Facebook

I chose to write on a page to promote a DJ in the Bowling Green area. The name of the group that is “Rich C $ (Doin it for the Honey's).” This group is classified under “Entertainment & Arts - Radio” and following is the description of the page: “Two Hours of the finest Hip Hop n R&B, every Friday night from 8-10 pm on the hottest college radio station in the nation, 88.1 FM-WBGU!!!!!” There are 110 members to this group. As I look thought them there happens to be a wide range of ethnicity, however, there seems to be a slightly larger number of white members.

After reading the description of the DJ, many would assume that the person that the group focuses on is from an African American descent. However after a closer look you come to find that he is Caucasian. This is proof how society has come to stereotype a group of people and only relate them with certain characteristics. This is an example of how someone would interpret his form of speech as urban or black and immediately assume he is African American, when in fact he is a privileged white American male. His name is actually Richard, he is from Bowling Green, attends BGSU and is majoring in Telecommunication and Marketing.

I believe that this page displays how races are uniting and being constructed on Facebook. I believe that this page goes against stereotyping certain characteristics with on culture or one color of people. The content of this page combines multiple cultures in America and in a sense eliminates the color line. I base this off of the fact that everyone who is a member to Rich’s page supports him and his show, no matter their color or beliefs on race. It also shows how those members of different races have accepted a white privileged male as being urbanized as if a part of the black community.

Cybertypes, “Where do you want to go today?”

“It is part of the business of advertising to depict utopias: ideal depictions of being that correctively reenvision the world and prescribe a solution to its ills in the form of a commodity of some sort.” (98) This statement depicts Lisa Nakamura’s beliefs on how corporate America is altering beliefs of its customers for selfish gains.

The corporate slogans which depict multicultural awareness and a strive towards globalization through all cultures, are actually limited to the privileged and middle class America. The advertisements of new technologies claim to make individuals more aware and sympathetic of other cultures and eventually lead to one utopian culture where race, age and gender have no meaning. The content of one advertisement states, “the idea that getting online and becoming part of a global network will liberate the user from the body with its inconvenient and limiting attributes such as race, gender, disability, and age.” (88) These advertisements promise to deliver a world where abilities are limitless involving travel, networking and any expansion of the mind. However the commodity which these industries provide, such as travel and tourism, coherently define the privileged industrialized “first world” person. The images in which they invoke create a belief that these people of other cultures are not as adaptive to this commercialized way of thinking, when in fact they are just as literate as we are. “…IBM speak, the language of American corporate technology. The foreignness of the other is exploited here to remind the viewer who may fear that IBM-speak will make the world smaller in undesirable ways (for example, that they might compete for our jobs, move into our neighborhoods, go to our schools) that the other is still picturesque.” (95)

Nakamura argues that “the other” is portrayed this way to encourage us as Americans to preserve our privileged position in the world. She argues on the stance that corporations are defining race and personal identity along with shaping our way of thinking for the means of advertising and profits. She argues against “Anthems” slogan “Where do you want to go today?,” due to their focus on making the world a smaller place by limiting identity and location. She states, “…then where is there left to go? What is there left to see? What is the use of being asked where you want to go today if every place is just like here?” (92)

This article reinforces the viewpoint on the impact of corporate America on impressionable minds. The corporations know who and how to market certain areas. The fact that the corporations needs images of other races to sell a product and promote a utopian society, will never be able to fully create an awareness of other cultures without depicting images of “the other.”

Why I Hate Abercrombie and Fitch

Dwight McBride’s article on “Why I hate Abercrombie and Fitch,” retold the creation of world wide brand and how it came to characterize race in modern society. He argues to his readers that A&F has created an ability through commercialization to define race and class gender throughout America’s youth. He states, “People but Abercrombie to purchase membership into a lifestyle.” (86) He believes that it is the lifestyle of the white and privileged and that Abercrombie has enforced its privileged stature in society. Both in the market place and throughout its retail stores he portrays evidence on how the discriminate based on color and class.

The article began by describing the corporation’s creation and that its movement to commercialization was sparked by an idea in its earliest stages. Co owner Fitch was ready to expand the business and sell its ideas to the general public all across the country. “In retrospect, this might have been one of the very earliest cases of big businesses ideology winning out over small.” (63) Throughout the early 1900’s Abercrombie was known to be an outfitter of the rich, famous, and powerful. From its creation Abercrombie was linked with white men and women.
“So A&F’s legacy of an unabashed consumer celebration of whiteness, and of an elite class of whiteness at that, in the face of a nation who’s past and present is riddled with racist ideas, politics, and ideology, is not entirely new.” (64) In a sense the author is stating that A&F is capitalizing off of race to boost its company’s profits by marketing towards the whit majority with who also contain the money and power. The author believes that the company celebrates whiteness. “The danger of such a marketing scheme is that it depends upon the racist thinking of its consumer population in order to thrive.”

My problem whit the author is that he continually bashes the consumer of the product such as in the case of describing them racist. How can he defend the beliefs of the consumer when he is not a consumer himself and has no data that represents the consumer in his article?
Yes I agree with the author that the consumer has segregated cultures within its products and hiring processes, but I believe that their intentions are to be a successful company based on profits not the desire to define race and to sustain white privilege. Their target market is the middle to upper class, mainly white, youths. So I believe that it would be in their best interest to market and portray this image for profits sake.

The author of the article is entirely too biased on the stance and beliefs of the company and his desire to bring it down. It is especially displayed on pages 78-79 where he posts the complaints of against the defendant A&F, and he fails to posts A&F’s response to the complaints.

Race: The Power of Illusion, III

In part three of Race: The Power of Illusion, it illustrates historical data that represent how blacks became racialized in modern society. A person described race as being an assumption of historical meaning, and that even though it is not a biological truth it is always present and prevalent in society. The biggest problem with race in the early to mid 1900’s is that privileged white scientist who were part of the majority, believed false characteristics based on stereo types were hereditary with the black community. Because whiteness was a key to citizenship the whites were able to define hierarchy and social construction. The problem with the US being a highly racialized country was that it farced outsiders to fit in with the privileged whites, yet the whites worked to prevent this from happening.
The largest occurrences in which minorities tried to fit in with white culture, was in the housing market. Since the whites held most political positions they were able to make the laws. This is a big reason why physical differences didn’t make race in the 1900s it was based on laws which created a new explanation for it. White was a privilege by law and science, and along with it came power and opportunity. Citizens were denied citizenship based on color not beliefs, whiteness was what whites said it was. Governments created redlining in neighborhoods to keep the blacks from entering into self proclaimed “good-white” neighborhoods. These laws forced all the blacks into a concentrated neighborhood which created little motivation for improvement both for the landowner and for the renters. More than 90% of the housing developments involved in the urban renewal projects were not replaced. Yet once the fair housing contract came to pass in the 1950s, it spread panic in the white neighborhoods. As blacks moved in and tried to “fit in” with white society, they were still cast with negative stereotypes based on color. As the blacks moved in the whites moved out in fear of loosing property value and net worth. Because of the laws and beliefs of the realtors during this time a colored neighborhood was a cheap neighborhood. This denied next generation opportunity for the black families. Their net worth could not increase due to housing restrictions.
What made it possible for the housing market to decrease value just because someone with a different skin color moved next door? These people were able to fit in and provide for their families better in many cases than the whites were. Yet with in only a few years the value of their house went below what it used to be worth when they purchased it. Even with a fair housing act how it was possible for the real estate agency to decide value.
This video helps you realize that race will always be an issue. Even when the white privileged found a way to say it was ok to be black and that you can be equal, they found a way to work around it and create a new form of racial segregation based on color but with a more subtle way of discriminating.

Takaki, Ch.7 Foreigners in their Native Land

In chapter 7, Takaki is able to accurately portray Americans disregard for other cultures brought on by capitalistic ideas and the Market Resolution. “Indeed, the Market Revolution had set in motion forces that were propelling American expansion toward the Pacific.” (166) The Native Mexicans predicted the expansion the Anglos expansion would be usntopable and knew they would have to either adapt or be conquered.

It is stated that the first Americans who migrated into the Mexican owned territory which is now California were generally accepted. They were offered land grants if the proved to adapt to their culture. Even for a while the American rebels who ventured west accepted these conditions and were willing to participate in local customs and ways of life. Yet as they began to migrate west by the thousands the whites began to develop their own idea for western civilization in America. The Mexicans distinguished the Yankees from “- their industry, frugality, sobriety, and enterprise. They found the whites to be impressed with California’s natural resources, its forest, grazing land, and harbors.” (171) It seemed unimaginable for any white traveler to pass up, it was the land of opportunity for the new immigrants. “By the 1840’s, more Yankees were entering Vallejo’s world, driven by dreams of wealth and land ownership generated by pamphlets and books about California. At this time America was also expanding through Texas. The Mexicans now began to realize that there was no stopping this white culture. America took Mexico over with force and money. They made deceived the Mexican natives into believing that it was for the better and for their own good. At the time the newly conquered Mexican believed the white people and began to dream of fortune and power. The Mexicans quickly recognized that this new government which promised them opportunity would concurrently prevent privilege and equality. Like many other non-white citizens the Mexicans were forced to manual labor with lower wage.

This chapter, like many others, provides us with the insight of how money and greed creates privilege and power. The fast paced and industrious white culture was able to prevail and conquer over any race of people that stood in their way because of those characteristics. It seems that American was found on written rules and beliefs which they preached yet never followed. Were they written to deceive those without wealth and power for the advantage of those in power? It certainly seems to be a recurring trend throughout the last few centuries.

Rothenberg, Ch.4 How Jews Became White Folks

“Jews and other white ethnics’ upward mobility was due to programs that allowed us to float on a rising economic tied. To African Americans, the government offered the cement boots of segregation, redlining, urban renewal, and discrimination.” (50)

“Conventional wisdom has it that the United States has always been an affluent land of opportunity. But the truth is that affluence has been the exception and that real upward mobility has required massive affirmative action programs…” (50) The author’s argument here is to point out that the social and economic rise of the Jews was hardly brought on by hard work and education but rather that of the segregation of black and the ability for them to capitalize on their whiteness. This closely relates to Takakis reading on Irish immigrants who were also able to assimilate into America easier due to the color of their skin. Like many immigrants from the 19th century the Jews had to fight the anti-Semitism of daily life. Yet as the next generation of Jews came to pass, society focused more on segregation of blacks and the Jews took full advantage of this opportunity like many other white Europeans. The next two quotes describe how the privileged majority moved from Semitism to racial inequality based on color. “By the 1920s, scientific racism sanctified the notion that real Americans were white and that real whites came from Northwest Europe.” (41) Then post WWII “With the federal government behind them, virtually all developers refused to sell to African Americans.” (47) The author explains this transaction during the 1940s is largely due to theories of nature and biology were being replaced by nurture and culture. (43)

This documentation largely relates to the affirmative action we see apparent in today’s society. It is no longer action against a race but to compensate for denial of social structure in the past. Even though this is a large step for an entire country to transform from segregation to equality it will take much more to balance the wrongdoings in America over the last few centuries. Rothenberg states, “But think what you might have been without the racism and with some affirmative action!” (42)

It is evident in the past few readings that there has always been anti-Semitism across many cultures of white Europeans. But due to racism based on the color of skin it has enable those to adapt much easier into the privileged society. “African Americans were totally shut out of the suburban boom.” “The myth that Jews pulled themselves up by their own bootstraps ignores the fact that it took federal programs to create the conditions whereby the abilities of Jews and other European immigrants could be recognized and rewarded rather than denigrated and denied.” Only now that we realize our privilege can we begin to construct and develop equality.

Takaki, Ch.6 Emigrants from Erin

Takaki states, “Though they (Irish settlers) had planted new roots in America, many Irish found their minds wandering across the Atlantic to the hills of Ireland. Lying in bed at night, they could here “a little voice” calling them back to their “far, far counthrie.” (164) For them, the ocean was a psychological border, protecting them from hidden injuries and bitter memories.

Irish immigrants mostly felt that it was a necessity to travel to America. However they viewed the trip as being ironic, because the poverty in Ireland was created by English policies. Yet between 1815 and 1920, five and a half million Irish emigrated to America (140.) They were being forced out of their own land by the English and pushed to America where there was room for everyone. New settlers sent letters back to the main land describing of a boundlessness country free of tyranny and oppression. There was a demand for labor in America and the Irish intended to fill it. Even though they were provided with back breaking and non stop labor, they still found America to be better than the homeland. It was the same labor they’ve always done, yet they were surrounded with social suffering. They Irish workers were being pitted against workers of other races in the work force. They were trying to fight for their social class while at the same time being compared to blacks on the level of intelligence and personality. So the Irish attempted to assimilate into America through each generation. When they first settled they were forced into blue color jobs and along with that came degradation. But as each generation came, they began to adapt and veer away from negative stereotypes. They came to be educated and learned to erase the bad memories of the homeland.

Why were the Irish able to adapt so quickly into the new world. I suppose the color of their skin played a great role in this advancement into social class. I thought that Takaki jumped around a little too much while writing this chapter. Although their ware a lot of relevant information and a great deal of research, he failed to distinctly define why the Irish were able to assimilate into the American Culture.