Comments on: Does this rudeness thing cut both ways?

By: ajb81

ajb81 — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 02:18:25 +0000

It happens that way because it has always been that if a white person makes a racist comment around other ethnicities, then they automatically assume the white person is a racist. This is most noticeable with African Americans. It always seems like they think they have the right to make fun of white people because white people have been putting them down for so long and it is just the black man’s way of getting even. I do not know why it is still like this, but find to be very irritating. I have seen black people use racist terms to other white people’s face and it is like they expect the white person to just take it and not respond. If a white person does respond with a racial term to them then it becomes a huge ordeal. It is sad that this still happens but it is something that we as a country need to work on.

By: jtwomey

jtwomey — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 01:12:41 +0000

I think in some ways white people's hands are tied because of this concept of white guilt. As mentioned over and over again in lecture, there is a societal norm that white people are reluctant to even mention race. So making an insult based on race from a white people is very very taboo, while a racial insult made by a black person is less controversial. I think this is an annoying social convention. I like Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle stand up but at some point it gets old. This is why we need to revise our core values.

By: rmz5019

rmz5019 — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 00:57:27 +0000

Oh I'm gonna love this one. Well as you can see the differences between the racial stereotypes can show that there is a large gap in whats allowed to be said and what should be said. If you have that "loud obnoxious black girl comment" some might being offended by it, but the only thing that keeps it from becoming true is girls that work against stereotypes. As I've heard in class sitting in random spots and with my friend to look at the people around and gauge their view on the i found that most do play into the stereotype of loud and obnoxious. I'm not sure if that is a cultural difference or even a race difference at all because there are some even worse obnoxious and loud white girls as well but they'll never speak in public because they've learned that if they say something it probably has to be done among friends. BUT and its a big one, that there are so few black or African American or 'negro' population at this school that when you hear a few outbursts you start to affiliate it with race. Which went into another argument of population in PA versus that of other areas Sam should in class on Thursday. I think it honestly does not cut both ways at all. Because there are not many terms you can call that will invoke hatred. If you use the term 'cracker' and apply it to a white person, some might embrace it but with that embrace it loses some of its power. Because it has no power people will use it less, and I'm not talking about just a bunch of white people calling each other crackers. I'm talking about the black, Indian, native American, Asian American people calling whites crackers. Now, if you call a black person a 'nigger' you hit a deeply hated word in which will spark hatred, but among people in the black community because of the pronunciation of the word makes it a term of being friends. Now because there is a large gap and words for hatred there will always be a gap because it becomes a sensitive subject area to where people were once slaves. So there will never be that equality of rudeness its just that some groups have learned to deal with the intolerance of a new generation, and some can't handle the intolerance of an older generation. Either way, minorities will always be allowed to say what they want because its "socially acceptable" for them to make fun of the majority. I doubt something like that will ever be rid of by the time we die so the rudeness will stay this way for a very long time to come.

By: Colleen525

Colleen525 — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 00:53:54 +0000

When I was in class the other day, I thought the exact same thing. I think that having the board where people can text their feelings anonymously is great but at the same time it can be awful. I know that being in a class of 700 it’s hard to get my opinion out there so having this is one way of me being able to voice what I have to say. But f sitting there and reading through some of the comments I found myself more angry than anything else. Some people wrote some obscene things on this board, both black and white. The thing that makes me most angry is that these people would never have the nerve to say these types of things out loud and in front of the whole classroom. They would not say these things because they know that they are rude. But when it came to the reaction between the white responses and the lack responses it was totally different. Both sides had equally rude and disrespectful things to say but for some reason it was worse when the white people did it. I find that totally wrong. Being a white person, I was totally offended by some of the comments saying that I‘m rich and privileged for no reason because I’m not. Everything I have and where I stand today, I’ve worked hard for on my own. To sit there and take these comments in was hard and a little bit upsetting because there was not the same reaction as when white people were sending the texts.
I feel like there are so many incidences nowadays that happen where people bring it back to race. Such as if they didn’t help pick up my books it was because I was white or if they didn’t hold the door open for me it’s because I’m black. I think that collectively this type of behavior should be blamed more on that type of person. I think that the reaction in class should have been the same for either black or white because when it comes down to it, what is rude is rude, period. I’ve grown up being taught to mind my manners and what the difference between what is right and wrong and in society today there’s a general consensus of what that is. If any of those texts sent were condescending or hurtful to other people, they should have received the same reaction no matter who sent them. I do understand that racism is still prevalent in the US today but I think at some point we need to focus on situations as a whole and not separate them into subjects of race. All in all I think that the way that a lot of the people in the class acted was embarrassing. We’re college students who couldn’t even handle a simple task.

By: niatDC

niatDC — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 23:48:06 +0000

It is true that when minorities make fun of white people that there isn't as much of an uproar as when whites say something to insult minorities. This is because white people don't take offense to the comments that minorities make. They either don't take it seriously or they just aren't offended. This is could be for several reasons. Maybe white people feel superior to minorities and don't care what they have to say. I think thats true, but a lot harsher than it sounds. I think its in the sense that they feel no matter what minorities say, they (white people) still have power. I feel as though it would be like a little brother insulting his older brother. The older brother doesn't care what his little brother says, and is not affected by it. But, when the older brother insults the little brother, then the younger brother is hurt by the insult. Its sad to think that the relationship between white and black people is the same as between an older and younger brother. I also feel that the comments that minorities make are more playful than insulting. One of the comments made was that white people are "benchwarmers". Which i dont think many white people took offense to. That was a comment made to get laughs, not to make people feel bad. When white people make comments that are "playful" in their opinion, it could be hurtful to minorities. One person made the comment that being white means being superior. That person might have thought it was a harmless joke but im sure that angered a lot of minorities. But i am black, so that did kinda piss me off and i was pretty offended that some people think like that. If i look at it from the white persons point of view, maybe the "benchwarmer" comment was offensive. I wouldn't know if it is, because i thought of it as a joke, but im sure some of the rude comments made by white people are thought of as jokes as well. I think this is a double standard, and there are a lot of those in today's society. I think that for the most part, the people in Penn State aren't racist, but i think they are ignorant to the racism that blacks have to endure every day. They don't realize that there are a lot of racists out there. They might be joking around but, to the black kid who see's that, he/she would think that person is a racist and feel less comfortable in his/her own skin. If a black person makes a rude comment, it doesn't effect white people because they are the vast majority and aren't going to feel uncomfortable in their own skin.

By: boffer

boffer — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 20:09:06 +0000

This was an interesting question to bring up. As i sat in class on the day when this question was brought up, i too did notice that some of the black people in the class did overreact to some of the questions. However after this happened, I didn't think that much of the subject. It just seems like commonplace in our society as well as within the classroom. After hearing this question proposed, i realized that its seems like black people overreact to many miniscule things. I understand why they act this way. It has become engraved in their culture. Because of the history of black people in the United States, one can surely assume that black people are very sensitive to race issues and can easily feel threatened from any comments that can be perceived in any way racist. It just so happens though that many times people make comments that can be maybe in some ambiguous. For me personally, I can see why some white people do not want get into race issues. How could white people feel in any way comfortable with such hostile conditions when it comes to race? I don't blame blacks for being as sensitive as they are, and how could anyone?
However we as a culture are growing when it comes to our relations with people of other races here in the United States. I think it would be a very beneficial thing if black people could work at becoming more understanding. When comments are made up on the board by black people that in any way poke fun at white people, it invokes no emotional response in me because i see no reason to comments serious that aren't directed at me personally nor do I know the person making the comments. But black seem to be offended by even the smallest remarks. I think that in time this sensitivity in black people will go down as they will see that most white people really aren't racist and that everything whites say isn't said to be racist. I'm not sure how to help people of color to understand that not everyone is out to get them. Just telling someone that you're not racist or that you don't mean anything by a comment doesn't seem to cut it. I think both races need to work together on this, and eventually black people will become more relaxed. After all times have certainly changed a huge amount of the last couple decades. And today in America we have many prominent people of color in our society such as our multicultural President Barack Obama. I think its time for people to move past the sensitivity and become more calm about racial issues.

By: debateorgohome

debateorgohome — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 18:16:53 +0000

I think that peoples minds are so focused on white racism towards black people, that they don’t realize the racism of black people towards white people. Although it’s not to as high of a degree, the road of racism is very much a two way street. Almost everyone would agree that the “N” word is extremely rude and inappropriate. If a white person ever said it to a black person, they would probably be lucky if they didn’t get beat up. However, I seem to hear black people saying it to other black people all the time and they have no problem with it. This doesn’t make sense to me. The word is either inappropriate to use or it’s not. It should not be okay for some people to use and for some to not. That right there is an example of racism, is it not?

By: debateorgohome

debateorgohome — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 18:16:34 +0000

This is a very interesting comment. I was thinking the same thing as you. First off, it was disappointing to see what people were writing, both black and white. Some of the comments were really extreme and I doubt that anyone would say it if people were going to know exactly who it came from. When some people texted a very racist comment about black people up on the screen, Sam stopped the class and talked about how you shouldn’t write something that you wouldn’t normally say if it was anonymous. Then when it was time for the people of color to send text messages to the screen, there were some racist comments about white people. I don’t remember Sam saying anything to the class after that.

By: kem5136

kem5136 — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 16:08:12 +0000

Of all the classes to miss, I, of course, missed the whole texting controversy. However, our discussion group talked about it a lot this week and I wish I had been there to experience this huge dilemma in our class. What is asked in this video is very similar to our discussion about the “rudeness” going both ways. Personally, if I had been there to see someone posting something with the “n-word” up there, I would have been very offended and uncomfortable. I understand everyone has their views but something so disrespectful and distasteful really offends me and also boggles my mind about how someone could use it so freely in this day in age.
While this comment was offensive, the point of race discussions also came up. If we are not uncomfortable, are we making any progress? Maybe not – but using racial slurs and blatant statements along the lines of white people are superior and black people are inferior. Why do people think this? What causes these beliefs? I obviously do not agree with these statements but I would like to know what makes peoples minds think like this. If we can start to understand each other or at least see each other’s points of view, then maybe we can make some progress.
Although I was obviously shocked and offended about the blatant racism against black people, I am white, and also was kind of offended about some of the things said against my race. I know there is no word that would offend me to the degree that the n-word would for a black person, though racist may come close. However, when talking about this issue, I overheard classmates saying that things such as “white people don’t deserve what they get” or that we have it easier. Yes, I may be white and I have not had to deal with the issue of my skin color much until now confronting issues in this class but by no means do I not deserve what I have worked so hard to accomplish, and I, too, have struggles. For the past sixteen years of my life, I have been working hard to obtain a great education, just like everyone at Penn State. However, with only about six weeks until graduation, I am jobless, and if it was my fault, I would attribute that to myself but I have seen people with worse grades, not as much involvement but with a parent that’s a banker or a CFA get my dream job because of who their parents were or their connections. It’s not racism, I know, but it’s certainly not fair. I know most black people don’t feel this way, just like most white people are not racist but I think both sides of the situation need to step back and look at what is being said before making overgeneralizations about one another.

By: katieladie43

katieladie43 — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 03:56:55 +0000

I think this question could go for way more then just the texting poll. I think this happens everywhere in the world. Black people do a lot of things white people would be punished for doing, yet they get away with it. Growing up in school through the years, I would see the black kids in my school getting away with talking without raising their hands, cutting in line, or even missing a class. They got away with harmless things; it wasn’t like they killed someone and got off with a warning. It is just strange that a white kid would talk when not called on and got a detention but a black kid did and got away with it. I didn’t care because I followed all the rules anyway so it wasn’t like it was against me, but it seemed to suck for the kids that did get in trouble for the same offense. It is strange because now that we are all grown up and suppose to be comfortable talking about race, we still don’t have the same regulations for every ethnicity. Sam even said he had a student who would play white people by cutting in line to see what they would say. No one says anything to them about their behavior because of something. I’m by no means a psychologist so I don’t know the real reason why no one stands up against black people, but it probably has something to do with the white guilt thing Sam talked about in class. We are afraid that the littlest confrontation is going to turn into something majorly offensive. We think things like what if they think I’m being racist, what if they think I’m only telling them or yelling at them only because they are black, or would I be saying this to them if they were white? All these questions and thoughts make us change our standards for them. If anything, if I were black, I would find this offensive. I would find that white people being afraid to stand up to me and tell me what is right as belittling. If we, as white people, don’t hold the same standards for all colors then we must think that black people are incapable of rising to the same standards as everyone else, so we let them do whatever they want. At some point if we really do want to abolish racism, then we need to learn to confront everyone in the same manner. The rules and behavior expectations should apply for all. To get back to the texting poll, I did notice that when it was the whites turn we were told to keep it appropriate and nice, but then the black people were able to write that whites were ignorant among other things and weren’t told anything. I don’t know why that happened but in a race relations class I think everyone should be held to the same standards.