Syracuse Ska Forum

Racism is a system of advantages based on race. Prejudice is misinformation about people different from or similar to ourselves.

It is a strong statement to accuse someone of racism. It is not correct to assume the meaning of statement is racist or prejudice just because race is mentioned.

It is okay to talk about stereotypes about different cultures and ethnic groups. Many black women have larger hips, many Asian men are short. It is not a bad thing to put stereotypes into the open when having a discussion.

Crossing the line into racism, and prejudice occurs when it is implied that because people are different from you that they are inferior or must fit a stereotype.

Example, it is not inappropriate to say that a neighborhood is predominantly Hispanic. It is prejudice and racist to tell people not to move there because they aren't Hispanic and won't like it because Hispanic people play loud music and have huge loud families.

It is important to understand the true meaning of racism and prejudice because you need to be able to articulate yourself if a uncomfortable situation occurs.

If you can't explain why a statement is inappropriate it is difficult to promote acceptance and tolerance.

Asking questions is key to understanding why ignorance, and the racism and prejudice it leads to, persist. If you suspect a person of ignorance ask them questions, talk to them. You are perpetuating ignorance and prejudice to listen to a statement and assume you understand the connotations.

A really good book that deal with racism especially in a social sence is called Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together In The Cafeteria? by Beverly Daniel Tatum.

Pop Quiz: Is the title of that book racist? Is it racist or prejudice to ask that question.
Answer: No. I really hope you've at least learned that asking questions should never be looked down upon. Ignorance is not answering a question because you are afraid to ask.

Did you write that? That is pretty cool.
-Mike

Thanks for the constructive post Johanna on a touchy subject.

Discussing race in America is often a field of landmines. There is so much emotionalism all around, melded with ignorance, that bad reactions sometimes seem inevitable. I work with many people of color and we sometimes accidentally step on each others' feelings on this issue. There are just way too many assumptions every direction.

Part of the problem is mentioning stereotypes outside a thoughtful discussion. That happens a lot, and creates unfavorable impressions. Like, why bring up racial class when it's not pertinent to the subject matter? I personally find that offensive. If you're trying to find someone in a crowd, pointing out any physical aspect makes sense, but when merely telling a story, it often does nothing more than point out that the storyteller finds this aspect unusual and therefore worthy of emphasis. That always makes me wince.


And some of us find pointing out racial characteristics casually, when it's not pertinent to the subject of what's being said, to be a form of racism, precisely because it implies this aspect is noteworthy when in the context, it's clearly not. People who are racist always point out the race of someone different, because there is an underlying assumption they want you to share with them. Change the expression to "white" or "Jewish" for example, instead of "black" and see how distorted the same comment sounds. "So, were there a bunch of little white kids in the park today?" See how stilted that sounds?? Like little white kids don't belong there or maybe you need to keep on eye on them for some reason. That seems the underlying assumption of bringing it up unnecessarily like that.

BTW, I'm sure Justine will back me on this, but its the same problem with referring to Native Americans. People all over the US are getting worked up about changing sports team nicknames because they think it's "silly", when its clearly not. If teams had nicknames like the "Brooklyn Jews" or the "Washington Whities", maybe more people would "get" the issue. Using racial classifications casually like that can often imply disrespect at best and overt racism at worst.

This is a very good subject to bring up. We all have a lot to learn.

lol at washington whiteys

Did something happen at a show to spark this? Or, was it just a random rant?

Definately an EXTREMELY touchy subject. Right now I'm one of two, yes that's right two kids in my school who identify themselves as Native American. A lot of kids in my school don't even realize it, so they make off-hand remarks when they're talking to their friends.

An example would be, I was in US History one day this past year, at the very start of the school year, and my teacher was talking about Native American history in North America. Somehow the subject of Native Americans around the US wanting to have sports team names changed, and not being happy with movies such as the original version of Annie Get Your Gun because of the portrayal of Native Americans in it and how completely out of wack it is. There was this guy across the room who, through the entire conversation, was making snide remarks and laughing with his friends. At one point he raised his hand and the teacher called on him. He asked something along the lines of, "So why do we even care what they think? They're on their plots of land, they should be happy with what they have. If they want anything more, they can suck my balls." My friends who were sitting with me just sat there and looked at me. I raised my hand, told the kid that I was Native American, and that I would never, in fact, suck his balls, and that he should be careful what he says around who because next time I wouldn't be near as civil. He called it a threat, my teacher agreed with me, he looked like an idiot.

Another time I was in English, and we were doing a unit on Native American literature. Again we were discussing the changes that tribes have been asking for. A girl sitting directly across from me, who KNEW that I'm Native American and extremely proud of my heritage, muttered to her friend next to her "Damn Indians." Then she looked up at me, and realized what she'd said, and said sorry.

I'm in my school's Cultural Awareness Club. I actually thought about running for Vice President, but then I decided not to because I'm already President of Drama Club and Photography Editor of Yearbook and I just don't want to get too too overloaded. At any rate, it's a cool little club, and we have meetings every other week. Every meeting one member bring in something from either their culture or another to share with everyone. They give about a 5-10 minute presentation and talk about what they know, and then we usually spend another 10-15 minutes talking about the culture. Oh man, last year we even did a step team thing, and it was so freakin' cool. Mr. Clark, the advisor of the club, and I have been talking about doing a Native American theme week at the school sometime, and I'm actually thinking that it might be able to be done this upcoming school year. We'll have food, and random posters up, and presentations in Social Studies classes by people of the local reservations, and I've even been talking to some local Native American musicians about doing a concert at night free of charge. If it ends up happening, I'll be sure to post here letting you all know when the concert it, because it'd be really cool if y'all could show up.

Haha. So the point of this huge long post, is that racism, prejudice, and stereotyping are still prevelant today. It happens all the time, and we do it ourselves, whether we mean to or not.

It's part of why I don't like the idea of classifying kids and shows they go to by what they wear. Lots of black means a hardcore show, lots of crazy styles and mohawks means a punk show. I'm just really really REALLY not for classifying and identifying people by the way they look or dress, no matter what. It's something that bothers me, but it's how the world is, so I deal with it.

If you want to see a good movie that deals with racism and is powerful, rent Billly Jack and watch it. It was released in 1971, I believe, by some student movie union, I'm not sure who exactly.

The Broadways wrote a song you'd like...

It's called:

Everything I Ever Wanted To Know About Genocide I Learned In The Third Grade

I uploaded it for you.

mp3 http://silly.mech0r.com/bikepunx/genocide.mp3

lyrics http://www.plyrics.com/lyrics/broadways/everythingieverwantedtoknowaboutgenocideilearnedinthethirdgrade.html

Best band ever.

Nothing bad happened at the show. But in the past people have accused me and other people of being racist obviously not understanding what they are saying or not caring.
Like my friend from high school. She is black and likes to call me racist when I ask her why she changes her shoe laces to a different color every few days. Her answer is because it's ghetto, I tell her I think it's kinda silly and must be annoying to relace all the time. For that I get called a racist.
Like someone else who accused me of being racist for implying Indian women often have more body hair then other ethnicities. Not for saying Indian women are gross because they are hairy. This occured in a conversation about body hair, who has it and what to do about it.
Silly things like this are what annoy me. There is nothing wrong with being politically correct but using race in a conversation does not imply racism. These things must be examined on a case by case basis. And it is absolutly unexceptable to accuse a person of racism without going into their motives for their statement after they make it.

I pretty much think that Danny sums it up right there. It's just a matter of whether or not it's pertinent to the conversation, that's all.

Anyway, so I got cut off yesterday before I finished writing because I check all this stuff in my computer class in summer school and my teacher said to stop.

I think he's about to come over again.. Alright, I'll put more thoughts down later.

Incidentally, to go further with what I said before, I find it just as distasteful when someone unnessarily calls attention to other aspects without apparent justfication, like mentioning someone being gay or Muslim or vegan, when it has no bearing on what they're saying. In that context, it always seems part of some underlying insult the listener is supposed to share.

I remember in my 1200 kid junior high there being one known Jewish kid in the whole school. It seemed that he was forever known as "the Jewish kid" more than as Dave, which must have sucked. Fixating on certain elements of identity seems a way to keep people separated, by making them out to be somehow abnormal.

They might not win the World Series, but financially they'd be the best team EVAH!










PS - I'm Jewish.

Okay, I apologize now, because this reply is going to be a little long. (Meaning it's going to be EXTREMELY long.) But I thought this was pertinant to the subject..

This is actually a children's story that I wrote 2-3 weeks ago, in the form of a PowerPoint presentation, for my Keyboarding class in Summer School. I find is slightly ironic that I wrote this story, and then a couple weeks later the topic of racism comes up.

At any rate, this story is really based off my own life experiences. I see a lot of myself in the character, Daisy. When you read it you'll see why..



Music To Save The World
By Aiyana Catori

This book is dedicated to My Mom
You were the first to bring me up to Maine and show me just how great our Native American culture really is. Thank you for always supporting me in all my efforts, whether futile or surprisingly productive. Your influence has gone far, and I’m glad you pushed me to write this story that I’ve been thinking of for so long.

I love you Mom.
You rock.

Once Upon A Time..
In a land not so far away, there was a girl named Lomasi Mahal. In her tribe’s language, it meant Pretty Flower Woman, but everyone called her Daisy.

Every day, Daisy’s mother would drive the old beat up pick-up truck to bring Daisy to and from school. Daisy was very embarrassed of her mother, and she was made fun of a lot; she was called “red skin” and “poor savage,” and the children told her that she was not in fact a pretty flower, but an ugly earth baby.

Daisy never had anyone to play with during recess, and she often sat in the grass alone wishing she were at the school on the reservation with her friends back home. Sadly, even the teachers did not help Daisy.

Daisy learned to deal with the snickering remarks of other children, and she became a scholarly student. She studied hard, and her teachers greatly respected her.

Though Daisy learned to love sitting in the grass alone, there was something more that she learned to love. It was something that allowed her to release all the tension, and energy, and anger, and sadness, and express her every emotion.

Music

Daisy learned to love music more than anything else in the world. She learned to play guitar, and harmonica, and piano, and she even sang. During recess, she would sit in the grass alone and write down thoughts and ideas, which eventually turned into songs.

By the time Daisy was a senior in high school, she was one of the best musicians in the state, and she won many awards and was offered many scholarships for it.

Daisy decided to go to the Crane Institute of Music to pursue her love. She studied hard and learned to play flute and clarinet and saxophone and trumpet fluently.

She graduated at the top of her class, and we even offered a recording deal with a large Native American record label, Singing Wolf Records. Daisy was honored to be offered a spot on a record label with great musicians such as J.J Kent, and Shayla.

Daisy signed with Singing Wolf, and she traveled all over the world playing her music in world class venues, with world class musicians. She met many amazing people and she could tell many amazing stories. Daisy’s life was one that every musician only dreams about. And yet, something just was not right…

Soon it was time for Daisy’s ten year reunion from high school. Originally Daisy did not want to go, but her mother suggested that she should. And so Daisy went.

When she got there, she learned that many of the people who had made fun of her living conditions when she was younger were now living in similar conditions. She found out that many of the girls who back then were considered pretty and popular now worked hard jobs and were tired.

Daisy knew that it was wrong, but she felt happy. Daisy herself had grown up beautifully and was now very successful and very famous; there were pictures and drawing of her face everywhere. Everyone wanted to talk to her and pretend that
they had been her friend, but Daisy did not allow it. When Daisy was asked to give a speech to her fellow students, this is what she said..

“As children you were vicious.
You made fun of me and hurt my feelings; you wouldn’t let me play games with you during recess, and yet now you want to be friends with me? Think about what you have done.

And yet I rose away from it. I’m successful now because I was made strong by your taunting and your torture. It’s terrible that I feel so satisfied to be here today, and yet I think more needs to be said.

I need to ask one favor of you all; consider it your retribution of your heinous deeds from so long ago.. Do not let your children, or your children’s children be as you were. Teach them that skin color and money do not matter.

What matters is the person, who they are and how they are. Teach them to keep an open mind, and to embrace diversity. If you do this for me, you can consider yourselves forgiven. Please, do this for me.”

The crowd was silent for a long moment, and Daisy thought that perhaps she had chosen the wrong time to confront her childhood demons. But then, from the back of the room, there came a slow clap. Soon everyone joined in, and the room reverberated.

A single tear ran down Daisy’s cheek as she walked off the stage and back into the crowd. People came to her from everywhere, apologizing for what they’d done, promising that
their children would learn different morals than they had been taught so long ago. Daisy thanked each and every one of them, shaking their hands.

Daisy continued to tour and make music into middle age. She met a fine young Sioux man, Chayton, (which means falcon), and they were married.

Daisy stopped touring when she found out that she was carrying a child, and she and Chayton had two more beautiful children. They grew up wonderfully, and after they went off to college,
Daisy and Chayton started a charity organization to promote peace and an end to racism.

Today, Daisy and Chayton travel all around the United States lecturing where they are asked to come, and sometimes they even stand on corners just because they can.

Their lives are good and they are happy with
what they are doing.

THE END


About The Author
Aiyana Catori is a student at ES-M High School. She has written
many stories, and two of her children's stories have been
published in local newspapers. Aiyana loves to read, write, take pictures, and play music. She has five cats, a dog, a turtle, and a fish named Bob, and she loves them all very much. Aiyana plans on attending Cornell University for Animal Sciences and Photography, while also earning a degree with the American Indian Program. She is very proud of her Passamaquoddy heritage. You can look for Aiyana playing solo acoustic shows live around Central New York.
http://www.myspace.com/aiyanacatori
http://www.syracuseska.com