A very prevalent issue in America’s recent past and today is the tension that exists in the post-civil rights era about how far we have really come in terms of equality and racism. Racism is still an extremely prevalent problem today and should be addressed as such. But at the same time one could argue that calling attention to this issue can, if not done in the right way, be detrimental to the cause of equality simply by calling attention to it. In Obama’s speech that we watched in class, he talked about how the press may be overemphasizing racial division. Is scrutinizing the role of race part of the problem?
It is undeniable that there are still racial issues in the United States. There are a lot of people who have somehow managed to retain a racist ideology even amidst all the strides that have been taken (but hey, there are also people who think the holocaust didn’t happen). However, the way that these racial issues are navigated is just as important as addressing the issues themselves. I thought the reading by John McWhorter was very fitting for this topic. He talked about African-American self-sabotaging and how to avoid perpetuating inequality. Racial issues always need to be addressed tactfully, to avoid presenting the wrong idea, overgeneralzing, and creating conflict. McWhorter talks about the perpetuation of victimology of African-Americans, separatism, and anti-intellectualism.
The hypersensitization to racial issues definitely a problem in itself. If racial issues are not overemphasized is will downplay their importance. I saw an interesting episode of South Park relating to this idea. While South Park is neither accurate nor politically correct, I thought one point that they made was worth thinking about. In the episode, the historical flag of the town of South Park was a depiction of a black man being hanged, amidst a small crowd of white men. Chef (a black man) was crusading to have the flag changed because of how obviously racist it was. He was met by opposition from people in the town who wanted to preserve the historical integrity of the flag. They decided to leave it up to the debate of the 4th grade class to decide whether or not to change the flag. The group of children who were arguing in their debate not to change the flag said that it shouldn’t be changed because it was historical and people have always killed people. After which, everyone realizes that the children arguing for that side of the debate didn’t realize the flag was racist. They hadn’t noticed the color of the men on the flag’s skin, and didn’t understand why it made a difference. Although South Park may not be the most credible academic source, I still think the message is worth considering. If race is not closely analyzed as a problem, it may become less of one.
I definitely share the opinion that sometimes America is too sensitive about race. This issue also came up in the Condoleezza Rice video. She was talking about how America will never be “race blind”. When we are constantly paying attention to race and the color of people’s skin, whether or not it is a good or bad thing, it is something that impedes us, as a nation, from becoming “color-blind”. If we say that America is now “race blind” because we have had a black president, that is completely contradictory. By paying attention to race so much, I think we sometimes end up making the situation worse and just perpetuate stereotypes.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I will disagree with your assertion that South Park is not a credible source. The writers of the show have managed to provide an almost completely objective point of view through their strict policy of making fun of everyone, regardless of gender, class, political affiliation, or in this case, race. I think it is important to note here that the argument over the flag in the town Jenna is referring to, is a town entirely populated by caucasians aside from Chef and one other family (notably, the wealthiest family in the town). The nature of the debate, I believe, beautifully displays the altruistic, yet naive, nature of children. While I understand the concept of over-infatuation with racial division bringing forth more and more issues, it is, in American society, unavoidable. Racial conflict plays such an integral role in American society, that the avoidance of the role of race would come to be seen as an instance of extreme denial of white American society's mistakes. This is not to say that the role of race is not over scrutinized by the media, but more so that while the idea of a color-blind society is a nice thought, it is very much an impossibility.
ReplyDeleteI both agree and disagree with you, noting the strange politics that have developed over the past few months, this newly developed (and newly deceased) problem with overemphasizing race (perfect example from my previous blog post: http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201110310016) . Strangely, this woman's claim that Cain is "blacker" than Obama is in stark contrast to the pundits conversations after Rick Perry's "Niggerhead" was revealed. Even before that, the idea of hypersensitivity to race ran rampant in politics. If any conservative even slightly alluded to the fact that Obama was black...I mean, half-black, they were automatically racist. Now, Fox News pundits speak like Cain is their bff and can say whatever they want. I really don't even know how to make heads or tails of how I feel about it. It seems like a lose-lose, but realistically, I can't expect anything else.
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