Civics dude!

Even though our society has been desegregated for almost 50 years, groups of different races still exist. Just look at our student center, we are separated by age, race, social class, sexuality, and personal preferences. We feel most comfortable in our little clique, where we know how to act and are expected to act. If a “preppy” girl went to sit in the “Hispanic” section at lunch she would be stared at. At least that’s what we think. I think the main reason that we don’t sit in other groups is that we would feel insecure. And you always want to be in control, ahead of everyone else. So that means you would be crazy to voluntarily put yourself in a position where you would be judged and sized up.

If people weren’t so afraid of the unknown, we would see that people from other cliques aren’t as different as we think they are. They go through the same things, the same problems and the same choices. we are, after all, human beings. a body, a brain and some hair. the skin is differently tinted, that’s all. but somehow we connect the skin color to a way of acting.

And that’s gotta stop.

This post is mainly about this quote that got Dalton Conley enraged (and it should enrage).

“In 1994 the median white family held assets worth more than seven times those of the median non-white family. “

Conley’s study showed that even if the two different colored families had the same income, the white family still had seven times more property. I believe that this is because wealth births wealth, and there is still some “underground” racism. Everyone is supposed to be equal now, but there are still ghettos and black neighborhoods, and it’s hard for blacks to move into a “white” neighborhood. As Conley writes, it’s easier to accumulate wealth if your family has money. That way you can borrow from your parents if you want to buy a house and write off the mortgage tax. Ta-da! You already have more money than if you were renting.

Since, as we all know, African Americans have been mistreated in history, they haven’t had the same job opportunities as whites, or time enough to build up savings. The parents of black people had worse living conditions and unfair treatment in their youth than blacks have now. So because of that they usually have less money than whites, and can’t provide for their children as well. In Conley’s book, the example of the black family couldn’t buy a house because their parents had too little money to loan them.

I think that from the beginning it was a race question, but now it’s more class. Of course they go hand in hand, but our classes are a product from earlier race inequalities. I’d like to believe that we live in a country oblivious to race, so that now poor people are considered lower class, not non-whites. But, as you can tell from the quote, white people are wealthier due to the racism of the 1900’s.

And I honestly don’t know how to fix it.

Link to a blog about how race and wealth are intertwined

The 1950’s GI bill helped a lot of Americans that needed money. They got loans to buy a house for, and help with college tuition. If I’m not wrong, I believe that mostly whites went to war because there was segregation even in the army. Today a greater number of Hispanics and blacks are in the army, and benefiting from the present GI bill. 

I think that the current GI bill is as good as the 50’s one, if not better. A bigger variety of people are getting help, and I don’t think it’s wrong to persuade them to help their country by giving them financial aid. And it’s not unfair that the army more often than not attracts poor and working class, this is a great way to work your way out of the “ghetto”. You get an education, military experience and work for 4 years (not sure about the 4 years). You get a chance that you otherwise would have a hard time getting.  

I’m saying all this good stuff, but I’m not sure that I would go for it. Being a soldier doesn’t appeal to me, I’d rather try to work my way out in another way. Even though the army would pay for your tuition, you’d be stuck with them, owing them something. Like 4 years of your life.  

But then again, it’s all up to you. It’s a great deal if you feel like it.

In the 1950’s, tv-shows were censored. Well, not censored, they just weren’t made. All the shows were innocent and made to appeal to a big audience. An audience that didn’t want to face that everyone in America were in fact not middle-class and white. The shows didn’t show the reality of wives and children being beaten by another family member, or that black people even existed in the U.S.

While watching a show from the 50’s, like “Ozzie and Harriet”, a teenager of today easily gets bored. Meanwhile someone like my grandma thinks it’s great and wholesom. But when TV was a new phenomenom, anything would have done! Instead of sitting on the porch sipping tea in the evening, they now had something to watch while doing the same thing inside. Since they had nothing to compare it to, they couldn’t complain. Now I’m not saying that contemporary TV is better. Well, okay, to some extent, like it’s more fast-paced and entertaining. But there is nothing wholesom about it whatsoever. Even a show like “7th Heaven” that is about a pastor’s family is more sexual these days.

To be surrounded by violence and sex is, obviously(!), not good for you. Despite what some messed up teenagers say, it’s not. Just hearing people say “Hey, that movie isn’t that bad”, and “There are only a few dirty scenes, and besides, they’re funny!” just proves the point that everyone is desensitized. The fact that it is so hard to find good, decent movies makes you accept more atrocious stuff. It’s like you can’t be picky, ’cause there’s nothing to pick from!

Here’s a quote from an internet article about school shootings in the past few years.

Violence in media is NOT GOOD. People get ideas, and some go through with it. These past few weeks there has been at least three school shootings, and it seems like when one does it, others copy.

I think that everyone, sometime in their life wishes that they could or thinks about doing the perfect crime. Maybe I’m just being a weird freak for thinking that, you be the judge.
In the show “Dexter”, the main character is a CSI, and therefore knows how to cover up his tracks perfectly. The fact that he only kills criminals that haven’t been convicted I think appeals to the people. But then again, who is he to judge who lives and who dies? He takes the law in his own hands, and gets away with it. I know people would like to do that now; many want to be above the law, but imagine the kind of society we would live in if there were no laws.

The visual in crime shows is too much at times, as it also is in other shows that are more sexual. Haven’t you sometimes experienced watching what you think is a good show, and a parent walks in at the wrong moment when a “sexy” scene is playing? Someone probably knows exactly what I’m talking about.
It’s good that they have programs about crime, and don’t just pretend like it doesn’t exist, like everything’s fine like they did in the 50’s. But sometimes they take it too far. When asked to describe TV in the 50’s, everyone in my class goes on about how it always was politically correct. By only showing white people they were being correct…
Excuse me, what?! Shows nowadays are also politically correct. Yes, they show more nationalities and more “horrible” things, but it’s not like they’re saying racism is okay. I think people in my class equal being politically correct with innocence. If there is a show involving a racist or a pedophile they usually portray it as it is. That it is wrong and sick and awful. It’s not like the TV producers are saying there’s nothing wrong with it, they’re just saying that it actually does exist.

I’m not sure about this show though. The killer murders people that have committed a crime and gotten away with it. So as a viewer we’re basically on his side, we’re supposed to believe that he is doing a good thing killing what he thinks are “evil” people.
And is everything fine when we subconsciously want the “good” criminal to win? It seems like the grey zone of right and wrong has taken over the world through TV, to be dramatic. Here’s a quote from an article about the TV show “Dexter”:

The series’s main plot revolves around the police department’s effort to track down the serial killer responsible for the trail of bloodless corpses. Only Dexter views these crimes as a playful challenge from a like-minded maniac, and his collaboration with the police is fueled by his sense of complicity with the killer.