The videos we watched presented new ideas about racism to me. The way I have always thought is that in America, the amount of effort someone puts in leads to the amount of success earned. I have always thought if someone works hard enough they can get mostly anything they want. The first video discussed white privilege and that it might be that way for some, but it isn't for all. For some it doesn't matter how hard they work they still will not be as successful as white people purely because of race. I had never thought of this before. The second video was interesting to me because the children had still remembered the experiment years later. If that small class benefited so greatly from the activity I think that teachers should do it today. Trying to end racism is talked about a lot in schools but there are not many activities that put children in other people's shoes like that.
The belief statement I chose is, "Hatred is Learned." I said that this statement was true in a sense that we are all taught hate, we are not born with it. Whether it is a sibling, a parent, or a peer, our beliefs are shaped by the people around us. Hatred of different races is born from prejudices of our family and our neighborhoods and learned when we are raised around it. Hatred isn't something we all posses, it is something that is taught and learned by each other.
I thought the same way about how if you worked hard you were successful in life, without viewing race as a factor in this. I think it is horrible that race decides something like that but in reality I guess it does.
ReplyDeleteI also believe that hatred is learned and agree with the fact that you are not born hating someone or something. That is taught to you as you grow up and as you experience things in life.
I definitely never thought about being white as a privilage in society until it was brought up in these videos. It is very evident in today's society that other people are treated differently just because of race, and that is a very bad thing.
ReplyDeleteHatred is learned, but not by choice. I feel that if you grow up in a household where the parents are racist, the child is taught to feel racial tension towards others as well. This is not by choice though, because the child is too young to understand what segregation, or racism even is at this point in their lives
I had the same out look as you did about if you work hard enough it leads to the amount of success earned. I never really thought to much into it until i watched that video. Also like you and everyone else said i completely agree hatred is learned, according to race anyway. It starts off when children are really young because they don't know any better.
ReplyDeleteI'm struck by your idea that "if we work hard, we can earn whatever we want." You're right to observe that this is not entirely the truth. It seems as if the "American Dream" is only enjoyed by some, and not all, despite what we have "learned" to be the "truth" regarding this.
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