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182464 Responseshttp://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/inequality-class-question-three/Inequality+Class%3A+Question+Three2010-02-20+12%3A22%3A48Sam+Richards to Inequality Class: Question Three
I honestly can’t think of a first impression that I would make by just looking at you. I wouldn’t say that you dress like a thug, drug dealer or a rapper. Why is it that “white people” are the ones that would think that by looking at you and no other people though? I think that the whole idea that most black people are athletes is kind of drawn out and not something that most people would think of by just looking at a black person. For me, by just looking at your outfit and ignoring your skin color, I wouldn’t place you in an ethnic category, since many different people dress in many different ways, so not one outfit style can be linked to somebody’s skin color.
Personally, if I looked at him walking into class on a daily basis I would just think that he is a well dressed black man. He carries himself well so I would not automatically think that he is a thug or a rapper. If maybe he walked in with a ghetto limp or something using improper language (and I do not mean just cursing, I mean improper grammar in general), then I could possibly see people viewing him as a typical black rapper and/or thug. I do not think that people have the same automatic judgement at first glance as they used to back maybe 10 years ago. The "B.I.G.s" of the world have decreased in my opinion. I mean, you don't see Fifty Cent running around getting shot anymore. And there is increased diversity skin color-wise of people that are rappers. I know of quite a few of asian, white, spanish, etc. rappers that carry on the stereotype much more that this guy does above. That could just be my personal understanding though, seeing as I am from a very predominantly white neightborhood where the black kids are what we like to call oreos – they may be black on the outside, but we all know that on the inside they are white. The guy above I wouldn't typify him as the oreo kind, but definitely not a gangster thug rapper , that would be pushing it a little too far. I can see where he is coming from though. There is a stigma when it comes to black men with his similar body type. For Penn State at least, we have an extremely famous football team that has a lot of big black dudes on it, everyone can see that. He could easily be mistaken for one, or even for another athlete the goes to this university. If I had to drop all things that I've been taught about stereotyping prior to this class and name everything I could about this guy at first glance, I would absolutely say "this is a huge black dude that played football in high school in an inner-city area who buys is clothes from Epic and probably plays on the football team or wrestling team". That wouldn't be hard for me to say at all, and I would not think twice about it. But I have come to learn of the slight nuances of people's vibe that can help me determine what they really are. Specifically with him, he carries himself very tall, so he has a lot of confidence but not necessarily because he's trying to sell drugs on a corner, probably just because he works out quite a lot and would like to show it off. That seems pretty normal to me. I think that first quick impressions are acceptable these days, but people shouldn't jump to conclusions at a glance. I believe that if we all take a look at someone for just a bit longer than we're maybe used to, then we can determine with much more accuracy their character. This would reduce the idea of the stereotype greatly.
I honestly believe that the times are changing and that includes with the generations. As i was reading all of these comments I noticed that majority of you was saying that the first time they looked at him, no questions popped into their heads. No thought passed their minds. This could be true to some extent because I firmly believe that there could be some people who did have a thought and just didn't want to address it for fear of seeming racist, because when I looked at him I automatically had some thoughts. I'm not saying that I am white, but I am saying that it is human nature to pass judgement in a person at first glance. Not saying that the judgement was negative in anyway; however, people needs to understand that words are words and although they could hurt sometime they represent who you are. And the more you express those words the more you start to ask questions and also feel more comfortable asking those questions.
To be honest the first time I looked at this gentleman I automatically thought that he was a slacker and that he had some type of aggressive look about him. Those thoughts could be because he is a man, not just because of his race. I would've never thought that he was a TA for the class. And not just white people miss judge blacks; most blacks are quick to misjudge each other in my opinion, because we always feel as though we have to compete with each other and other races. So it's not just a "white person" thing of misjudging a person. Also, to touch base on the question, I'm guessing he asked this question because most blacks have their interpretation of how whites view them and it's not always positive. As a matter of fact they constantly put themselves down because they automatically feel as though whites think nothing great of them. And it's not their fault because nine out of ten, their parents teach them those teachings in the privacy of their homes. So this could be a factor of him to understand what white people actually think.
Aside from that, I think the way people think now a days are more generation based. People who are more-so in this generation have less to think about race, in my opinion. Before I came to Penn State, people back home was telling me stories about how racist it was up here and to be honest I haven't witnessed of been in any kind of racist act sense I have been attending this school. As a matter of fact, more white people on this campus are a bit more open to asking questions than those that live back where I permanently stay. My parents have some thoughts about how white people view blacks and I honestly feel as though those thoughts are changing. If anything this generation of whites are more open to asking questions and begin involved in minorities than those of previous generations.
So I'm not bashing anyone on this thread I just want it to be understood that it is alright to be honest and also be honest with yourselves because honesty is more respected.
I honestly can’t think of a first impression that I would make by just looking at you. I wouldn’t say that you dress like a thug, drug dealer or a rapper. Why is it that “white people” are the ones that would think that by looking at you and no other people though? I think that the whole idea that most black people are athletes is kind of drawn out and not something that most people would think of by just looking at a black person. For me, by just looking at your outfit and ignoring your skin color, I wouldn’t place you in an ethnic category, since many different people dress in many different ways, so not one outfit style can be linked to somebody’s skin color.
[Reply]
Personally, if I looked at him walking into class on a daily basis I would just think that he is a well dressed black man. He carries himself well so I would not automatically think that he is a thug or a rapper. If maybe he walked in with a ghetto limp or something using improper language (and I do not mean just cursing, I mean improper grammar in general), then I could possibly see people viewing him as a typical black rapper and/or thug. I do not think that people have the same automatic judgement at first glance as they used to back maybe 10 years ago. The "B.I.G.s" of the world have decreased in my opinion. I mean, you don't see Fifty Cent running around getting shot anymore. And there is increased diversity skin color-wise of people that are rappers. I know of quite a few of asian, white, spanish, etc. rappers that carry on the stereotype much more that this guy does above. That could just be my personal understanding though, seeing as I am from a very predominantly white neightborhood where the black kids are what we like to call oreos – they may be black on the outside, but we all know that on the inside they are white. The guy above I wouldn't typify him as the oreo kind, but definitely not a gangster thug rapper , that would be pushing it a little too far. I can see where he is coming from though. There is a stigma when it comes to black men with his similar body type. For Penn State at least, we have an extremely famous football team that has a lot of big black dudes on it, everyone can see that. He could easily be mistaken for one, or even for another athlete the goes to this university. If I had to drop all things that I've been taught about stereotyping prior to this class and name everything I could about this guy at first glance, I would absolutely say "this is a huge black dude that played football in high school in an inner-city area who buys is clothes from Epic and probably plays on the football team or wrestling team". That wouldn't be hard for me to say at all, and I would not think twice about it. But I have come to learn of the slight nuances of people's vibe that can help me determine what they really are. Specifically with him, he carries himself very tall, so he has a lot of confidence but not necessarily because he's trying to sell drugs on a corner, probably just because he works out quite a lot and would like to show it off. That seems pretty normal to me. I think that first quick impressions are acceptable these days, but people shouldn't jump to conclusions at a glance. I believe that if we all take a look at someone for just a bit longer than we're maybe used to, then we can determine with much more accuracy their character. This would reduce the idea of the stereotype greatly.
[Reply]
I honestly believe that the times are changing and that includes with the generations. As i was reading all of these comments I noticed that majority of you was saying that the first time they looked at him, no questions popped into their heads. No thought passed their minds. This could be true to some extent because I firmly believe that there could be some people who did have a thought and just didn't want to address it for fear of seeming racist, because when I looked at him I automatically had some thoughts. I'm not saying that I am white, but I am saying that it is human nature to pass judgement in a person at first glance. Not saying that the judgement was negative in anyway; however, people needs to understand that words are words and although they could hurt sometime they represent who you are. And the more you express those words the more you start to ask questions and also feel more comfortable asking those questions.
To be honest the first time I looked at this gentleman I automatically thought that he was a slacker and that he had some type of aggressive look about him. Those thoughts could be because he is a man, not just because of his race. I would've never thought that he was a TA for the class. And not just white people miss judge blacks; most blacks are quick to misjudge each other in my opinion, because we always feel as though we have to compete with each other and other races. So it's not just a "white person" thing of misjudging a person. Also, to touch base on the question, I'm guessing he asked this question because most blacks have their interpretation of how whites view them and it's not always positive. As a matter of fact they constantly put themselves down because they automatically feel as though whites think nothing great of them. And it's not their fault because nine out of ten, their parents teach them those teachings in the privacy of their homes. So this could be a factor of him to understand what white people actually think.
Aside from that, I think the way people think now a days are more generation based. People who are more-so in this generation have less to think about race, in my opinion. Before I came to Penn State, people back home was telling me stories about how racist it was up here and to be honest I haven't witnessed of been in any kind of racist act sense I have been attending this school. As a matter of fact, more white people on this campus are a bit more open to asking questions than those that live back where I permanently stay. My parents have some thoughts about how white people view blacks and I honestly feel as though those thoughts are changing. If anything this generation of whites are more open to asking questions and begin involved in minorities than those of previous generations.
So I'm not bashing anyone on this thread I just want it to be understood that it is alright to be honest and also be honest with yourselves because honesty is more respected.
[Reply]