skin color bias and the differentiation between the actions of the financially inclined verses those of the monetarily challenged. Although, in order to gain an appreciation for other classes and races I was first required to evaluate myself with a truly critical eye and decide where I myself stood on the spectrum. I am a poverty stricken, Caucasian, male who happens to live in a community of financially blessed, white, people. As such, I identify my class as below the
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Anything else is irrelevant as it has no bearing on how they conduct themselves; at least, I percieved this to be true until I ran into the unique problem that is racism. I have always viewed myself as a man who was “colorblind” and did not create any assumptions based on the color of one’s skin. However I have since been opened up to the world as an entirety to understand the African American culture and its perpetuation of racism. Yes, it is not just Caucasians who perpetuate racism; African-Americans forward it themselves too. Before coming to Malone the only experience I had ever had with a black person was either an adopted Haitian child or a hard looking brother who would barely speak three words to me. I was fully ready to have a discussion with a human of a different cultural background to aid me understand the differences between their cultures and mine. Yet, after reading a book called Freakonomics: A Rouge Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything in which the author, Steven Levitt explains about the actions of black children and how their actions were perceived among other blacks: “…Black kids who study calculus and ballet are thought to be ‘acting white’” (187). One cultural difference that is not well understood by Caucasians is that “acting white” is one of the worst cultural sins that an African American can commit. This even …show more content…
I feel the need to challenge myself to increase understanding among others with the hope that one day America will be accepting of other people’s cultures. I used to be focused on the ideal of complete equality: all people speak one dialect, wear one type of clothes, have the same amount of money, and so on and so forth. However, my eyes have been only recently opened to the fact that it is not complete equality America needs. While America needs equality in one form or another, what is truly lacking in America’s culture today is an understanding an acceptance of other cultures. Understanding is what allows all classes and races to be different, yet treat each other the same. My challenge is to encourage others to come to the same idea of understanding over
Anything else is irrelevant as it has no bearing on how they conduct themselves; at least, I percieved this to be true until I ran into the unique problem that is racism. I have always viewed myself as a man who was “colorblind” and did not create any assumptions based on the color of one’s skin. However I have since been opened up to the world as an entirety to understand the African American culture and its perpetuation of racism. Yes, it is not just Caucasians who perpetuate racism; African-Americans forward it themselves too. Before coming to Malone the only experience I had ever had with a black person was either an adopted Haitian child or a hard looking brother who would barely speak three words to me. I was fully ready to have a discussion with a human of a different cultural background to aid me understand the differences between their cultures and mine. Yet, after reading a book called Freakonomics: A Rouge Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything in which the author, Steven Levitt explains about the actions of black children and how their actions were perceived among other blacks: “…Black kids who study calculus and ballet are thought to be ‘acting white’” (187). One cultural difference that is not well understood by Caucasians is that “acting white” is one of the worst cultural sins that an African American can commit. This even …show more content…
I feel the need to challenge myself to increase understanding among others with the hope that one day America will be accepting of other people’s cultures. I used to be focused on the ideal of complete equality: all people speak one dialect, wear one type of clothes, have the same amount of money, and so on and so forth. However, my eyes have been only recently opened to the fact that it is not complete equality America needs. While America needs equality in one form or another, what is truly lacking in America’s culture today is an understanding an acceptance of other cultures. Understanding is what allows all classes and races to be different, yet treat each other the same. My challenge is to encourage others to come to the same idea of understanding over