racism today

You’re walking down a dark street, alone, at night. You see a black man walking towards you; you tense up, avert your eyes and pick up the pace. At one point or another we have all been guilty of racial profiling. Yet many people are quick to say that racism is a thing of the past that ended with the civil war, civil rights movement, and the election of President Barack Obama. Racial prejudice still exists in our country, simply because it has been swept under the rug does not mean that it does not exist. In an article entitle “Why American Can’t Get Over Race,” the author presents the question if Americans have really changed at all since the days of slavery. “Any discussion of race or racism inevitably stirs uncomfortable reactions,” (Cohen 1) and until this discomfort is eradiated, there were always be racial prejudice.

For as long as Bigger Thomas, of Richard Wright’s Native Son, can remember he has been on the South Side of the city. Forced to live in the slums of Chicago, he has long looked out at the horizon of white mansions and longed for a better life. But he was a “negro” and because of this he is condemned to a life of poverty and servitude. Bigger cannot deny that he feels like a stranger in his own life; “we live here and they live there. We black and they white. They got things and we ain’t. They do things and we can’t. It’s just like living in jail. Half the time I feel like I’m on the outside of the world peeping in through a knothole in the fence,” (Wright 20). Bigger’s feelings are still very real in society today. “While Obama has moved the subject of prejudice out from the shadows, more than his exotic name, origin and religious affiliation are at issue. When Colin Powell, one of America's most accomplished military leaders and diplomats, contemplated running for the presidency in 2000, his family feared for his safety,” (Cohen 1) Everyday for Bigger and Obama is a battle for survival whether its on the streets or on the campaign trail.

Yet Native Son does not take place during the time of slavery, rather it is set in Chicago during the 1930s. A time not too long ago still had African Americans living segregated and subordinate lives. When confronted with this issue many people will say “That's all in the past, we had nothing to do with it. It's history. Get over it,” (Cohen 1) but that is exactly the attitude that tethers us to our racist past. Until Americans can “discuss the horrors of the enslavement, lynchings, segregation and degradation of African-Americans without prompting resentment or indifference,” we will never severe our ties with our racist past (Cohen 1).

Cohen, William S, and Janey Langhart Cohen. "Why Americans Can't Get Over Race."
CNN. 18 July 2008. 16 Mar. 2009 05/29/cohens.race.politics/index.html>.

Wright, Richard. Native Son. New York: Harper Perennial , 1940.

heterosexual privilege

Heterosexual privilege is the idea that heterosexuals are awarded certain privileges based solely on the fact that they are heterosexuals. Some of these privileges include being allowed to marry the person you love, not be judged because of who you love, and not be told that your love for another person is false, sinful, and wrong. Although it is unfortunate, this heterosexual bias clearly exists in the world. (Proposition 8?) The media has taken it upon itself to try and expose this unfair privilege and teach people that we should not judge others, for better or worse, because of their sexuality.

In an episode of Family Guy called “You May Now Kiss The… Uh…Guy Who Receives” Brian’s gay cousin Jasper and his boyfriend come to Quahog. Jasper is depicted as a typical stereotypical homosexual, he has a feminine voice, he wears a belly shirt and he has an earring in his left ear. During their visit the two decide to get married and Brian is so kind as to offer the Griffin’s house for the ceremony. Lois has some moral qualms about gay marriage and is not comfortable hosting a gay wedding. She goes on to say that she has nothing against homosexuals but the idea of two men getting married “just doesn’t seem right.” If only I could ask Lois, who decided that a man and a women getting married was “right?” If two people love each other and want to get married, what does it matter if they are a man and women, or two men, or two women? This idea that only a heterosexual couple can and should have the right to marry is on of the privileges denied to homosexual couples because society deems lesser couples in society. Peter Griffin stands as the voice of reason in this episode saying “if gays want to get married and be miserable like the rest of us who are we to stop them.

While Family Guy is not usually a political mobile to correspond important messages, I feel that this episode did. Lois, who feel she is a very open minded person, has a problem with gay marriage, because marriage is supposed to be reserved for men and women. This idea of heterosexual privilege, that certain rights are only reserved for heterosexual couples, must be irradiated or else homosexuals will continue to be treated as lesser citizens and people in society. Lois realizes that it is ridiculous to believe that “two straight people who hate each other have more of a right to be together than two gay people who love each other.” The episode’s final message is that if two people love each other they should have every right and privilege that any other heterosexual couple would have.

socratic seminar

1. What ideas will you be discussing in your upcoming blog post about Heterosexual Privilege? What TV show did you chose and why?
2. Do you believe that heterosexual privilege exists?
3. Do you know anyone who is homosexual and how did you feel when you found out he or she were gay?
4. How does the Twilight Zone episode “The Eye of the Beholder” apply to our discussion about heterosexual privilege?
5. In another article about heterosexual privilege the author says that if you are heterosexual “you can act, dress, and talk as you choose without it being considered a reflection on people of your sexuality.” Do you agree with this idea that homosexuals as a whole are often judged on the appearance, actions, or ideas, of one person?
6. Renee commented on the Heterosexual Privilege and disagreed with the statement that heterosexual couples “can walk in public with [their] significant other and not have people double-take or stare.” She goes on to say “This is false. I am a straight woman in an inter racial relationship and people stare at my husband and I constantly. Some people even outright refuse to believe that we are a couple even though we have been together for over 18 years.” Do you agree with Renee that interracial couples are stereotyped, judged, and mistreated like homosexual couples?
7. Michael C Hall plays a homosexual dealing with his sexuality in Six Feet Under. How does his character deal with his sexuality differently from the man in the episode of “Coming Out”?
8. Hall’s character feels like he is doing something wrong by being gay. How is this idea fostered by our society and what can be done to make society and struggling homosexuals accept themselves for who they are, not based on their sexuality?