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| "Past Times" (1997) by Kerry James Marshall |
115. According to Tversky, classification reinforces stereotypes, so "If you want to weaken some stereotype, eliminate the classification" (115).
Is this an implicit argument against affirmative action? Would a decision to eliminate discussion of racial or gender classifications weaken stereotypes about the people who are classified in particular ways by society today? Or might it make it more difficult to challenge existing prejudices? For example, if we refuse to talk about race with friends and family, are we empowering racism or defusing it?
I think this a very interesting topic especially with where the world stands right now. If we as an individual, family, or racial group refuse to talk about something does not mean that it has stopped. Our actions are significantly stronger, and can be a truer meaning than what words say. We can talk the talk, but we often fail to walk the walk. I may not be public about my opinions, and will almost never post anything on social media, but that does not mean I am not doing my part to try and change the worlds opinion. The only way we can change is to start with ourselves and what we do and not what we say. I can say I am for ending racism, but if I don't go out into the community and talk with the people out there and try to figure out and help them with they need then you aren't really doing much.
ReplyDeleteI think that if we don't say anything about a problem, it isn't helping the problem. If you aren't helping a situation, there is a very good chance that you're hurting it. Refusing to talk about racism and social prejudices with family and friends can not only empower racism, but it could mean that whoever is refusing to talk about racism is okay with it. Challenging racism and learning about how to defuse it start by talking about it.
ReplyDeleteTim,
DeleteI completely agree. A lot of people think that if they don’t engage with racist people that it helps to diffuse the situation, but as you said, oftentimes it makes it worse. I’ve been in situations where someone has said a racial slur to me and no one around says anything. I truly think that doing nothing about racism contributes to racism. I think this quote by Desmond Tutu fits how I feel about the post, “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.”
Delanie Seals
Except for in fringe circumstances, refusing to talk about a subject or idea does not make the subject go away. We should be able to freely discuss these topics, and everything should be open to criticism. However, it’s also true at the other end of the extreme. Too much discussion about a topic can also be damaging, especially to other topics that may not have a light shone on them. As Oscar Wilde said, “Everything in moderation, including moderation.”
ReplyDeleteChoosing to not talk about certain issues for fear of reinforcing differences feels wrong to me. A well known quote by Desmond Tutu states “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor”. By staying quiet and not taking the time to educate ourselves and others we choose to allow oppression to continue. Our society places a large deal of importance on racial identity so to ask people to now ignore that would be difficult. Not only that, but Tversky seems to believe it is human nature to classify and categorize things.
ReplyDelete-Dixie Redman
Desmond Tutu's words are quite harrowing and your analysis is spot on! No one ever solved problems by pretending that they did not exist or refusing to talk about them. We cannot undo the human desire to classify in a day or even a lifetime, as it would take many generations to eradicate the classification urge. Consequently, we must address racial issues head on instead of pushing them to the side in favor of "avoiding classification" and letting the cycle of injustice continue.
DeleteThis is an implicit argument against affirmative action. If you eliminate the conversation involving race or gender, it can in fact destroy stereotypes. That being said, not everyone will stop immediately. After all, this is a learned trait, not an inherited trait. If a child’s parents are racist, that child is more likely to be racist because of the actions they observe. It’s like the saying, “Monkey see, monkey do.” Children learn by observing the actions of others who are older than them. As a society, we should strive to have our children learn to be better than us. That most likely won’t happen due to parents refusing to change their ways to fit the world as it is now.
ReplyDeleteI personally believe that going "color blind" is the right way to approach racism, even though it might seem like a good idea to everyone because it would seemingly be a quick fix. The fact behind someone not seeing the color of someone's skin is realistically absurd. So many cultural values and views would be lost. Stereotypes are there for a reason, as most of the stereotypes that are heard are actually most-likely true. Whether that is a hard pill to swallow or not, there can be a different approach to solving racism, and that is to simply love one another. According to Colossians 3:14 in the Holy Bible, we are to put love above all characteristics because it binds everything together in perfect harmony. We live in a substantially broken world, so it is far easier said than done. In addition, racism can also be blown out of proportion with the use of more racism. What I mean by this is that when there are racist comments said, people try to fight fire with fire, meaning that they try to solve the problem by being racist right back. The fact that we live in a soft society nowadays is also a big factor. In reality, racism will never disappear, and that needs to be accepted. But, it can be greatly limited by people accepting races for who they are.
ReplyDelete