3/20: First Reading
I just finished reading the first 54 pages of Race. So far, I am really enjoying the use of history and the study of past mindsets in relation to our perception of race today. I have always enjoyed reading about history, and while I expected this book to be all about slavery and America's past, I was pleasantly surprised with the use of evidence from ancient civilizations like Greece and Rome.
Before he got into the historical aspect of prejudice and racism, however, Aronson told a personal story. It involved him at a pool, standing in line for a snack, and overhearing people accusing African-American teenagers of stealing. Although he didn't have any evidence, he admitted feeling angry at the boys. This aspect of prejudice towards other races has always been a topic I have never felt 100% comfortable talking about. Obviously I do not consider myself a prejudiced person, but I have had to question myself, especially during this race unit, about if I treat some people differently than others. This aspect of relationships between races is a topic that is pretty difficult for me; it's something I don't usually want to address (especially how I handle it in my life) because it makes me feel kind of uncomfortable. I'm hoping that by the end of this book, I will be a little bit more self-aware of the effects that my perceptions of race have on me and my life.
On a different note, one element of the first chapter that I thought was very interesting was how Marc Aronson examined slavery, but not in the way that I expected. I knew that slavery would have to turn up at some point in this book, but it was surprising to hear that slaves were based on social class, and not merely their race, or how they looked. Aronson explains this idea on page 52, saying "In that sense Roman slavery was as open as the Roman Empire. No one cared what color you were or what god you worshipped. But everyone knew your precise social rank." This explanation of slavery connected to how, ever since the beginning of time, there has always been a relationship between those who believed they deserved better, and those who had to work for them. That relationship is based on a human instinct tendency in which some consider themselves better than others.
It was fairly eye-opening when Aronson explained how in most every group of people, even one that focuses entirely on equality and humanity working as one, humans will most always find themselves considering certain people better than the other. He expands this idea on page 30, where he talks about the Jewish religion and, saying "The Jews invent one god, one law, for all humanity, but define themselves as special to God." I think deep down, I was aware of this, because obviously it feels good to be the best, or the smartest, or to have a special connection with someone that everyone else admires. If I had to connect this mentality to the modern day (this might be a stupid example), I would say it's like how people feel more superior than others when they first discovered a song, or book, or movie first, even though everyone else is obsessed with it later. They can proudly say that they were the ones who first liked it, and everyone else didn't have the same connection as they did. So whether it be someone liking a song before all of their friends, or the Jews feeling that they were superior because God chose them, many people can relate to that attitude. However, I never really made the connection between that and prejudice. The basic idea of feeling better than someone else can be manipulated into a hatred or fear of the group that you believe is inferior. It would be interesting to find out if this social divide is bound to happen in every group of people, or if it just depends on the environment. Based on the evidence Aronson provides, it happens most every time.
Overall, the beginning part of this book was fairly general, explaining not about the connections to racism yet, but the basic mindset behind the prejudice that leads to racism. I am really enjoying the historical evidence that Aronson presents, and the powerful images of artifacts that help to get his point across. This will be a very interesting book to read, and I'm looking forward to reading more.
Thanks for reading!
Before he got into the historical aspect of prejudice and racism, however, Aronson told a personal story. It involved him at a pool, standing in line for a snack, and overhearing people accusing African-American teenagers of stealing. Although he didn't have any evidence, he admitted feeling angry at the boys. This aspect of prejudice towards other races has always been a topic I have never felt 100% comfortable talking about. Obviously I do not consider myself a prejudiced person, but I have had to question myself, especially during this race unit, about if I treat some people differently than others. This aspect of relationships between races is a topic that is pretty difficult for me; it's something I don't usually want to address (especially how I handle it in my life) because it makes me feel kind of uncomfortable. I'm hoping that by the end of this book, I will be a little bit more self-aware of the effects that my perceptions of race have on me and my life.
On a different note, one element of the first chapter that I thought was very interesting was how Marc Aronson examined slavery, but not in the way that I expected. I knew that slavery would have to turn up at some point in this book, but it was surprising to hear that slaves were based on social class, and not merely their race, or how they looked. Aronson explains this idea on page 52, saying "In that sense Roman slavery was as open as the Roman Empire. No one cared what color you were or what god you worshipped. But everyone knew your precise social rank." This explanation of slavery connected to how, ever since the beginning of time, there has always been a relationship between those who believed they deserved better, and those who had to work for them. That relationship is based on a human instinct tendency in which some consider themselves better than others.
It was fairly eye-opening when Aronson explained how in most every group of people, even one that focuses entirely on equality and humanity working as one, humans will most always find themselves considering certain people better than the other. He expands this idea on page 30, where he talks about the Jewish religion and, saying "The Jews invent one god, one law, for all humanity, but define themselves as special to God." I think deep down, I was aware of this, because obviously it feels good to be the best, or the smartest, or to have a special connection with someone that everyone else admires. If I had to connect this mentality to the modern day (this might be a stupid example), I would say it's like how people feel more superior than others when they first discovered a song, or book, or movie first, even though everyone else is obsessed with it later. They can proudly say that they were the ones who first liked it, and everyone else didn't have the same connection as they did. So whether it be someone liking a song before all of their friends, or the Jews feeling that they were superior because God chose them, many people can relate to that attitude. However, I never really made the connection between that and prejudice. The basic idea of feeling better than someone else can be manipulated into a hatred or fear of the group that you believe is inferior. It would be interesting to find out if this social divide is bound to happen in every group of people, or if it just depends on the environment. Based on the evidence Aronson provides, it happens most every time.
Overall, the beginning part of this book was fairly general, explaining not about the connections to racism yet, but the basic mindset behind the prejudice that leads to racism. I am really enjoying the historical evidence that Aronson presents, and the powerful images of artifacts that help to get his point across. This will be a very interesting book to read, and I'm looking forward to reading more.
Thanks for reading!
Hey Meg!
ReplyDeleteI really liked your first blog, and it interested me in the book you're reading. I never really thought about the idea that slavery in America was based mainly on social class, not skin color as we have always been taught, and the disturbing fact that this kind of prejudice is human instinct. It makes me wonder how we could possibly fix an issue like racial inequality in America today if prejudice is as deeply rooted as instinct (and this, as you quote Aronson as saying in your blog, is that HUMANS will always consider certain people as being better than others, not even just white people).
I really liked your first blog! You had some fantastic insights and clearly did some deep thinking. Your book sounds really interesting.
Grace
Thank you, Grace!
DeleteYou bring up a good point about the future of racial issues in our country (or any country, for that matter). I can't really think about an effective way to reverse a wide-spread mindset, or an instinct that people share. In our book, Aronson mentions that in ancient times, groups of people living in the forest would only consider themselves human, and the rest were perceived as animals, or enemies. If this sort of mentality has grown with the human race all the way up until now; if it is some sort of evolutionary psychology, I'm not sure how we could change the way our brains work.