We are not "Spanish"....

It is a long hated thing by me and my family when people refer to us as spanish simply because of the language we speak. Not only is it a misrepersentation but also it does not allow us to claim our own identity. Personally, I am Puerto Rican. And I have never been to Spain. And besides using big words to explain all the injustices I have incurred because of this, I'd rather just say thats its really lame that we as a people are still categorizing people as we see fit and are not embracing indivuality.

My View on the characters In "Crash"

So hi all, I didn't get a chance to say what I wanted in class, so I figured why not put it on the blog.

So basically, I think everyone in Crash isn't all that racist. They are only put in situations that make them seem more racist than they really are.
I'm going to go through the list of characters that were supplied on the sheet (if I can remember all of them)

Rick Cabot (Brendan Fraser)- To me he didn't seem racist at all. He just happened to have his car stolen by two African American people and he knew that the public would take that the wrong way.

Jean Cabot (Sandra Bullock)- Even though she acts racist towards Daniel Ruiz (the Locksmith) I think it's because she's stressed over just having had a gun pointed in here face. I don't think she's really racist, it's just that because it was someone from a group that where she lives is a minority that she makes the assumption that all minorities will act the same way to her.

Anthony (Ludacris)- He makes broad assumptions about how white people treat African Americans, which seem racist. But I don't think they really are because he is in a situation where he has nothing else to believe. He's not being racist out of hatred, he's being racist out of what he's seen. So I guess that brings up the question, Is being racist out of what you've experienced only, as bad as racism out of teaching?

Peter (Larenz Tate)- I don't think he's racist at all. For most of the movie he keeps telling Anothony that all the assumptions he's making are wrong. He's just put into a situation that makes it seem that at times he can be racist, but he can't do anything about it.

Officer Tommy Hanson (Ryan Phillipe)- I think that he isn't so much racist as nervous. I think that after he saw what Officer Ryan did to Christine that he's put on edge about the police. And then when he gets re-assigned to a one person car Officer Ryan tells him "you think you know who you are, but you don't". That just makes him more nervous, and he starts to think about how he his, and how other people are and how they react to things. That's why when he's in the car with Peter, he shoots him. I really think that it could have been another white person and he still would have shot them because he was just nervous about everyone.

Officer John Ryan (Matt Dillon)- I think he is slightly racist. But not as much as he seems. He just seems to be really racist because he has anger issues. He thinks that because one African American receptionist wont help him that every minority is like that. So basically he does the same thing that Jean does, only she does it with hurtful words and he does it with hurtful actions.

Cameron Thayer (Terrance Howard)-I don't think he's racist at all but once he sees his wife get mad at white people he starts getting mad at them too because he doesn't know what else to do. But then once Officer Hanson helps him he starts to realize he's wrong.

Christine Thayer (Thandie Newton)-I don't think she's racist I think she just gets annoyed at Officer Ryan and that's all. If any other cop had come to help her when she was stuck in the car it would have been fine. She was just afraid of what he would do to her in that moment.

Daniel Ruiz (Michael Pena)- I think he isn't racist as much as in tolerant. He got mad at Farhad for not understanding what he was saying and I don't think that was a racist action. He was just someone that had a rough day and wasn't able to get his point across. It could have happened to anyone.

Farhad (Shaun Toub)- Same as Daniel. He's not racist, he's intolerant. Only instead of just leaving it be, he decides to take revenge.

And those are the main characters.
So, in the words of Aragorn, "What say you?"

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

So, again completely ironically, my last Netflix movie was the original Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. There were a few really amazing scenes in it, if you've never seen it, that I thought really brought up intruiging questions about what we say vs. what we really mean. Are we still racist if we think racist thoughts, but don't act upon them or teach them to others? Do the parents have a point?

This movie was made in the late 60s, but it still includes issues that we debate today. Why haven't these racial issues been resolved in over 40 years?

I know it's kind of long, but the scenes all tie in together and if you've never seen the movie at all, it really gives you all the info you need to figure out the plot basis.

Obama's In, Racism Out?

I was online and found this video, which ironically relates to our Humanities unit. It is rather sarcastic about racism being over, but I think it raises some interesting questions about whether racism is over and if so, why? And if it is over, what has happened to all the racists?


Racism Ends Forever

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reflecting on crash

The objective for sharing this powerful film with you was so that you can reflect on human nature and more specifically draw conclusions about your personal connections to the characters and the events.

I urge you to expand on your thoughts either through a post on this blog or through a one page journal entry. Here are some questions (which you are not limited to) to inspire your thinking.

1. REFLECT ON THE CONVERSATION BETWEEN ANTHONY AND PETER WATERS AS THEY LEAVE THE DINER.
*CAN YOU THINK IN STEREOTYPES ABOUT YOUR OWN RACE? IS THAT ACCEPTABLE? WHY? WHY NOT?

2. REFLECT ON THE DISCUSSION BETWEEN JEAN AND RICK CABOT ABOUT DANIEL RUIZ, THE LOCKSMITH, WORKING IN THEIR HOME.
*CAN YOU EMPATHIZE/SYMPATHIZE WITH JEAN CABOT'S REACTION CONSIDERING HER CIRCUMSTANCE? WHY OR WHY NOT?

3. REFLECT ON THE CONVERSATION THAT RICK CABOT HAS ABOUT THE IRAQI WHO HE ASSUMED WAS BLACK.
* IS IT RACIST IF WE CANNOT DISTINGUISH BETWEEN RACES?

4. REFLECT ON THE PHILOSOPHIES OF LUDACRIS' CHARACTER ANTHONY.
*AT WHAT POINT DO YOU AGREE WITH HIM? DISAGREE WITH HIM? WHY?

5. REFLECT ON THE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN OFFICER JOHN RYAN AND SHANIQUA JOHNSON.
*SHOULD SHE HAVE HELPED HIS DAD?
*SHOULD WE BE TOLERANT OF THOSE WHO ARE NOT TOLERANT OF US?

6. REFLECT ON TERRENCE HOWARD'S CHARACTER CAMERON THAYER.
*IN WHAT WAYS IS HE A VICTIM? WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT HIS REACTIONS? WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT HIS WIFE'S REACTION TO HIM?

7. COMPARE AND CONTRAST THE CHARACTERS OFFICER JOHN RYAN WITH OFFICER TOMMY HANSON.

* WHO IS MORE OFFENSIVE? IGNORANT? DANGEROUS? WHY? CITE SPECIFIC EXAMPLES!

8. WITH WHICH CHARACTER DO YOU IDENTIFY THE MOST? WHY? CITE SPECIFIC DETAILS!

Stuck in ma Ela-ela-vator

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p95zWsAmTyw

theres alittle strong language but i think its a pretty good faux-PSA. it shows the perspective of how it feels to be a "target of racism" when they see a reaction to stereotyping because of race