How Jews Became White

To see the breakdown of white ethnicities, and why America is called a melting pot, Brodkin tells us the story of the Jewish population and how they and other non-Anglo Saxon Americans were ushered into privilege. He states “I want to suggest that Jewish success is a product not only of ability but also of the removal of powerful social barriers to its realization.” He then followed that with a few paragraphs that for some reason made me think of a show about WWII called Band of Brothers. The show chronicles a company with a number of different characters with European backgrounds and occasionally their ethnicity becomes positively or negatively focused.

Brodkin the goes on to explain what that racism and difference looked like between the different whites. He talks about various paranoia and a piece called “The Passing of the Great Race” which paints the immigrants as the racist/intolerant people. Through showing the immigrants in such a light that somehow validated the idea that they were inferior to the dominant white class. Showcasing this was a line I highlighted that read “Theodore Roosevelt raised the alarm of “race suicide” and took Anglo-Saxon women to the task for allowing “native” stock to be outbred by inferior immigrants.” I was so taken back by this because 1) Roosevelt was racist (I myself admire him) and 2) that he blamed women for the fact that there were more immigrants than natives and that they needed to get to work getting pregnant. WOW!

One thing he focuses on is how Jews went a different route to their “whitening” than others by going to college and working hard. In doing this Jews faced more discrimination because Brodkin states that Anti-Semitism flourish in higher education. Through the telling of his parents experience though college and how they “overcame” this he explains the feelings of achievement by many Jews. He also seems to explain that Jews didn’t actually “pull themselves up by their bootstraps” but unknowingly took advantage of the fact that they were lifted into the upper-middle class. He does this carefully though, I feel as though he knows his parents will read this and he doesn’t want to take from their success.

In the end I liked this piece because it tells of a piece of history often overlooked in terms of race relations because the people involved are so often seen as white. Also because I have an interest in the WWII era, pre and post as well, which this article focuses around. The only thing that I wish he would address is the stereotypes that arose for the Jewish population after the fact. Such as the idea that Jews run Hollywood, almost all of them are well to do because of a business job, which stems from an interest in money and a “cheap” lifestyle. I know these things are racist but I know that in the past, by past I mean medieval era, they were thought to poison wells, be evil (horns and tail), and have irrational powers. It would be interesting to see how those changes have progressed over the last few decades.

Extra Credit, Ethics of Jim Crowe

The first thing I’d like to say about this piece is that it is more than likely my favorite. While I didn’t find a thesis I think that is fine because it is much more of a story than an article. The storytelling ability of Richard Wright generates interest and pulls you into the story through his powerfully difficult experiences.

Children often get in trouble just playing because their play is actually harmful but what Wright and his friends were doing was primarily dangerous because of the racial repercussions. While he may or may not have liked the other boys the advantage they had and he didn’t was clear. The interesting thing about this story is the feeling of defeat he portrays as his mother goes to the home of the white children to deal with the situation. She then downplays his value based on his race, even though they are of the same race.

When he addresses the jobs he has had it surprises me at the unspoken rules he has to follow or face repercussions, I.E. not looking at the white prostitutes. The rules, for blacks only, are unfair and in some ways ridiculous. The fact that a black man couldn’t even accept help from whites, specifically in the case of the car, and that if any help they “graciously” give is taken advantage of it is grounds for punishment. Like children on a playground the white men who had given him a job to “learn” a trade bullied him under the assumption of disrespect.

I’d again like to restate how much more I liked this article than others read in class. It was a welcomed relief from the often-dry information that is almost legalistic in it’s presentation with a character that readers can attach to. Through this a human element is added that allows readers to sympathize Wright and thus the oppression of blacks not just historically or legally but in their day to day lives and interaction with whites.

McPherson Test

The site I’ve visited from the McPherson article is the hpa.org. I quickly read the intro on the intro on the site and found in the second paragraph “Please take this time to learn more about the atrocities and the cultural bigotry that has befallen the people of the South.” WOW! I almost can’t believe I read that. This first thing proves part of McPherson’s article where she describes how they try to racialize their heritage and make it seem as though they’re being discriminated gainst. (Side note, as a graphic designer I’m saddened that someone from my field would assist them in the creation of their logo and page.)

I then traveled to their “About HPA” section and in the first paragraph see how they subtly twist the presentation of their goals and ideas in the line “The Heritage Preservation Association (HPA) is an international, non-profit, membership organization dedicated to preserving the heritage, history, culture and symbols of the Old South and Colonial United States.” Now this falls in line with how they slide things in to mask their brand of racism. It says preserving the heritage, history, culture, and symbols of the Old South. Oh, and the Colonial United States. Not the North, not Post Civil War (like WWI or II). Upon reading the rest of the page one could see that they simply have historical interests at their concern yet they do not define what their heritage, history, culture, and symbols of the Old South are except for the Confederate flag, which that item in itself is an issue.

The rest of the site provides almost excessive amounts of information meant to break down myths and poor reporting/information that the masses have exposure to. The trick here is that their information is not only very selective but can remind one of those who would claim the holocaust never happened. Their weak justifications and moderately important factoids give me the impression that they’re frantically trying to cover former meanings and goals so that they can cover their own hides. Almost in the fashion of the Nuremburg Trials with the exception of using the excuse “we were only following orders.”

McPherson

This piece seemed a little odd in that at times it didn’t feel direct. Terminology was used that didn’t make the piece more difficult but sometimes more vague if one is not set on the idea of white males beings the primary focus for these terms. The vagueness of the article also showed through, for me, because of the difficulty in finding a concrete thesis. The closest I could come to was, “wondering how these neorebel sites might be reconciled with much of the new media theory I was reading.” The reason this felt vague to me was because of where it was positioned after a long explanation about how she googled her name.

At first I felt like she was trying to explain that the cybercommunities provided individuals the ability to express one of their alter online personalities. That some who might visit the site aren’t truly racist but are expressing a small portion of their whole. She begins this on page 4 of the article talking about Turkle’s work where she explains that online use eventually results in multiple selves that can be any gender, age, race, ect… These explanations about the virtual world are important because without them the reader would probably not be able to realize that those who visit these sites are not all overtly racist.

She goes on to explain that those who visit these sites are concerned about “Southern Heritage” and thus their racism becomes covert, mind you it is still racism. To me it seemed this subtle racist information allows viewers to glorify their past and the dream they posses. When McPherson talks about the graphs and stories she’s come across she helps readers realize that this is THEIR fantasy and in few ways can it exist. The issue though is that it exists and is protected/encouraged by online communities.

Abercrombie

In today’s society of brand and image McBride ventures into my realm of Design. The question and thesis he poses, “what is it that Abercrombie is selling that gay men seem so desperate to buy in legion?” is a very complex concept and the answer can be almost as difficult to decode.

Since McBride is writing about a very current subject he is paving a path that some may not understand but once we break down that Abercrombie is elevating a laid back white lifestyle things become clear. As a designer I understand the importance of consistency in a brand and I see how they established that through their clothing, advertising, and the Look Book to create their identity. Normally this would be fine, and respected, but the problem is the image in which Abercrombie attempts to present and they lengths they go for it. In the Look Book it restricts haircuts and personal fashion choices typically associated with blacks or even black culture. The idea becomes that even if your white and dress like this your out because “your with them.”


Another detestable business practice of theirs is that most black employees’ work in the back as stockers. This is limited to Abercrombie though as McBride states that a young black man tried to get a job at Abercrombie, was given an excuse, and then went right across the mall and got a job at a similar store. While there are other brands like Abercrombie none of them limit employees’ like A&F, Buckle only asks employees’ not to wear other prominent brands while on the job.

What I find curious though is why McBride begins and ends his piece incorporating sexuality into the predominantly racial issue. Abercrombie is emphasizing a “white leisure lifestyle” and while normally the “dominant class” is straight white Christian males Abercrombie’s advertising is clearly homosexual despite the incorporation of women. So in order to possibly gain more acceptance gay men would be more inclined to wear this brand if they want to be looked at as part of that “dominant class” because of the cloths they wore instead of actually being those things themselves, (odd sentence I know but that was the best way I knew how to phrase it) I have no idea why they would wear it. I feel the focus was on the racial issue and that he allowed personal interest to come into play, which may also be a result of just how new an issue this is.

I’d like to quickly address a wonderful comment made earlier in the piece. He talks about gay bashing and intolerant morality and in parenthesis states “too often masking itself as Christian.” This comment caused shock to me because I was so grateful that someone in his position understands that those things aren’t really Christian and that others can see how wrong those types of people are.

El Norte

While I had little trouble with Takaki at first this piece proved to me how dry his writing can be but also about how little I know about the Chicano past. The length of this was almost to much but I made it through and learned that Mexicans saw America in much the same way other immigrants did but saw it only as, “The North” because unlike the European and Asian immigrants this was a part of their land/continent. Also that unlike the European and Asian immigrants today the Mexican population still views America like they did in the past and with the same energy as previous generations. Unlike the other ethnic groups who’s immigration rate declined after a time.

The first thing I highlighted in this response is the story of one person who got twenty-eight families to make the trip across the border. It made me wonder if things were really that bad then for Mexico and other parts of South America. Fortunately Takaki explains their reasons for leaving their beloved homeland. The famines, revolutions, and lack of jobs almost left them with no other choice considering how easy it was for them to get into the US at the time.

Another difference between the Mexican immigrants and those from other countries is the want to return home. They also had the ability to do so easier than the others however because of the systems set into place and racism from business owners the Chicano population had little chance to return home. The quote Takaki uses “I am only waiting until conditions get better, until there is absolute peace before I go back” expresses the Mexican sentiment to return home but this became another reason for them to stay. Put up with the racism in the states (specifically the Texas wife who said “God did not intend him to be; He would have made them white if he had) or go back to war and hunger. The choice was obvious but not easy.

In the end I learned a better understanding of the Latino plight and better understand my Hispanic friends. I have several who have tried to explain the situation to me, especially around when American Latino community began protests recently in America, proving that those conditions have changed little since they began.

Wu Response

I believe that what he is talking about in the second quote is that as Americans we would prefer to believe that our race doesn't matter and that the person is important. That we like to think people would judge us for who we are instead of who we are not and that we could somehow get a kind of respect through that. He is also saying that despite our desire to believe this we are actually judge by our race before others do interact with us lumping the individual with the whole.I know that I fall into this and that I allow myself to do the same to others, but I try to allow them to change that perception so that I won't hold them to unfortunate stereotypes.

Chris Fair

Comic Cover: Wu

I believe Wu’s hypothesis is “because no matter how idiosyncratic one’s individual identity one cannot overcome the sterotype of group identity.” The reason I believe this is because from beginning to end he seems to suggest, and at one point he says “I am who others perceive rather than how I perceive myself to be.” As for the comic book covers all of them come from a time called the golden age of comics. A time when comics were unrestrained and allowed to basically get away with whatever the illustrators pleased. My cover choice was the one of the Green Hornet – Tojo’s Propaganda Hoax. I chose this cover for two reasons. The first being that the Japanese in this piece, like so many of the others, completely fall into the physical stereotypes of an Asian. Slant eyes, yellow skin, short stature, and for some reason an odd mouth. How the mouth ever became exaggerated as such I’ll never know but in this time period it was only acceptable for them to be portrayed as such it was almost encouraged. Comics and hero’s of this era were constantly doing battle with America’s true enemy. The fantasy of having a hero battle a real foe was appealing and lended to the exaggerated characteristics. The other reason I’ve chosen this one is because the Green Hornet’s side kick, Kato, is an Asian American. The Green Hornet, being white, falls into yet another style of the time where all the hero’s were white males. With the exception of Wonder Woman, and few other female hero’s, who often found themselves admittedly sexual situations like bondage, homosexuality, and begging positions. Back to Kato, with Him being the sidekick to the white man Kato instantly becomes a subordinate, lower class, working for his superior’s benefit. The other issue here is of the cultural lens where it is often the powerful white man looking over/presiding over a minority. While that has changed the power of the perceptions of a minority remain as Wu talks about the young boys who strike an Karate pose or those who see and Asian exhibit and then talk to him about it. What he fails to mention here is that the people who do this aren’t just white. Other races and been lead to view them in the same way because of how they have been presented instead of finding out if they’re really from another country or not.

Zinn Chapter 9

So this reading was a long one however at points it certainly perked my interests. The first thing that really stuck out to me also happened to be what I believe is his thesis to be. “The ending of slavery lead to reconstruction of national policies and economics, it was not a radical reconstruction, but a safe one – in fact a profitable one.” Throughout his argument Zinn gives examples about how not just the South but also the North exploited blacks despite fighting for their freedom. Their freedom was given to them but the true issue of racism, the idea that whites are better than blacks, still remained. Zinn gives examples such as the Northern extortion of the black labor force, allowing the government to institute “separate but equal” public locations, and rising of radical lynching were proof that things had not truly changed. He presented great quotes from Francis Ellen Watkins Harper and the Black Female Student who points were presented to officials with a great truth behind them but they fell on deaf ears. Another example of black exploitation was from none other than Abraham Lincoln himself. Of course I grew up with a great admiration for President Lincoln and was surprised to learn of his “flip-flopping”, if you will, on the issues of not only his position on slavery, but his very respect for them as humans. I will however maintain a positive outlook on our president because he had to perform these duties in a time where the idea of freeing blacks, and seeing them as equals, was a completely foreign idea which he would be incapable of performing without some disagreeable ideas. Through this I feel that Zinn takes a stance on Lincoln I’m not sure I completely understand. Most of his argument is negative towards our former President but I would suppose this is because we already know the positives so Zinn presents the negatives. This, in my mind however, says that Lincoln should be looked at unfavorably. Like many Presidents in difficult situations he had a great man difficult choices and positions to take and he preformed as best he could. I’ll admit he probably made mistakes, the very ones Zinn presents, but that shouldn’t lessen the accomplishments or praise Lincoln deserves.

That was a long article… but a good one…

PPD2

Privilege, Oppression, and Difference was certainly one of the more eye opening pieces we’ve read. His thesis, while long, in itself offers a new point. “Talking openly about power and privilege isn’t easy, which is why people rarely do. The reason for this seems to be a fear of anything that might make dominant groups uncomfortable or “pit groups against each other,” even through groups already pitted against one another by the structures of privelige that organize society as a whole. The fear keeps us from looking at what’s going on and makes it impossible to do anything about the reality that lies deeper down.”

The obvious first item of interest is the Diversity Wheel on page 15. The ability to look over who one is and begin to see where we are on the wheel is fun but in itself is racist as well. While I understand his point in using it what he does is reinforces the ideas that there is one social group over another. While he is bringing the various issues to light it almost feels like he is saying this is how life is. When he talks about how life would change if one of these things were changed like waking up the opposite sex or another race he does so in a way that suggests that there are better traits for a person to have and that there are undesirable ones as well. He does this primarily when he says “what changes would you experience in switching from white to African American, from Asian or Latina/o to Anglo.”

What I most liked about this piece though is the section What Privilege Looks Like In Everyday Life.AND This section is so powerful because it shows subtleties of our culture that often go unnoticed. That whites can be successful and no one will be surprised, whites can assume national heros will be white, heterosexals can feel fee to voice their sexuality when they want, and nondisabled people can can assume they won’t be treated like children and taken seriously. Now finally this again is, for me, the most interesting part of the piece and can wow first time readers.

Zinn 2

In Drawing The Color Line Zinn tries to answer an interesting question. His thesis, Is it possible for whites and blacks to live together without hatred, hopes to find it’s answer in historical facts. The colonists easily saw blacks as slave labor since their culture was thought to be just as primitive as their way of life. Also because the Africans were stripped of what little they had breaking their will through disconnecting them from their culture and family. Treating them like something between livestock and human and the horrid ordeals used to get the to America also made them easy to “control”. Zinn states that once the slaves were in America the colonist used religion, discipline, harsh consequences for breaking harsh rules, and establishing a field slave/house slave hierarchy. Overall I don’t believe any disagreements or questioning of the information of what he presents can be made. It seems to be a great deal more historical and informative than the other articles that seemed to have a bias towards the non-English people in their stories. I was however interested in reading this article, as it progressed, because it was a part of history I know much less about. What I knew about slavery was mostly standard information. I knew that it was a darker part of America’s past, there was harsh treatment of blacks and those who helped them, and that racism stemmed and flourished from it. I did not know however that blacks were abducted, marched, caged, chosen, stuffed, shipped, and finally sold on a continent completely different from their home. I’ve also gained a greater heart for the African American “plight” if you will (I don’t have a better word or way to put that) and feel a greater responsibility to it’s understanding and correction.

Takaki: Chapter 2

So Takaki challenges us again with the information that the “typical American” has only been given a glorified version of Christopher Columbus and the early days of European influence on the Americas. He presents it in what is, for me, a very interesting way by using the Irish and Native Americans as examples of how the British influenced what they believed to be “lesser” cultures, not just races. Race though eventually plays a role in this especially for the Indians who become demonized. The other way Takaki shows the English attempts to acculturate other groups is with The Tempest, which makes somewhat obvious observations. During this Takaki gives examples of how desperate the Europeans were, one man eating his wife, and how will the Native Americans were to help. Through greed and lust though the Indians were mistreated because they were viewed as being “savage”, eventually being over taken by the technologically advanced British. Just because the Native Americans didn’t live up to what they believe civilization to be the British try to force them to conform and live as they do despite the fact that they have their own culture that works, and on their own land better than the Europeans. The question I always pose when it comes to Native American culture is “Are they (the individual) allowing their culture to be taken/used or are they trying to preserve it?” I’ve heard a number of different sides on this and I’ve always found that it comes down to the individual. Takaki tells us the Europeans thought the Indians could be acculturated by “consent”. The problem with this is that the British idea of consent and the Indian way of life were confused. The Indians simply did what they knew and the Europeans decided to take advantage of that. Then when it was time for the Indians to fight some did, and others traded because they wanted the things of the foreigners. From the way Takaki presents his material it would almost seem as though there was little the Indians could do and what little resistance they mustered was partially passive-aggressive. In a way he shows it like the way the American school system does. The Europeans showed up, the Indians helped, then the British started taking over. However he holds a sentiment for the Native people because of Europeans looking down their nose’s at the Indians.

As for my response to reading this I’ll say it again, its not really new and this time I didn’t really like going over it again. The use of The Tempest was interesting but didn’t do enough to get a reaction from me.

Zinn:Chapter 1

In reading Zinn's writing I myself had difficulty finding what could be called his thesis. From my understanding someone's thesis should be found and stated close to the beginning of the piece. If I were to claim anything it would be that British, "Euro", way of thinking harmed and eliminated cultures other than their own. He states that "These traits did not stand out in Renaissance Europe, dominated as it was by the religion of popes, the government of kings, the frenzy for money that marked Western Civilization and its first messenger to the Americas, Christopher Columbus." Having heard much of this before I found reading his argument somewhat difficult but I think he presented it well to those who may only have the European/American view of Columbus being a great explorer/hero. The majority of his argument consisted of the Native view and showed just how Europeans smothered the Native Americans with their weapons and lust for gold and slaves. As for having a question about the argument I would ask, since it is a hot topic in the remnants of Native American culture, should they have taken advantage of the Europeans or fought back. At the time the Indians were simply doing what they knew to do in taking care of the new people. Not helping/trading with them didn’t cross the native’s minds. When the Europeans became forceful and brash is when the issues started. To fight or not to fight. Some Native Americans allowed, in some cases encouraging, the take over because they let the Euro greed take over and they too began to want riches and things. Those who wanted to fight did so but without total support they didn’t stand a chance against the Europeans.

As for my response, it didn’t move me much in any direction. I felt like I gained more detailed information about the first contact events but other than the details it was information I knew.

Allow Me To Introduce Myself

Name: Chris Fair
Age: 22
Sex: Male
Ethnicity: White
Born: Greenville, Ohio
School: Bowling Green State University
Major: Graphic Design
Interests: Spirituality, Cru, Art, Design
Music: Danger Mouse, Talib Kwalie, Dungen, The Ceasars, Thrice, Aquabats, Trans Siberian Orchestra, John Coltrane, Frank Zappa
Movies: Shawn of the Dead, Pan's Labyrinth, UHF, Kung Fu Hustle, Stranglehold
Books: Till We Have Faces, Twilight Crystal, Indes Series (design books)