After reading Race in the American Mind, many ideas both similar and different come to mind. One that is very similar is the way language is used today to describe black people, and the language that was used during the time of slavery. Today, many people use words such as 'lazy' and 'unmotivated' to describe black people, and why, as a group, they are not as successful as other ethnicities. This is very similar to how black people were described during the time of slavery. For example, words like 'animalistic' and 'childlike' were often used. Language is a strong tool that is utilized to convey a point to the public. If part of society views a different race as 'lazy', they are overlooking that the potential problem might not be the individuals of a different race, but the barriers that have been created.
This use of language is what is often dividing our society. Racial tension seems to be at an all time high as of right now, and people's perceptions often influence their way of thinking. So if someone perceived another individual as 'lazy', they would not feel sympathy for when he/she doesn't succeed in life. However, a much smaller portion of whites hold negative feelings, or have negative stereotypes about blacks, so the progress is evident. However, it might not seem like much, but constant use of language to discriminate against a group of people, can turn out to have much more of an influence on people than you might think.
With a country that seems so split, people must be open to one another's perceptions in order to fully understand the path they've walked in life. Without understanding each other's struggles, it is difficult to understand why someone may believe a certain way. We have come a long way as a nation, but the work that is left to do with society is endless. Use your language wisely, and learn to listen to other people's opinions in order to formulate your own.
I think this is a really good synthesis on several of the terms used throughout history to systematically categorize and characterize what was considered to be "other" in society. In the context of black people in America, the constant labeling and attribution of personality traits to large groups of people is damaging not only because it is rude and promotes a lack of critical thought, but because it teaches people that it is normal and acceptable to give multiple people one blanket description and thereby characterize an entire race of people as one single word. After reading Shavonne's post about multiple realities in her experience in the black community, I think this use of language to stereotype is even more negative because it affects the way that the stereotyped group views themselves as well.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you that language is dividing our society; we especially saw this during the 2016 presidential election with Trump’s rhetoric. His hateful words targeted different races and I think that it made people think it was acceptable to say racist things to people of color. I think that you have made a good point that fewer whites hold negative stereotypes against blacks than years ago, but I also do not think that we have eliminated these stereotypes completely. I think that voicing our opinions is a very powerful tool, especially when trying to explain why our opinions are more correct than others; however, I think that we need to use rhetoric that is appropriate and measured. Educating people is the best way to eradicate ignorance, and I think by formulating our language in a way to do this will ultimately help to reduce these racist stereotypes.
ReplyDeleteI find your post very interesting. Thinking back to the Baltimore riots in 2015, the media used words like thugs and criminals to describe the protesters. There have been many instances of white men vandalizing property over the loss of a sports team, but they are just angry fans, not criminals. Why is it seen as ok by society for men to burn cars over the loss of a football game, but when a black man is shot in cold blood, the protesters who burn cars are criminals? I feel that it is the way that media portrays the events. Headlines over the Baltimore riots said things like "Thugs Vandalized Property in Protest." Would it have changed peoples perspective it headlines were more along the lines of "Man killed, Protester outraged"?
ReplyDeleteThis can also be noticed when looking at the use of language as a tool to marginalize and criminalize blacks. In reference to the documentary 13th, you have a population of blacks who have gained their freedom, and now whites are using language to criminalize them. This language is directly associated with the creation of the KKK.
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