Race Draft 1

In the whiteness project a lot of people felt that the color of their skin is the reason why they get ahead in life. Most of them realize that this is wrong and society should not be this way but it is. I remember one guy say that him being white was an advantage that he had over other races and he would use that advantage to get a job that he wanted. Now I don’t blame him for thinking like this because I do the same thing. Being black has it’s advantages to sometimes and when the moments right I use that advantage that I have to get ahead. However, not all those videos I agree with during the whiteness project. For example there was a couple of guy that explained how they fell about race and it was like listening to ignorance itself if that word could be a person. One guy said, “And it’s always pointed out that the white cop hurt the African-American kid or – you shouldn’t be doing anything wrong that’s my point on all of it. You got shot in arm, you got tackled -don’t do anything wrong you won’t be – I haven’t.” What I find ignorant about this comment is that not all African American kids who are hurt by cops commit a crime. Most of the time it’s a itchy trigger finger dirty cop who’s out to hurt African American kids because they have the power to do so.  

This problem that we have with race today is why people cover who they are. According to Yoshino to cover is to tone down a disfavored identity to fit into the mainstream. People cover to simply get alone in life.We have not been able to see it as such because it has swaddled itself in the benign language of assimilation. But if we look closely, we will see that covering is the way many groups are being held back. My view of covering is when you hide certain parts of who you are to get ahead it’s not necessary a bad thing to me. Me and Yoshino’s view on covering are kind of similar put not as much. He believes we shouldn’t have to cover as much and people shouldn’t be so sensitive about certain subjects. I agree with Yoshino but since people are sensitive cover is what it’s gone have to be until times change. An example of covering is when someone who is gay hides the fact their gay to get along with society, Yoshino is a prime example of this.  

Race is related to reality because our society needs some type of identification to function. In the transcript for “The Invention of Race” I notice two identification society used from way back then to now. The one identification that was use back then was how you lived and where you were from. Even though slaving was going on a sense of racism wasn’t really in the mist of all it. Another identification that society used back in the 1700 was race. This created racism causing slavery to imprison those who were of different skin color. What would it take to end racism? The obvious answer to this is to treat all people equal. Now many would say it’s not that easy to do something like this. But it is, see back then during the ancient Greeks times society didn’t really judge people on the color of their skin. However, they did judge other on where they lived and how they lived. So basically, in you were poor you weren’t going to be treated the same as the people who were not poor. Even though both these forms of identifications are bad I would prefer to be judge by how I live than by the color of my skins. The origins and current functions of racism started in 1640 in the colony of Virginia. At that time John Punch who is an African and two other men who were Dutch, and Scotsman ran away from their servitude. They were all caught and as punishment the Dutch and Scotsman got four more year of servitude and John Punch was sentenced to labor to his “master” for the rest of his days. This act that the judge decided for these men created the birth of racism.