Post reading #12

Bitch Bad is a very clear songs with its meaning toward women and many other ideas and concepts that Lupe Fiasco carefully put into his song and music video. The video starts off with Lupe Fiasco singing his song and then one sees a mother and her little son in the car singing Lupe Fiasco’s bitch bad song and the little boy puts the concept of bad bitch and connects it with a his mother which is a strong independent woman. The next important scene that comes up are three little girls sitting around a computer watching a music video and they connect the idea of a bad bitch to a woman/ girl who does not respect herself and treats herself as an object just like men would treat her. The other scene that I think plays a very important role throughout the entire video is they show a black male and female getting dressed up for the music video and show the black male putting what society considers “thug” clothes on, and shows the female putting what society also knows as “ghetto” clothes on. This idea shows that just like in the old days where actors would participate in Blackface Shows, that today society participates in the exact same thing just does not make it so noticeable, and does a better job in covering it up. In the article “ Lupe Fiasco Bitch Bad Starting an Important Discourse” I found her points very clear and true. In this article they realize what Lupe Fiasco was trying to do and recognize that immensely, but at the same time do not support the way he tried to tackle the problem. In the article there main points were that the song and music video do not look at all the ideas and traits of a woman to be calling her that, and another very important one was what makes Lupe Fiasco so important that he gets to determine the definition of this very sensitive subject. One of the last points that I thought was very valid was a point that they made at the end of the article, which is there is no such thing as a bad bitch and a good bitch that either way one uses the word it is demeaning in someway. This is a very sensitive subject as i said before but it comes down to a very simple answer if you want someone to respect you, one has to respect themselves first.

WORD COUNT:414

Post reading #7

As I said in my pre response post it does not matter it does not matter what race, ethnicity, sexuality, or class a person is domestic violence happens all a cross the board. Although in each one of these categories one could explain why it would happen in that ethnicity, race, sexuality, or class. This has to do with intersectional analysis. For example if we took race to be the category of intersectional analysis this could play a big part in domestic violence because in some races such as Latino or Asian there is a bigger chance of domestic violence because of how they grew up and the beliefs there culture believes in. Then this ties into ethnicity, because race is just the generalized categories they put everyone into and ethnicity is actually where your family ancestry is. This is a part of domestic violence because like I said before some of the reasons people abuse there spouses is because they grew up in different countries and saw there father do it, grandfather, or etc, and they are just repeating a cycle of abuse, and think of there partners as just objects that they control. Sexuality is also big element because not only based on your sexuality, but your sexual orientation people will judge you if or when you try to go in to report violence. For example about a week ago I was waiting at the police station to get something down and a male Latino went in and reported his wife hitting him, but he did not speak English so he had his cousin come in and translate for him. When the police officer heard that he came in to report his wife though she looked completely confused and had a half smile on her face. This is an example of a straight man imagine if it was not and there were two male partners involved or two women partners involved most of these couples do not report their domestic because they are afraid of being judged when they go in. As anyone can see all these factors play a big role in domestic violence, but just cause we understand intersectional analysis and how it play a part in domestic violence does not mean it is going to stop. Its just like saying because you found the problem its going to go away, and thats not true. It will help though because we found the problem and know we just need to fix it, but fixing all of it is impossible and will never happen, so we fix one at a time.

WORD COUNT : 434

pre reading #7

The definition of domestic violence acts of violence or abuse against a person living in ones household, especially a member of ones immediate family. This is a very serious subject because it does not matter about who you are or where you come from it happens to all different kinds of people. This might correlate with intersectionality  because the factors of intersectionality such as race, class, language, and nationality play a big part in domestic violence. For example nationality plays a big role in domestic violence because in some cultures it is more acceptable to treat your children or your wife like this. Cultures such as Central American and South America. This summer my sister studied abroad in Argentina and when she got back she said one of the first things she noticed was how the spouse treated his wife, not as an equal, but as an authority figure over his wife with the tone of voice he used and the body language he used when confronting her. Language is the same I feel as nationality because the language one speaks usually ties on with whatever culture they tie themselves with. Another big factor that has to do with intersectionality and domestic violence is race and class. I know these do not sound like they would intersect with each other, but I honestly think that race and class have a similar part to play. Class and race both play the same role I feel like because society puts them in the same category, so that if your colored you are automatically seen as low class. Class plays a role because if you are low class for reasons such as alcohol addiction, drug addiction, gang affiliation or etc., the likely hood that you will be a part of domestic violence is very high. Domestic violence deals with much more examples then just physical abuse, it deals with emotional, financial and much more. These play a role in class, race and nationality because it is how a person is brought up that determines whether the will abuse there family when they get one. To me it honestly does not matter what ethnicity or nationality you are everyone has the same chance of being exposed to domestic violence because every race, class, language, and nationality has there flaws and domestic is a serious flaw because it affects a lot of people not just the people that are receiving it, but the people around them.

WORD COUNT: 411

post reading #6

The definition to intersectional theory in my opinion is the theory that not only one quality that you possess, such as race, gender, sexual orientation, or class oppression chooses the way people treat or judge you, but all of them effect it. Intersectional theory is a very complicated subject because so many theories are tied up within one theory. An example of intersectional theory is just by looking at yourself and naming what society would consider positive and negative about yourself, I am a male so thats positive, my race is Latino negative, I am middle class so that is a positive, my sexual orientation is straight s that is positive, and I am an able body person so that is a positive. All these are the factors that play a role in intersectional theory; the reason that being a male is a positive characteristic because in society males are looked at as the dominant gender, for example they do all the hard labor, supposed to be tough and aggressive. My race is Latino and this is looked at as a negative characteristic because in society Latinos are looked at as if we do not belong in the United States, and they see us as the working class and that all we are good for is field work. The class characteristic is a little harder because everyone in the United States considers themselves middle class, and I do consider myself as middle class based on my parents income this is considered a positive characteristic because I am not a burden on society. The next characteristic is very important because a lot of people judge someone on there sexual orientation and some people will not get the same privileges if there sexual orientation is opposite of what it is supposed to be. My sexual orientation is straight so that is considered a big positive. The last major characteristic that goes into intersectional theory is ability, for example if a person is handicap that is seen as a negative in society because your whole body is not able, my body is able so that is seen as a positive. All these characteristics play a key role because they determine what benefits, privileges, and penalties a person will get for the remainder of their lives. This concept is different then others such as race, gender, or class oppression because instead of focusing and analyzing just one of these characteristics and why they are important one is analyzing all of them and what role they play in peoples life's. 

WORD COUNT:425

post reading #4

The exercise we did on Wednesday morning was very interesting because it made me recognize how fortunate I am, by letting me now the advantages I have, moreover by letting me know the disadvantages I have because of my skin color. One of he privileges I realized I had was thanks to my parents for getting an education when they were younger, for instance having more than fifty books in the house, my mom have a profession as a marriage and family counselor, and us always having food in the house. The disadvantages I had I realized were not in my control, such as people judging my capabilities based on my skin color, background, and disabilities. I also thought how I remembered my disadvantages more than my advantages till they came to my attention. I remember when I was in eighth grade and I was having a hard time focusing because I cannot focus for a very long time, and my teacher told me basically that I was not gonna go to college and basically anywhere. The experience that I got from this and my eighth grade teacher though is that people are ignorant, and one has to learn to ignore them and nobody really knows your full potential because they cannot base it of your skin color, gender, sexual orientation, or your where you came from.

Advantages and disadvantages though can have various types of meaning, for instance now I am going to discuss the structural privileges that I possessed and the ones that I did not. The structural privileges I felt like I possessed were that I lived in a good neighborhood, I attended private schools, and got my first job as a lifeguard because I knew the people that were hiring; all these advantages helped me progress farther in my life, when things could have been completely different. The disadvantages I received was that because my skin color and where I went to school they thought less of me because I was not white. Another example is that most of my family still lived in low income areas and that just because I had all these advantages my family did not and was looked down on by society.

Reverse racism is a very complicated subject because one can never really reverse racism unless it never happened in the first place. Black girl dangerous reverse racism I feel is also wrong because she is just listing everything the white people did we would be doing back to them and the only difference is if we did it the racism would be reverse and the white people would not be at any advantages and the people of color would. I agree with the second reading because she is also saying that we can never truly reverse racism because the only way one can truly reverse it is if one fought racism with racism and if one does that no one is really winning. Racism is a very tricky subject because in reality it will always exist and someone will always think there better then someone else with no actual proof.

WORD COUNT: 521

Pre reading #4

From when a person is born and old enough to recognize what is going on around them they see the different opportunities that they have that other kids do not, whether they are good opportunities or bad, they notice. To me this has a lot to do with the privileges that not everyone has, and your skin color plays a large role in what privileges a person gets and what privileges a person does not get. The definition of privilege to me is an opportunity that only a certain person or a specified group gets and is not equal to everyone. An example of some privileges that a certain group gets is if you are a Latino there is a grant if you are the first in your family to go to college that will help out with your tuition of course with certain specifications. Another example that has to do with society, is that when I was growing up I noticed that at my grandmas house there were no street lights when it got dark, on the way home that night I asked my mother why there were no street lights and why it was so dark, she said “Mijo, its dark because the city does not put up street lights because the people that live here do not care enough about their community, so neither does the city” I noticed then that I was privileged even if they are just street lights. I felt privileged because I did not live in a low income area, and that my family did well, and it was then where I started being grateful and I still am. 

The truth is that having privileges does create racism in a sense, because for example the white kids are getting more then the colored kids are vice versa. One cannot give opportunities to a specific group and not expect the others to be upset. Everyone can be racist because racism is just anger at a certain specified group. For example when white kids make fun of a Latino or a Black person, the individual that is getting teased has anger not only towards that one person that is making fun of them, but associates them with all white people and not just that one person, and I know that from personal experience. This is absolutely wrong on both ends, but eventually the person learns that it was that individuals ignorance and not the whole race. Racism is a very complicated subject and always will be.

WORD COUNT:421

pre post #3

Ever since I was little and I first saw the census I was confused because I did not understand why it mattered what my ethnicity was. I asked my mother when I got home  that day and she told me it was just so they know how to categorize me, and that she did not understand why it mattered either. Even today when I look at the census I am not sure what to mark, because I am just not one ethnicity but three. For example on question 8 I would have to mark a couple things, such as “Yes, Mexican, Mexican American” then I would also have to put another Latino group which is Honduran. For question 9 I have no idea what I am supposed to mark because I am not White, Black, American Indian, or Asian, and they do not offer Latino as a race so I am absolutely confused. When I look at the census I think that it is to general and that they do not offer enough categories for an individual. I blame the census for the ignorance that people have today about races, because when someone is enrolled in school you have to fill out a census and when you fill it out thats when the ignorance starts unless someone learns otherwise. Most people do not learn otherwise until college. When I was younger I went to private catholic school from first to eighth grade and there was only about maybe ten dark kids and at least six of them were black so they identified me as black. From about second to eighth grade they picked on me for being a different skin color than white with many degrading names, and I blame the ignorance of people that do not take the time to learn about race and the different types. I feel that society has a huge part to play in that and little things such as the census that only gives a couple of races is the basis of that because if the government or society did not care about skin color or ethnicity in that matter no one else would. Everything you do in life from applying for a job, applying for school, getting social security, everything that matters in society you have to fill out a census and say what ethnicity you are and nothing is going to change soon, we care to much about peoples skin color and where they come from.

WORD COUNT: 414

post reading #2

Race like I said before is a very interesting topic, and one of the most diverse in the world. One cannot really put a definition on it because its more of a point of view or opinion than anything else. If I had to come up with a definition for race though it would have nothing to do with someones skin color, and something to do with where the persons family came from. When someone fills out a census that is one of the many questions they ask you and I have always asked myself why does it matter. When I think about it though Race is a group of people that share similar background, such as food, language, religious belief, and there ancestry. What I do not understand though is how can a color such as Black be a race. Black is a color and nothing more than that, when someone says African American though, that is a place where a person came from and has culture tied in it with the word. It describes two things, where your family is from and where someone lives at the moment. I also feel that when someone say race they are not really looking for something specific, but more of a general aspect. Ethnicity is a totally different subject though and I feel like that could be tied in with nationality. Nationality and ethnicity are the same thing in my opinion because when a person asks an individual what ethnicity they are I feel like it is more of there immediate background, such as where your mother and father are from and where your ancestors are from. I feel like there is not much of a difference between race and ethnicity, the only difference I feel like is the way the individual asks you when the question has come up. There are only two ways that it can be deceived though positively and negatively. Even if where you live is where your from, it also has to do with the feeling of acceptance that someone gets from the group of people. Like in the reading though even though he lived in America he did not like associating himself as American because he did not feel any cultural tie with the group of people. All these words come down to emotion and feeling though, because no matter we are still human and in order to belong one has to feel right about their culture.

WORD COUNT:412

pre reading #2

The definition of race is ethnicity, and the definition of ethnicity is traits, background, allegiance, or association. In these definitions it does not say that your race has to do with the color of skin a person is, and I feel thats what society determines race to be.  When someone asks me though to define race it is a very complicated question because there are so many emotions that conflict an answer to actually decide what race means specifically to me. When a person says race though the first thing that does come to my mind is the color of someones skin and how that actually does define where a person comes from. For example when a person is black you associate them with a culture that has black people in it, such as African Americans. Another example is when  one sees a brown person when your in California one automatically thinks Mexican and that their whole family is Mexican even though that person can be a minority of things. If someone went around the world though and got definitions of race from different countries everyone would have a different opinion because everyone has different experiences with race. The experience that someone has with race is what gives that person that definition of race. So the definition of race in California might be a different definition in China. 

Personally though race to me means where your roots, where your family is, and what rituals, religions, and beliefs one might share with someone else. When someone ask me what race/ethnicity I am I do not say Mexican, Honduran, and Jamaican because of my skin color, I say that because of the similar beliefs I share with those people and thats where my ancestry is from. The signs of respect we share, our food, our religion, and many more is what makes our race, not the color of skin I am. My father was born in Honduras and my mother was born here, so race has always been an interesting topic to me. People ask me what race I am almost everyday because my skin color does not give them enough information to base a ethnicity off of. Race will always be a complicated subject because there is to much history involved with it and to much emotion that comes with the word race. They used to enslave people based on what color a person is, and they still be little people on what color one is. So race as one can see will never be just black and white there will always be shades of grey in my opinion.

WORD COUNT: 439

Post Reading #1

People always say racism is gone and we live in a world were everyone is equal and has the same opportunities, I wish that were true. The truth is though that if your are a different skin color than white one has to work a little harder and through more obstacles to prove themselves. There are events in history that prove my exact point and a bill that was just passed two years ago that shows that we are not as close to equality as we think. On January 6, 1969 the official strike of students at San Francisco State College began. The students resulted to a strike for more than one reason, the main reason though was because the black students at that time felt the college was mistreating them by giving there Black Studies Department not as much as much as all the other departments. The strike was such a huge event that even the American Federation of Teachers took an interest because they felt that the students had done such a good job in standing up for what they believed in, that they also had too. This strike went on for two and a half months with daily confrontations, until both parties made an agreement on March 20, 1969. In this specific situation it only harmed a specific set of people the next example affects a whole state not just a college. In Arizona there was a bill that was passed in 2010 that stated the no ethnic studies classes were allowed to be taught anymore in any on the colleges in Arizona, which included for example Raza Studies, Asian Studies, Black studies, and many more. They  said tat it establishes more racism by putting each race into groups and teaching them how they were oppressed which is nonsense. These two events have similarities because in each one of these events they are showing racism in both these issues. The only difference between these two events is that in 1969 they were only attacking one ethnicity and presently in Arizona they are attacking all the ethnicities. The other issue is that in both situations these people like learning about their ethnicity and how much they have struggled to get this far. In my opinion in both of these events its the white race trying to not let us educate ourselves on how far we have gotten as an ethnicity no matter what ethnicity you are. People always say knowledge is power, so I think in both these situations they are trying to take the power away.

WORD COUNT: 429