Facebook Study- Profile Analysis

The facebook that I studied was a white male around the age of 19. His facebook listed him as interested in women along with a single relationship status. Already, by looking at the first couple lines of the facebook page, you know that he is interested in women and is heterosexual. His facebook read of looking for a relationship, friendship, and random play. His political views are shown as conservative. His facebook and mine have 15 mutual friends in common. He has 169 friends from his college being Ashland University. Six of his friends from his school looked to be African American descent, only by me looking at the pictures, the rest were white or white descent. His activities are listed as wrestling, working out, reading, fishing, doing wheelies on his bike, and camping. Already someone could conclude that he is a competitive, athletic man who loves doing male activities. His music interest includes tenacious D, 50 Cent, The Game, Snoop Dogg, etc. It seems that he is interested in rap music or hip-hop. His groups include Stop Hilary Clinton: (One million Strong AGAINST Hilary), and the group slogan is “To develop a network of online volunteers to stop Hillary Clinton from becoming President!” There are 144,827 members in the group. His ABOUT ME states “I love wrestling, hanging out with my friends and having a good time. I’m down for just about anything, Except for gay sex. I ♥Brady Quinn, Grady Sizemore, Eric Wedge, and PRONK. I do work son.” Here we see that he is racial against homophobic. From the looks of his facebook, he seems to be more middle class All- American boy. He looks the exact ways we researched during the Abercrombie and Fitch assignment. He is wearing mostly the same clothes as their company makes.

Tara McPherson “I’ll Tale My Stand in Dixie-Net”

In Tara McPherson’s article “I’ll Take My Stand in Dixie-Net: White Guys, the South, and Cyberspace” she confronts websites such as Dixie-Net, The Confederate Network, and The Heritage Preservation Association on their acts of racism through cyberspace. McPherson writes of how she discovered websites such as these through searching museum when finding a link for the Confederate Embassy in Washington D.C. She then followed the neo-Confederate trail through cyberspace. As she described it was a way of “prosthetic living” and “rapid alterations of identity”. Cyber communities such as the neo-Confederates were making reference to place which in time made reference to race and racism. These were the identities of Southern masculinity through the language of the civil rights struggle. Many people questioned McPherson’s research and wondered how she could stand all of the investigations on such racist people. When she was exploring the Virtual Dixie, the websites primarily labeled their meaning behind “preserving Southern heritage” and often referred themselves to “Southern Nationalist” or “Southrons”. Many of them even practiced in southern heritage groups offline. They referred to “heritage violations” as attempts to ban or remove symbols of Confederacy and especially confederate flags. Many of these sites advocated Southern separatism or nationalism, sometimes through secession. They also made clear the vision of a “new confederacy” and a virtual secession at precisely the moment that Black Americans are moving to the South in greater numbers than they are leaving it for the first time since the civil war. This virtual battle still exists and is being fought to defend a very specific Southern heritage that is predominantly white. Whiteness itself is not mentioned in these websites, Anglo, Celtic and European are. McPherson writes that “these men struggle to find ways of securing the meaning of whiteness”. According to McPherson, to her the definition of Southern Heritage is conservative, white and mostly male.
I think McPherson describes why these cyberspace groups are so popular is because they are completely hidden from society. Unless you are specifically searching for rebel groups such as these, the chances of you running into something so racial as these websites is almost impossible. It gives the advocates of these websites, a way to show their racism without the possibility of someone seeing it. There is no one telling the creators or users of the cyberspaces to quit what they are doing. There is absolutely no stopping the things that are done on the internet.

"Why I Hate Abercrombie and Fitch"

In this very controversial article entitled “Why I Hate Abercrombie and Fitch” written by Dwight McBride, he discusses the real meaning behind Abercrombie and Fitch and how they produce such “brands” instead of products. McBride makes the claim that Abercrombie is only aimed toward white male and female middle class students between the ages of 18-22. He gives a brief summary on the history of the company and how it was originally created for outfitters of the “rich, famous and powerful” (63). It had become the largest sporting goods store in the world in 1917. Teddy Roosevelt even shopped there for his trips to the Amazon as well as Robert Peary’s famous trip to the North Pole. McBride notes that even in its earliest years, the label was geared toward high end white men and the life of the leisure classes. Now within the 20th century, their clothes are attracted to the “collegiate” educational lifestyle. McBride then discusses the “Look Book” in which the guidelines and rules of having “The A&F Look” are provided. They want their employees to look as “natural” as they can. The “All-American” and “classic” look is what they think their look means. He makes the argument of how Native Americans have far more historic claim is not the image their going for. This is where Abercrombie is making the term Americans with “whiteness” and America with “white”. McBride writes of the rules and guidelines upon having the “look”. No long gold chains, no piercing except ears, and appropriate undergarments. Here, Abercrombie codes race and class without having to name it (71). McBride also notes that all the employees working in the front of the store are white and the ones that work in the back of the store not being seen are black.

McBride then interviews multiple male workers of Abercrombie and their reason for leaving. They gave the behind the seen situations where the “ones with the look” were hired and the ones without were not. He claims that Abercrombie has complete racist thinking (86). He ends with the note that people “buy Abercrombie to purchase a membership into a lifestyle” (86).

McBride clearly relates to Johnson and his opinion of white dominance. Here Abercrombie is directed towards that white all American educated male and female and nothing else.

Takaki Ch. 12 "El Norte"

In Chapter 12 of Takaki’s book “A Different Mirror” he discusses the history of the Mexicans and their immigration into America. The chapter is entitles “El Norte” which translates to The North. Takaki discusses the struggles that Mexico was entering and the Civil War that was at hand. During this tough time in Mexico, nearly half a million Mexicans crossed the border into something in which people described as “the wonderful estados unidos” (312). Takaki emphasizes the strong nationality the Mexicans had towards Mexico and how they were only traveling to America for their own protection and would soon return. The waiting soon stretched into years. The civil war was devastating and everything in Mexico was being shutdown. This is what accelerated the movement to the U.S. One thing that triggered the Mexicans was also the railroad and the development of transportation. Mexicans were being stuffed in the train cars and crossing the boarder. Mexicans were now the primary work force in the construction industry. Some Mexican women even were given domestic jobs like the Irish except they did not generally work on a live-in basis. The Mexicans even migrated north to Illinois, Michigan and Pennsylvania. People liked the Mexican workers because they were seen as docile, patient, orderly in camp, obedient and cheap (320). Most Mexicans however, worked in agriculture. Land owners then began discouraging them to owning cars and tried to use debt to keep them from leaving. Some then began to go on strike when land owners wanted to lower their wages. To break the strike, employers dumped their belongings on the highway and evicted them from their camps. The Mexicans soon found out that integration did not mean equality. Sometimes they were even considered colored people and had to obey by the rules of the Negroes. The Mexicans fought for their education for their children and were told that they can go to school but to make sure they know that they will never be as “good as a white man” (327). They were told that educated Mexicans were the hardest to handle. The teachers were fighting for the learning of the Mexican children but the superintendent and the school board wouldn’t have it. One Mexican father in specific stated “I would rather die than take my children out of school” (329). At this time Mexicans were not only entering the country in great numbers but also had a very rapid birthrate. Clearly race was being used as a weapon by the American Federation of Labor; Mexicans not only constituted “cheap labor” but were regarded as incapable of becoming fully American.

Takaki makes a clear relation to the immigration of the Mexicans from those of the Japanese and the Irish. It is almost the exact some tactics the whites used on the Irish that they used on the Mexicans, considering them to be on the same status level as the blacks. But why did they see the Mexicans as being better for physical working environments than any other nationality? The difference is compared to maybe the Irish is that the Mexicans had somewhere to go back to if they needed to. The Irish or the Japanese would have a more difficult time returning home.

Video-3rd installment of “The Power of an Illusion”

In this 3rd installment of “The Power of an Illusion” they take a more recent look at racism in the United States. This video includes World War 2 and is mainly within the past 50. They focused more on how race is mostly a difference in opportunity and not actual cultural distinctions. Immigrants came seeking a greater economic standing, freedom and opportunities for their families. They end up working the hardest jobs and getting paid the least. This was seen as “racial consequence” or even “national consequences”. They mention a situation in Atlanta where a Jew was pulled from jail and hung for killing a white girl. This is where the question of whether Jews were considered “white” and could possibly Europeans become white when moving to America? Only free “white” immigrants were given the right to vote such as the Irish, French and others. If you were considered white in America, you would gain the full rewards. The video mentions how in different parts of the country you could be considered white or a mix of both African and American or Japanese and American. In one state if you were 1/8 Ancestry of black you were considered black and 1/16 in another state. You could literally go from state to state and completely change race. Another instance was given of a man in 1922 who was of foreign descent and was born in America if he could become a “natural citizen”. He was determined to be granted this from the Supreme Court. He did everything that was considered “white”; spoke English, went to church. The Supreme Court denied his grant to be American in claiming that he was not Caucasian and according to science he was not white. Not all immigrants were granted citizenship and their land was taken from them and given to whites. In 1924 the Johnson Reed Immigration Act was put into play. This completely cut immigration from eastern to southern Europe. In 1930 the FHA was created giving loans to average Americans to buy housed and own land. They had to pat 50% of the sale price up-front. But the presence of colored families would depreciate the value of the surrounding homes. Most of these mortgages went to suburban whites. Between 1934 and 1961, 120 billion dollars in housing was deled out, less than 2% was for non-whites. So in reality the G.I. Bill was only available to certain people. In 1968 there was the Free Housing Act in which blacks moved into white communities by numbers. The technique was called “blockbusting” when whites’ homes were resold to blacks for inflated prices. This was the start of the white people leaving and settling down in other communities. The tax raised and the schools struggled. This was the first initial key to segregation.
This movie related to Brodkin when he talks about the G.I. Bill and how it affected only certain people such as the middle class whites. It relates to the sections of land and how it was divided among different races and incomes such as the red zone and the green zone. It completely shut the blacks out of their benefits from the G.I.

Takaki Ch. 6 “Emigrants from Erin”

In Takaki Ch. 6, he discusses the struggles of the Irish and England’s takeover of their land. Between 1815 and 1920 five and a half million Irish emigrated to America. The English took over 14 percent and made their land into room for their cattle, forcing the Irish to migrate to America. They were completely poverty stricken by the British colonization. Their agriculture was completely taken over by cattle. There was extremely less work for the cattle than the crops. Religion was also changed in Ireland; they were changed from Protestants to Catholic. The Irish were strictly living off their potato crops. Suddenly a little known fungus appeared and changed the history of the Irish. The disease destroyed about 40 percent of the potato crops in 1845. The disease began to return every year. This time period then became to be called the “Great Famine”. During this time thousands of families were evicted from their homes. The British also exported the most cattle that could have fed half of the Irish community. Their reason for coming to American was for survival, or they would have to suffer destitution and death. When they came to America they were given jobs as the manual laborers; railway construction, factories, mining. The Irish were seen as nothing but “dogs…despised and kicked around” (147). They were pitted against other laborers of different races such as the Chinese and the Japanese. Irish then found themselves being compared to blacks. Sometimes the immigrants were even described as “Irish niggers” (150). In Ireland, the slaves to the British were the Irish and this is the same as the Africans were to the Americans. Takaki then mentions how after a while, the Irish began to try to consider themselves to be white and for their whiteness. The Irish then began to degrade against the blacks. In backlash, the blacks referred to the Irish man as “white niggers” (153). They claimed that the Irish were taking the jobs away from them. Takaki then mentions the difference between domestic work and factory work. The domestic workers were being paid more and were more stable working for families. The industrial workers were having more dangerous jobs that the masters did not want their slaves doing. Takaki then ends the chapter on the strategy the Irish had coming to America. They worked harder to find their children a great education. They mostly settled within the cities along with being highly unionized in the factories. They were also eligible for citizenship and clearly already spoke English. The Irish even possessed suffrage unlike the blacks.
There was a relationship between the Irish and the blacks and Takaki makes a clear distinction between that in this chapter. There was obviously the huge competition between them and the Irish were given the more dangerous jobs. Both groups were considered the lowest in the country. But the Irish were trying to capitalize themselves on their “whiteness”.

"A Challenge to Democracy" Short Film

During the troubles in Japan, the Japanese were sent to America to relocation centers like barricades. There were set up like camps with a shared bathhouse and laundry building. The barricades were guarded by military police and a metal fence. They were given one room mattresses, a stove, light bulb, and pots and pans. To eat, 300 Japanese ate in a mess hall. The food they were given was nourishing but very “simple”. They were given a maximum of 45 cents per person per day for food. The Japanese were given Oriental dishes for them and American dishes for the Americans. They lived in the desert and there was desert growth for land. The land had to be cleared before farming started to make their own food. Half of people in the relocation center were farm people. The food productions of the workers meant “self support” for the relocation centers. If they were not a farmer they did truck cares operations, roads maintain and water pipes, and clearing of trees for heating and construction. The workers were given 12 dollars per month for beginners, 16 for most who had been there and 19 for professionals such as doctors and most Caucasians. They were also given small allowance for clothes. There were stores for clothing, toilet articles and beauty parlors. The stores and schools met the standards for the state. Most of the school teachers were Caucasians, and few were Japanese. Vocational school was given when students were enrolled in high school. They learned types of trade, mechanical and farming. Medical care was supervised by Caucasians, but mostly done by Japanese. They had a form of community self government and if you were 18 or older you could vote. There was even a judicial system within the camp. Base ball and soft ball was played on the weekends along with touch football. Most attended Sunday church services because there was no restriction on religion in the centers.
The whole theme to this short film is that the life of these people was NOT NORMAL and the home life was disruptive. Americanism was trying to be taught to the Japanese. Near the end of the film the government decided the relocation centers should be no longer than necessary. Permanent locations were given so their labor can help win the war and taxes will be lower for Americans. Only ones who were loyal to America were allowed to leave the relocation center.
Those who weren’t loyal had to live in one center. At the end of the film it only gave examples of successful Japanese who were released and didn’t give conclusion to the ones who weren’t. It made it seem as the Japanese were living a perfect life here in America at the time of the war and this was not the truth. Almost half of the Japanese were in part of the war. Hundreds of them volunteered while in the relocation centers. The movie made it seem like the Japanese were fighting for American because they knew what was going on in Japan.
This shows no sign of complete democracy in America at his time. They were treated as animals being surrounded by fences and military. This relates to Johnson completely by the Caucasians having complete control of the “camp” and in complete supervision. They were given the power of the Japanese. This also is in great comparison to Chapter 10 of Takaki and how the Japanese were treated in Hawaii. They were underpaid, overworked and had to create their own place of culture in America.

Takaki Ch. 10 Pacific Crossings

In “A Different Mirror” in Chapter 10, Takaki describes the Japanese and other Asian cultures and their migration to Hawaii and eventually part of America. Takaki writes about the reasons for the Japanese in specific to why they came to America. Their frustration with the taxes in Japan and economic hardship for farmers is what made them pursue a “new world” the most. Initially the immigrants from Japan were all men, but what was significant was also the number or women crossing the seas. This is what made them different then the Chinese. The women immigrants from Japan were allowed entry because they were considered “family members” (248). This is where Takaki starts to describe the term “picture bride”. The women coming to America were given this term if they were leaving Japan to be married. This was a form of arranged marriages and the ones engaged were only allowed pictures of each other until the day they would meet. Whether the Japanese woman was to go to America depended on which son she married within the Japanese family. If she were to marry the first son, she would stay in Japan where he would tend to his parents and take over the inheritance. If she were to marry the second son, this is where she would move to America because he would be the one to leave the family and find employment. This is around the time when thousands of Japanese were relocating to Hawaii. The Japanese then settled within the sugarcane business and farming. The management control decided to “Keep a variety of laborers, that is different nationalities, and thus prevent any concerted action incase of strikes, for there are few, if any cases of Japs, Chinese, and Portuguese entering strike as a unit.” (252). By going this, the management of the crops will have no problem with being overthrown because those nations despised one another. They wanted to “diversify and discipline the labor.”

Takaki then graphically describes the awful work conditions and how they workforce were living in dormitories and worked from dusk till dawn. The field work was punishing and brutal. The workers were never even called by their name, they were given numbers. The Japanese then began to protest. They organized themselves into “blood unions” (258). The Japanese and the Filipinos had come together and Takaki describes it as the “Hawaiian version of the ‘giddy multitude’.” (260) Planters then granted them equal pay and tried to improve their living situations knowing that the workers who are married and have families are the ones who work the best. The workers were now happy and began to plant their roots in Hawaii, but they did not want their children to live the same lives as they did so they pushed the dream of an education. The Japanese thought if you were Japanese and you had a great education the Americans would accept you. But this was not the case. Takaki concluded with the racial segregation of Asians, specifically Japanese descent and how they were never accepted. People in America THOUGHT that racism were only between the blacks, but it was with the Japanese as well. Takaki ended with the sentence “but their hope to be both Japanese and American would be violently shattered on a December morning in 1941.”

The racism between blacks and whites was happening all over again, but this time it was with the Japanese and the whites. Takaki makes great distinction between the African Americans and the Japanese and how they were both treated by the Caucasians.

Ethic Notions-Movie

As a class the other day we watched a documentary entitled “Ethnic Notions”. This film was portraying the images of African Americans throughout the 1900’s. Jim Crow, Zip Coon, Sambo, the Mammy, the pickaninny, were all used as examples and are all popular culture figures from our past. Except that these exaggerated images were racial stereotypes whose legacy has been the systematic political and social repression of Black Americans. Ethnic Notions traces the history of these figures in the media and their awful hidden messages that blacks were considered ugly, savage, happy servants, and lazy. Messages which were often contradictory suited to the political climate of the time. For instance, during the years of slavery, blacks were portrayed as happy servants, but during reconstruction, they suddenly became “animalistic brutes”. Children were seen as animalistic due to their “nappy” hair and being undressed properly. Blacks were portrayed as being in uniform with a smile as they were all happy. They were happy to serve others and happy to be confined and to forget about their own needs, only the needs of their masters. The movie included many historical stills, film footage, songs, and gift shop trinkets to make his stereotype seem so surreal. Most of us think that because we went to college, we have a basic understanding of the history of racial injustice. It was noted in the movie that the United States was the country that made the LEAST progress in the world. Everyone grew up playing Parkers Brothers board games. Just before we came along, people were playing a Parkers Brothers game called "Ten Little Niggers." No one new the actual impact and how things have really never changed.

Takaki Ch3 Discussion Question

Jefferson at one time owned up to 267 slaves in 1822, but then in his notes mentioned the recommendation of the gradual abolition of slavery. What would make a man as we see of great discovery and making of our country become so contradictory? Why did Jefferson simply own 267 and then start to feel guilty for the way his slaves were treated and the liberty they were not given?

Takaki Ch. 3

Chapter 3 of Takaki’s book entitled A Different Mirror, he focuses on the beginnings of slavery in the early colonies. Takaki makes many descriptions on the beginning of slavery that many people never even recognized. Although there were Africans in the U.S. during its start much of the labor was actually done by white servants. He made it very clear how they were the exact same but treated very differently. The white servants and the blacks would even join together and try to escape. If you where caught, the whites would be punished with extra time to serve their master, but the blacks were served with time forever. They were never to become free for what they did. Their children would even have to be born into slavery, even if they were not permitted to have children. Takaki even mentions the incidents where the white servants and the blacks would so called “laying together” or showing emotion towards one another. Another issue that Takaki discusses is during this time was a difference of religion. Before, Africans were thought to be savages and believed in no religion. But, once they became Christians, laws had to be passed to separate race from religion. Takaki explains how whites would blame the black slaves in order to keep the white race in charge. He noted that class was one of the major issues facing the colonist. Takaki also addresses the struggles the white servants went through once they were granted freedom. They had a really hard time earning the land they were promised. To the farmers and land owners, slaves were a good way to solve the class problem because they were indentured to the whites and where there to serve them. This is what gave them the superiority.
Takaki also portrays Jefferson in two different lights. He shows how many slaves he actually owned in contrast to the way he was feeling about slavery. He then gave the white man right to own land and this would keep the slaves below the white man. Jefferson at one time owned up to 267 slaves in 1822, but then in his notes mentioned the recommendation of the gradual abolition of slavery. What would make a man as we see of great discovery and making of our country become so contradictory? Why did Jefferson simply own 267 and then start to feel guilty for the way his slaves were treated and the liberty they were not given?

Takaki Ch. 2 “Drawing the Color Line”

In Chapter 2 of Takaki’s book “A Different Mirror”, Zinn illustrates the history of slavery in the United States and how you were viewed if you were a slave. He deeply describes the desperation of the starving and clueless settlers and how they needed something more. They then took control of the desperate and helpless Africans and used powerful incentive of profit for the common slave trader and farmer. Zinn also describes the temptation of the superior status for the white man and the elaborate controls against the ones who escaped and rebelled. He described this as the “Legal and social punishment of black and white collaboration”. He deeply argues the issue that these types of culture and ways of life are simply historical and not something to be considered natural. He also makes a statement that these kinds of actions for race to make slave of another, was warranted by someone of high status.

Zinn writes numerous occasions where the white man and the black servants actually rebelled to gain their freedom together as one. This brought constant fear among the white planters and slave owners. Were all people of this day and age convinced that slaves were something natural to be doing to another human being? Or were the people of the colonies being told this one specific thing and to obey this? I think this is why some of the whites living in the colonies turned against everyone to help the poor slaves. The slaveholders and planters tried everything to keep the power and wealth where it was. By this time the Africans were giving themselves hope that one day they will not have to live the lives they were currently living.

You often hear the term that “history repeats itself” and I think that is what Zinn is saying in regards to things such as these being historical and not natural. Well of course it is not natural! I’m not sure that everyday you will run into someone and they will tell you that they wish they owned a slave to do all their busy work. Well if history seems to shape who we are today, then we must hope that something such as this will not be in our future. We are still constantly challenged with the issue of racism even though the actions described in this reading took place over 300 years ago.

Johnson Ch. 8

In Chapter 8 of Johnsons book PPD, he discusses the technique called “Getting off the Hook” that many people in society use to deny or resist the existence of racism or sexism or any other oppressed problem. Johnson points out different techniques people use to avoid the issue. At the end of the chapter, Johnson concludes that by staying “off the hook” people will continue to distance themselves from the other. Men will distance themselves from women, whites from color, heterosexual from lesbians or gay men, and the non-disabled from the disabled. Off the hook, you live in illusion denial as if you can choose whether or not to be involved in the life of society and the consequences it produces.

Johnson gives great examples and reasons why people will try to get off the hook. The first way to get off the hook is to just simply deny that it exist entirely saying something like “Racism and sexism used to be issues but they aren’t anymore” (Pg. 108). Another way that people try to get off the hook is by blaming the victim for that specific situation. Another way that Johnson discusses is calling it something else. By doing this, you’re creating the appearance of being in touch with reality and not having to do something about it. The final way in which Johnson writes is when people say that the situation is better this way. People are simply assuming that the groups prefer to live one way. Many would assume that African Americans would rather live with people of their color; which in a study conducted it was found that blacks would rather live in integrated neighborhoods. By using all of these common techniques, many people are able to get away of the touchy subject.

This is an everyday thing for society. Most of the time when people use these tactics, they are completely oblivious to the hidden meaning. It will be extremely difficult for people to accept that they use these terms to simply avoid the topic. It is almost guaranteed that every single individual uses one of these techniques everyday. Slowly, everyone will come together with their senses and realize what is happening. When slaves were brought over and used here in the United States, many believed that this was ordinary. We have now changed how we look at things like this. Some progress will be made, but I believe not anytime soon.

Johnson Ch. 7

In Chapter 7 of PPD, Johnson addresses the issue of how systems of privilege work in our society. He takes systems in which are discriminated against and directly compares them to ones of privilege. Johnson distinctly compares the lady prime minister of Great Britain and how she was labeled as “The Iron Lady” which resembles her strength as a leader. With a strong man leader, no one would start to call him “The Iron Man” because his power would be assumed by society. For Margaret Thatcher, she was placed with more pressure to succeed in fulfilling the country than a man would. Johnson concludes with the fact that people of privilege live in a society which is normally dominated by whites, white identified, and even white centered. Johnson states that individuals are scared do attempt something different or out of the ordinary, and instead they do nothing and continue to let racism grow in our county.
Johnson includes one particular argument in this chapter which I think is one of the most shocking. Johnson creates a list of every single Academy Award winning movie for “Best Picture” from 1965-2003. Sure enough, every single one of the leading roles played in all 40 movies were white and obviously middle to upper class. Not many people would actually realize that this was a trend that has been followed since the 60’s. It was almost amazing to my eyes to actually see it in facts and on writing.
Johnson states that as a male, he feels drawn to respond to questions whether he knows the answer of not, to interrupt in conversations, avoid admitting that he is wrong, and to take up room in a public place. Why is that? How did the male dominant type start to overcome women and feel as if they were the ones in control? Slowly I am starting to see the issue of male dominancy become less. More and more we are seeing women with more successful careers and making more money than their husbands. Hopefully one day women will be treated as equal as men and greatly be respected because they are WOMEN and not be given the advantage and privilege they sometimes get.

The "Tempest " in the Wilderness- Takaki Ch 2

The author of this article concludes with the distinction between savagery and civilization. He shows how people such as Columbus and Jefferson believed the Indians and the Irish were pure savages and needed to be civilized and colonized. The author also makes a comparison and connection between the Shakespearean play entitled The Tempest. The author stated “it was almost as if Shakespeare had lifted the material from contemporary documents about the New World”. Shakespeare even made connections to the names of the characters as Caliban could be rearranged to san “cannibal” along with Amleth being rearranged to be Hamlet. The English also distinctly compared the Indians to the Irish by saying they were both the same with a difference of culture. They were noted to be “cruel, barbarous, and most treacherous”. The main argument that is described in this reading is examples of how the Indians and Irish were simply harmless at first when discovering the New World. John Smith described how the Powhatans cared for the sick and dying English men. To me, the English men simply took advantage of the Indians and eventually destroyed them because they wanted what the Indians had. The English wanted more than just a part of the Indian territory; they wanted it all. The Indians simply struck back for their land that had been taken straight from them. After the 300 so men and women who were killed by the Indians, the colonist then declared that the land was theirs for all of their pain and suffering by the Indians. What about all of the pain and suffering the Indians went through in defending their own land? There is no evidence in this reading that tells us that the Indians were the ones who were doing the killing and the taking of the land. No the English men were. I believe that the English men are the ones who completely made the Indians as well as the Irishmen the “savages”. By creating these monsters of people, the English then tried to take their land and killing them by saying that they were “civilizing” them.

Rosenblum and Travis

I think Rosenblum and Travis make two distinct statements or main points in this section of the reading. The overall ideas in this reading rely on the difference of things and how people perceive them. The first point they make is the difference between a constructionist and an essentialist by giving the example of how 3 different umpires make their “calls” on whether the pitch was a strike or a ball. By looking at the pitch as umpire one calls the ball what it is, he is seen as an essentialist. Umpire one is simply observing the pitch as it was thrown. On the other hand, umpire two who states the pitches as “nothing until I call them” is seen as a constructionist. He looks at the pitch as it has no meaning until it is given by the observer.

The second point in this section of the reading is the process of naming. There comes some difference when you name certain categories. Constructionists pay attention to the names people use to refer to themselves while essentialists tend to give the names. Asserting a name can create social conflict such as the term Hispanic vs. Latino or African American vs. Black.

The authors make an argument and a distinction between differences of race, sex, sexual orientation and social class. In the reading they state that “Essentialists are likely to view categories of people as “essentially” different in some important way; constructionists are likely to see these differences as socially created and arbitrary”. There is argument of what these differences in color, sexuality and social class actually mean.

In one section of the reading Rosenblum and Travis mentioned the controversial difference between “sexual orientation” and “sexual preference”. I feel when using either of these words, someone is automatically being placed as either an essentialist or a constructionist. Everyone comes from a different background and some might not be as familiar to the terms as others. An example of this is in the reading when they mention that ironically, colored people used to be a derogatory reference to African American, but people of color is now a commonly reference to all nonwhites. This clearly shows that the change of names and terms is a never ending. How is one person to keep track of the frequent name changes of different cultures and races? Name changes simply flow with time and history.

Columbus, the Indians and Human Progress

In the article of Columbus, the Indians and Human Progress, Zinn writes on how he believes society learns the history of Columbus and his discoveries. The writer suggests that even with the annihilation of human race, many see the success of progress and discovery. In the conclusion he also suggests that many people are telling the story of success and history through the leaders or conquerors eyes and not the minority.
Zinn argues that today we read in history books what was discovered or heroic. What the history books don’t explain are the tears and blood shed or slavery that went into the process. Zinn mentions an author by the name of Samuel Morison, who briefly describes the killing and slavery. Morison even describes this time in history as a
“complete genocide” but yet completely summarizes Columbus as having a “ superb faith in God and his most outstanding quality of great seamanship”. The only mention in the entire novel of there being bloodshed in the discovery by Columbus is that small couple of sentences. Morison only mentions the truth quickly and then continues with more important and better things.
Some will always believe that there are two sides to every story. In this article Zinn is simply showing the opposite side of the story of Columbus and the discovery of the new World that society believes took place. This article is not a new discovery to the unknown tale. It is simply the other version of the story that had been suppressed. Zinn is simply bringing forth the victims and cruelties of our history.
I completely agree with the approach Zinn is taking in this article. He is not only telling the history we all know, but he is revealing the dark side to it. He is simply proving that the casualties that were taken did not go without their fare share or fighting. They showed signs of resist while joining together and occasionally they won. On the other hand I believe that Zinn is ignoring the opposite side to this story. I feel he is not completely looking at what good came out of these incidences. This history is what shapes our country today and I don’t think that Zinn gives the founders enough credit.
Overall for me, this article gave a better understanding of our history and society. Some of the information put forward in this article was completely new to me. I now have a better understanding of where I come from and the ones who suffered for who we are today.

Introduction

My name is Corinne and I am a freshman here at BG. I am currently a Dietetics major and I thought that this Ethnic Studies class would be an interesting choice when choosing a Cultural Diversity class.