Soc. 3251W Race, Class, and Gender

I agree that education is key to changing the stereotypes that minority groups face. People need to read more and understand how certain thoughts that they may have are racist, many of which can come through stereotypes the media enforces. It is sometimes hard to reach the American public. It seems many people would rather watch American Idol than deal with current issues in the media. I don't blame them for our 24 hour news phenomenon rigourously shoves the same information down our throats, covering the same story from every angle possible. The point is, I think a lot of people are just not aware of racial inequality in regards to Asian Americans and Latinos. This "awareness" could be implemented into public and private education. For example, schools should mention the Latino involvement in the "Black riots" in California. This is not to label these groups as deviant, but to acknowledge the fact that Latinos have suffered based on race as well as African Americans. This might be one example of disassembling the black-white mold. Public exhibits and cultural celebrations may assist in making people more aware if they actually talk to people of that ethnicity rather than relying on books or videos. More importantly, people need to see the source of racism and how white supremacy divides people. Whites need to understand white privilege. Most of all, Americans need to stop being so self-centered and realize that there are many people who speak many different languages and have different lifestyles. One is not "better" than another. The gender molds were also interesting to read about. Even in Socialism, women are more likely to do household chores/childrearing. I am very close to both of my parents, who spent equal time staying home with me when I was an infant, but I do see that my mom does more of the household chores and my dad does more of the maintenance things, yardwork, and grilling.

I think that people in general have to realize that race does not make and individual; one should not be judged by his/her race, rather he/she should be judged by their action. I also think that the United States is ignoring Asian Americans and Latinos while trying to bring equality between whites and blacks. What should be done, one might ask; well, educating people is a good start however, I think that education will not fix all the problems that occur when it comes to inequality. The best way would be to make a law that would force equality in our society, something that would in a way force people to want equality in race.

I agree that one step we as a country need to take is increasing public knowledge, while at the same time, reducing the monotonous coverage fed to us by the media. It will be nearly impossible to reduce/eliminate inequality at all if we continue to only learn about other cultures, races and ethnicities through news coverage and such. Movies and TV only portray what is comfortable for the majority of the population, which leaves any ethnicity exactly where we think they should be, and what their lives are like. It definitely is a situation where we just need to become less individual and more focused on the whole, and who actually lives around us, and where they came from.
I think one big step would be in the schools, because it is such a big part of children’s lives, and impacts so much of the rest of their lives, and how they interact with people in the real world. Including history and a recognition of ethnic hardships at an early age would be very beneficial, as well as bringing to light to the reality of now, with white privilege.
For the not so grade-school generation, I think it’s equally important to integrate other cultures into our focus, and to lose the push for the media to create an “interesting story� instead of actually just supplying the news. The world has become very dependant on drama and uncertainty, which only increases stereotypes. It’s a natural thing to do in humans, to categorize things, but the linking of those categories with judgments and assumptions is where the US seems to have a problem.

In response to the first question about how America can increase its knowledge of the hardships of Asian Americans and Latinos, I think that education is the key. In English classes and in history classes, students should be given the opportunity to experience the varying backgrounds of races dissimilar to their own. Reading literature composed by "dead white guys," which is used in most high schools, does not provide any insights into the experience of other races. Sometimes the cirriculum will allow for some novels about the trials and tribulations of slavery, all of which do not make up for the exclusion of the histories of other races. I think it is extremely important that kids in middle school and high school learn to understand and accept these differences, because through comprehending the Asian American and Latino experience, students will be more rounded adults as a result.