race

After today's class I have a lot to say.  First of all, I don't know if anyone else noticed, but the comments in class were even racist.  I do not want to step on anyone's toes, but someone mentioned that if a black man is wearing Lacoste rather than Ecko that they are more "white".  That is stereotyping both black and white.  I'm "white" and I don't wear Lacoste.  Does that mean that I am not as white as someone who does?  Another person said that A lot of Saint Mary's girls go through college without taking a women's study or multicultural course and therefore they go on believing the racist thoughts that have been passed down from generations.  She even mentioned science and math majors.  I'm a science major, does that mean that if my family passed on racist thoughts to me that I will blindly believe them?

I guess my point on all of this is that a lot of racism is unconscious.  We started class talking about how everyone is a little bit racist and I would just like to give my opinion as to why that is.  There was a social psych research article published (this weekend I will try to find it on PsychInfo) about racist and the subconscious.  It was a study done where many participants (who were considered "not racist" by a psych test, were put in a situation where two children seemed to be in danger.  One child was of the participant's heritage and the other was not.  They person had time to save one child, and every time, the participant chose the to save the child of the same heritage as he or she.  

The reasoning for this is as human beings, we have a desire to pass our genes on.  This is why we have a sex drive, etc.  So, to protect our genes, we most closely relate to those who have similar genes as us.  We may not be "racist", but we all have a unconscious desire to pass on our genes.

On another note, everyone stereotypes.  We judge people on the way they dress, the way they speak, the way they act.  It also may be a subconscious thing, and it may not be bad.  If someone is dressed nicely at a job interview, the employer may feel that the person takes care of their body, is organized and smart when in reality the person may just like fashion or even be a little materialistic.  

I'm just starting to ramble now, but I guess my point is that yes, we all categorize people.  That is how our brains work.  And, yes, we are all a little bit racist, even if it is not the classic definition of racist.  

classroom

I left class today truly debating whether or not it is ok for a female white professor to teach a mostly white class African American studies.  I came to a realization that just because a white female professor can not identify on the same level as a black female professor could, maybe the fact that she is white teaching to other whites is better.  If a black professor was teaching African American studies to a primarily white classroom, would it really give the same effect as a white person?  No.  Having a white professor may actually be better for the students.  As someone said in class, it was hard to talk to a male professor teaching women's studies to females.  However, if that male was teaching to other males, wouldn't it be beneficial for the sole purpose that those students could relate to the professor better?  Granted, the professor does not have personal experience of the oppression the group they are teaching about has experienced, but neither do most of the students.  In that case, they can learn together without personal experience to try to understand the history without feeling held back from speaking their minds.