11/17 post - New Jim Crow

The New Jim Crow

After reading the beginning of The New Jim Crow and the message Michelle Alexander was conveying, something else specific stood out to me, the fact that her husband, a federal prosecutor, does not share her views on the criminal justice system. This lead me to think about rivaling views to the points Alexander eloquently raised but not came to mind. Having already read The New Jim Crow in leisure last year I was already exposed to her points and found it increasingly difficult to think of anything substantial to rival the points made throughout her book.  The statistics alone are staggering, 750 out of 100,000 incarcerated in America today. One of every three black men in Washington will spend time incarcerated. These are just a few of the initial points Alexander makes to begin her dismantlement of the claim that there is no longer racial caste in America.  Publicly successful black figures do not take away from the hardships and subservient lives black males are subjected to through incarceration and the limited options available through re-immersion. I cannot think of anything substantive that can refute the claims made by Alexander.

One thing I am confused about is how mass incarceration, zero-tolerance policy, and harsh sentencing were not viewed as top priorities for human rights organizations. Obviously something has to be noticed before it can become a recognized issue but why did it take so long? Fighting the opposition of policies such as affirmative action is important but not nearly enough to achieve an egalitarian society. How did mass incarceration become so well disguised, allowing for the further subjugation of blacks in America?  Large portions of the black community are legally denied housing, jobs, benefits, the right to vote, and this all happened right beneath our eyes in a society where it is supposedly socially taboo to be a racist.

White Like Me Reaction

Tim Wise spends a significant portion of the book talking about his heritage and whether or not his family was involved in slave ownership but I do not think that it was completely necessary. Even though his family did own slaves he himself did not, absolving any personal responsibility he should have. His CEO analogy works for all of humanity not him personally which is the way he approaches the problem. For people to look back into their family trees to discover if they have a history is interesting but I do not feel that it is necessary in the effort to improve race relations moving forward. It almost seemed that he spoke about his interactions with black people in his youth and his parents conceiving him in an act of antislavery to liberate himself from his family’s unfortunate past. To claim to be “collateral damage” to the institutional issues and problems of the Tennessee schools system is insulting to the black people who actually underwent racial discrimination.  

Wise seems to avoid the major issues of race relations through anecdotes from his youth, his recess experience and the members of his YMCA basketball team. I feel that there is a better approach to race relations than just explaining his stories. Granted Tim Wise is white so you have to take that into account when you read and understand his life experiences but he seems to skim over the issues in a paragraph or two without really getting into the issue. Our personal accounts of Race and our experiences are not really that important in the grand scheme of things, and I am hopeful the dynamic and approach of the book is going to change but to this point I have not been impressed. Over and out.

Public Perception

After reading Chapter four in Race I believe that caring about your public perception is a larger component for non-whites that it is for white people.  When meeting someone for the first time someone might seem a bit weird, but if they’re white they still have that going for them. If said weird person is black, then they have double the negative perception.  The public perception of race overrides the existentialist idea that one can decide who they want to be and how they want to be viewed.  Black people have to deal with the double consciousness of being seen as stereo-typically savage, timid and lazy, while although on a smaller scale, white people have to deal with liberal guilt. People cannot magically stop caring about how other people view them, as Taylor said, that’s why we care about what we look like in the workplace and on first dates.

America has long been considered a melting pot, but this could not be further from the truth. To be warmly welcomed in American society people changed their names, forgot languages and traditions while attempting to assimilate into mainstream society.  People try to leave their original and racial identities behind to be viewed as more American. The racial stigmas in America are too strong for full disclosure.  No one, especially racial minorities, can afford to openly act and decide who they want to be.  There is a culture of judgment amidst Americans, a culture of limitation and institutionalizing potential.  Living this way is dangerous and leads to inauthenticity, but as of right now there is not an easy solution as Taylor admits in his feeble attempt of a utopian solution to unlearning our version of race thinking.

Post 2

After our two classes I am starting, whether it is true or not, to sense that members of our class expect the white students to openly accept being racist. This feeling also rang true to me after reading Joe Osmundson’s “Love Letter to White People” and I wanted to further address it. 

I do not understand what accepting being a racist, or having more accountability, does to improve racism and race relations in America.  Joe Osmundson does not openly admit to being a racist, but he states that he considers himself “an ally in the fight for racial justice.” I don’t see what Osmundson is suggesting that differs from the accountability that has been taken for racism by the white students in our class.  I am completely open to taking further steps in improving the way we speak about racial inequality, but I do not know what other steps have to be taken in our discussion to make it a better learning experience to take to the outside world.  

I sincerely believe to be working in conjunction with the oppressed in attempt to help racism so I am asking my fellow classmates, what else I can currently do to for the betterment of the cause. Osmundson addresses reading Malcolm X saying to “Let sincere white individuals find all other white people they can who feel as they do – and let them form their own all-white groups, to work trying to convert other white people who are thinking and acting so racist. Let sincere white people go and teach non-violence to white people”, but I do not think that is the most effective way to stop the perpetuation of racism throughout America. As a white person I feel the best thing I can do is to get to know black people better and attempt to, as impossible as it may be, to understand their plight before attempting to change the minds of other white people.

I'll start this post with some background information on myself. My name is Charles Joseph Brodsky. I am the son of David and Carrie Brodsky and brother to Sarah and Emily, my elder sisters. I am from Radnor Pennsylvania, white, Jewish, an International Relations major, and a member of the Ursinus Men's Soccer and Track teams.  I attended a moderately diverse Quaker private school called Friends' Central School prior to enrolling at Ursinus College. The fact that no one in our class has the same exact background and life experiences leads me to believe that this class will be incredibly informative and powerful. I look forward to learning about the Philosophy of Race from my fellow classmates.