Who am i? part 2

So i just reread my very first blog and I still think it sums up a big part of what makes me me but after studying groups and other aspects of life that form people, I now know why. Groups are a huge part of everyones lives. As we discussed way back in the beginning of the semester, we all belong to countless subgroups we are barely aware of. Some groups have more of an influence on us than others, but nevertheless they all have some pull on shaping us. I could have told you pre sal's class what groups the groups that have most pull on me. Now, I realize my family, friends, and cheer squad are not solely shaping the person I have become. Small things I am apart of voluntarily or involuntarily pull just as much weight. Things from FMP to just being a junior in high school actually shape me.

Theres also the stereotype aspect of the groups I am apart of that have a part of who I am or who I seem to be. I come from a long line of die hard Catholics. From a stereotypical point of view, I should be a very conservative and religious person. However, I'm not the type that is engrossed in religion as my grandparents are. They learned from their parents to first and foremost abide by the bible. I am just not as into it as they are. It's small stereotypes like that we have learned to think that lead to untrue and unnecessicary generalizations.

Through the course of this class I've grown to think less in terms of groups and stereotypes. I see how ridiculous they can be and no longer want to be so closed minded to other people. Volunteering at Amandola School in the city helped to fuel my new way of thinking. Before going to the school, I'll admit I was a little weary of the location we were going into. I had visions of seeing groups of people in ally ways wailing on others like they do in the movies. Of course, I was completely wrong and we pulled up to the school with no signs of a beating taking place in sight. I know there is no way I will be able to let go of everything I have grown to learn, but I hope day by day I can watch myself and be more open to who a person really is not just based on the groups they are associated with.

Crash

We watched one of the most moving movies this week. It showed racism from all different view points. I think the most common character in our society today would be the cop that tried so hard to hide all racist feelings he might have that they blew up. He was not racist like his ex partner, however, he had the racial tendencies that are learned by everyone as kids. I think its true we all have these. Not only has it been displayed in movies we have watched this year in Crash and A Bronyx Tale, but also in the experiment we talked about. I feel right now everyone tries so hard not to be racist that they direct what they've learned into unobvious ways. For example, racist jokes. Racist jokes are very popular with kids and many kids think they're funny, but why? They are all based on the generalizations of specific races. Through these jokes, people can express racism without being called racist. Because of how often and early racist tendancies are exposed to kids, I don't know how racism can ever be totally abolished.

battle of the races

Is race real or just a figure of our social construction? We discussed this question this week in class and I have to admit I had never considered the fact that race is not any different than ethnicity. The fact is, blood is the same no matter what "race" you are. The thing that impacted me the most this week was watching the experiment the high school students conducted with two different skin colored dolls. The majority of the kids (who were all black) chose the white skin colored doll as the "nicer" doll. It was heart breaking to see the little girl look from the white to the black doll and realize she looked more like the not nice doll. I had never known small kids were indirectly taught to think that way.

I think race takes on a whole different meaning at Stevenson. No one really categorizes different races as being nicer. I feel people from different backgrounds really embrace their ethnicity and don't pay attention to racial differences.