I know that I am late in this blog already, but I've kept this topic in mind ever since we talked about it in class a couple of weeks ago. I didn't say anything in class even though I came close and as time goes on, hopefully I'll get to the point of being able to freely speak like some of the others in the class.
However, I get severely pissed off when people think that races should be the reason for a certain clique of someone. I have never been one who appreciates the segregation that we see in society each and everyday. I think it is beyond stupid that some people look down on others just because of the race that they are. I live in a little country town not to far from Greensboro, but its crazy to me that there are still people who are racist towards blacks, mexicans, Pakistanis, or any other. This is the 21st century and I just feel like we should be beyond stupid shit like that at this point in time.
I think the reason I am so hostile toward this is because my "clique" consists of not one in the same. My dorm room is referred to as the "melting pot" because of the diversity that we have. My roommate is a vietnamese guy named Brian, and my other suite mates are a black guy named Andre and a mixed guy named Cameron. Then you have me, the white guy. The thing that I love is that we are all thick as thieves so the fact that there aren't other groups of friends like ours bothers me. I don't think that we should expect anything of a person no matter what they look like on the outside and I think that's an issue covered in grade school.
I also think that most people accept society the way it is. They also seem to do things to enforce it which pretty much is where stereotyping causes a problem. I feel like most of the black guys especially in Charlotte do a poor job of portraying themselves as "hood" which is ultimately their own fault, but hell, if you walk around with pants around your ankles, a basketball in your hand, and a white tanktop on, you should proved a stereotype correct. Then with Asians, if they are always together talking about anime or always in the library studying, then that stereotype is proved to be correct. It's stupid that this is what society has come to is being to strong and standard in stereotyping people. But is it our fault in the end for being part of those people? Race doesn't have to present anyone in any sort of way. You present yourself in anyway that you want, and then you can indirectly determine the way that your race is viewed by society.
You've made some good points here, and I can see how your experience might run counter to some trends in our culture (after all, just look around the cafeteria and at our public school systems to see voluntary segregation in action). Here's one stick issue, though: you target particular behaviors/clothing styles/whatever as "stereotyped," which makes sense, but isn't it possible that those very things are actually part of group identity that have taken on negative connotations outside the group? Under this understanding, can no Asian study for fear of being taken to be studious? In other words, where does one draw the line between personal preference and stereotype?
ReplyDeleteI see what your saying, I guess that it is true that some people feel like they cannot alter the system. That however, is an issue of its own to me because if we cannot express our independence and right to be whatever type of person we want to be, then what do we truly stand for as Americans. Freedom is the one thing that we are promised and if you do not choose to take advantage of this and live the way you want to live your life then what are you doing? I guess it is up to us as people to draw our own line between personal preference and stereotype because I cannot alter the way someone else views Asians or blacks no matter how much I may want to. It is up to that individual whether they want to judge a book by its cover or to get to know somebody.
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