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1975312 Responseshttp://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/does-this-rudeness-thing-cut-both-ways/Does+this+rudeness+thing+cut+both+ways%3F2010-03-17+02%3A41%3A16Sam+Richards to Does this rudeness thing cut both ways?
I completely agree with what you are saying. In class, I noticed what you were talking about and was wondering the same thing. The rude comments from the texting server came from both white people and people of color. I did notice that when white people said something rude, the crowd had a loud reaction, but when people of color did the same thing, it wasn’t as big of a deal. The comments about white people were also offensive to me because when things such as “rich, undeserving, and handed everything” popped up on the screen, that is very far from the truth for me. I think the rudeness definitely goes both ways and people of color and white people can be rude.
This is true, when the rude sophomoric comments were came from both the white people and the colored people, more people reacted to the rude comments the white people made. I think this is because white people are in a way known to be more "politically correct" and that they are supposed to be more reserved with their comments because they are in this race relations class. I feel like we are being more lenient towards the colored people because of what happened in the past with their ancestors. Perhaps, the comments like "rich, undeserving, and handed everything" have an underlying meaning. Maybe, whoever made the comment actually thinks that white people do have it better and that he/she would have it more easy if he/she were to be white. Anyways, the cause of white people sitting back, listening to the minorities, and thinking before opening their mouths might be because they don't want "loud reactions" from the race table, or even want to be thought of as being rude and racist.
I think that this issue has been around for a lot of years, so much that it's it's own stereotype and a modern day joke now: "what do you mean? you people?" is like a cliche line of dialogue for easily offended black movie characters. I think some of the questions posted in class are conducive of a certain amount of tension between races, especially when Sam says "ok, everybody on THE WHITE TEAM" and "everybody on the BLACK TEAM", I think it becomes easy to get defensive when you see the things other races want to label you with. When someone texted about the loud black girls at the library, it can be looked at a few ways: it seemed like a line was crossed for black people when some responded vocally, so is it because they are well aware of a stereotype? or was it because it hit home for them because they are in fact loud in the library themselves? I think its a stereotype that black women have their vocals turned up a little louder than other people, but not everybody will identify themselves like that. I think the guy who texted the response has some pent up anger inside and perhaps would rather sit by and judge black people as a whole for being loud than go up and ask them to quiet down. I do think that there is a further defined line that cannot be crossed when talking about black people as opposed to white people, I think that joking about stereotyped white culture and behavior is more accepted. I know there are a lot more black comedians doing impressions of white people than white comedians doing impressions of black people.
I was thinking this exact same thing. In fact, I left the class absolutely infuriated. One white person made a comment on the text message board saying something about “loud black girls in computer labs” (which I do agree was rude), and there was an uproar among the black students in the class and Sam stopped class to call out the person who sent it. However, when it was the black students turn they were saying things that were equally as rude and stereotypical. There was comments made about “sorority sluts” and that white girls all wear Uggs and Northfaces. First of all, I don’t see how “loud black girls in a computer lab” is more offensive than “sorority sluts.” I think that the word “slut” in itself is far more offensive and I was very upset that “sorority slut” is how some black people perceive all white girls. Not only that, but I am a white girl and I don’t own Uggs or a Northface. If I were to make a comment about something that “all” black people wear that would be considered stereotypical. So why is it ok for black people to do it? As a white person, I always feel like I am walking on thin ice. I feel like I need to be careful about everything that I say so that it is not perceived as rude, offensive or stereotypical. I know that if I slip up and say something wrong a black person will call me out. So please tell me why black people can make rude, stereotypical comments and people just turn their head. I really think that Sam should have treated both sides fairly and stopped class to say something about the rude comments being made by black people as well. I really just have an issue with the entire new text message system. It is a good idea, but clearly the students in our class (of all races) are not mature enough to handle it. I really don’t see why Sam keeps doing the open ended questions when clearly the rude and immature responses (from both sides) are not going to stop. It would be nice if people would grow up and it would work, but it doesn’t look like that is going to happen, and it is a huge waste of my time. I also feel that in a class that is meant to unit people of all races, we should not be putting black people up against white people as we did with the text message exercise. I know that was not the point of the exercise, but the only result was that the black people were mad at the white people and the white people were mad at the black people. That is not the point of this class and I think that it is really sad that the immaturity of a few students had to ruin the exercise.
PART 1: In response to "LyndsieS", I could not agree with her more! I think that the question posed by the student in this video is a thought-provoking one and I'm glad that he brought this uncomfortable topic up because it needs to be addressed. I believe that the rudeness is present in both black and white people. The only difference is that some black people tend to pull the race card, while white people do not have the advantage of pulling any kind of race card so to speak. Both parties (black and white) are in the wrong for using such derogatory terms in the text message system that is supposed to be a learning tool. While it is very insensitive to text about "loud black girls in computer labs", it is equally offensive to mention "sorority sluts" and "benchwarmers" in reference to white people.
PART 2: When the text message about "loud black girls in the computer lab" popped up, the entire population of black people in the class almost gasped in horror. Yet, when the text messages about white people being "sorority sluts" and "benchwarmers", the entire population of white people in the class remained silent (brooding in their heads though). Being a white female, I can speak on behalf of white people and confirm the fact that we are afraid to speak up for ourselves when it comes to race issues, even if we are being called derogatory terms. It is just easier in my opinion to sit back and let it slide, than to incite a fight that will never get resolved. I feel like the race debate will never end at this rate.
PART 3: . I cannot believe that we are in SOC 119, a Race and Ethnic Relations class, and there are still cases of racism that are evident. Yet, in my opinion, I do not feel like Sam does a good job of promoting equality in class. For this text messaging system, he's mentioned "white people", "brown people", and "black people" multiple times…almost forcing everyone to separate and answer in their own little segregated groups. I'm a little disappointed in what I've been getting out of this class honestly. I thought I'd be learning to become more open-minded towards people of a different color, yet I find myself becoming more close-minded and almost intimidated by people of a different color.
PART 4: This is because we are constantly separating ourselves and almost forced to segregate when it comes to answering questions or enforcing our input. This whole text message system could be a wonderful learning experience for all of us, but since most people cannot take it seriously and are being "sophomoric" as Sam would say, it's almost ruined, because it's risky to have open-ended questions proposed to us anymore. Instead, we get stuck with multiple choice questions that do not force us to think as much. When are we going to grow up and act like the mature adults that we're supposed to be? We are missing out on many useful opportunities!
I think this is a really good point. I am not sure where i stand on this because i see it from two ways. First is that the negative words that surround being black are very hurtful because they have previously been used in a very negative way. just simply saying them could imply that you are a racist and become very innapropriate. If i were black and got called one of those names or i was black and was referred to by a stereotype i woudl be seriously offended if the speaker was a white person. This is only because of the history. while many people now say that the history excuse is over, and its been too many years and we are on an equal playing field now, i stil dont agree. There are so many kids and adults these days who are racist, there is still the KKK there are still white supremacists there are so many people out there who hate blacks. There arent really huge organizations of black people who go around attemtping to rid the world of black people , or say nasty things about whites, so as long as blacks are still CONSIDERED a minority ( they may not actually be, by population a minority or anything in certain places) but while whites are still thought of as the powerful majority, it is unfair to use these words. The root of these words is very deep and it will take along time before these words of phrases can be said without causing a huge upraod. On the other hand i think that it is time that white people get what they deserve on the race table as well. I have not come in contact with these people but im sure there are many black people who really dont like what people , and give them a hard time. This probably occurs in inner cities with gangs or within schools or etc. Im sure a white kid somehwere gets picked on by black people for being white. That being said, it is time that we all just get rid of the lines that separate race and take nasty terms equally offensivly on both the black half of the table and the white half. If a black girl were to call me an ugly white girl, the fact that they said white would not really offend me, maybe the ugly but not the black! I think this is because through out our history it has been good, a positive thing to be white and i am not ashamed at all to be black. This is another reason that the uneven uproar might be caused. White people dont react with back lashes when black people say that we like ray bans and chap stick because we dont really care because its not offending us. For somethign to be offensive, it has to hit home, so for white people i guess this doesnt happen when people say bad thigns about our race. I think that although the history thing is getting old, it is going to stay this way, that blacks feel much more offended by white negative words because it is so deeply rooted in our society. Unfortunately it is this way, i wish it weren't, but it is. As far as penn state though, i see much less prejudice and discrimination than i have ever seen at home . Here i rarely ever even see a white person kidding around with a black person about race here because i believe that as one becomes more educated they become less offensive and immature. Sometimes, that text board does not exemplify this, but it is a good tool for noticing the small things like this.
First of all, I think it is really immature of anyone, despite their color, to text the inappropriate comments. I feel like when white people made a comment it was taken more offensively, kind of like whites always have to watch what they say. Their comments can be twisted into racist remarks and looked at much differently then their actual meaning. When any African Americans would make the rude remarks, people saw it as funny, not offensive. For a long time whatever whites say has been criticized much more because they are the ones who have the most power. Everything they say is scrutinized much more than other races, which is one of the main reasons that at the “race table” whites sit back and say nothing.
I think the texting site that Sam started to use is really cool, but really dangerous too. Yeah it's meant for us to speak our minds and the truth, but what if some of those comments that people find offensive aren't jokes. What if some of those comments are the way people really feel? Do we really want that broadcast in a class that's all about race relations? As far as the reactions to white people vs. black peoples' comments goes, I think the reason why certain comments white people make get a groan is because of white guilt. White people probably think that they should give that reaction to make them seem like "good guys", like they want to been seen as good white people. If you truly feel that a comment deserves that kind of a response then give it, if you're doing it for show then I feel like its even more insulting.
I think that there is always some way that comments can turn into racist or offensive, but like Sam said nothing is truly offensive, it is only how we take things. There are a lot of people out there that always want to try to start shit. These people need to learn that not everything is meant in a racist way or is offensive. I am not disregarding the fact that there are racist people out there but I just don’t think that everything said needs to be taken in that direction. There were quite a few comments made on the comment board by the non white people that could be considered offensive to white people but they weren’t called out on it like the white people were. Even though I do think the comment about the loud black girls was very rude there were comments made about white people that weren’t acknowledged that could have been equally offensive.
In some ways, I feel like colored people don’t get called out as much when they make racist comments because it all goes to political correctness. Also, if you were try to argue against the comments that were made they might very well bring up anything that is said in the past and call you out on the same type of b.s. I think there are only a small number of people out there who are still racist on both ends of the scale, white people and colored people. These people totally wreck it for the rest of us and it sucks that stereotypes continue even when there are hardly any people discussing or using them.
There are black and brown people who can be just as offensive when they talk to people and make comments but it is less obvious a lot of times because people don’t feel like bringing up the fact that they may be offended. When someone refers to someone as a white girl it isn’t supposed to be taken the wrong way but if someone referred to someone as a black girl there are a lot of people who would take that offensively. Sam was saying in class how we have learned not to acknowledge race because of political correctness. In a way we are taught that it is offensive to associate people with their race but I think there are also a lot of people who take a lot of pride in their race who would want to be associated with their race.
So many times people will dwell on political correctness and the rudeness that was acknowledged I think was a pretty clear example. A lot of times people seem to feel that they must tip toe around minorities and they cant call them out but people are willing to call out white people for every little thing that is said.
I totally agree with the boy in this video. I didn’t really notice until it was spelt out in the blog but there were definitely different reactions and responses to the texts seen in class. I didn’t recognize at first that the different reactions were based on the texts Sam separated by race. The class responded differently when negative comments were texted by white people than they did when black people texted in. I agree now that the class reacted more when white people texted in negative things. I felt like there was more talk and more discussion within the groups of people when white people texted things like, “white is the most powerful and best race.” I think people responded so much to ignorant texts like this because it was white people saying and agreeing that they are the best. I think that is harder to see and take in than people saying something about another race. When Sam posted a question to black people and how they see white people a lot of people texted saying, “white people think they are superior” or “white people are rich.” I think comments like these and the debate of inequality has been around for so long, that hearing another comment from black people and how they are less privileged than whites is like old news. You more often and most commonly hear black people talking badly about white people than white people talking highly of themselves. I am not sure why this is. In discussions of race black versus whites is always the first topic to come up. Blacks feel they are less capable or fortunate than whites. So we have heard this debate for years. I never hear white people rant that they are better or more superior or more rich than black people. I think there is a level of respect that whites hold for blacks in the fact that they know they are sensitive to the issues of race and inequality due to slavery. I have never heard a white person seriously say that they think they are better than black people. But in many instances I hear blacks saying negative things about white people. There is a double standard there. Black people are more comfortable and confident about expressing their feelings on race because they still see themselves as below whites. So they think or they can talk more openly and freely about race issues because they have suffered due to their color. It’s such a weird thing and its hard to talk about. But I think that people in class responded more strongly when whites said things about race than when black people did because it is more likely to hear blacks talk about race than whites.
I completely agree with the point the kid is making. I was thinking the same exact thing when comments like "white snob", "spoiled", "rich", and "blind the inequality", where being posted. These comments were posted by black people who all participated in an uproar overtime a negative comment was posted about them. I was actually even keeping track of the negative comments, and their was a much greater number of negative comments coming from black people towards white people. However, no one said anything, not any student, or Sam. When a negative comment would be posted about black people Sam would get on his microphone and make announcements on how we shouldn't be saying such negative things. When, on the other hand, numerous inappropriate comments were posted in regards to white people nothing was said. Isn't this hypocrisy to the fullest? If black people don't want negative comments to be made about them they should not be doing the same thing to white people. I find it completely unfair and very ridiculous.
I think the reason for this difference in response comes from the fact that when something is said about white people it is taken as a joke, however when a white person says something about black people in the same type of manner it is automatically characterized as racism. I personally don't find being called a " rich, racist, snob" as funny and am completely offended by such comments. and are many other white students in the class. I think Sam should bring this issue up in class and see what other students think about this. Why is it okay for one group to post such horrible things through texts meanwhile the others cant. If we are talking about inequality, and are striving to make the world we live in an equal place for all,. everything has to be equal. We cannot pick and choose where to keep the equality and when to disregard it. If one group is allowed to say negative things other people should not be reprimanded for doing the same thing. Until we start to have the same rules for everyone, we will not make the progress we need to make in race relations.
Why do black people get to say what they think about white people with no consequences, meanwhile white people automatically get labeled as a racist. This is completely wrong. These kind of actions is what causes us to have a barrier between our races and engage in political correctness. Political correctness takes place because white people are scared to say what they are thinking. They think that they will automatically be characterized as a discriminatory snob who doesn't understand the inequality of the world we live in. I we want to have all the barriers down, as we walk through life we need to break down the barriers that separate us. Everyone should be treated equally and consequences should be equally reinforced. I strongly hope Sam addresses this issue in class, because I personally was really offended by comments black students were writing about white people but nothing was said.
I was wondering the same exact thing I was sitting in class. It seemed as if when the white people were told to say what they thought about being white, the black and brown people got very mad and pissed off at our comments. However, when they had the turn to say things about white people, although they said a few okay things, the majority of the comments were negative. They also began to laugh and clap their hands when things such as “white people are spoiled” or “white people are lazy” came onto the board. I feel like this is such an obvious double standard. If I, a white lower middle class white, had laughed when the white people trashed black people, then I would easily be labeled a racist. However, for some reason it is okay for blacks to laugh out loud at us. Now me, I have always worked hard, am not lazy, am definitely not spoiled, or anything like that. That in mind, I am extremely disappointed so far in the text board technology. I think that its such a great idea and tool for class, especially one like Soc 119.
However, everyone is just so blatantly immature and racist and childish. I understand cracking jokes and saying funny things, but it really bothers me when people say such derogatory things. This is supposed to be college, not middle school, and I really hope people grow up soon. There were so many racist comments and I think that anyone who writes comments like that on the board is a coward. One of the oldest and most cliché comments my mom has ever taught me was, “if you cant say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” That being said, I know its off topic, but it really pisses me off how immature and cowardly students are here. I guess I’m just pretty confused with the whole political correctness idea and learning how to be fair to everyone. It seems like the more I come to class and interact, the less I know about race relations.
Before this class, I knew that there was white people and people of different races, and that I shouldn’t be a racist. But now everything is so confusing, and I don’t know if I am bveing correct when I speak, or if I am being a racist. I know deep down that I am definitely not a racist, but still hope I am never confused as one. I know that America as a whole has gotten so much better in regards to racism and freedom, but I honestly wonder if anything is ever going to be equal. It feels that whites will always be the supposed victims and people of color will always complain about white. I guess at this point I am just mildly confused and not sure as to what I think.
I believe that the comment that created the uproar in class was the text message about “the loud black girls in the HUB” made by a white individual. To be honest, I felt some type of way about the comment being a person of color. My first reaction was shock because I wasn’t prepared for the comment, I thought that everyone was going to be respectful on their responses because Sam had said no “sophomoric comments” and I thought that everyone was going to be adults about the situation, but then the shock wore off within seconds of reading it because honestly, I would expect a white person to think that about black girls. I could honestly say, being a black girl, a lot of black girls are loud so I agree with the comment BUT I think that it was an ignorant comment because not all black girls are loud and as a matter of fact, any race could be loud. I live across from a house full of white guys and they are always loud screaming for no reason, singing songs and making ruckus. Sometimes I even hear them use derogatory terms like “faggot” but I still act civilized and I’m not rude to them and I don’t make rude comments to them like the student in class did; I mind my business.
I feel like the person in class that made that comment just needs to get over stereotypes because as I said before, any race could be loud. Now, as to the reason why the audience made such a big deal about the black offensive comment and not so much about the white offensive comment (which I can’t remember what that was) is because people are more sensitive to comments that are offense towards blacks and because blacks make it a big deal when they are offended mainly because we feel that we deserve better. When it comes to me, I feel that other races, especially whites should be more sensitive towards blacks and white people owe black people respect due to our history. I feel that the least white people could do is speak highly of us instead of bringing us down with negative, ignorant comments because whites put blacks through hell in the past and now in this present day, we as a nation are trying to move forward and respect each other and show genuine love for one another, but we are never going to get even close to different races respecting each other with the negative thoughts the fester deep inside ourselves about people that are different from ourselves and negative comments that are thrown out there like the one about the loud black girls in the HUB. Open your eyes and throw stereotypes out the window. (that goes to ALL races)
The whole idea about texting questions and answers on the broad in class is a fun and brilliant way to get the class involves and gets both white and Black people prospective on certain race issues. However, it is very sad to know that other people in the class are using this strategy as a way to be ignorant and rude to other races. It does not matter what color you are, I feel like one should not be disrespectful and ignorant to one race. It is not okay for black people to be disrespectful and be ignorant to white race, and it is not okay for Whites to be ignorant to the Black race.
Going to the question, I am glad that he asked this question because this is something that lots of people don’t understand. I understand that in the past Whites were very evil and denied Blacks their freedom to live. Therefore most Black people are still hurt and hateful toward White people because of what happen in the past. However, I do not think it is okay for Blacks to disrespect the Whites race by being ignorant and calling them names and they do not want Whites to do the same. This is just my opinion because I feel respect should come from both ways, and the only way one can move forward is to forgive. With that said, in reality, this is not going to change because most Black people use this as a way to express their anger as to what their people when through in the past. They want Whites to know how it feels like to be called names, disrespected against and ignorant. White people need to be more understanding and sympathetic toward Blacks then B lacks should be toward Whites. I am not saying this is okay but it is what is expected in society.
Going back to the Question that was asked in Class, “What does it mean to be white?” I feel like most of the answers that were texted were so……………… ridiculous, ignorant, and racist especially toward black people. Although some of the texts from the Blacks responses were also uncalled-for, however it was mostly stereotyped then racist toward White. The Whites responses were mostly racism and overboard. For example, somebody even when as far as using the Nigger word in their text. So wrong! I agree and it is true that many people need political correctness; however, we are all college students, so I think by now we all should be aware of racism. People just refused to learn and therefore feel like it is okay to be ignorant and rude to other races. SO, SO WRONG!
This is a great point. I was thinking along the same lines. I didn’t really notice this when it happened, but now that he mentioned it I remember it happening. Does this go back to white guilt? Are white people even afraid to gasp at something that is said about them? I think this is a perfect example of what Sam said in class. White people may even be afraid to gasp to upset their black classmates. Why are colored people more offended than white people.
I believe the rudeness thing does not go both ways. Though it should, many times white people are more likely to be called racist than black people, even if both parties say offensive things about each other. For example, I used to live in Louisiana and went to school with a lot of Black and Hispanic children. My parents used to tell me to be careful with the things that I said, and told me to be appropriate and understanding of their race, even though it was different than my own. Yet, on many occasions, they would not treat me with the same respect. The other children would call me names, “Yo, White Girl” being my favorite. I used to go home and cry because I didn’t understand why their parents never told them to be nice to me, but my parents told me to be nice to everyone. They particularly called me out because of my race. Though it was middle school, I felt as if the parents should have said something to their children about tolerance. The age doesn’t matter, because this happens today too. Our class is a perfect example.
With Sam’s new application of the live feed via texting, we see what the black people and white people in our class are thinking about certain subjects. I was amazed to see that so many people said such outlandish things about race, this far into the semester. Did they not learn anything? Were they not paying attention? I don’t know how accurate it is, though. I mean, technically someone who is white could send something when the question asks black people what they’re thinking, and no one would know. Yet, the overall majority says that white and black people both said some offensive things on the live feed – but when they white people said the things about the black people, there were gasps and when they black people said things about the white people, there seemed to be only laughs.
I don’t know what this says about the class as a whole. I think personally I have learned a lot about race relationships that I will and have encountered, yet it seems like some people haven’t even gotten the clue. I don’t like the double standard that it is okay to say something offensive about white people but not okay to say something offensive about black people. It should go both ways. Either they shouldn’t say it at all, or they shouldn’t get offended if one person says one thing about them. Overall, I do not think a lot of people have been getting the big ideas of the class and think that everyone still has a lot to learn about tolerance and treating people with the same respect that you expect for yourself.
I definitely think that rudeness goes both ways regardless of race. I mean really what difference does it make what color you are you can be rude no matter what, and both white and black people were definitely saying a lot of rude comments. I also noticed that there was somewhat more of an uproar when white people made comments than when black people made comments, however, some of the stuff that white people said especially dropping the "n-word" definitely warranted a reaction. As a white person hearing other white people make comments such as this actually makes me angry too because this is the reason that often times black and brown people think of all white people as racists and ignorant, when its really just a couple of idiots. It obvious that these types of comments have a deep rooted meaning in history and so its not surprising when a word like that is used its going to cause a negative reaction. Despite race relations taking great strides over the years its definitely still not acceptable to use racial slurs such as these in society, let alone in a classroom about race relations. As far as there not being as much of an uproar when a black person made any comments I think there are a lot of reasons for this. I feel that the whole "white guilt" concept comes into play. Its possible that white people let a lot of derogatory comments slide because we feel bad about the history of oppression put on black people and feel like maybe we deserve a little bit of backlash. Also I feel like white people can really just laugh at themselves a lot of the time and so we don't really get that offended at some of the white stereotypes. In fact we see white people making fun of those stereotypes all of the time such as the Weird Al video we watched in class. While I never really get offended when hearing many of the white stereotypes sometimes it could get old. As a white person I actually can jump, and have never been a bench warmer and I know a lot of other white people who can say the same. I think the main reason that the texting thing didn't work out too well in class was the ability to remain anonymous while making comments. Sam said it best when he said if you can't stand up and say it in class to everyone then don't text in anonymously. I think that if your going to make the type of comments that were made in class you should at least have the balls to stand up and say it when everyone can know who you are. I definitely think that pretty much no one would have made the comments they did if that had been the case.
What I've noticed about the whole texting thing is that it has mostly turned into a place where people can vent. And though most of us won't admit to it, we do acknowledge it and when people vent in class via text, it's usually ok. Unless of course, it's a white person who is venting. Because really, what do white people have to vent about? Can they vent about years of oppression? Can they vent about years of discrimination and violence against them? Can they vent about how they are treated negatively and unequally in the workplace? Probably not. All they can vent about is how they are afraid of being politically incorrect and offending someone. They can vent about how they did not get into their number 1 college because someone of color was chosen instead. They can vent about many little things, but compared to what colored people can vent about, they are not as vent-worthy. Whatever a white person has to complain about is probably not at all as big in importance as something a colored person wants to complain about. Colored people, most notably black people, have been suffering terribly for years and years. They have the right to be angry. They have the right to be able to say what they are feeling because they were oppressed for so long and are still being discriminated against. Though of course, I believe that they DO NOT have the right to be rude. Rudeness is completely unnecessary. However, because most of the white people in Soc 119 are not completely white supremacist racists, they understand that colored people are angry and let will it slide even if they are offended. Colored people on the other hand have a difficult time understanding how a white person can be rude when they have little reason to be angry. So, naturally, any rude comment by a white person will be met with retaliation. Another reason why rude comments by colored people are not always called out and why rude comments by white people are usually reprimanded is that colored people will say something about it. When it comes to race issues, white people are generally more passive and will hold back their feelings. Colored people on the other hand are more assertive and protective of themselves and each other when facing race issues. Especially in Soc 119, colored people are more free to say what they want to say. If a fight were to break on in the middle of class, things would quickly turn sour. In a class as big as ours, a fight would be extremely detrimental to our ability to keep our minds open for future classes.
The question proposed here is one I have thought about a lot since taking this class. It seems that the class is presented in a way that is uneven. In a way, it seems that the class is designed to make white people feel bad for people of other races for the history of past discrimination, as well as the inequality that still exists today. In my opinion, there are many reasons for why the class would seem this way. First, the class is taught by a white male. No matter how hard he tries, he cannot change this fact. One of the ways in which he tries to make up for this is by criticizing white people. It is possible that he is overcompensating for this fact and that is the reason why it seems that way. Another possibility I have realized, though, is that it feels uneven is because the issues of race in this country are,indeed, uneven. White people are the majority of this country. Therefore, any issue of race must be approached with this in mind. Issues of racism, discrimination, and hatred within the country have always been centered around white people vs. colored people. Based on this, the idea of white guilt may be a viable one, and one which is still prevalent today. On the same topic, and whether or not the rudeness goes both ways, I came up with this analogy. If there are 9 white people in a room and one black person, and everyone tells a joke that demeans black people, there is no doubt that the black person will feel offended being that they are the minority. In exchange, if there are 9 black people in a room, and one white person in the room, and the white person tells a racist joke, the black people are much more likely to laugh it off or ignore it. Based on this, I think the severity upon which people attribute racism is still very much inherit upon majority vs. minority mentality. Being that black people are still the minority in this country, the issue of race is still one they think about more, and probably take more seriously. In an ideal world, race would not be an issue. No matter who is the majority or minority, the issue would be ignored by all. But this is not the case, and it does make sense to me why. Overall, I wonder what will happen when whites inevitably become the minority in the country. Will the issue of race come full circle so that white people are more offended by these types of comments. I think it will be interesting to view this process as it happens.
This is a very interesting and controversial topic that was posed to our class. I feel that this is a real issue, and that it is slightly tilted towards one group. More often than not, I observe black students getting away with jokes, sarcastic or not, about white students. Whether they are making a remark in a casual conversation or actually presenting an idea to the class, I feel that I have witnessed on several accounts black students being able to stereotypically make fun of white students without feeling any effects. In fact, most of the time the white students laugh along with them, because many stereotypes are very well known and generally accepted as something that will always be around by all people. However, I can only remember instances in which I heard a white student cracking the same type of joke towards a black student and seeing the end result of a fired response or the black student becoming offended.
First of all, I don't support making jokes between, against or about blacks and whites. There is no need for it. But it does exist in our society, and mostly on a sarcastic level, thank god. Typically, I see that white students are very conscientious of what they say about racial matters. They don't want to say anything 'wrong' or 'offensive'. Black students, on the otherhand, seem to expect the racial equality white students have in the fore front of their minds but don't mind discussing it openly or saying something demeaning about white students or about white students being racist. Think of a white student who is in the minority in a high school; they are definitely the ones experiencing the racial minority, not the black students. It shouldn't be a universal attitude that whites should be careful and not say anything offensive and blacks should expect no mention of racial difference from whites but be free to say whatever they feel on the topic. This, I feel, only worsens the racial inequality that exists in some parts of our society still today.
We would all know we were comfortable with our racial differences, in my eyes, when they day comes that both blacks and whites, and any other race for that matter, are able to make light jokes about each other without any hard feelings or negative connotations attached. Or better yet, the day that racial differences are so obscure that jokes about such a thing would be pointless.
I feel that there are still a great deal of both blacks and whites that are wrongly harsh and insensitive to races other than their own. It is a sad thing to see in our society today, but as evidenced by many of the rude comments that flooded the screen in class this week, it still happens. It seemed that white people were more timid to say anything bold, but black people had few inhibitions. Maybe black people are more comfortable with racial differences than white people and therefore speak more easily and freely about it? I'm not sure of the reason, but I do know that racial differences still make many instances in our class very tense, when I feel that they shouldn't do that at all.
I think I would have to also agree with the kid in the clip. What I do not understand is why there was that uproar when the comment about the "loud black girls in the computer lab" was posted, but when comments are made about white people, nothing can be said because it is then labeled as racist. I agree with Sam when he said in class the other day about how the worst name you could call a white person is "racist." I think black people do not believe that they are racist; they just believe they are expressing their opinion about white people, but white people do the same to black people and are then considered to be rude and ignorant. I think black and white people are both ignorant when it comes to understanding the other color and aspects that are important to their cultures. When comments were posted on the board about white people and how they are "rich" and "snobby", I took a lot of offense to that because, yes, I am white, but no, I am not rich and I would not consider myself snobby either. I do think us white people have an advantage in life because we are white, but I do not think that being white considers us to be snobby or even rich. Yes, the statistics do show that white people earn more than black people, but that should not group all white people as one group and only one group. The uproar that happened in the front of the class when certain comments were posted is exactly what I would have expected from any group of people, especially a group like our class that is very diverse. I think I can speak for many other white people when I say that white people feel that they are not allowed to take offense or become angry when comments are made that are not necessarily true.
We were instructed to keep our comments mature, but I think seeing some of the comments that were not all that appropriate is seeing exactly what many people were probably thinking at that time but did not want to post it. If the person who did post the comment about the girls in the computer lab would stand up and admit to saying that and not be afraid to do it, then I don't see a problem because that is how they feel and are not afraid to admit it. It is very easy to hide behind the text messages because they are sent anonymously and nobody can peg you for saying something that might be "racist." I do think though that if you can't stand up in front of such a large and diverse group and say something, then you really shouldn't say it at all. Black and white people both need to learn to be more respectful of each other and not make comments that will really piss others off or easily upset other people.
Let’s be honest, how often do you ever hear any black person being called a racist? It is almost always, always, always a white person being called a racist. Why that it? I have no idea. It makes no sense because it does not matter what color you are to make a rude or degrading remark. It happens both ways. When the white people were texting their responses to the board, which who even knows if white people were the only ones responding, any little remark was taken with such a blow. Then, when it was the black people’s turn to text, every comment was taken as funny, even if it was pretty offensive, everyone laughed. I did not really understand why that was happening, but even my friend sitting next to me (who is black) noticed it. Most of the white people’s responses were quite mature, except a handful while a lot of the black people’s comments were along the lines of “if you white, you Ben Affleck”. While I could not stop laughing when that came up on the board, I feel like maybe this is when the whole “white guilt” thing came into play. None of the white people outraged when something extremely rude was posted about them being white, but when a comment was posted, such as the one of the girls in the computer lab, there was a complete and utter out roar. Sam would comment about how that is inappropriate, but when the offensive comment towards white people came up Sam said nothing, nor did anyone else. I think that is kind of interesting when you look at it. Why does this happen? The exact same thing came with both scenarios—the rude comments, but it really was only reacted towards one way. I think since, like I said earlier, white people are much more likely to be “deemed” as racist, they held all those comments in, also as a resort of white guilt. Black people are more lenient about what they say because the chance of a white person calling a black girl racist? Slim to none. Chances are, the white girl that called the black girl racist, will now be seen as “that racist girl that accused someone else of being racist.” I can almost guarantee that happens. I really do not think that is fair. I understand why people are uncomfortable about talking about black people, I understand something horrible happened to them in the past, but the world all together is growing, so why can we not grow out of these stereotypical thoughts? While I do believe some sort of political correctness is necessary, it should be equal among every color. Which, in reality, is what we are striving for in the first place, equality.
I totally agree with what the person in the video is saying. When white people answered one of the texting questions offensively, I too noticed an uproar in the class. The same cannot be said when a black person or a person of color said something offensive about white people. There was little, if anything, said when a colored person made a negative comment about white people.
I think the reason why everyone made a bigger commotion over the comments towards black people is because it is easier to say something to offend black people in my opinion. All you have to do is say the "N word" and there is controversy. With white people, there's no one word or phrase that compares as far as offensiveness to the "N word." So as soon as the something like the "N word" appears on the board, many people are instantly offended, as they should be. However, I feel that a majority of the comments made by white people were not comments of this nature. A large majority of the responses by white people were honest and harmless. It only takes a few idiots to post some racial slurs to make all white people look bad. Honestly, I also feel like black people overreacted at times too. The one comment in particular said that "black girls are always being loud in the computer lab." While the comments was uncalled for and irrelevant, I don't understand why black people got so offended. If someone said "white people are always being loud in the computer lab" I could honestly care less.
I do have a huge problem with many of the texting answers submitted by people of color towards white people. As I said before, only a few white people posted racist material, making white people as a whole look bad. With colored people however, I feel like there was more consistency with negative comments. Although the things colored people said weren't nearly as offensive, the offensive comments were much more common and abundant. The stereotypes people of color were saying about white people had absolutely no truth to them at all. People of color were constantly saying that white people are overprivileged, rich, etc. First of all, my family is the epitome of middle class, not rich at all. I am also not overprivileged. I get the feeling that minorities think that white people have everything in life given to them. I am at Penn State right now because I am a hard worker. Wealth has nothing to do with it. I really get annoyed when minorities try to downplay the accomplishments of white people. If you want to be successful in life, whether you're white or black, rich or poor, you have to work hard. Period, end of story.
I think this has a lot to do with what Sam was saying in class about how when it comes time to sitting down at the race table, white people sit back and don't really say anything or feel comfortable speaking their mind. I think that if white people were to say something, they assume they would be labeled as a racist. This may sound irrelevant to texting responses in class, but it falls under the same principle and in the same category. I also think that white people just don't care as much, they shrug off the racist comments easier where as black people will often stick up for themselves and their friends when a racist comment is made. Different in cultures, I guess.
I completely agree with the fact that white people would be labeled racist if they said controversial comments about black people more so than black people being labeled racist by saying controversial comments to white people There obviously is a double standard between white people and black people that needs to be addressed. I think there is a very sensitive history between these two groups of people. A lot of white people are intimidated about offending black people, so most of the time they keep their comments to themselves instead of discussing them out loud. Sam discussed this in class when he talked about the race relations project and how white people were not as dominate in the conversation as black people.
I think this is a very good, and almost something that we were even talking about, but yet it becomes an issue. i think what he is talking about is when white people were supposed to be texting and said some rude things about black women in the computer lab, and everyone made a low grumbling noise about it, but in the same essence when black people were supposed to say how they feel about white people there were comments about Ugg boots and mayonnaise and stuff everyone either just laughed or nothing, nobody thought that was out of line. Let me make something clear, just as Sam said, there isn't much, if anything, that anyone could do to offend me, i have been thrown every word in the book, and it just doesn't get to me. So when im getting into this subject it doesn't mean im offended, i am just curious of this double standard. i just don't get how someone can get offended if you are laughing at one joke, but when a joke is directed at you,sometimes even the same one, its all of a sudden not funny. Now its fine if you dont laugh at your own racial jokes, but dont go around laughing in peoples faces when you hear one that's not about you. Now i guess it does come back to the class we had about white guilt. I do think that white guilt should be considered in most situations, like white people should realize what they did in their past to African Americans and native americans, but when it comes to jokes i think its stupid. People may think the people involved in those comments were being rude, but the people on both sides wither were probably just trying to be funny or honestly thought that, so why should that be something so awful to say. yes i understand that sounds bad, but once again i don't get offended so maybe i don't know how it feels to someone else. it also goes back to the question raised by my debate class, when we talked about how colored people can be racist but white people cant? if that's the case and people actually agree with that i would never respect them, because that would be the biggest hypocritical thing to say. i guess my final words are to the people that gasped at the black woman comment, if you laugh at other jokes, what makes that one so bad? i guess the quote, you can dish it out, but you cant get it back fits pretty well and would hope they really reconsider what they think is funny if something else is not
Political correctness. That’s why there was an uproar when it was the white students turn to text. Since white is the majority there is a non verbal or physical pressure placed to be as political correct as possible. Its stupid sounding but I really feel like that’s the reason. When anyone could text at the beginning of class people where laughing at some but no one was making uproar about what was being said because there was no way to identify who was said what. I feel that if our class was majority people of color with white being the minority in the class that it would be the opposite.
THIS IS PART 1 of my blog (wouldn't let me post whole 450 word comment)I also noticed this in our class. Firstly, the whole texting message board is not taken seriously by a lot of people. Personally, I don’t like the message board and think that we should go back to the way before and just ask people in the class. Most of the students don’t take the blog seriously and are looking for shock value and try to get a rise out of people. The anonymous characteristic of the message board allows people to post very mean things without any negative consequences. Not that I want people to do mean or harmful things to the people who post the mean comments, I just think that they should be confronted. Although it may not seem this way, I feel the majority of the class is not the obnoxious people who posts the mean, derogatory comments. Most people in the class are good people who wouldn’t post mean comments. This same group of people wouldn’t post in general because they are too scared to because of intimidation factors.
PART 2: The majority of the class is white, so a lot of white people are scared to offend black people more so than black people offending white people. Historically, black people have been discriminated against and many white people understand what they have been through. The media always covers white people offending black people more so than white people offending black people. In class, we discussed the incident at Walmart where a white person talked on the PA and told all black people to leave the store. What if a black person went on the PA and told all the white people to leave. I think people would be confused and just find it funny. I don’t think the media would even cover that situation. The minority people were offended in the situation instead of the majority, so the media covered this. Let’s face it though, even if the topic was something different than black people and white people the minority will always be favored. For example, if it was men vs. women, mean comments at men would not get the reaction that mean comments against women would get. So I think this topic is not necessarily a white vs. black people topic. It is a majority vs. minority topic.
PART 3: The minority will always win because people feel more compassion towards minority people. Often times in this class it is black people versus white people. It seems to always come back to this point. It’s very frustrating. Intentionally, or unintentionally it always seems to come back to this topic. Not that this point gives anybody the excuse to say derogatory words on the message boards. I just hope that if we continue to use the message boards, people will take the message board seriously.
sorry it has to come in parts…
When I first read this I was not quite sure how to react. I feel like the question that this kid asked was a question that a lot of people may secretly wonder and want to ask out loud but feel like they are not able to do that without looking racist or making themselves look bad. I don’t think that the question is out of hand at all and is completely reasonable.. why is it that certain people have the right to be rude to any other group of people? I don’t think that it was necessary for anyone to be texting the racist rude things to the website. There is a difference between funny and taking it too far.
On the white people’s side of this argument, it really isn’t fair for them to get shunned for making a racist comment any more than it would be if it was a black or brown person to say. I just don’t think anyone should be making racist comments, but until that is more realistic we have to both learned to be more civilized.
When the questions that the “colored people” were supposed to answer were posted, it was immediate stereotyping of typical white people and what we think of when we hear white. Some of them were common things we all thought but others were rude and uncalled for.
In the black and brown people’s defense, I feel like the things that the white people were saying were a little bit more racist than the things that were being said about the white people. When the white people were saying things like “loud ass black girls” and ghetto and all that, it was out of line and if you were offended, then I guess you had a right to be. But like Sam was talking about in the last class, you can only be offended by something if you let it offend you. That goes for black and white people. The things were un called for but there will always be people like that and if you let every single one bother you then they are technically winning.
I think that the reason we overlook comments made by people of color to white people all ties into the white guilt thing.. white people still for bad and guilty for what happened in history and feel like they still need to bite their tongues for some reason. Not that I think that everyone should just go around saying whatever offensive comments they want but I think it’s been long enough that if we have something to say that makes a GOOD point such as this question, it’s completely acceptable to ask a person of color but like I said neither race should be saying these things about the other.. we’re all human beings.
being raised in new jersey has one plus besides being able to fist pump like a champ: we can take a joke. when i read the texts displayed in front of the class that say "orange" or "ed hardy" regarding white people, i cant help but laugh. people are so serious sometimes when it comes to race, religion, etc. everyone is equally capable of being made fun of, whether your black, white, asian, jewish, christian, etc. as long as its not truly mean, we need to start brushing it off. i hear way more jersey jokes than i do black jokes, and to honest, they are funnier when they are slightly true. laughing it off helps much more then getting pissed about it.
I am still trying to figure why people still talking about black and white. I feel we should drop this whole racist thing and move on with our lives. Our president is black; I thought this step was going to prove to the world we are a country of harmony, togetherness. In the contrary, racism is increasing. I think people still talk about this black and white issue because other people, mainly the people who monitor discussions group, keep bringing it up. Their first question to a black person is most like to be “how would you feel if a white person calls you a nigger” bammm, they have a discussion for hours. I guess that’s the only way their groups are going to be successful is by making people from different races to go against each other in a room.
I think he brings up a very valid point. I felt somewhat offended by the things that were bring said about white people, being white obviously I am more inclined to be offended. Though during the class I felt as though there was a double standard for the people of color and the white people. I felt like it wasn't so much the black girls reaction but it was also everyone else that reacted to their reaction that caused the uproar. All the white people were like, "oh no" look what someone said. I think the hysteria which led to Sam saying something about the commotion was caused by the entire rooms' hypersensitivity to racism. I feel like us white people are too quick to start blaming each other and being like that's so immature. I, thought is was rather immature, but it was also probably some white kids honest opinion and isn't that what Sam was asking for? Again, this is just my opinion but people of color seem like they were not so much upset by the comment but just suprised by what was said, then all the white people got really up tight because they unconsiously felt like it wasn't politically correct and every white person even Sam were up in arms about anything that was said about people of color that put them in a negative light. It seems as though our human nature is inherently to create a double standard and feel guilty about what we have done and how white people have miss treated people of color for hundreds of years. Part of our problem is not so much that we are racist it's more we are so worried about being perceived as racist that we are cautious and over sensitive to people of color. Even now it feels like white people are always trying to be the big brother to people of color. I feel like instead of trying to help people of color all the time, instead we should try to be a friend and a peer to people of color. I hope I am making sense and not confusing anyone here but what I trying to say is people of color are a people that are as strong, as efficient and as smart if not smarter than all us white people. The rule or credo that I try and stick by is just that we always need to just take a step back and put ourselves in someone elses' shoes and see where they are coming from and trying to change it. If we all just got our honest opinions out there then just talked about them instead of just shunning them then I really think we could get somewhere. I know as a white guy that there are a lot of stupid and goofy things white dudes do. Its a fact. There's no way around it but instead of getting tight about it we should just take a step back and put ourselves in the hoes of another and think about why they said what they said and where they were coming from. This may seem like it is too simple but honestly how often does anyone actually do this. I know even I will start talking back before I even think about what I am saying. If we just went through and talked about all of our preconceptions and prejudices about one another then talked about why or why it wasn't true then I think we could really get somewhere. This would take a lot, people would have to begin to put their pride aside and evaluate themselves and their actions. If we got to the point where we began to be more free and easy about each others races then I think we would see all the qualities that each and everyone of us individuals possesses.
I am actually very struck by this comment because I found it very rude and offensive when people from both races said anything bad because I feel that we are supposed to be college students… granted that can mean a lot of things that are taken to be rude or offensive but it also means that we should all be able to figure out the time and place for this negativity to occur. It is somewhat acceptable when you are out with your friends or in a setting when it is a joking manner, but to do it in a class that is very free and open is only asking to have that privilege restricted. Ok, now that I am done with that rant, I will go on to say that this comment brings up a very good point and I feel that this could be because it is almost as if white people feel that they deserve whatever ridicule they get from people of color because of their past with them and black and brown people still hold a prejudice against white people for what has happened in the past so they still take actual offense to the stereotypes that they are given. I think is is funny the way that white people just kind of chuckle at what people say about them in a way it is as if they feel they deserve whatever they have gotten or that it is an accurate stereotype.
I agree with this opinion. It seemed as if race played no factor in the responses. Both groups of people showed their levels if maturity and it was truly unacceptable. We as a class laughed thinking nothing of it but the stereotypes that were brought to my attention show how society still encourages ignorance. In this case rudeness does cut both ways.
When comments are made that offend people generally there is some uproar about it. Most people do not appreciate being offended. However when it seems as though one group of people are easily offended and raise an uproar about it more often than another group it raises a question. Why does one group of people feel that when they are offended it is more outrageous than if another group is offended in the same way? Take the example the speaker on the video presented about how the class reacts. Some rude comments were made on the poll website while in class and everyone was in an outrage over racists comments made toward black people. However when some rude comments were made toward white people the class generally laughed it off or did not think twice. The problem with this situation is not so much how one group can be offended and create a storm of outrage but when another group is insulted and it does not bring outrage. Another example is the recent furor over Wal-Mart and one of its stores in New Jersey. The PA system in the store asked all black people to leave. Obviously this must have been a joke, a childish one at that, but some people took it seriously and were very offended at the rude comment. Yes the comment was rude but given the situation it should not have made the news. I for one would think that if the PA system told all the white people to leave I would laugh and just continue shopping. There would not be an outrage. Most white people would laugh it off and just continue what they were doing. This situation and the poll question in class bring up something that is a little bit disconcerting. How can one group feel offended and raise an uproar when the same thing happens to another and no uproar is raised? I believe that something like this should not happen. I do not easily get offended when people try to insult me. I just laugh and ignore them. Why can other people not do this? Maybe they feel slighted or who knows. I do not. Have I just gotten lax with caring about when people insult me? Should I feel more offended because another group gets offended when they are insulted? No. I feel that as long as the insult if not spit into one’s face or something similar in how the insult is delivered then people should just laugh at the person. This would make the insulter feel like an idiot and in today’s racially charged atmosphere where uproar happens with the slightest insult such an action would make insults less frequent.
I think this question is pretty valid. It does seem that Sam only addressed the negative comments that were posted be white people. When the white people were asked that question, yes, there were some stupid, derogatory remarks. But the majority of the answers I saw consisted of people saying how there was nothing that differentiated white people and black people, except for pigmentation of the skin. But when this question was posed to black people, I really felt that the overwhelming majority of answers were negative stereotypes. I saw only one positive remark out of the many that scrolled across the screen. This class is supposed to ERASE stereotypes, and I feel as though the answers to that question were the opposite of what we were supposed to accomplish.
This is exactly what I was thinking and discussing with a friend on the walk home from class. Whenever the white people in class were texting, and someone wrote something about black girls in the computer lab being loud, there was almost a hush that fell on the room, and obviously, much offense taken to it, naturally, and understandably so – it was a pretty rude thing to say. However, when it was the people of color's turn to text, and say what they felt it was like to be white, someone wrote "Benchwarmer", and not only did everyone laugh, but Sam even joked about it. I am Indian, so I'm not even white, but I kinda find this interesting, and quite imbalanced. Why do we perpetuate a society where there are double standards so clearly evident, and out in the open?? I fail to see the true difference between calling a particular racial group extra loud at inappropriate times, and calling another racial group athletically inept and less skilled than others. Of course, they are both just stereotypes and equally bad, but why are they responded to so differently?
I think that the question was sort of unfair because it was asked of white people by white people and of white people by everyone else. So it wasn't really fair because we aren't comparing what nonwhite people were saying about themselves and what white people were saying about them. I don't think it is a race thing all the time but more of just a person to person thing. I'm sure that all black people do not think that all white people are rich or at least I hope not. The writing on the board thing is sort of a bad idea because people will not filter themselves when we don't know who is saying it so they will probably say anything just to be offensive.
Last week, Sam tried something new in our class. In the beginning, I think this will be the same as the clicker questions used in other class. However, the facts are shocked. Proper because there is no credit for the answering the question and no one will know which people response it, then there were lots of answer unrelated to the question at all, even many dirty words show up on the screen. As a Chinese student, I cannot understand all of the responses. Actually, I am glad I didn’t have the ability to read some of them. Otherwise, I may easily get offense. In fact, I am a little bit angry of those immature behaviors. We are college students, who are receiving high level education. How could somebody like us speak or write that rude? There is no respect at all, especially toward Sam. What a pity! Where are those people’s educations? I can’t see anything good from their responses. I am so sad about that, because I came to U.S. for a better education and meeting more people with good personality and education. I just think about a traditional Chinese idiom, which is “a beast in human clothing”. People are unlike people, rather like animals. Say whatever they want to say and feel that is funny, not cares other’s feeling at all.
Also, people in color response more that kind of sentence than white student. I think most of them are black. As I learned from my culture, brown people barely say these kinds of words publically. We have really long history and our mind as well as behaviors restricted by our tradition and background a lot. We are not allowed to speak dirty words out, especially those who are received higher education. From my point of view, it is so vulgar to say dirty words. These kinds of words destroy my reputation and personality, and leave a negative figure on people around me. I think smart people should not do this kind of stupid thing, because no one benefit. In addition, people may get hurt because of them. I just wish students in our SOC 119 class could realize and be aware of this problem, and show responsibility to themselves and people around them. If a person cannot learn how to respect others, no one will respect him or her. The reason is relationship are at least two people’s business, need both of them participate. If you throw out something really negative, how could someone else treat you nicely?
In addition, I encourage Sam to do something if same kind of situation will happen in the future lectures. Just let them stop and educate them!! They really need to be better educated about their rudeness.
I do not understand what this guy is trying to say. Personally, I feel that everybody should be mature about the situation. This whole new texting program is uncalled for. We are college students and I understand that the class is mixed with a combination of all classes (freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors, etc) but regardless we should be mature. People are just going out of control texting stupid responses to a serious question. none of this would happen if people registered and their identity could be tracked, because it is anonymous people are acting like fools.
comments such as "I think Sam's wife is hot' "I wanna hit that" are disrespectful and we laugh about it in class but at the end of the day it is downright rude. I do not know whether or not it was black or white, blue, purple, teal people doing it but it is uncalled for. Sam should seriously consider not doing the poll responses anymore.
Pertaining to the comment this guy made, I agree rudeness does go both ways in class. Black people can be rude just as white people. When white people make rude comments it just sounds harsh due to the history they have with black people and other races in the country. we feel they have the upper hand to make changes and we (black people) keep thinking that they should change their ways. but they if they keep displaying their ignorant ways it just adds more fuel to the fire. To me it is their own personal opinions and immature behavior. I overlook these comments because to me its just stupidity.
I sit down in class just reading these dumb comments and sometimes Im shocked at the responses. Aside from that I really feel the most honest answers will come from anonymous text messages but in reality I wish that was not the case. I wish all people, including myself, had the confidence to say what they felt without any fear in being ridiculed. I think if people were more comfortable with themselves in racial situations then they would have nothing to fear and would speak their mind but a lot of people are inexperienced so they are afraid to speak. There are many people who are not racist at all and have great ideas but are afraid to speak as well which is the worst case scenario.
All of us of every race, religion, ethnicity, and skin color are here together in Penn State University, what is referred to as a prestigious school. It shows that no one is superior to another because we are all here in the same place. Outside the school, we might not be equal, but while we are here at Penn State we are one in the same. Believe whatever you want about each other, and use some of the thoughts above as a way to rationalize our stupid behavior. Above all else, remember that we are one in the same here at school.
If you place rudeness on a balance scale of fairness, the white side and the black or brown side aren’t at all even. I noticed the same exact thing in that one lecture with Sam. When one of the people who are on the “white side” said being white means “having to deal with loud black girls in the computer lab,” the whole class went crazy about it. When the people on the “black or brown side” said being white means “to be stuck up,” no one really said a word. It’s hard to find a reason why that actually happens. I feel that it might be because white people are too afraid to fight back when it concerns race. If it was the case where they do fight back, they would be considered a racist. But why can’t black or brown people be considered as racists if they make offensive comments? To answer the topic question, yes, rudeness does go both ways. No one should have to bring anyone else down. It just gives people a reason to fight back and create even more problems. It was very surprising to see what types of comments showed up on the screen. Some of the comments were a little too touchy. One race shouldn’t have to feel superior compared to others. Plenty of comedians deal with this kind of thing too. It’s not very often that you hear a white comedian makes jokes about other races. They must be too afraid to do so because they know people will call them racist. But for some reason, it’s fine for comedians like Dave Chappelle or Russell Peters to make comments about other races. Sure, it’s real funny to hear the jokes but realistically, it’s unfair to make white people feel like the racist ones and to make it lenient for black or brown people make rude comments. I remember when the black or brown people were asked to text, they all ready to “fight back”. I’ll admit I was ready to make a response to fight back. But I had second thoughts about it. I realized that it would be pointless to do something like that. That action will only create an endless circle of racial conflicts. But how do we plan to end this unbalance? Well, there really is no straight answer to this. I just think we need to get passed this level by being comfortable with each other without offending another. That way no one would feel need to be either offensive or defensive. Let’s hope one day when we are asked what it means to be a certain race, we won’t have to feel superior or inferior to others.
So when I watched this video I immediately thought of Sam’s texting post question of what do you think of white people and what you think of colored people, and one answer popped into my mind it was answered by colored people was, “rich and snobby.” I remember when I saw that response, I agreed with it. When I was in high school, I really had this view of most white people being rich, affluent, people driving hummers, BMW and brand new cars. As for snobby, it was almost like a signature image of my high school classmates and the region I lived in. Now I think about it I still would say that white people generally are better-off. I came to this thinking because of the environment that I lived in the past 6 years. However, this generalization is slowly changing the more people that I meet here in college.
So with the issue of does rudeness go both ways, I would think it does, but clearly it doesn’t as we seen the real-life example in class. I think it happened because whether it was African Americans, or Asians, or Latinos, it was the minority versus the majority, so it was obvious that the minority group stirred uproar when the comment came across on the screen. If I were targeted towards Asians, I think there would still be a reaction. So what about the other way around, when there were offensive comments said about Whites, not much reaction was really apparent. I still ponder about why that is. At discussion group, a student made a really good comment about how if we see a lion and a lamb, no matter what the lion did, we would protect the lamb, and no matter what the lamb did, we would still protect the lamb because it is smaller and weaker. So the same goes for majority and minority? Rudeness does go both ways, but we focus more attention to the minority most of the time. It seems it is a natural way of reaction. It all comes to a point that we are all of different ethnicities but we can eliminate discrimination and stereotypes by stepping in each other’s shoes and try to understand each other on a deeper level.
When we were discussing about how White is always going to be a majority wherever we go in the U.S. but if I were to go to China, then it is a totally different picture. I think by then, White people can understand how it feels like to be the minority of the minority; it is not necessarily an inferior feeling, but it is just a different experience and we won’t know unless we experience it ourselves. I never thought about racial relations until I moved from China to the U.S. and it is definitely an eye-opening experience. I never knew my family was actually has a lot of discrimination towards some other races, and I would never knew if we didn’t move here
That exact question passed through my head during class. When the one question came up that was geared to just white people and then to just black and brown people the responses that came through seemed quite different than the first time we used the poll everywhere. It seemed as though when white people said neg. types of replies there was a lot of anger through out the room and finger pointing. When rude things were said about white people by black and brown people the crowd seemed more hush hush and less concerned about what was said about them. This is most likely because white people have never really been at the bottom of the totem pole; so in effect they do not worry per say what others say. The feeling and knowing that they are on top majority of the time in society makes them feel empowered so what is said actually bounces off. If you walked up to me being a white male and called me a cracker I'll be honest… I would crack a smile be like are you serious and possibly laugh in your face. Going up to a black or brown individual and calling them a derogatory term
I agree with this student about the white people being called out for being rude and the colored people are not corrected at all. In many cases I have seen this happen, especially in classrooms and at parties. I think that this is because most of the time white people say things that are rude and people have no problem calling them out on it. When colored people are rude I think people hesitate to correct them because they want to be politically correct and not offend the person they are confronting about the issue. To go along with this, I thought that when Sam was talking about white people being in a situation dealing with race it is better for them to just stay out of it and not “dig themselves into a deeper hole”. Why can color people get away with calling people out and white people shouldn’t defend themselves they should just apologize and avoid confrontation. Is that really fair? Why shouldn’t white people be able to defend themselves if they truly didn’t mean for the other person to take it a certain way. I know that I have faced this, because my best friend is black. I have been in a couple situations that I felt comfortable talking and sharing my thoughts because I don’t see skin color and they are just as much a person as I am. However, sometimes I feel like they judge me for being so comfortable and willing to talk, like I am being racist for being myself, and not someone who is timid and afraid of saying the wrong thing.
When it comes to class however, what if it was that colored people posting rude things trying to make the white people look bad? Could they be doing this to see the reactions they would be getting if they too has white skin and were to make comments like that? I don’t understand why people of any color feel the need to make rude comment about others and why it matters by their skin color if they will be corrected or not. We are all human beings in the end and all deserve the same respect as well as the same consequences. Skin color should not determine if and how someone is corrected, if it’s rude and disrespectful something should be said. I know that in the past I have run into people that have said rude things about white people and how they handle themselves. And I was proud to find that a few people stood up to that person and told them they were in the wrong. Just because they have an opinion doesn’t mean that it needs to be shared to the people around them. Sometimes opinions should be kept to yourself or monitored by others if something offensive is said. Bottom line, no one should have guidelines set for them just because of their race/ color of their skin.
I definitely understand what you are saying, and where you are coming from, a lot of the time people will only point out racist things that white people say, when in fact it goes both ways. White people are no the only ones saying distasteful things, however, when they do there is a huge up roar. I am, of course, not commending racist comment from white people, but I am also not saying it is okay for other people to be racist. I do not really understand why people make racist comments ever, what is the point? It does not make you sound "cool" or smart. In fact it makes you sound kind of stupid. But back to if it goes both ways. I would have to say it absolutely does, but it goes more unnoticed when it is about a white person. I think that black people make the same amount of racist comments as white people, but when they do no one really says anything, which is not really fair if you think about it. I mean, isn't everyone always saying how they want things to be equal? I think it is kind of a double standard, which is bull shit if you ask me.
I just wish that there was no racism in the world and that everyone got along, but alas that is not the case. I wish there was something significant I could do to change the mindset of people, but I really cannot think of ways that I can. I thought that we as people would be past this whole name calling thing by now, unfortunately I was wrong. And although I have never personally been made fun of for being white, but I have been ,made fun of for being Jewish, which is not fun. I have learned to ignore some of the names I have been called, but it does not mean it is not hurtful. I just want every one to get along and not fight about stupid things. We should be evolved enough that we are past this childish act of name calling, it is childish, dumb, and completely ridiculous. I cannot stand it. It really makes me lose faith in the human race. I honestly think that people are inherently stupid and mean. Why else would we have to resort to name calling. It is so unbelievably stupid! We need to learn to just get along and I have no idea how long that will take but it needs to happen soon, or we will not survive. I hate to sound so cynical but it is how I feel, and unfortunately it is a reality. In the future I hope that every one will get along
Very good post! I was thinking about that the other day actually. I've heard non-white people make fun of and harass white people before. But nothing is really said about it. If the white person defends themself (yells back or says something derogatory about them) other people will suddenly get involved because that is "wrong". This enters into stages that I don't think Sam has talked about yet. If someone was doing something like this to me and I yelled something back, I wouldn't think two seconds about the fact that they were black, brown, purple, or turquoise. A person's first response in such an instance is to defend in any way possible.
And yet the non-white person would be "justified" in the eyes of those who have no idea what is going on. Only because they are not white and therefore whatever the white, "privileged" person was doing must be wrong. I don't agree with political correctness, and in this case I think that it is the major problem. We are taught that blacks and hispanics are "minorities" and therefore must be treated with some sort of elevated status. We are not permitted to treat them the same that we would treat other white people because we must be sensitive so that we don't hurt their pride or feelings. But what doesn't seem to be understood right now is that it goes both ways.
If you insult my mother, I'm going to fire back. It's just nature that says that I should defend people like that. That doesn't give me the right to fire back with something about your skin color or ethnicity (though skin color seems to be the major thing that we are talking about here). But it does on some level give me the right to fight back. Which should not be looked at as racism because that isn't what it is about at all. I could care less what color your skin is. I could insult your mother back or say something about your shoes or clothes, but that would still be taken as racist. White people are penalized for speaking in this instance.
They say that whites are privileged because they can get away with anything. Having white skin is a get of of jail free card. But when you are around people who are trying hard to be PC, this isn't true at all. They will defend harshly because they feel that guilt that has been talked about in class. They feel bad for people because of the history that their people had. But it's not about a person's ancestry at all. I believe that everyone should be held accountable for their own actions. That means that it doesn't matter what your parent's did, or if your great great grandparents were slaves, you aren't, and you never have been. Therefore I don't think that I should have to treat you like I was the one who enslaved you. I had nothing to do with it.
I feel like we cannot really take those texts seriously. Anyone, white or black, could have been writing all those rude things. That’s the first thing that we should take into consideration. It would make sense to make an assumption that both the white and black people are being rude if we knew this for a fact. It is hard to place blame when we are not even sure if the selected groups were actually doing these things. The second thing is that we are making this a white and black conservation. There are not just white and black people in the class. This question has blatantly pointed out a problem between whites and blacks. I find this to be odd and it makes me wonder about how truly “offensive” our students are.
To answer the question posed with with post: yes this rudeness does go both ways. There is no need for these types of rude and stereotypical comments in that forum, especially in a class like this. This class is about race relations and trying to understand and bridge he gap between different races. Why are you even in this class if you're not open to making a change? This goes for both White and Black/Brown people.
As for the question posed by the guy in this clip. I have noticed the same thing. But the same way that Black/Brown people verbalize their feelings toward these comments, Whites are free to do the same. I'm not sure why people have kept silent or choose to retaliate by chastising the person on the forum. But just do whatever feels right to you. If you're offended, do something about it. Don't just sit there and take it.
I kind of agree with this post. I don't think it is necessarily the fact that it is a bigger deal when a white person makes an off comment on the forum. I think that there is more of an uproar over it because the black and brown people are more willing to stand up and say something about the off comments by white people. When a black and brown person makes an off comment, there has been less attention called. I'm not sure why this is though. I think it might have something to do with what Sam has been talking about in the past few classes. It kind of relates back to his Oakland example. White people are usually quick to be slapped with the racist label, as Sam was in the discussion group. If a white person stands up and says the wrong thing in class, I feel like it would be a lot more likely that they would be labeled as racist than when a black or brown person says something about the off comments on the forum. I feel like it is a lot less likely in our class than in the general public because the people in the class have heard Sam's story and are trying to overcome things like that, but I still think it would happen to an extent. So maybe that is part of the reason that white people don't speak up as much as black or brown people. On a slightly different note, I am sick of people wasting time and attention by saying these "funny" comments on the forum. This legitimately could be an awesome tool to be able to share ideas and thoughts and people are taking away from that by trying to say something clever. Yes, it may get a few laughs, but if everyone would keep the stupid comments to themselves, I think it would make for a much better experience in class.
I completely agree with what you are saying. In class, I noticed what you were talking about and was wondering the same thing. The rude comments from the texting server came from both white people and people of color. I did notice that when white people said something rude, the crowd had a loud reaction, but when people of color did the same thing, it wasn’t as big of a deal. The comments about white people were also offensive to me because when things such as “rich, undeserving, and handed everything” popped up on the screen, that is very far from the truth for me. I think the rudeness definitely goes both ways and people of color and white people can be rude.
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mic5162 Reply:
March 20th, 2010 at 2:02 am
This is true, when the rude sophomoric comments were came from both the white people and the colored people, more people reacted to the rude comments the white people made. I think this is because white people are in a way known to be more "politically correct" and that they are supposed to be more reserved with their comments because they are in this race relations class. I feel like we are being more lenient towards the colored people because of what happened in the past with their ancestors. Perhaps, the comments like "rich, undeserving, and handed everything" have an underlying meaning. Maybe, whoever made the comment actually thinks that white people do have it better and that he/she would have it more easy if he/she were to be white. Anyways, the cause of white people sitting back, listening to the minorities, and thinking before opening their mouths might be because they don't want "loud reactions" from the race table, or even want to be thought of as being rude and racist.
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I think that this issue has been around for a lot of years, so much that it's it's own stereotype and a modern day joke now: "what do you mean? you people?" is like a cliche line of dialogue for easily offended black movie characters. I think some of the questions posted in class are conducive of a certain amount of tension between races, especially when Sam says "ok, everybody on THE WHITE TEAM" and "everybody on the BLACK TEAM", I think it becomes easy to get defensive when you see the things other races want to label you with. When someone texted about the loud black girls at the library, it can be looked at a few ways: it seemed like a line was crossed for black people when some responded vocally, so is it because they are well aware of a stereotype? or was it because it hit home for them because they are in fact loud in the library themselves? I think its a stereotype that black women have their vocals turned up a little louder than other people, but not everybody will identify themselves like that. I think the guy who texted the response has some pent up anger inside and perhaps would rather sit by and judge black people as a whole for being loud than go up and ask them to quiet down. I do think that there is a further defined line that cannot be crossed when talking about black people as opposed to white people, I think that joking about stereotyped white culture and behavior is more accepted. I know there are a lot more black comedians doing impressions of white people than white comedians doing impressions of black people.
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I was thinking this exact same thing. In fact, I left the class absolutely infuriated. One white person made a comment on the text message board saying something about “loud black girls in computer labs” (which I do agree was rude), and there was an uproar among the black students in the class and Sam stopped class to call out the person who sent it. However, when it was the black students turn they were saying things that were equally as rude and stereotypical. There was comments made about “sorority sluts” and that white girls all wear Uggs and Northfaces. First of all, I don’t see how “loud black girls in a computer lab” is more offensive than “sorority sluts.” I think that the word “slut” in itself is far more offensive and I was very upset that “sorority slut” is how some black people perceive all white girls. Not only that, but I am a white girl and I don’t own Uggs or a Northface. If I were to make a comment about something that “all” black people wear that would be considered stereotypical. So why is it ok for black people to do it? As a white person, I always feel like I am walking on thin ice. I feel like I need to be careful about everything that I say so that it is not perceived as rude, offensive or stereotypical. I know that if I slip up and say something wrong a black person will call me out. So please tell me why black people can make rude, stereotypical comments and people just turn their head. I really think that Sam should have treated both sides fairly and stopped class to say something about the rude comments being made by black people as well. I really just have an issue with the entire new text message system. It is a good idea, but clearly the students in our class (of all races) are not mature enough to handle it. I really don’t see why Sam keeps doing the open ended questions when clearly the rude and immature responses (from both sides) are not going to stop. It would be nice if people would grow up and it would work, but it doesn’t look like that is going to happen, and it is a huge waste of my time. I also feel that in a class that is meant to unit people of all races, we should not be putting black people up against white people as we did with the text message exercise. I know that was not the point of the exercise, but the only result was that the black people were mad at the white people and the white people were mad at the black people. That is not the point of this class and I think that it is really sad that the immaturity of a few students had to ruin the exercise.
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LME132 Reply:
March 20th, 2010 at 1:18 am
PART 1: In response to "LyndsieS", I could not agree with her more! I think that the question posed by the student in this video is a thought-provoking one and I'm glad that he brought this uncomfortable topic up because it needs to be addressed. I believe that the rudeness is present in both black and white people. The only difference is that some black people tend to pull the race card, while white people do not have the advantage of pulling any kind of race card so to speak. Both parties (black and white) are in the wrong for using such derogatory terms in the text message system that is supposed to be a learning tool. While it is very insensitive to text about "loud black girls in computer labs", it is equally offensive to mention "sorority sluts" and "benchwarmers" in reference to white people.
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LME132 Reply:
March 20th, 2010 at 1:19 am
PART 2: When the text message about "loud black girls in the computer lab" popped up, the entire population of black people in the class almost gasped in horror. Yet, when the text messages about white people being "sorority sluts" and "benchwarmers", the entire population of white people in the class remained silent (brooding in their heads though). Being a white female, I can speak on behalf of white people and confirm the fact that we are afraid to speak up for ourselves when it comes to race issues, even if we are being called derogatory terms. It is just easier in my opinion to sit back and let it slide, than to incite a fight that will never get resolved. I feel like the race debate will never end at this rate.
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LME132 Reply:
March 20th, 2010 at 1:20 am
PART 3: . I cannot believe that we are in SOC 119, a Race and Ethnic Relations class, and there are still cases of racism that are evident. Yet, in my opinion, I do not feel like Sam does a good job of promoting equality in class. For this text messaging system, he's mentioned "white people", "brown people", and "black people" multiple times…almost forcing everyone to separate and answer in their own little segregated groups. I'm a little disappointed in what I've been getting out of this class honestly. I thought I'd be learning to become more open-minded towards people of a different color, yet I find myself becoming more close-minded and almost intimidated by people of a different color.
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LME132 Reply:
March 20th, 2010 at 1:20 am
PART 4: This is because we are constantly separating ourselves and almost forced to segregate when it comes to answering questions or enforcing our input. This whole text message system could be a wonderful learning experience for all of us, but since most people cannot take it seriously and are being "sophomoric" as Sam would say, it's almost ruined, because it's risky to have open-ended questions proposed to us anymore. Instead, we get stuck with multiple choice questions that do not force us to think as much. When are we going to grow up and act like the mature adults that we're supposed to be? We are missing out on many useful opportunities!
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I think this is a really good point. I am not sure where i stand on this because i see it from two ways. First is that the negative words that surround being black are very hurtful because they have previously been used in a very negative way. just simply saying them could imply that you are a racist and become very innapropriate. If i were black and got called one of those names or i was black and was referred to by a stereotype i woudl be seriously offended if the speaker was a white person. This is only because of the history. while many people now say that the history excuse is over, and its been too many years and we are on an equal playing field now, i stil dont agree. There are so many kids and adults these days who are racist, there is still the KKK there are still white supremacists there are so many people out there who hate blacks. There arent really huge organizations of black people who go around attemtping to rid the world of black people , or say nasty things about whites, so as long as blacks are still CONSIDERED a minority ( they may not actually be, by population a minority or anything in certain places) but while whites are still thought of as the powerful majority, it is unfair to use these words. The root of these words is very deep and it will take along time before these words of phrases can be said without causing a huge upraod. On the other hand i think that it is time that white people get what they deserve on the race table as well. I have not come in contact with these people but im sure there are many black people who really dont like what people , and give them a hard time. This probably occurs in inner cities with gangs or within schools or etc. Im sure a white kid somehwere gets picked on by black people for being white. That being said, it is time that we all just get rid of the lines that separate race and take nasty terms equally offensivly on both the black half of the table and the white half. If a black girl were to call me an ugly white girl, the fact that they said white would not really offend me, maybe the ugly but not the black! I think this is because through out our history it has been good, a positive thing to be white and i am not ashamed at all to be black. This is another reason that the uneven uproar might be caused. White people dont react with back lashes when black people say that we like ray bans and chap stick because we dont really care because its not offending us. For somethign to be offensive, it has to hit home, so for white people i guess this doesnt happen when people say bad thigns about our race. I think that although the history thing is getting old, it is going to stay this way, that blacks feel much more offended by white negative words because it is so deeply rooted in our society. Unfortunately it is this way, i wish it weren't, but it is. As far as penn state though, i see much less prejudice and discrimination than i have ever seen at home . Here i rarely ever even see a white person kidding around with a black person about race here because i believe that as one becomes more educated they become less offensive and immature. Sometimes, that text board does not exemplify this, but it is a good tool for noticing the small things like this.
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First of all, I think it is really immature of anyone, despite their color, to text the inappropriate comments. I feel like when white people made a comment it was taken more offensively, kind of like whites always have to watch what they say. Their comments can be twisted into racist remarks and looked at much differently then their actual meaning. When any African Americans would make the rude remarks, people saw it as funny, not offensive. For a long time whatever whites say has been criticized much more because they are the ones who have the most power. Everything they say is scrutinized much more than other races, which is one of the main reasons that at the “race table” whites sit back and say nothing.
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I think the texting site that Sam started to use is really cool, but really dangerous too. Yeah it's meant for us to speak our minds and the truth, but what if some of those comments that people find offensive aren't jokes. What if some of those comments are the way people really feel? Do we really want that broadcast in a class that's all about race relations? As far as the reactions to white people vs. black peoples' comments goes, I think the reason why certain comments white people make get a groan is because of white guilt. White people probably think that they should give that reaction to make them seem like "good guys", like they want to been seen as good white people. If you truly feel that a comment deserves that kind of a response then give it, if you're doing it for show then I feel like its even more insulting.
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I think that there is always some way that comments can turn into racist or offensive, but like Sam said nothing is truly offensive, it is only how we take things. There are a lot of people out there that always want to try to start shit. These people need to learn that not everything is meant in a racist way or is offensive. I am not disregarding the fact that there are racist people out there but I just don’t think that everything said needs to be taken in that direction. There were quite a few comments made on the comment board by the non white people that could be considered offensive to white people but they weren’t called out on it like the white people were. Even though I do think the comment about the loud black girls was very rude there were comments made about white people that weren’t acknowledged that could have been equally offensive.
In some ways, I feel like colored people don’t get called out as much when they make racist comments because it all goes to political correctness. Also, if you were try to argue against the comments that were made they might very well bring up anything that is said in the past and call you out on the same type of b.s. I think there are only a small number of people out there who are still racist on both ends of the scale, white people and colored people. These people totally wreck it for the rest of us and it sucks that stereotypes continue even when there are hardly any people discussing or using them.
There are black and brown people who can be just as offensive when they talk to people and make comments but it is less obvious a lot of times because people don’t feel like bringing up the fact that they may be offended. When someone refers to someone as a white girl it isn’t supposed to be taken the wrong way but if someone referred to someone as a black girl there are a lot of people who would take that offensively. Sam was saying in class how we have learned not to acknowledge race because of political correctness. In a way we are taught that it is offensive to associate people with their race but I think there are also a lot of people who take a lot of pride in their race who would want to be associated with their race.
So many times people will dwell on political correctness and the rudeness that was acknowledged I think was a pretty clear example. A lot of times people seem to feel that they must tip toe around minorities and they cant call them out but people are willing to call out white people for every little thing that is said.
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I totally agree with the boy in this video. I didn’t really notice until it was spelt out in the blog but there were definitely different reactions and responses to the texts seen in class. I didn’t recognize at first that the different reactions were based on the texts Sam separated by race. The class responded differently when negative comments were texted by white people than they did when black people texted in. I agree now that the class reacted more when white people texted in negative things. I felt like there was more talk and more discussion within the groups of people when white people texted things like, “white is the most powerful and best race.” I think people responded so much to ignorant texts like this because it was white people saying and agreeing that they are the best. I think that is harder to see and take in than people saying something about another race. When Sam posted a question to black people and how they see white people a lot of people texted saying, “white people think they are superior” or “white people are rich.” I think comments like these and the debate of inequality has been around for so long, that hearing another comment from black people and how they are less privileged than whites is like old news. You more often and most commonly hear black people talking badly about white people than white people talking highly of themselves. I am not sure why this is. In discussions of race black versus whites is always the first topic to come up. Blacks feel they are less capable or fortunate than whites. So we have heard this debate for years. I never hear white people rant that they are better or more superior or more rich than black people. I think there is a level of respect that whites hold for blacks in the fact that they know they are sensitive to the issues of race and inequality due to slavery. I have never heard a white person seriously say that they think they are better than black people. But in many instances I hear blacks saying negative things about white people. There is a double standard there. Black people are more comfortable and confident about expressing their feelings on race because they still see themselves as below whites. So they think or they can talk more openly and freely about race issues because they have suffered due to their color. It’s such a weird thing and its hard to talk about. But I think that people in class responded more strongly when whites said things about race than when black people did because it is more likely to hear blacks talk about race than whites.
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I completely agree with the point the kid is making. I was thinking the same exact thing when comments like "white snob", "spoiled", "rich", and "blind the inequality", where being posted. These comments were posted by black people who all participated in an uproar overtime a negative comment was posted about them. I was actually even keeping track of the negative comments, and their was a much greater number of negative comments coming from black people towards white people. However, no one said anything, not any student, or Sam. When a negative comment would be posted about black people Sam would get on his microphone and make announcements on how we shouldn't be saying such negative things. When, on the other hand, numerous inappropriate comments were posted in regards to white people nothing was said. Isn't this hypocrisy to the fullest? If black people don't want negative comments to be made about them they should not be doing the same thing to white people. I find it completely unfair and very ridiculous.
I think the reason for this difference in response comes from the fact that when something is said about white people it is taken as a joke, however when a white person says something about black people in the same type of manner it is automatically characterized as racism. I personally don't find being called a " rich, racist, snob" as funny and am completely offended by such comments. and are many other white students in the class. I think Sam should bring this issue up in class and see what other students think about this. Why is it okay for one group to post such horrible things through texts meanwhile the others cant. If we are talking about inequality, and are striving to make the world we live in an equal place for all,. everything has to be equal. We cannot pick and choose where to keep the equality and when to disregard it. If one group is allowed to say negative things other people should not be reprimanded for doing the same thing. Until we start to have the same rules for everyone, we will not make the progress we need to make in race relations.
Why do black people get to say what they think about white people with no consequences, meanwhile white people automatically get labeled as a racist. This is completely wrong. These kind of actions is what causes us to have a barrier between our races and engage in political correctness. Political correctness takes place because white people are scared to say what they are thinking. They think that they will automatically be characterized as a discriminatory snob who doesn't understand the inequality of the world we live in. I we want to have all the barriers down, as we walk through life we need to break down the barriers that separate us. Everyone should be treated equally and consequences should be equally reinforced. I strongly hope Sam addresses this issue in class, because I personally was really offended by comments black students were writing about white people but nothing was said.
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I was wondering the same exact thing I was sitting in class. It seemed as if when the white people were told to say what they thought about being white, the black and brown people got very mad and pissed off at our comments. However, when they had the turn to say things about white people, although they said a few okay things, the majority of the comments were negative. They also began to laugh and clap their hands when things such as “white people are spoiled” or “white people are lazy” came onto the board. I feel like this is such an obvious double standard. If I, a white lower middle class white, had laughed when the white people trashed black people, then I would easily be labeled a racist. However, for some reason it is okay for blacks to laugh out loud at us. Now me, I have always worked hard, am not lazy, am definitely not spoiled, or anything like that. That in mind, I am extremely disappointed so far in the text board technology. I think that its such a great idea and tool for class, especially one like Soc 119.
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However, everyone is just so blatantly immature and racist and childish. I understand cracking jokes and saying funny things, but it really bothers me when people say such derogatory things. This is supposed to be college, not middle school, and I really hope people grow up soon. There were so many racist comments and I think that anyone who writes comments like that on the board is a coward. One of the oldest and most cliché comments my mom has ever taught me was, “if you cant say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” That being said, I know its off topic, but it really pisses me off how immature and cowardly students are here. I guess I’m just pretty confused with the whole political correctness idea and learning how to be fair to everyone. It seems like the more I come to class and interact, the less I know about race relations.
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Before this class, I knew that there was white people and people of different races, and that I shouldn’t be a racist. But now everything is so confusing, and I don’t know if I am bveing correct when I speak, or if I am being a racist. I know deep down that I am definitely not a racist, but still hope I am never confused as one. I know that America as a whole has gotten so much better in regards to racism and freedom, but I honestly wonder if anything is ever going to be equal. It feels that whites will always be the supposed victims and people of color will always complain about white. I guess at this point I am just mildly confused and not sure as to what I think.
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I believe that the comment that created the uproar in class was the text message about “the loud black girls in the HUB” made by a white individual. To be honest, I felt some type of way about the comment being a person of color. My first reaction was shock because I wasn’t prepared for the comment, I thought that everyone was going to be respectful on their responses because Sam had said no “sophomoric comments” and I thought that everyone was going to be adults about the situation, but then the shock wore off within seconds of reading it because honestly, I would expect a white person to think that about black girls. I could honestly say, being a black girl, a lot of black girls are loud so I agree with the comment BUT I think that it was an ignorant comment because not all black girls are loud and as a matter of fact, any race could be loud. I live across from a house full of white guys and they are always loud screaming for no reason, singing songs and making ruckus. Sometimes I even hear them use derogatory terms like “faggot” but I still act civilized and I’m not rude to them and I don’t make rude comments to them like the student in class did; I mind my business.
I feel like the person in class that made that comment just needs to get over stereotypes because as I said before, any race could be loud. Now, as to the reason why the audience made such a big deal about the black offensive comment and not so much about the white offensive comment (which I can’t remember what that was) is because people are more sensitive to comments that are offense towards blacks and because blacks make it a big deal when they are offended mainly because we feel that we deserve better. When it comes to me, I feel that other races, especially whites should be more sensitive towards blacks and white people owe black people respect due to our history. I feel that the least white people could do is speak highly of us instead of bringing us down with negative, ignorant comments because whites put blacks through hell in the past and now in this present day, we as a nation are trying to move forward and respect each other and show genuine love for one another, but we are never going to get even close to different races respecting each other with the negative thoughts the fester deep inside ourselves about people that are different from ourselves and negative comments that are thrown out there like the one about the loud black girls in the HUB. Open your eyes and throw stereotypes out the window. (that goes to ALL races)
P.S. I LOVE THE TEXTING IDEA DURING CLASS!
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The whole idea about texting questions and answers on the broad in class is a fun and brilliant way to get the class involves and gets both white and Black people prospective on certain race issues. However, it is very sad to know that other people in the class are using this strategy as a way to be ignorant and rude to other races. It does not matter what color you are, I feel like one should not be disrespectful and ignorant to one race. It is not okay for black people to be disrespectful and be ignorant to white race, and it is not okay for Whites to be ignorant to the Black race.
Going to the question, I am glad that he asked this question because this is something that lots of people don’t understand. I understand that in the past Whites were very evil and denied Blacks their freedom to live. Therefore most Black people are still hurt and hateful toward White people because of what happen in the past. However, I do not think it is okay for Blacks to disrespect the Whites race by being ignorant and calling them names and they do not want Whites to do the same. This is just my opinion because I feel respect should come from both ways, and the only way one can move forward is to forgive. With that said, in reality, this is not going to change because most Black people use this as a way to express their anger as to what their people when through in the past. They want Whites to know how it feels like to be called names, disrespected against and ignorant. White people need to be more understanding and sympathetic toward Blacks then B lacks should be toward Whites. I am not saying this is okay but it is what is expected in society.
Going back to the Question that was asked in Class, “What does it mean to be white?” I feel like most of the answers that were texted were so……………… ridiculous, ignorant, and racist especially toward black people. Although some of the texts from the Blacks responses were also uncalled-for, however it was mostly stereotyped then racist toward White. The Whites responses were mostly racism and overboard. For example, somebody even when as far as using the Nigger word in their text. So wrong! I agree and it is true that many people need political correctness; however, we are all college students, so I think by now we all should be aware of racism. People just refused to learn and therefore feel like it is okay to be ignorant and rude to other races. SO, SO WRONG!
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This is a great point. I was thinking along the same lines. I didn’t really notice this when it happened, but now that he mentioned it I remember it happening. Does this go back to white guilt? Are white people even afraid to gasp at something that is said about them? I think this is a perfect example of what Sam said in class. White people may even be afraid to gasp to upset their black classmates. Why are colored people more offended than white people.
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I believe the rudeness thing does not go both ways. Though it should, many times white people are more likely to be called racist than black people, even if both parties say offensive things about each other. For example, I used to live in Louisiana and went to school with a lot of Black and Hispanic children. My parents used to tell me to be careful with the things that I said, and told me to be appropriate and understanding of their race, even though it was different than my own. Yet, on many occasions, they would not treat me with the same respect. The other children would call me names, “Yo, White Girl” being my favorite. I used to go home and cry because I didn’t understand why their parents never told them to be nice to me, but my parents told me to be nice to everyone. They particularly called me out because of my race. Though it was middle school, I felt as if the parents should have said something to their children about tolerance. The age doesn’t matter, because this happens today too. Our class is a perfect example.
With Sam’s new application of the live feed via texting, we see what the black people and white people in our class are thinking about certain subjects. I was amazed to see that so many people said such outlandish things about race, this far into the semester. Did they not learn anything? Were they not paying attention? I don’t know how accurate it is, though. I mean, technically someone who is white could send something when the question asks black people what they’re thinking, and no one would know. Yet, the overall majority says that white and black people both said some offensive things on the live feed – but when they white people said the things about the black people, there were gasps and when they black people said things about the white people, there seemed to be only laughs.
I don’t know what this says about the class as a whole. I think personally I have learned a lot about race relationships that I will and have encountered, yet it seems like some people haven’t even gotten the clue. I don’t like the double standard that it is okay to say something offensive about white people but not okay to say something offensive about black people. It should go both ways. Either they shouldn’t say it at all, or they shouldn’t get offended if one person says one thing about them. Overall, I do not think a lot of people have been getting the big ideas of the class and think that everyone still has a lot to learn about tolerance and treating people with the same respect that you expect for yourself.
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I definitely think that rudeness goes both ways regardless of race. I mean really what difference does it make what color you are you can be rude no matter what, and both white and black people were definitely saying a lot of rude comments. I also noticed that there was somewhat more of an uproar when white people made comments than when black people made comments, however, some of the stuff that white people said especially dropping the "n-word" definitely warranted a reaction. As a white person hearing other white people make comments such as this actually makes me angry too because this is the reason that often times black and brown people think of all white people as racists and ignorant, when its really just a couple of idiots. It obvious that these types of comments have a deep rooted meaning in history and so its not surprising when a word like that is used its going to cause a negative reaction. Despite race relations taking great strides over the years its definitely still not acceptable to use racial slurs such as these in society, let alone in a classroom about race relations. As far as there not being as much of an uproar when a black person made any comments I think there are a lot of reasons for this. I feel that the whole "white guilt" concept comes into play. Its possible that white people let a lot of derogatory comments slide because we feel bad about the history of oppression put on black people and feel like maybe we deserve a little bit of backlash. Also I feel like white people can really just laugh at themselves a lot of the time and so we don't really get that offended at some of the white stereotypes. In fact we see white people making fun of those stereotypes all of the time such as the Weird Al video we watched in class. While I never really get offended when hearing many of the white stereotypes sometimes it could get old. As a white person I actually can jump, and have never been a bench warmer and I know a lot of other white people who can say the same. I think the main reason that the texting thing didn't work out too well in class was the ability to remain anonymous while making comments. Sam said it best when he said if you can't stand up and say it in class to everyone then don't text in anonymously. I think that if your going to make the type of comments that were made in class you should at least have the balls to stand up and say it when everyone can know who you are. I definitely think that pretty much no one would have made the comments they did if that had been the case.
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What I've noticed about the whole texting thing is that it has mostly turned into a place where people can vent. And though most of us won't admit to it, we do acknowledge it and when people vent in class via text, it's usually ok. Unless of course, it's a white person who is venting. Because really, what do white people have to vent about? Can they vent about years of oppression? Can they vent about years of discrimination and violence against them? Can they vent about how they are treated negatively and unequally in the workplace? Probably not. All they can vent about is how they are afraid of being politically incorrect and offending someone. They can vent about how they did not get into their number 1 college because someone of color was chosen instead. They can vent about many little things, but compared to what colored people can vent about, they are not as vent-worthy. Whatever a white person has to complain about is probably not at all as big in importance as something a colored person wants to complain about. Colored people, most notably black people, have been suffering terribly for years and years. They have the right to be angry. They have the right to be able to say what they are feeling because they were oppressed for so long and are still being discriminated against. Though of course, I believe that they DO NOT have the right to be rude. Rudeness is completely unnecessary. However, because most of the white people in Soc 119 are not completely white supremacist racists, they understand that colored people are angry and let will it slide even if they are offended. Colored people on the other hand have a difficult time understanding how a white person can be rude when they have little reason to be angry. So, naturally, any rude comment by a white person will be met with retaliation. Another reason why rude comments by colored people are not always called out and why rude comments by white people are usually reprimanded is that colored people will say something about it. When it comes to race issues, white people are generally more passive and will hold back their feelings. Colored people on the other hand are more assertive and protective of themselves and each other when facing race issues. Especially in Soc 119, colored people are more free to say what they want to say. If a fight were to break on in the middle of class, things would quickly turn sour. In a class as big as ours, a fight would be extremely detrimental to our ability to keep our minds open for future classes.
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The question proposed here is one I have thought about a lot since taking this class. It seems that the class is presented in a way that is uneven. In a way, it seems that the class is designed to make white people feel bad for people of other races for the history of past discrimination, as well as the inequality that still exists today. In my opinion, there are many reasons for why the class would seem this way. First, the class is taught by a white male. No matter how hard he tries, he cannot change this fact. One of the ways in which he tries to make up for this is by criticizing white people. It is possible that he is overcompensating for this fact and that is the reason why it seems that way. Another possibility I have realized, though, is that it feels uneven is because the issues of race in this country are,indeed, uneven. White people are the majority of this country. Therefore, any issue of race must be approached with this in mind. Issues of racism, discrimination, and hatred within the country have always been centered around white people vs. colored people. Based on this, the idea of white guilt may be a viable one, and one which is still prevalent today. On the same topic, and whether or not the rudeness goes both ways, I came up with this analogy. If there are 9 white people in a room and one black person, and everyone tells a joke that demeans black people, there is no doubt that the black person will feel offended being that they are the minority. In exchange, if there are 9 black people in a room, and one white person in the room, and the white person tells a racist joke, the black people are much more likely to laugh it off or ignore it. Based on this, I think the severity upon which people attribute racism is still very much inherit upon majority vs. minority mentality. Being that black people are still the minority in this country, the issue of race is still one they think about more, and probably take more seriously. In an ideal world, race would not be an issue. No matter who is the majority or minority, the issue would be ignored by all. But this is not the case, and it does make sense to me why. Overall, I wonder what will happen when whites inevitably become the minority in the country. Will the issue of race come full circle so that white people are more offended by these types of comments. I think it will be interesting to view this process as it happens.
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This is a very interesting and controversial topic that was posed to our class. I feel that this is a real issue, and that it is slightly tilted towards one group. More often than not, I observe black students getting away with jokes, sarcastic or not, about white students. Whether they are making a remark in a casual conversation or actually presenting an idea to the class, I feel that I have witnessed on several accounts black students being able to stereotypically make fun of white students without feeling any effects. In fact, most of the time the white students laugh along with them, because many stereotypes are very well known and generally accepted as something that will always be around by all people. However, I can only remember instances in which I heard a white student cracking the same type of joke towards a black student and seeing the end result of a fired response or the black student becoming offended.
First of all, I don't support making jokes between, against or about blacks and whites. There is no need for it. But it does exist in our society, and mostly on a sarcastic level, thank god. Typically, I see that white students are very conscientious of what they say about racial matters. They don't want to say anything 'wrong' or 'offensive'. Black students, on the otherhand, seem to expect the racial equality white students have in the fore front of their minds but don't mind discussing it openly or saying something demeaning about white students or about white students being racist. Think of a white student who is in the minority in a high school; they are definitely the ones experiencing the racial minority, not the black students. It shouldn't be a universal attitude that whites should be careful and not say anything offensive and blacks should expect no mention of racial difference from whites but be free to say whatever they feel on the topic. This, I feel, only worsens the racial inequality that exists in some parts of our society still today.
We would all know we were comfortable with our racial differences, in my eyes, when they day comes that both blacks and whites, and any other race for that matter, are able to make light jokes about each other without any hard feelings or negative connotations attached. Or better yet, the day that racial differences are so obscure that jokes about such a thing would be pointless.
I feel that there are still a great deal of both blacks and whites that are wrongly harsh and insensitive to races other than their own. It is a sad thing to see in our society today, but as evidenced by many of the rude comments that flooded the screen in class this week, it still happens. It seemed that white people were more timid to say anything bold, but black people had few inhibitions. Maybe black people are more comfortable with racial differences than white people and therefore speak more easily and freely about it? I'm not sure of the reason, but I do know that racial differences still make many instances in our class very tense, when I feel that they shouldn't do that at all.
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I think I would have to also agree with the kid in the clip. What I do not understand is why there was that uproar when the comment about the "loud black girls in the computer lab" was posted, but when comments are made about white people, nothing can be said because it is then labeled as racist. I agree with Sam when he said in class the other day about how the worst name you could call a white person is "racist." I think black people do not believe that they are racist; they just believe they are expressing their opinion about white people, but white people do the same to black people and are then considered to be rude and ignorant. I think black and white people are both ignorant when it comes to understanding the other color and aspects that are important to their cultures. When comments were posted on the board about white people and how they are "rich" and "snobby", I took a lot of offense to that because, yes, I am white, but no, I am not rich and I would not consider myself snobby either. I do think us white people have an advantage in life because we are white, but I do not think that being white considers us to be snobby or even rich. Yes, the statistics do show that white people earn more than black people, but that should not group all white people as one group and only one group. The uproar that happened in the front of the class when certain comments were posted is exactly what I would have expected from any group of people, especially a group like our class that is very diverse. I think I can speak for many other white people when I say that white people feel that they are not allowed to take offense or become angry when comments are made that are not necessarily true.
We were instructed to keep our comments mature, but I think seeing some of the comments that were not all that appropriate is seeing exactly what many people were probably thinking at that time but did not want to post it. If the person who did post the comment about the girls in the computer lab would stand up and admit to saying that and not be afraid to do it, then I don't see a problem because that is how they feel and are not afraid to admit it. It is very easy to hide behind the text messages because they are sent anonymously and nobody can peg you for saying something that might be "racist." I do think though that if you can't stand up in front of such a large and diverse group and say something, then you really shouldn't say it at all. Black and white people both need to learn to be more respectful of each other and not make comments that will really piss others off or easily upset other people.
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Let’s be honest, how often do you ever hear any black person being called a racist? It is almost always, always, always a white person being called a racist. Why that it? I have no idea. It makes no sense because it does not matter what color you are to make a rude or degrading remark. It happens both ways. When the white people were texting their responses to the board, which who even knows if white people were the only ones responding, any little remark was taken with such a blow. Then, when it was the black people’s turn to text, every comment was taken as funny, even if it was pretty offensive, everyone laughed. I did not really understand why that was happening, but even my friend sitting next to me (who is black) noticed it. Most of the white people’s responses were quite mature, except a handful while a lot of the black people’s comments were along the lines of “if you white, you Ben Affleck”. While I could not stop laughing when that came up on the board, I feel like maybe this is when the whole “white guilt” thing came into play. None of the white people outraged when something extremely rude was posted about them being white, but when a comment was posted, such as the one of the girls in the computer lab, there was a complete and utter out roar. Sam would comment about how that is inappropriate, but when the offensive comment towards white people came up Sam said nothing, nor did anyone else. I think that is kind of interesting when you look at it. Why does this happen? The exact same thing came with both scenarios—the rude comments, but it really was only reacted towards one way. I think since, like I said earlier, white people are much more likely to be “deemed” as racist, they held all those comments in, also as a resort of white guilt. Black people are more lenient about what they say because the chance of a white person calling a black girl racist? Slim to none. Chances are, the white girl that called the black girl racist, will now be seen as “that racist girl that accused someone else of being racist.” I can almost guarantee that happens. I really do not think that is fair. I understand why people are uncomfortable about talking about black people, I understand something horrible happened to them in the past, but the world all together is growing, so why can we not grow out of these stereotypical thoughts? While I do believe some sort of political correctness is necessary, it should be equal among every color. Which, in reality, is what we are striving for in the first place, equality.
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I totally agree with what the person in the video is saying. When white people answered one of the texting questions offensively, I too noticed an uproar in the class. The same cannot be said when a black person or a person of color said something offensive about white people. There was little, if anything, said when a colored person made a negative comment about white people.
I think the reason why everyone made a bigger commotion over the comments towards black people is because it is easier to say something to offend black people in my opinion. All you have to do is say the "N word" and there is controversy. With white people, there's no one word or phrase that compares as far as offensiveness to the "N word." So as soon as the something like the "N word" appears on the board, many people are instantly offended, as they should be. However, I feel that a majority of the comments made by white people were not comments of this nature. A large majority of the responses by white people were honest and harmless. It only takes a few idiots to post some racial slurs to make all white people look bad. Honestly, I also feel like black people overreacted at times too. The one comment in particular said that "black girls are always being loud in the computer lab." While the comments was uncalled for and irrelevant, I don't understand why black people got so offended. If someone said "white people are always being loud in the computer lab" I could honestly care less.
I do have a huge problem with many of the texting answers submitted by people of color towards white people. As I said before, only a few white people posted racist material, making white people as a whole look bad. With colored people however, I feel like there was more consistency with negative comments. Although the things colored people said weren't nearly as offensive, the offensive comments were much more common and abundant. The stereotypes people of color were saying about white people had absolutely no truth to them at all. People of color were constantly saying that white people are overprivileged, rich, etc. First of all, my family is the epitome of middle class, not rich at all. I am also not overprivileged. I get the feeling that minorities think that white people have everything in life given to them. I am at Penn State right now because I am a hard worker. Wealth has nothing to do with it. I really get annoyed when minorities try to downplay the accomplishments of white people. If you want to be successful in life, whether you're white or black, rich or poor, you have to work hard. Period, end of story.
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I think this has a lot to do with what Sam was saying in class about how when it comes time to sitting down at the race table, white people sit back and don't really say anything or feel comfortable speaking their mind. I think that if white people were to say something, they assume they would be labeled as a racist. This may sound irrelevant to texting responses in class, but it falls under the same principle and in the same category. I also think that white people just don't care as much, they shrug off the racist comments easier where as black people will often stick up for themselves and their friends when a racist comment is made. Different in cultures, I guess.
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theglory Reply:
March 20th, 2010 at 1:18 am
I completely agree with the fact that white people would be labeled racist if they said controversial comments about black people more so than black people being labeled racist by saying controversial comments to white people There obviously is a double standard between white people and black people that needs to be addressed. I think there is a very sensitive history between these two groups of people. A lot of white people are intimidated about offending black people, so most of the time they keep their comments to themselves instead of discussing them out loud. Sam discussed this in class when he talked about the race relations project and how white people were not as dominate in the conversation as black people.
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I think this is a very good, and almost something that we were even talking about, but yet it becomes an issue. i think what he is talking about is when white people were supposed to be texting and said some rude things about black women in the computer lab, and everyone made a low grumbling noise about it, but in the same essence when black people were supposed to say how they feel about white people there were comments about Ugg boots and mayonnaise and stuff everyone either just laughed or nothing, nobody thought that was out of line. Let me make something clear, just as Sam said, there isn't much, if anything, that anyone could do to offend me, i have been thrown every word in the book, and it just doesn't get to me. So when im getting into this subject it doesn't mean im offended, i am just curious of this double standard. i just don't get how someone can get offended if you are laughing at one joke, but when a joke is directed at you,sometimes even the same one, its all of a sudden not funny. Now its fine if you dont laugh at your own racial jokes, but dont go around laughing in peoples faces when you hear one that's not about you. Now i guess it does come back to the class we had about white guilt. I do think that white guilt should be considered in most situations, like white people should realize what they did in their past to African Americans and native americans, but when it comes to jokes i think its stupid. People may think the people involved in those comments were being rude, but the people on both sides wither were probably just trying to be funny or honestly thought that, so why should that be something so awful to say. yes i understand that sounds bad, but once again i don't get offended so maybe i don't know how it feels to someone else. it also goes back to the question raised by my debate class, when we talked about how colored people can be racist but white people cant? if that's the case and people actually agree with that i would never respect them, because that would be the biggest hypocritical thing to say. i guess my final words are to the people that gasped at the black woman comment, if you laugh at other jokes, what makes that one so bad? i guess the quote, you can dish it out, but you cant get it back fits pretty well and would hope they really reconsider what they think is funny if something else is not
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Political correctness. That’s why there was an uproar when it was the white students turn to text. Since white is the majority there is a non verbal or physical pressure placed to be as political correct as possible. Its stupid sounding but I really feel like that’s the reason. When anyone could text at the beginning of class people where laughing at some but no one was making uproar about what was being said because there was no way to identify who was said what. I feel that if our class was majority people of color with white being the minority in the class that it would be the opposite.
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THIS IS PART 1 of my blog (wouldn't let me post whole 450 word comment)I also noticed this in our class. Firstly, the whole texting message board is not taken seriously by a lot of people. Personally, I don’t like the message board and think that we should go back to the way before and just ask people in the class. Most of the students don’t take the blog seriously and are looking for shock value and try to get a rise out of people. The anonymous characteristic of the message board allows people to post very mean things without any negative consequences. Not that I want people to do mean or harmful things to the people who post the mean comments, I just think that they should be confronted. Although it may not seem this way, I feel the majority of the class is not the obnoxious people who posts the mean, derogatory comments. Most people in the class are good people who wouldn’t post mean comments. This same group of people wouldn’t post in general because they are too scared to because of intimidation factors.
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PART 2: The majority of the class is white, so a lot of white people are scared to offend black people more so than black people offending white people. Historically, black people have been discriminated against and many white people understand what they have been through. The media always covers white people offending black people more so than white people offending black people. In class, we discussed the incident at Walmart where a white person talked on the PA and told all black people to leave the store. What if a black person went on the PA and told all the white people to leave. I think people would be confused and just find it funny. I don’t think the media would even cover that situation. The minority people were offended in the situation instead of the majority, so the media covered this. Let’s face it though, even if the topic was something different than black people and white people the minority will always be favored. For example, if it was men vs. women, mean comments at men would not get the reaction that mean comments against women would get. So I think this topic is not necessarily a white vs. black people topic. It is a majority vs. minority topic.
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PART 3: The minority will always win because people feel more compassion towards minority people. Often times in this class it is black people versus white people. It seems to always come back to this point. It’s very frustrating. Intentionally, or unintentionally it always seems to come back to this topic. Not that this point gives anybody the excuse to say derogatory words on the message boards. I just hope that if we continue to use the message boards, people will take the message board seriously.
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sorry it has to come in parts…
When I first read this I was not quite sure how to react. I feel like the question that this kid asked was a question that a lot of people may secretly wonder and want to ask out loud but feel like they are not able to do that without looking racist or making themselves look bad. I don’t think that the question is out of hand at all and is completely reasonable.. why is it that certain people have the right to be rude to any other group of people? I don’t think that it was necessary for anyone to be texting the racist rude things to the website. There is a difference between funny and taking it too far.
On the white people’s side of this argument, it really isn’t fair for them to get shunned for making a racist comment any more than it would be if it was a black or brown person to say. I just don’t think anyone should be making racist comments, but until that is more realistic we have to both learned to be more civilized.
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When the questions that the “colored people” were supposed to answer were posted, it was immediate stereotyping of typical white people and what we think of when we hear white. Some of them were common things we all thought but others were rude and uncalled for.
In the black and brown people’s defense, I feel like the things that the white people were saying were a little bit more racist than the things that were being said about the white people. When the white people were saying things like “loud ass black girls” and ghetto and all that, it was out of line and if you were offended, then I guess you had a right to be. But like Sam was talking about in the last class, you can only be offended by something if you let it offend you. That goes for black and white people. The things were un called for but there will always be people like that and if you let every single one bother you then they are technically winning.
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I think that the reason we overlook comments made by people of color to white people all ties into the white guilt thing.. white people still for bad and guilty for what happened in history and feel like they still need to bite their tongues for some reason. Not that I think that everyone should just go around saying whatever offensive comments they want but I think it’s been long enough that if we have something to say that makes a GOOD point such as this question, it’s completely acceptable to ask a person of color but like I said neither race should be saying these things about the other.. we’re all human beings.
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being raised in new jersey has one plus besides being able to fist pump like a champ: we can take a joke. when i read the texts displayed in front of the class that say "orange" or "ed hardy" regarding white people, i cant help but laugh. people are so serious sometimes when it comes to race, religion, etc. everyone is equally capable of being made fun of, whether your black, white, asian, jewish, christian, etc. as long as its not truly mean, we need to start brushing it off. i hear way more jersey jokes than i do black jokes, and to honest, they are funnier when they are slightly true. laughing it off helps much more then getting pissed about it.
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I am still trying to figure why people still talking about black and white. I feel we should drop this whole racist thing and move on with our lives. Our president is black; I thought this step was going to prove to the world we are a country of harmony, togetherness. In the contrary, racism is increasing. I think people still talk about this black and white issue because other people, mainly the people who monitor discussions group, keep bringing it up. Their first question to a black person is most like to be “how would you feel if a white person calls you a nigger” bammm, they have a discussion for hours. I guess that’s the only way their groups are going to be successful is by making people from different races to go against each other in a room.
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I think he brings up a very valid point. I felt somewhat offended by the things that were bring said about white people, being white obviously I am more inclined to be offended. Though during the class I felt as though there was a double standard for the people of color and the white people. I felt like it wasn't so much the black girls reaction but it was also everyone else that reacted to their reaction that caused the uproar. All the white people were like, "oh no" look what someone said. I think the hysteria which led to Sam saying something about the commotion was caused by the entire rooms' hypersensitivity to racism. I feel like us white people are too quick to start blaming each other and being like that's so immature. I, thought is was rather immature, but it was also probably some white kids honest opinion and isn't that what Sam was asking for? Again, this is just my opinion but people of color seem like they were not so much upset by the comment but just suprised by what was said, then all the white people got really up tight because they unconsiously felt like it wasn't politically correct and every white person even Sam were up in arms about anything that was said about people of color that put them in a negative light. It seems as though our human nature is inherently to create a double standard and feel guilty about what we have done and how white people have miss treated people of color for hundreds of years. Part of our problem is not so much that we are racist it's more we are so worried about being perceived as racist that we are cautious and over sensitive to people of color. Even now it feels like white people are always trying to be the big brother to people of color. I feel like instead of trying to help people of color all the time, instead we should try to be a friend and a peer to people of color. I hope I am making sense and not confusing anyone here but what I trying to say is people of color are a people that are as strong, as efficient and as smart if not smarter than all us white people. The rule or credo that I try and stick by is just that we always need to just take a step back and put ourselves in someone elses' shoes and see where they are coming from and trying to change it. If we all just got our honest opinions out there then just talked about them instead of just shunning them then I really think we could get somewhere. I know as a white guy that there are a lot of stupid and goofy things white dudes do. Its a fact. There's no way around it but instead of getting tight about it we should just take a step back and put ourselves in the hoes of another and think about why they said what they said and where they were coming from. This may seem like it is too simple but honestly how often does anyone actually do this. I know even I will start talking back before I even think about what I am saying. If we just went through and talked about all of our preconceptions and prejudices about one another then talked about why or why it wasn't true then I think we could really get somewhere. This would take a lot, people would have to begin to put their pride aside and evaluate themselves and their actions. If we got to the point where we began to be more free and easy about each others races then I think we would see all the qualities that each and everyone of us individuals possesses.
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I am actually very struck by this comment because I found it very rude and offensive when people from both races said anything bad because I feel that we are supposed to be college students… granted that can mean a lot of things that are taken to be rude or offensive but it also means that we should all be able to figure out the time and place for this negativity to occur. It is somewhat acceptable when you are out with your friends or in a setting when it is a joking manner, but to do it in a class that is very free and open is only asking to have that privilege restricted. Ok, now that I am done with that rant, I will go on to say that this comment brings up a very good point and I feel that this could be because it is almost as if white people feel that they deserve whatever ridicule they get from people of color because of their past with them and black and brown people still hold a prejudice against white people for what has happened in the past so they still take actual offense to the stereotypes that they are given. I think is is funny the way that white people just kind of chuckle at what people say about them in a way it is as if they feel they deserve whatever they have gotten or that it is an accurate stereotype.
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bos5127 Reply:
March 20th, 2010 at 1:53 am
I agree with this opinion. It seemed as if race played no factor in the responses. Both groups of people showed their levels if maturity and it was truly unacceptable. We as a class laughed thinking nothing of it but the stereotypes that were brought to my attention show how society still encourages ignorance. In this case rudeness does cut both ways.
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When comments are made that offend people generally there is some uproar about it. Most people do not appreciate being offended. However when it seems as though one group of people are easily offended and raise an uproar about it more often than another group it raises a question. Why does one group of people feel that when they are offended it is more outrageous than if another group is offended in the same way? Take the example the speaker on the video presented about how the class reacts. Some rude comments were made on the poll website while in class and everyone was in an outrage over racists comments made toward black people. However when some rude comments were made toward white people the class generally laughed it off or did not think twice. The problem with this situation is not so much how one group can be offended and create a storm of outrage but when another group is insulted and it does not bring outrage. Another example is the recent furor over Wal-Mart and one of its stores in New Jersey. The PA system in the store asked all black people to leave. Obviously this must have been a joke, a childish one at that, but some people took it seriously and were very offended at the rude comment. Yes the comment was rude but given the situation it should not have made the news. I for one would think that if the PA system told all the white people to leave I would laugh and just continue shopping. There would not be an outrage. Most white people would laugh it off and just continue what they were doing. This situation and the poll question in class bring up something that is a little bit disconcerting. How can one group feel offended and raise an uproar when the same thing happens to another and no uproar is raised? I believe that something like this should not happen. I do not easily get offended when people try to insult me. I just laugh and ignore them. Why can other people not do this? Maybe they feel slighted or who knows. I do not. Have I just gotten lax with caring about when people insult me? Should I feel more offended because another group gets offended when they are insulted? No. I feel that as long as the insult if not spit into one’s face or something similar in how the insult is delivered then people should just laugh at the person. This would make the insulter feel like an idiot and in today’s racially charged atmosphere where uproar happens with the slightest insult such an action would make insults less frequent.
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I think this question is pretty valid. It does seem that Sam only addressed the negative comments that were posted be white people. When the white people were asked that question, yes, there were some stupid, derogatory remarks. But the majority of the answers I saw consisted of people saying how there was nothing that differentiated white people and black people, except for pigmentation of the skin. But when this question was posed to black people, I really felt that the overwhelming majority of answers were negative stereotypes. I saw only one positive remark out of the many that scrolled across the screen. This class is supposed to ERASE stereotypes, and I feel as though the answers to that question were the opposite of what we were supposed to accomplish.
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This is exactly what I was thinking and discussing with a friend on the walk home from class. Whenever the white people in class were texting, and someone wrote something about black girls in the computer lab being loud, there was almost a hush that fell on the room, and obviously, much offense taken to it, naturally, and understandably so – it was a pretty rude thing to say. However, when it was the people of color's turn to text, and say what they felt it was like to be white, someone wrote "Benchwarmer", and not only did everyone laugh, but Sam even joked about it. I am Indian, so I'm not even white, but I kinda find this interesting, and quite imbalanced. Why do we perpetuate a society where there are double standards so clearly evident, and out in the open?? I fail to see the true difference between calling a particular racial group extra loud at inappropriate times, and calling another racial group athletically inept and less skilled than others. Of course, they are both just stereotypes and equally bad, but why are they responded to so differently?
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I think that the question was sort of unfair because it was asked of white people by white people and of white people by everyone else. So it wasn't really fair because we aren't comparing what nonwhite people were saying about themselves and what white people were saying about them. I don't think it is a race thing all the time but more of just a person to person thing. I'm sure that all black people do not think that all white people are rich or at least I hope not. The writing on the board thing is sort of a bad idea because people will not filter themselves when we don't know who is saying it so they will probably say anything just to be offensive.
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Last week, Sam tried something new in our class. In the beginning, I think this will be the same as the clicker questions used in other class. However, the facts are shocked. Proper because there is no credit for the answering the question and no one will know which people response it, then there were lots of answer unrelated to the question at all, even many dirty words show up on the screen. As a Chinese student, I cannot understand all of the responses. Actually, I am glad I didn’t have the ability to read some of them. Otherwise, I may easily get offense. In fact, I am a little bit angry of those immature behaviors. We are college students, who are receiving high level education. How could somebody like us speak or write that rude? There is no respect at all, especially toward Sam. What a pity! Where are those people’s educations? I can’t see anything good from their responses. I am so sad about that, because I came to U.S. for a better education and meeting more people with good personality and education. I just think about a traditional Chinese idiom, which is “a beast in human clothing”. People are unlike people, rather like animals. Say whatever they want to say and feel that is funny, not cares other’s feeling at all.
Also, people in color response more that kind of sentence than white student. I think most of them are black. As I learned from my culture, brown people barely say these kinds of words publically. We have really long history and our mind as well as behaviors restricted by our tradition and background a lot. We are not allowed to speak dirty words out, especially those who are received higher education. From my point of view, it is so vulgar to say dirty words. These kinds of words destroy my reputation and personality, and leave a negative figure on people around me. I think smart people should not do this kind of stupid thing, because no one benefit. In addition, people may get hurt because of them. I just wish students in our SOC 119 class could realize and be aware of this problem, and show responsibility to themselves and people around them. If a person cannot learn how to respect others, no one will respect him or her. The reason is relationship are at least two people’s business, need both of them participate. If you throw out something really negative, how could someone else treat you nicely?
In addition, I encourage Sam to do something if same kind of situation will happen in the future lectures. Just let them stop and educate them!! They really need to be better educated about their rudeness.
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I do not understand what this guy is trying to say. Personally, I feel that everybody should be mature about the situation. This whole new texting program is uncalled for. We are college students and I understand that the class is mixed with a combination of all classes (freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors, etc) but regardless we should be mature. People are just going out of control texting stupid responses to a serious question. none of this would happen if people registered and their identity could be tracked, because it is anonymous people are acting like fools.
comments such as "I think Sam's wife is hot' "I wanna hit that" are disrespectful and we laugh about it in class but at the end of the day it is downright rude. I do not know whether or not it was black or white, blue, purple, teal people doing it but it is uncalled for. Sam should seriously consider not doing the poll responses anymore.
Pertaining to the comment this guy made, I agree rudeness does go both ways in class. Black people can be rude just as white people. When white people make rude comments it just sounds harsh due to the history they have with black people and other races in the country. we feel they have the upper hand to make changes and we (black people) keep thinking that they should change their ways. but they if they keep displaying their ignorant ways it just adds more fuel to the fire. To me it is their own personal opinions and immature behavior. I overlook these comments because to me its just stupidity.
I sit down in class just reading these dumb comments and sometimes Im shocked at the responses. Aside from that I really feel the most honest answers will come from anonymous text messages but in reality I wish that was not the case. I wish all people, including myself, had the confidence to say what they felt without any fear in being ridiculed. I think if people were more comfortable with themselves in racial situations then they would have nothing to fear and would speak their mind but a lot of people are inexperienced so they are afraid to speak. There are many people who are not racist at all and have great ideas but are afraid to speak as well which is the worst case scenario.
All of us of every race, religion, ethnicity, and skin color are here together in Penn State University, what is referred to as a prestigious school. It shows that no one is superior to another because we are all here in the same place. Outside the school, we might not be equal, but while we are here at Penn State we are one in the same. Believe whatever you want about each other, and use some of the thoughts above as a way to rationalize our stupid behavior. Above all else, remember that we are one in the same here at school.
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If you place rudeness on a balance scale of fairness, the white side and the black or brown side aren’t at all even. I noticed the same exact thing in that one lecture with Sam. When one of the people who are on the “white side” said being white means “having to deal with loud black girls in the computer lab,” the whole class went crazy about it. When the people on the “black or brown side” said being white means “to be stuck up,” no one really said a word. It’s hard to find a reason why that actually happens. I feel that it might be because white people are too afraid to fight back when it concerns race. If it was the case where they do fight back, they would be considered a racist. But why can’t black or brown people be considered as racists if they make offensive comments? To answer the topic question, yes, rudeness does go both ways. No one should have to bring anyone else down. It just gives people a reason to fight back and create even more problems. It was very surprising to see what types of comments showed up on the screen. Some of the comments were a little too touchy. One race shouldn’t have to feel superior compared to others. Plenty of comedians deal with this kind of thing too. It’s not very often that you hear a white comedian makes jokes about other races. They must be too afraid to do so because they know people will call them racist. But for some reason, it’s fine for comedians like Dave Chappelle or Russell Peters to make comments about other races. Sure, it’s real funny to hear the jokes but realistically, it’s unfair to make white people feel like the racist ones and to make it lenient for black or brown people make rude comments. I remember when the black or brown people were asked to text, they all ready to “fight back”. I’ll admit I was ready to make a response to fight back. But I had second thoughts about it. I realized that it would be pointless to do something like that. That action will only create an endless circle of racial conflicts. But how do we plan to end this unbalance? Well, there really is no straight answer to this. I just think we need to get passed this level by being comfortable with each other without offending another. That way no one would feel need to be either offensive or defensive. Let’s hope one day when we are asked what it means to be a certain race, we won’t have to feel superior or inferior to others.
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So when I watched this video I immediately thought of Sam’s texting post question of what do you think of white people and what you think of colored people, and one answer popped into my mind it was answered by colored people was, “rich and snobby.” I remember when I saw that response, I agreed with it. When I was in high school, I really had this view of most white people being rich, affluent, people driving hummers, BMW and brand new cars. As for snobby, it was almost like a signature image of my high school classmates and the region I lived in. Now I think about it I still would say that white people generally are better-off. I came to this thinking because of the environment that I lived in the past 6 years. However, this generalization is slowly changing the more people that I meet here in college.
So with the issue of does rudeness go both ways, I would think it does, but clearly it doesn’t as we seen the real-life example in class. I think it happened because whether it was African Americans, or Asians, or Latinos, it was the minority versus the majority, so it was obvious that the minority group stirred uproar when the comment came across on the screen. If I were targeted towards Asians, I think there would still be a reaction. So what about the other way around, when there were offensive comments said about Whites, not much reaction was really apparent. I still ponder about why that is. At discussion group, a student made a really good comment about how if we see a lion and a lamb, no matter what the lion did, we would protect the lamb, and no matter what the lamb did, we would still protect the lamb because it is smaller and weaker. So the same goes for majority and minority? Rudeness does go both ways, but we focus more attention to the minority most of the time. It seems it is a natural way of reaction. It all comes to a point that we are all of different ethnicities but we can eliminate discrimination and stereotypes by stepping in each other’s shoes and try to understand each other on a deeper level.
When we were discussing about how White is always going to be a majority wherever we go in the U.S. but if I were to go to China, then it is a totally different picture. I think by then, White people can understand how it feels like to be the minority of the minority; it is not necessarily an inferior feeling, but it is just a different experience and we won’t know unless we experience it ourselves. I never thought about racial relations until I moved from China to the U.S. and it is definitely an eye-opening experience. I never knew my family was actually has a lot of discrimination towards some other races, and I would never knew if we didn’t move here
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That exact question passed through my head during class. When the one question came up that was geared to just white people and then to just black and brown people the responses that came through seemed quite different than the first time we used the poll everywhere. It seemed as though when white people said neg. types of replies there was a lot of anger through out the room and finger pointing. When rude things were said about white people by black and brown people the crowd seemed more hush hush and less concerned about what was said about them. This is most likely because white people have never really been at the bottom of the totem pole; so in effect they do not worry per say what others say. The feeling and knowing that they are on top majority of the time in society makes them feel empowered so what is said actually bounces off. If you walked up to me being a white male and called me a cracker I'll be honest… I would crack a smile be like are you serious and possibly laugh in your face. Going up to a black or brown individual and calling them a derogatory term
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I agree with this student about the white people being called out for being rude and the colored people are not corrected at all. In many cases I have seen this happen, especially in classrooms and at parties. I think that this is because most of the time white people say things that are rude and people have no problem calling them out on it. When colored people are rude I think people hesitate to correct them because they want to be politically correct and not offend the person they are confronting about the issue. To go along with this, I thought that when Sam was talking about white people being in a situation dealing with race it is better for them to just stay out of it and not “dig themselves into a deeper hole”. Why can color people get away with calling people out and white people shouldn’t defend themselves they should just apologize and avoid confrontation. Is that really fair? Why shouldn’t white people be able to defend themselves if they truly didn’t mean for the other person to take it a certain way. I know that I have faced this, because my best friend is black. I have been in a couple situations that I felt comfortable talking and sharing my thoughts because I don’t see skin color and they are just as much a person as I am. However, sometimes I feel like they judge me for being so comfortable and willing to talk, like I am being racist for being myself, and not someone who is timid and afraid of saying the wrong thing.
When it comes to class however, what if it was that colored people posting rude things trying to make the white people look bad? Could they be doing this to see the reactions they would be getting if they too has white skin and were to make comments like that? I don’t understand why people of any color feel the need to make rude comment about others and why it matters by their skin color if they will be corrected or not. We are all human beings in the end and all deserve the same respect as well as the same consequences. Skin color should not determine if and how someone is corrected, if it’s rude and disrespectful something should be said. I know that in the past I have run into people that have said rude things about white people and how they handle themselves. And I was proud to find that a few people stood up to that person and told them they were in the wrong. Just because they have an opinion doesn’t mean that it needs to be shared to the people around them. Sometimes opinions should be kept to yourself or monitored by others if something offensive is said. Bottom line, no one should have guidelines set for them just because of their race/ color of their skin.
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I definitely understand what you are saying, and where you are coming from, a lot of the time people will only point out racist things that white people say, when in fact it goes both ways. White people are no the only ones saying distasteful things, however, when they do there is a huge up roar. I am, of course, not commending racist comment from white people, but I am also not saying it is okay for other people to be racist. I do not really understand why people make racist comments ever, what is the point? It does not make you sound "cool" or smart. In fact it makes you sound kind of stupid. But back to if it goes both ways. I would have to say it absolutely does, but it goes more unnoticed when it is about a white person. I think that black people make the same amount of racist comments as white people, but when they do no one really says anything, which is not really fair if you think about it. I mean, isn't everyone always saying how they want things to be equal? I think it is kind of a double standard, which is bull shit if you ask me.
I just wish that there was no racism in the world and that everyone got along, but alas that is not the case. I wish there was something significant I could do to change the mindset of people, but I really cannot think of ways that I can. I thought that we as people would be past this whole name calling thing by now, unfortunately I was wrong. And although I have never personally been made fun of for being white, but I have been ,made fun of for being Jewish, which is not fun. I have learned to ignore some of the names I have been called, but it does not mean it is not hurtful. I just want every one to get along and not fight about stupid things. We should be evolved enough that we are past this childish act of name calling, it is childish, dumb, and completely ridiculous. I cannot stand it. It really makes me lose faith in the human race. I honestly think that people are inherently stupid and mean. Why else would we have to resort to name calling. It is so unbelievably stupid! We need to learn to just get along and I have no idea how long that will take but it needs to happen soon, or we will not survive. I hate to sound so cynical but it is how I feel, and unfortunately it is a reality. In the future I hope that every one will get along
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Very good post! I was thinking about that the other day actually. I've heard non-white people make fun of and harass white people before. But nothing is really said about it. If the white person defends themself (yells back or says something derogatory about them) other people will suddenly get involved because that is "wrong". This enters into stages that I don't think Sam has talked about yet. If someone was doing something like this to me and I yelled something back, I wouldn't think two seconds about the fact that they were black, brown, purple, or turquoise. A person's first response in such an instance is to defend in any way possible.
And yet the non-white person would be "justified" in the eyes of those who have no idea what is going on. Only because they are not white and therefore whatever the white, "privileged" person was doing must be wrong. I don't agree with political correctness, and in this case I think that it is the major problem. We are taught that blacks and hispanics are "minorities" and therefore must be treated with some sort of elevated status. We are not permitted to treat them the same that we would treat other white people because we must be sensitive so that we don't hurt their pride or feelings. But what doesn't seem to be understood right now is that it goes both ways.
If you insult my mother, I'm going to fire back. It's just nature that says that I should defend people like that. That doesn't give me the right to fire back with something about your skin color or ethnicity (though skin color seems to be the major thing that we are talking about here). But it does on some level give me the right to fight back. Which should not be looked at as racism because that isn't what it is about at all. I could care less what color your skin is. I could insult your mother back or say something about your shoes or clothes, but that would still be taken as racist. White people are penalized for speaking in this instance.
They say that whites are privileged because they can get away with anything. Having white skin is a get of of jail free card. But when you are around people who are trying hard to be PC, this isn't true at all. They will defend harshly because they feel that guilt that has been talked about in class. They feel bad for people because of the history that their people had. But it's not about a person's ancestry at all. I believe that everyone should be held accountable for their own actions. That means that it doesn't matter what your parent's did, or if your great great grandparents were slaves, you aren't, and you never have been. Therefore I don't think that I should have to treat you like I was the one who enslaved you. I had nothing to do with it.
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I feel like we cannot really take those texts seriously. Anyone, white or black, could have been writing all those rude things. That’s the first thing that we should take into consideration. It would make sense to make an assumption that both the white and black people are being rude if we knew this for a fact. It is hard to place blame when we are not even sure if the selected groups were actually doing these things. The second thing is that we are making this a white and black conservation. There are not just white and black people in the class. This question has blatantly pointed out a problem between whites and blacks. I find this to be odd and it makes me wonder about how truly “offensive” our students are.
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To answer the question posed with with post: yes this rudeness does go both ways. There is no need for these types of rude and stereotypical comments in that forum, especially in a class like this. This class is about race relations and trying to understand and bridge he gap between different races. Why are you even in this class if you're not open to making a change? This goes for both White and Black/Brown people.
As for the question posed by the guy in this clip. I have noticed the same thing. But the same way that Black/Brown people verbalize their feelings toward these comments, Whites are free to do the same. I'm not sure why people have kept silent or choose to retaliate by chastising the person on the forum. But just do whatever feels right to you. If you're offended, do something about it. Don't just sit there and take it.
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nzh5009 Reply:
March 20th, 2010 at 3:36 am
I kind of agree with this post. I don't think it is necessarily the fact that it is a bigger deal when a white person makes an off comment on the forum. I think that there is more of an uproar over it because the black and brown people are more willing to stand up and say something about the off comments by white people. When a black and brown person makes an off comment, there has been less attention called. I'm not sure why this is though. I think it might have something to do with what Sam has been talking about in the past few classes. It kind of relates back to his Oakland example. White people are usually quick to be slapped with the racist label, as Sam was in the discussion group. If a white person stands up and says the wrong thing in class, I feel like it would be a lot more likely that they would be labeled as racist than when a black or brown person says something about the off comments on the forum. I feel like it is a lot less likely in our class than in the general public because the people in the class have heard Sam's story and are trying to overcome things like that, but I still think it would happen to an extent. So maybe that is part of the reason that white people don't speak up as much as black or brown people. On a slightly different note, I am sick of people wasting time and attention by saying these "funny" comments on the forum. This legitimately could be an awesome tool to be able to share ideas and thoughts and people are taking away from that by trying to say something clever. Yes, it may get a few laughs, but if everyone would keep the stupid comments to themselves, I think it would make for a much better experience in class.
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