Post 5: Family History and Final Week

While it has been a busy final week, I think it prepared us to continue considering the variety of ethnic cultures in our world, and what it means to an individual in a minority.

First off, we can now see that the idea of racism can linger in the mind of an individual with minority status, and create psychological reasoning for why or why not they may not fit in. It also allows them to "feel inferior or different because they have come to believe, or internalized, the dominate society's message that they are different and do not belong."  Internalized racism can also make people question their own opinions on racism.  It is important to think about this new understanding of racism, for racism is not only in the hands of a powerful majority, but it is also a psychological problem that can make the holder feel victimized. 

This week has also led us to understand the individual advantages of being the majority in our own towns and communities.  For instance, I, a white male, live in Sandusky, Ohio.  I go to a school where I am part of a majority color.  I live in a neighborhood that is mostly made up of middle to upper class white individuals.  Where I live is not known as the "bad" part of town.  I could probably steal something and it wouldn't reflect back on my entire race, etc.  I may be advantaged because where my parents have gotten me, who are also working white individuals.

Regardless, we can now see these advantages, some commonly known as white privilege.    

The family history project was also a major part of our "class wrap up."  I truly admire this project because it makes us consider not only world and U.S. events in the past, but also how the cultural progression in society has affected my family on an individual basis.  It also makes us consider how people such as our parents were subject to racism in our communities.  For instance,  my mother attended k-8 private school, then went to a public high school. Her public school had many black and hispanic students.  Never before had she learned in their presence, or thought she would ever have to.  It's just because she never knew anything different.  

I guess I would like to end this post on a special note.  I think it is important that each of us take away from this class a few certain things.    First off, we now understand in greater depths how differently cultured individuals have made their way to present day society, and the struggles that are still present with equality based issues.   Also, hopefully we now understand that we were not all just placed here, on this land of America.  Rather, someone fought to come here, to settle here, and create a family in the hopes of prosperity on this land.   We are all the product of their efforts, struggles, and losses.  Lastly, while we are all created equal, perceptive  differences have gone from plain hindsight to something we "don't talk about anymore."  It is important not to forget the history of people on this land, and why some over others still hold unmentioned privileges. 

Post 4: Segregation, Sexual Violence, and Resistance

The movement to obtain rights and equality for black individuals was motivated by the unforgettable demonic treatment of these individuals.    To further explain the ways in which people were impacted, I will divide this post into three groups.   1. Sexual violence among black females.  2. Peaceful retaliations as described by Dr. King, and 3. The cause for forceful retaliations as described by Malcom X. 

African American women had for long been exploited sexually since the years of slavery.  It was common for slave-owners to take advantage of these woman using their position of power and authority to rape slave women, as described in our readings, even in the presence of their husbands and families.    Slave women were considered property to their masters, who used sexual violence to show their power and ownership, and to degrade women to a status of ownership.   

 Our readings later describe freedom as being "meaningless without ownership and control over one's body." This was said because as time moves on and slavery is abolished, black women were still made to feel inferior to the white male.  Countless occurrences of rape and other forms of sexual violence were made against these individuals often without consequence.  If a white man raped a black women, for instance, it would be common if the white man was deemed innocent, even in the court of law.  Had a black man raped a white women, the opposite would have occurred.  The black man would suffer public lynchings, beatings from police, and life sentences of prison and even execution. 

There was only one way for women to retaliate, and that was to speak out. Speaking out loud and clear against their offenders whether it be in the streets or the court of law had been the best way to "reject the stereotype used by white supremacists to justify economic and sexual exploitation, and to reaffirm their own humanity."  White some men spoke out in their protection, many remained silent for it was often dangerous to do so publicly.      Exploited women then put together councils and support groups to help spread the word and to gain support for equal rights, eventually pushing lawmakers to act justly in the creation of protective laws and while enforcing freedoms. 

At the same time, African Americans in general were fighting for their basic rights and freedoms.  It was Dr. Martin Luther King that described the social setting for blacks in his "Letter from Birmingham Jail." 

Dr. King was a leader for black rights, and was a face for many movements in which served to create equality amongst the different cultures.  In his letter, he describes that the clergymen deplore the demonstrations taking place in Birmingham, but fail to express concern for the conditions that brought such demonstrations. 

He later describes his tactics to the peaceful demonstrations in which he stood for, but were yet deemed as illegal in the state.  1. Collection of facts to determine whether injustices exist.  2. Negotiation.  3. Self Purification  and 4.  Direct Action.  

The direct action described by Dr. King was the peaceful means to demonstrate the need for black rights.  Workshops on non-violence were created which challenged equal rights advocates to accept blows without retaliation.  The direct action program also included economic withdrawal, hoping to pressure business merchants into accepting change.    Sit-ins and marches were the first step to fight for negotiations, for "tension" was nothing to be afraid of.    These actions were hoping to open the doors for negotiation.    

He supports his vision and his works by reflecting on the history of his people, which included sights of vicious mobs lynching brothers and sisters, hate-filled policemen acting viciously against this people, and seeing millions of black individuals smothering into poverty stricken living conditions.  King wanted to avoid violence in order to create peace.  

Malcom X had the same vision of peace and equality, but claimed that another step must be taken in order to claim the desired dreams.  It was "the Ballet or the Bullet" in which could give people the power for change.  

He encouraged his people that they were all in the same boat, "catching the same hell from the same man, who happens to be a white man."    He also explains that it is important to be anti-exploitation, and anti-degradation, but not anti-white.    X then began to encourage a more aggressive approach to gaining their deserved freedoms.  " It'll be liberty, or it'll be death.  The only difference about this kind of death--  is that it will be reciprocal."  "...It takes two to tango; when I go, you go."

Malcom X didn't encourage unjust fighting and the same torment caused by white supremacists.   By ballot he meant freedom, and by bullet, he meant using force to avoid murder in cold blood, and to protect black individuals from the extreme actions of hatred given by whites.  He was encouraging his people not to stand alone with weakness, but to use force against those that use force against you and others.  In his views, this was a louder and more evident way of gaining public attention, and a more humane way of standing up for personhood and ones rights.  

Post 3: Varying Immigration Experiences

America was commonly known as the land of opportunity, or sometimes simply, the land of better wages.  Though many different people came here for different reasons, with different motivations, and in fact experienced life differently after their settlement.  

For instance, Jewish immigrants came because they were commonly denoted as the "other" group of people back in their home land.  They were commonly a persecuted ethnic minority, and usually felt that they were not able to return to their homeland.    They lived in what was called the "Pale of the Settlement,"  a region that bordered the culture with boundaries with forces just beyond.    Their towns were dangerous, and violence was common in the form of pogroms, large bloody massacres.   

What brought their travels to America were hopes of freedom, and opportunity.  Children and families were among the newcomers, often residing in New York's lower east side.  But this place called home  was different than what they were used to.  New York was a fast paced place to live, "an American atmosphere of breakneck speed and breathless enterprise."    Their newly placed Shtetl in America was "packed" with people, as they were living in the same home with tens of others. Their trades in the city brought entrepreneurial spirit, commonly involving their sewing skills.  Others, took part in working at sweatshops, where work was "physically punishing."

Jewish immigrants were commonly kept from entering schools, such as Harvard, and were rarely promoted to the white collar job market.   Though, Jewish people commonly embraced the US possibilities and strived to assimilate and to become American.

Mexican migrators had a different story.   While they also saw America as the land of opportunity, they knew they hadn't do much to get their.   Passing the border was easy for many, and roads into the country were usually flooded with people moving for a better life.  

But was life really better?  The "Estados Unidos" was a land of wealth and prosperity,  and after all, the Mexicans were leaving a life driven by unfair land owners deemed as "robbers" and even dangers of violence after the Mexican Revolution.   Still, people had hopes to come to America and still be Mexican, not to assimilate to the American culture. 

Mexicans were commonly kept from many types of work in the US.   In our readings, one man describes how he could never be a carpenter.   In fact, Mexicans claimed only 5% of managerial occupations in the US while Anglos held nearly 30% in 1920.     Women also worked in steel packing houses, garment factories, and even automobile assembly plants, but most help positions in agriculture.   Land owners here believed they could take advantage of the Mexicans, one saying "The Mexican cannot be driven like he Negro, but anyone who knows how to manage them can get more work out of them than any other class."   

Strikes were common among Mexican workers, as the previously described attitude was a usual for bosses and managers.  Segregation was not only commonly in the workplace, but also throughout  life.   Mornings for students would begin as they traversed off into their Mexican only schools, in their Mexican towns within their "Mexican borders," (the barrio) very similiar to the way that they lived in Mexico.  But it is important to know that these people did not want to assimilate and to become American.  They desired to keep their own cultures and to keep their own community.   Mexican holidays were also continuing to be practiced, such as Mexican Independence Day.   Overall, these people were looked down upon by Anglos, and were commonly segregated from the varying US peoples.  

Post 2: Slavery, Society, and Racial Hierarchies

Slavery continues to be a huge part of American history, for it was initiated within the ideal America from the very beginning.   As the British settled upon these unspoken lands,  they immediately saw differences between themselves and natives, that includes but is not limited to cultural practices, means of living, and looks.   But we cannot ignore their persistence to live a certain way, and to fulfill a certain dream.   These differences were taken to heart, and were considered to resemble that less of a man.  

From that point on,  these culturally different natives were  looked down upon, transported, and denied basic freedoms of both property and prosperity.  We can see additional people looked at with the same manner, and that would be those who are black.  These individuals were then enslaved to a white owner, commonly to help yield crops or to do intensive labor for a white man.  

Later, the practices of slavery were noticed to be profitable, and appropriate for the work of agriculture.  Whites of different ethnicities and origins were then put to work, often denied many of the same basic freedoms as blacks.  A white slave was initially valued more than a black slave, but then some rights were given to these individuals because of their skin color, and they could eventually become a free people.  Whites had the right to bear arms to protect their great colony, giving many owners an uneasy feeling about their reliance on whites. Following this, was the desire for workers that were not limited by law.  Africans were then imported to fill the desires of many prosperous slave owners, and were given none of the basic rights of an American.  

All individuals were encouraged to turn against  a slave escaping for freedom.  Law required all people to report slaves on the run or in the hide out, and punishments for acting in any other way were harsh. 

To control these groups of enslaved individuals, laws and acts were passed that enforced an anti-education concept.   The only way power could be obtained by these people would have been basic rights, and basic knowledge, such as the skills to read and write.  Our readings repeat that an education is the one of the only means to an end of slavery, for power and force by numbers could be initiated most easily if common skills were owned. 

There was later a point in history where time stood still.  Slowly, some slave owners begin to feel guilt for the fact that they were enslaving people.  Readings show the once authoritarians coming to treat their slaves in a different way.  After all, happy slaves do better work.  Plus, the owner may not have to sleep so lightly in the night.. 

Social controls were a huge part of slavery and are why it was around for so many years.  When people work against each other, hold stereotypes, or are uneducated on truth, problems not only arise, but continue without resolution.  This continues today in both cultural and non cultural  means.    First, consider relationships.  We are moving to a day in age where homosexuality is becoming more acceptable.  But many people hold stereotypes against these types of people, while many state laws restrict them financially, through taxation, marriage, and basic rights of a married couple.      Consider our very own college majors.  How are students looked at if they choose one degree over another.  Compare the idea of being a business major to that of being an early childhood education major, or perhaps a music major.  We all hold ideas in our minds of what these types of people are like who choose these things.

Certainly, these examples are far from those in which demonstrate social controls and constraints in the slavery period.  But notice the way people perceive each other in fallacious ways, and consider how we judge others today in the same way that people judged others long ago. 

 

Entry 1: The "Savage" Nature of Native American Cultures and Societies

While the British were settling and colonizing the Americas, they had an overall ideal, or view of the way they thought life should be.  It included people that looked like them, that desired order, such as an organized colony of farming, and those that are educated, and "work" for a living.  Their idea of work is commonly believed to be a type that could truly support a family ( in their opinion) such as farming, manufacturing, and selling and trading.   As the British began settling the lands of the Americas, they saw a type of life that was unlike the type that they desired.  

To the British, the Indians demonstrated a life of "savagery."  Referred to as "exhibits," these Indian individuals supposedly lived a barbarous life of killing and cannibalism.  This initial impression was false, showing that the invaders  had not considered a life other than the one they had wanted, and nor was any other type of life acceptable.   

"...not being content only to kill and take away life, but to torment men  in the most bloody manner, killing some alive with the shells of fishes, cutting off the members and..."

The above statement was part of the viewpoint obtained of the initial settlers amongst the Indian lands.  It also explains the lack of knowledge that the British truly had about the Indians, for these harsh thoughts were created, to support their initial intent of overtaking their lands.   Such embellishing thoughts were, in my opinion, only created to rationalize their upcoming deeds. 

The stereotyping continues, as the British overcome much of the land, and in time hope to have "peace" with this dementing group of people.  Their typical idea of peace, though, was not far from their original intent.  Even Jefferson works towards the colonization of the Indian people,  making it dire that they live the new way of the land.  But the end of todays reading shows a further intent, and that is to simply misplace the Indian people, and to rid them from the life of the newly settled. 

All in all, the Indians were looked at as an inferior type of creature.  They were different people, lived differently, and supported each other with different means.  This "savage" way of life, hunting, "starving," and reliance of nature was undesired and un-accepted, and the Indian desires to not conform was a reason to classify this type of people as something "else."

This initial viewpoint of black, differently cultured individuals from the past time is certainly different today, as the US is a widely diversified and cultural place.  But what we do see in popular culture is a still a difference from those of a different decent.   Most commonly, we as people classify people as black or white, as if a person is one or the other, or as if there are people of no other culture or background.  What could the reason we do this, be?   Is it simply because of a color contrast amongst people, or is there an underlying reason that was brought up through generations that was commonly held in the times of invasion and settlement?  Obviously, we as people hopefully do not stereotype others in this way, but has the initial concept risen through generations?   

While the past discrepancies were supposedly based on differences of living culture, todays are more-so based on color.  We often choose to see people as white or black, one or the another, and fail to advise that culture is not like that.  Most of us are loaded with differing cultures, originations, and pasts, and we fail to recognize these differences because minor outer differences,  color.  This happened just the same, in the past.  Rather than people being people, minor differences changed the way they were perceived.