4/12: Final Thoughts
Hi everyone!
I just finished Race. I've been reflecting on the many ideas that Aronson has presented throughout the book and started to think about the questions that this book has raised for me. I particularly enjoyed the last section, "Black Is a Way of Acting" because that is when Aronson shifted from more of the informational part of the book to analyzing all of the specific facts he has presented and forming abstract conclusions about them. Although I would have liked to hear more about Aronson's ideas for solving the racial issues and prejudice in our society today, it was still a great conclusion to the book.
This ending section also brought up a few questions for me. Aronson mentions at the end of the book that "The impulse to hatred is imprinted in us, and we are deeply influenced by the time and place in which we live. But we are not helpless." (268). He praises those who have stood up to the monstrosities of racism that have occurred in the past. I believe that although the racism and prejudice in our country might not be as obvious as in our history, it still is just as damaging. However, as Aronson says, "[...] people have chosen to reject their dark hatreds and embrace our common humanity. We can choose." (269).
My question is: How do we dismiss our prejudices and move towards social progress in our lives?
The first part of the answer to this complex question is to be aware of your prejudice. I've gotten this message loud and clear not only from this book but from speakers we have heard in English class and the pieces we have read. It is not enough to merely stay silent and pretend that we are all colorblind. As Aronson says, "At best we can pause [...] That pause, that instant of reflection, is the gift given to us by those people of courage how resisted the prejudices of their day [...]" (269). We have the power and mental capacity to reflect on our own thoughts, which is very cool. We need to use this skill to recognize that most of us do have prejudices. Being aware of the problem is the first step to progress.
After realizing that we have these thoughts about people who are different than us, it is also important to question ourselves and our logic. Aronson writes that he thinks "[...] we should say "Always watch," "Always listen," "Always question." (267). In this English class, we have been taught about noticing flaws in logic and how to craft a solid argument. We can use these skills to analyze our own prejudice and find the flaws in them. A common argument from white supremacists is that African-Americans are the ones ruining our society and committing the majority of crime against whites. This idea has also been spread through the media, which reports higher crime rates for African-Americans, which is not always accurate, because of our corrupt criminal justice system's treatment of African-Americans (I won't get too deep into that one, I think The New Jim Crow group will have more to say on that).
However, after doing some quick research, I found a credible website that reported a new study from the Bureau of Justice Statistics. It said that "Some 57 percent of crimes involving white victims were committed by white perpetrators, while only 15 percent were committed by blacks." (Neiwert). This official study has swiftly proven that previous argument completely wrong. Nevertheless, admittedly, I have allowed these false messages that flow through our society to affect me. Even though the lies that have been spread are incorrect, it has affected me and how I perceive others. However, by simply realizing that this is false, I am able to analyze my thoughts that might be prejudiced and remind myself that there is no solid evidence to support my thoughts. In order to dismiss one's prejudice, they must find the holes in their own logic and the messages around them.
If we can be aware of the prejudice in our society, that is the first step towards progress. Once we acknowledge it is there, we can start to question ourselves and others in order to bring about the truth.
Now, I'm not saying that if everyone completes these two simple steps, racial issues will be gone forever. I know that this issue is much more complex. However, I believe there is a solid impact that having these ideas in mind will have. Maybe it will just affect one person's life, but one person can spread their ideas to many other people, possibly including the children of our society, who have the power to shape our future.
Race has been a very beneficial read for me. I've been forced to look within and understand my own mindset, and this book has helped me understand why I might have those thoughts. It also was interesting to read about the past, not always necessarily in relation to race, but I have always enjoyed history and Aronson made facts from thousands of years ago sound like a storybook in some places. Thanks for sticking with me on my blog!
I just finished Race. I've been reflecting on the many ideas that Aronson has presented throughout the book and started to think about the questions that this book has raised for me. I particularly enjoyed the last section, "Black Is a Way of Acting" because that is when Aronson shifted from more of the informational part of the book to analyzing all of the specific facts he has presented and forming abstract conclusions about them. Although I would have liked to hear more about Aronson's ideas for solving the racial issues and prejudice in our society today, it was still a great conclusion to the book.
This ending section also brought up a few questions for me. Aronson mentions at the end of the book that "The impulse to hatred is imprinted in us, and we are deeply influenced by the time and place in which we live. But we are not helpless." (268). He praises those who have stood up to the monstrosities of racism that have occurred in the past. I believe that although the racism and prejudice in our country might not be as obvious as in our history, it still is just as damaging. However, as Aronson says, "[...] people have chosen to reject their dark hatreds and embrace our common humanity. We can choose." (269).
My question is: How do we dismiss our prejudices and move towards social progress in our lives?
The first part of the answer to this complex question is to be aware of your prejudice. I've gotten this message loud and clear not only from this book but from speakers we have heard in English class and the pieces we have read. It is not enough to merely stay silent and pretend that we are all colorblind. As Aronson says, "At best we can pause [...] That pause, that instant of reflection, is the gift given to us by those people of courage how resisted the prejudices of their day [...]" (269). We have the power and mental capacity to reflect on our own thoughts, which is very cool. We need to use this skill to recognize that most of us do have prejudices. Being aware of the problem is the first step to progress.
After realizing that we have these thoughts about people who are different than us, it is also important to question ourselves and our logic. Aronson writes that he thinks "[...] we should say "Always watch," "Always listen," "Always question." (267). In this English class, we have been taught about noticing flaws in logic and how to craft a solid argument. We can use these skills to analyze our own prejudice and find the flaws in them. A common argument from white supremacists is that African-Americans are the ones ruining our society and committing the majority of crime against whites. This idea has also been spread through the media, which reports higher crime rates for African-Americans, which is not always accurate, because of our corrupt criminal justice system's treatment of African-Americans (I won't get too deep into that one, I think The New Jim Crow group will have more to say on that).
However, after doing some quick research, I found a credible website that reported a new study from the Bureau of Justice Statistics. It said that "Some 57 percent of crimes involving white victims were committed by white perpetrators, while only 15 percent were committed by blacks." (Neiwert). This official study has swiftly proven that previous argument completely wrong. Nevertheless, admittedly, I have allowed these false messages that flow through our society to affect me. Even though the lies that have been spread are incorrect, it has affected me and how I perceive others. However, by simply realizing that this is false, I am able to analyze my thoughts that might be prejudiced and remind myself that there is no solid evidence to support my thoughts. In order to dismiss one's prejudice, they must find the holes in their own logic and the messages around them.
If we can be aware of the prejudice in our society, that is the first step towards progress. Once we acknowledge it is there, we can start to question ourselves and others in order to bring about the truth.
Now, I'm not saying that if everyone completes these two simple steps, racial issues will be gone forever. I know that this issue is much more complex. However, I believe there is a solid impact that having these ideas in mind will have. Maybe it will just affect one person's life, but one person can spread their ideas to many other people, possibly including the children of our society, who have the power to shape our future.
Race has been a very beneficial read for me. I've been forced to look within and understand my own mindset, and this book has helped me understand why I might have those thoughts. It also was interesting to read about the past, not always necessarily in relation to race, but I have always enjoyed history and Aronson made facts from thousands of years ago sound like a storybook in some places. Thanks for sticking with me on my blog!
Neiwert, David. “White supremacists’ favorite myths about black crime rates take another hit from BJS study.” Southern Poverty Law Center, 23 Oct. 2017, www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2017/10/23/white-supremacists-favorite-myths-about-black-crime-rates-take-another-hit-bjs-study. Accessed 12 Apr. 2018.
Hi Meg,
ReplyDeleteYour blog posts are always a pleasure to read, and this one is no exception. I agree with you, this was my favorite section to read. It was probably because I could relate better to the modern topics he discussed, for instance, the Civil Rights Movement, Gandhi, ect. I also appreciated his brief interpretation of steps to take to make social progress.
I wanted to comment on one of the quotes you used in this post, the one that goes: "We should say 'Always watch,' 'Always listen,' "Always question.'" It was a part of a greater argument that confused me. Earlier in the book, Aronson asked a question similar to "could we live without race?" In this paragraph, he claims that because racial prejudice will always be with us, we should say "always listen" instead of "never again" when talking about genocide. I wanted to know if you had any thoughts on this.
Hi Clara-
DeleteI agree that those two ideas seem conflicting. I'm not 100% sure of this, but maybe he was asking if we could live without race to get his point across that it has made such a great impact on our society already. Perhaps it was phrased like a question, but was actually trying to express that the answer to that question is no, and that we need to accept that it is part of our lives.
Hi Meg!
ReplyDeleteThis was a really great post! I also really enjoyed the last section of the book, because it was more abstract and is more related to what is going on today. I think that you answered the question very skillfullly. The steps you addressed would be very helpful, and I think that more people should work on that. Do you think that completing those steps would be easier than people make it seem?
Hi Lily!
DeleteHonestly, I think it is definitely easier said than done. It was simple for me to sit down at my computer and type out this blog post without thinking about what I would do in a real-life situation. However, after writing this, I have tried to be more conscious of my thoughts and why I am thinking them (although in our town it is hard to do this in relation to race) and I've been trying to poke holes in my own prejudice. I'm not sure if this would necessarily be easy for most people; I'm sure others have to deal with family pressure or societal pressure to uphold certain prejudiced beliefs. As for my experience, though, I think these steps are fairly easy to follow.
Meg, I appreciate your thoughts on how your thinking has been impacted by both your reading and by the discussions we've had in class. Certainly, it's difficult to change the attitudes of an entire culture, but I hope that by thinking critically, especially about the flood of information we may receive from the wide variety of sources that are available, we may begin to raise questions and point out flaws in thinking, and thus potentially cause others to do the same. I know that's one of my goals as a teacher.
ReplyDelete