Native Stereotype

Racism affects all colors, sizes, and shapes. Yet, while many people are stereotyped blacks seem to be the biggest group affected. Black males are stereotyped before they walk into the room: they are angry, aggressive human beings who see violence as the answer. But that is not the case. There are angry people in every race and every color. It is just a stereotype such as that the Jewish faith is cheap, that the Asian race is smart. Racism has caused this stereotype. Blacks are hit constantly with racism and they see no other answer than gangs and violence. If there was equal opportunity blacks would not fulfill the white person's prophecy. 

That is no different than in Native Son. Racism against blacks causes them to be self-doubting and self-loathing just as Bigger is in Native Son. Before Bigger's death for killing Mary, the son of his employer, Max his lawyer tells him that "they made you live in bad conditions, when a man hears that over and over...and sees his life is bad, he begins to doubt his own mind (390). The white man creates their own enemy with racism. No wonder the blacks kill and steal. In that time period racism was on a high. Black people saw no other answer ... violence was the only way they knew. They weren't educated, they weren't living in conditions suitable for human life, they weren't getting equal rights with the white people, especially on the Black Belt where Bigger lived.  When Bigger was around white people "he was very conscious of his black skin" (67) and the way that other white people looked at him. He was not comfortable in his skin which caused him to murder and steal acts he knew were wrong.

Who causes the racism? The media is the cause for the racism. They cause Bigger to feel like a lower class citizen in his city, they stereotype, they assume (you know the saying), they make people hate the black citizens. The newspaper articles made Bigger a Negro object for racism. He was there black outlet. 

My Webquest: 

Read the articles about stereotypes, racism, and the effect of media. Write a blog answering these questions: How does the media affect your daily thinking today? Do you let the media influence your opinions? Does the media still affect the black race today, do you think rappers in today's society continue the stereotypes? Make sure to use quotes from the blogs/articles. 

Second Part: Take a look at this quote and relate them to the theme of stereotyping and racism and media. 
"Mr. Max, a guy gets tired of being told what ... he can do and can’t do. You get a little job here and a little job there. You shine shoes, sweep streets; anything. . . . You don’t make enough to live on. You don’t know when you going to get fired. Pretty soon you get so you can’t hope for nothing. You just keep moving all the time, doing what other folks say. You ain’t a man no more. You just work say in and day out so the world can roll on and other people can live. You know, Mr. Max, I always think of white folks. . ."

All of these links are found on my delicious site, tagged cassiewebquest. 

This paper, Mass, Media, and Racism, written by Stephen Balkaran for Yale University was about the mass media and its affect on racism. Please only read the Introduction, Racism, the U.S. Media and Racism, the Statistics and the Conclusion. 

This is a blog about the Effect of Racism in Prison written on February 20, 2009. Twconroy details how the administration and fellow prisoners exhibit racism on a daily basis and the consequences. 

This article, Black Men Quietly Combating Stereotypes, in the Washington Post talks about the daily struggle black men have with stereotypes and how the deal with the anger towards them. 

This blog by a self proclaimed "black christian male" wrote an paper about black stereotypes for his English IV class. His blog is titled "My World". This title is very important because it says that black people live in a different world. 

If you are judgmental and also don't want to listen to explict language, go to the next podcast: Itunes Store, search Through the HAZE, podcasts, listen to: Hip Hop on the Menu Part 1, My fro is bigger than yours Part 1. You don't have to listen to the whole thing but can skip around. 

Also, Itunes Store, search racism, and then go to Podcasts, the Rise Up Radio, then listen to Black Male Empowerment. Many blacks needed empowerment because their self-esteem was so low that many blacks needed a self-esteem boost. 

Even in today's more accepting society blacks are stereotyped as chimps or monkeys to demote their intelligent. See this political cartoon about Obama. 

For a more intensive look at the Native Son see:

Rachel Rosenthal's blog at rachelrosenblog.blogspot.com 

Black Male: Civilized or Rash

Throughout FBI Tracked King’s Every Move, Jen Christensen details the FBI wiretaps of Martin Luther King and explains that while Martin Luther King was the most powerful and persuasive person in his time, he was utterly selfless (Christensen, par 1). Martin Luther King was a self-critical person who believed he was on this earth to serve others. He wanted not to be famous but to inspire others (Christensen, par 2). The FBI tried to say that Martin Luther King was a Communist so they kept him under constant surveillance. The tapes show nothing…except an embarrassing sexual relationship that the FBI tried to use against him (Christensen, par 3-5). He was called the most important speechmaker in 20th century and also called one of the most dangerous Negro leaders in the country (Christensen, par 8). They wanted to investigate Luther without embarrassing themselves (Christensen, par 9). Many people loved Luther and if they exposed themselves as trying to discredit him they would discredit themselves. But they continued the process. Finally the bugs picked up something about King’s love life: captured the sounds of sexual encounter at a party and then at another drunken gathering King told an off-color joke about John F. Kennedy who had been recently assassinated. President Hoover had a lot of problems with King calling him disgusting. When King won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 they sent him insulting and threatening notes.

Throughout Native Son by Richard Wright Bigger is not directly discriminated because of his skin color. Instead, Bigger makes choices that make him a stereotypical black male. He chooses to steal instead of work hard for his money and when he does choose to get a job he still believes that he is always being judged. In fact, the Daltons accept Bigger for who he is, a black male. Martin Luther King was forever trying to get rid of the stereotypical black male. He wanted not the Black Power but equality. Bigger is anti-Luther. He represents the black male who makes choices that will eventually hurt him. He doesn’t realize that the Daltons see him as an individual so when he is in Mary’s room, he believes they will think the worst. He doesn’t try to tell the truth and because of that, he kills her. He thinks that the truth will end up hurting him but he’s wrong. In this case I think Martin Luther King is the anti-thesis to Bigger. He is proud of his black skin and what he represents. Bigger believes he is not attractive, Bigger does not believe in himself. He embodies a clichéd black man.

White people have always tried to put down the black race. Even when slavery was illegal many plantation owners employed black men at the lowest of low wages. Bigger is just another stereotypical character in another stereotypical black novel. What makes this novel interesting: the way Bigger thinks. He doesn’t know how to think for himself. White people along the Black Belt (where Bigger lives) make the blacks feel insignificant and therefore are making them kill and steal. If everyone was equal the blacks wouldn’t feel the need to steal to make money or kill in times of trouble. The white people bring this destruction on themselves. They tried to bring down MLK but failed miserably. Martin Luther King was evidence that black people could be civilized and calm individuals and nothing the FBI found can tarnish his already famed reputation.

Christensen, Jen. "FBI tracked King's every move." CNN (Dec. 2008). 17 Mar. 2009
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Hi Mr. Saxon, I citied the article but it wasn't working on my blog, i don't know why. If you want I can show you the full citation on Noodle Tools. 

Grey's Heterosexual Privilege

I have irrevocably been in love with Grey’s Anatomy for the longest time. It’s the plot, plus the characters, and perhaps the slight obsession with surgery … even though I will never be a doctor. And even though as time goes on the story gets more desperate, I still am an avid fan. My favorite season is Season 2. The characters (doctors) run the main story line and the minor characters (patients) help develop the story. During the episode number 19 (What Have I Done to Deserve This?), I focused more on the minor characters impact.

Many of the main characters in Grey’s Anatomy are … to say bluntly… sluts. They sleep with everyone. They never contemplate whether a boy or girl is gay. Dr Shepard is trying to focus on regaining their relationship with his wife who slept with his best friend. Meredith Grey inappropriately slept with George O’Malley the night before the episode. Christina is sleeping with Dr. Burke, which is seemingly the only working relationship in the show, yet they never talk or explain feelings to each other. Alex and Isobel are sleeping together, yet they aren’t together. Heterosexual privilege is obvious in Season 2 because none of the main characters are homosexual and everyone seems to sleep with everyone.

Although the main characters show heterosexual privilege in the way they act and carry themselves the minor characters in this episode show that Grey’s Anatomy is accepting of homosexuals. Through the homosexual couple, the Begleiter’s, there is an obvious more feminine character and a more masculine character even though both characters are male. The doctors take the homosexuality in stride never ever commenting on the fact that the parents are gay instead they just focus on saving their child. The gay couple was obviously able to adopt contrary to the belief that many have that a gay couple shouldn’t be able to have children. Although there is an obvious character distinction with the characteristics of the homosexual couple, they are able to adopt a child and are caring of that child enough to bring him to the hospital. In contrast with the heterosexual couple when faced with problems i.e. a tumor on the male’s heart, the couple ends up breaking up. That juxtaposition shows that both couples are equal in society and either can break up over differences. In this episode, the homosexual couple is stronger.

I think that the setting, a hospital, does play an important factor. In a hospital a person is more stressed than usual and that tests the validity of a relationship. Whether one’s significant other can handle a tumor doesn’t matter if one is a homosexual or heterosexual. What matters is the strength of the relationship. Grey’s Anatomy, though it consists of mostly straight characters, shows its lack of heterosexual privilege through its patients. Also, in the future, Grey’s will have a lesbian couple and even run a story line about one lesbian trying to find love with the help of her male friend trying to find love in a female also.