Takaki Ch.10

In Chapter 10 of “A Different Mirror”, Ronald Takaki tells of the great Japanese migration to the United States during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Takaki explains the differences between the Japanese migrations verses that of the Chinese migration in subsequent years. The Japanese migration occurred due to the prospect of labor and high wages offered in the Americas including Hawaii. However, their migration was different in several ways from that of the Chinese. One of the main differences was the amount of women that were able to leave Japan for the United States. Unlike the Chinese women were sent most in the form of “picture brides”. The concept of the picture bride was an arranged marriage between Japanese families. This allowed Japanese men to settle in America and start families. Japanese women were important for other reason, especially labor. Japanese women were of the frontier of women in the work force. They worked in the textile industry and along side their husbands on the sugarcane plantations. The Japanese migration came about in the United States because of the drastic need for labor. The demand for goods was increasing and so the supply went up through the increased amount of labor provided not only by the Japanese but also by the Chinese, Portuguese, Koreans, and Filipinos. The diversity was an important aspect to the America bosses. With such diversity present it was difficult for the workers to come together and strike. Ethnicity and language barriers prevented the workers to rise up together. The “white” leaders were thus able to keep control over all the labors and force them to work under poor conditions. Takaki expresses the importance of the Japanese workers throughout America history. Those Japanese who traveled to the mainland led a very different life than those who worked on the plantations in Hawaii. The Japanese in California in the 1920’s made up only about 2% of the population. They were not able to get labor jobs, as they were able to in Hawaii, so instead many became shopkeepers and farmers. The Japanese always played a great role in the construction of the railroad systems. The Japanese believed that farming in America was living the dream that they had dreamt when first coming to America. However the work was exhausting and never ending. Men and women would both wake before dawn and labor until late at night. Women had it especially tough. As in traditional Japan women would work beside their husbands yet also be responsible for the household work and rearing the children.
Takaki shows the impact that the Japanese labor force had on American during the early 19th century. The question that comes to my mind is, if the Japanese had not been so quick to come and labor in America then what would have happened to the need for labor in America. It is true that the Japanese were not the only immigrants to labor in America, however they did make up a significant portion of the labor force. America at this point had a history of forcing others who were not white to labor for the white man. Could this have been the case with the Japanese? Looking back at history I think that it is important to take into account the circumstances of the time. Labor was needed in America and the Japanese were seeking out work. It seems like it would be a perfect system. I wonder then why the Japanese were treated so poorly. The thing that comes to mind is the simple fact that they were so different from Americas. They were considered the “yellow race” with small eyes and a different language. It just goes to show how the differences among people helped to shape our country.

EXTRA CREDIT "The Ethics of Living Jim Crow"

Richard Wright tells a compelling story in “The Ethics of Living Jim Crow”. It is a story of his life and how he had to learn how to behave as a young Black growing up in a torn society. As a child he learned very quickly that his behaviors towards whites where essential for his survival. Richard worked several jobs growing up, all under white bosses. At his first job he was treated poorly by his white coworkers who felt threatened by his mere existence. They beat him and told him “this is a white man’s work around here” (24). He learned quickly that if he wanted to work then he would have to know his place beneath the whites that ran society. It is a truly heart breaking story to hear how Richard was treated. He had to change his way of living and act a certain way just to keep from being beaten. If Richard made even the smallest mistake, like forgetting to call a white man sir, then he was punished. When punishment was giving out to blacks at this time it wasn’t a harsh word or some kind of fine they would have to pay. They paid for their mistakes through beatings and harassment. It literally was a life of survival and adapting in order keep out of trouble. I guess the question that comes to mind is why didn’t the blacks come together and fight back. If a white woman was assaulted in front of a white man he would defend her. Richard however, was unable to defend the black woman in his story. I guess at this time white supremacy was too strong to fight against. The thing that really upset me was how after the white men would beat up Richard or some other black who was out of line, they would say something about how they were lucky that was all that they got. To me this seemed like they were threatening death. It is hard for me to imagine a white man killing a black man simple because he did not call him sir. This thought is terrifying to me. The more important thing is that people actually committed these offenses without punishment. It all goes back to public lynching of black and the cruelty that they lived with. In our society today it is hard to imagine that these things actually did exist. Being someone who is white I can not believe that I very possible had ancestors who practiced these behaviors and believed that they were doing the bidding of God. I know that different justifications were used for whites violence against black however by today standards nothing seems to justify the cruelty that our society placed upon another human race.

In Class Video "Ethnic Notions

In class we were presented with a documentary called Ethnic Notions. This film portrayed the ethnic characters that were present in the media beginning in the 1940’s. The significance of the racial images in the film is undeniable. Our country has throughout history presented different images of Blacks in our society. These images seem to always suit the political and racial views that support white supremacy over blacks. The film showed characters such as Jim Crow, Sam bo, Zip Coon, and the Mammy as ugly, dumb, happy blacks. These images served to show that the unintelligent Negro was happy to serve his master. This helped the white society to justify the enslavement of Blacks, saying that they were happy and willing to be put in such a position. As history changed so did the media. When slaves were freed after the civil war the images that represented them changed. They were now thought to be brute animals who were violent and savage. The argument was made that slavery kept these people disciplined and prevented them from living uncivilized lives. Black children were portrayed as animals with their naked bodies and nappy hair. The media took a psychological control over how people viewed Blacks. Whatever light they were shown in is the view that the American society took. The question that comes to my mind is, does the media and the images it presents still affect our society in the same way today? I believe that the media still acts as a political agent just as it did in the days of promoting slavery. Although I believe our country has come a long way since the days of segregation I believe the media still plays a great part in influencing the American public. For example if someone sees a man wearing a robe and a turban on his head they might not think of him as an American. They might even consider him a threat. After September 11th the media and the government has served to portray the Arabic and Muslim communities as evil and un-American. Just as the media placed stereotypes on Blacks they have placed them now on another race and culture. The media plays such a huge role in all societies even dating back to the Nazi propaganda of WWII. Although a simple cartoon of a smiling, gap toothed black slave like Jim Crow may seem harmless the imagery and message that it conveys has great significance to our country and its history of the abuse of the media on society.

Takaki Ch. 3

In Ronald Takaki’s Chapter 3 of “ A Different Mirror” he focuses on the beginnings of slavery in the early colonies of the United States. Virginia was one of the first colonies where slavery took hold. Takaki makes several points about the beginning of slavery that most people never take into account. Although there were Africans in the U.S. during its start much of the labor was actually done by white indentured servants. During this time White and Black servants worked side by side. Takaki even mentions the fact that they would sometimes attempt to escape together. Here is where the differences began between the “White” servant and the “Black” slave. No matter which you were, if you were caught after running away you were punished. Usually this meant a whipping or beating. For white indentured servants extra time would have to be served towards their master in addition to the length that had previously be agreed upon. Black Africans would also receive some kind of beating or whipping but then they would be sentenced to serve their master for the rest of their lives. The way that slavery came about is that when the people of African decent were punished they were not just sentenced for the rest of their lives, but forever. This meant that their children would be born into slavery and the owners could pass the slaves on to their heirs. And thus slavery was born. Another common practice was to punish anyone who had relations with another race. For example they would whip white women when they found out that they were with child of a black man. Takaki makes the point that there were several conditions in place that made slavery occur in the United States colonies back in the 1600 and 1700’s. Another issue that arose during this time was religion. Previously Africans were thought to be heathens with no religion. Once they began to convert to Christianity laws had to be passed to separate race from religion. Takaki explains how whites would blame the Africans in order to keep the white race pure. He concludes that class was one of the major issues facing the new settlers of America. When indentured servants had served their time they had a hard time acquiring land. Blacks seemed to be a great solution for the class problem because they reinforced the superiority of the whites. The question that comes to mind is what would it have been like if the table had been turned. What is it was the Africans who belittled and enslaved the whites? Would history have continued along the same pattern? No one will ever know for sure but one can imagine it possible for one race to over power another and with the right conditions history could have played out with a different race as the superior. This is a thought that I constantly have. After reading this chapter is seems that the conditions were fit for slavery but had this varied at all the outcomes could have been much different.

Johnson Chapter 8

Johnson makes several important points in Chapter 8 of “Privilege, Power, and Difference”. The chapter is titled “Getting Off the Hook: Denial and Resistance”. Johnson states that those in privilege use many different techniques to avoid the discomfort and the problem of privilege and oppression. Those in power, those who are white, male, heterosexual, or non-disabled have a difficult time when dealing with the reality of what goes on in our society. Johnson gives several ways that those who experience privilege avoid the concept of the oppression that is cause by privilege. The first example that Johnson gives is “Deny and Minimize”. It is easy to deal with a problem when you deny that it even exists. People do this all the time with both racism and sexism, along with other forms of oppression. Saying that something used to be a problem is the same as saying that it doesn’t matter in today’s society at all when in fact that is just not the case. People also try and minimize situations to make them less uncomfortable to talk about. This happens in everyday life. An example that Johnson gives is when a child falls and scrapes their knee the parent usually says something like “awww…stop crying, it really doesn’t hurt that bad.” This statement may not seem like such a big deal because it is so common. Yet honestly does the parent actually know how much pain the child is in? It works the same way with trying to minimize a social situation. How can you place judgment on something you yourself have never experienced? This is a simple way of how people of privilege try and get “off the hook”. Another method that Johnson describes is “Blame the Victim”. This section of the chapter made a lot of sense to me because I feel like I have seen it in action in my every day life. A person of privilege might say something like “well if they just got an education, or learned to speak proper English…” when talking about a person of color. Women can be affected by the blame the victim statement. When sexual harassment occurs you might hear a male saying something like “Oh, well look at how she dresses. She was asking for it.” This is a clear example of how people “get off the hook” so that they don’t feel bad in problematic situations. The next section of the chapter is entitled “Call it Something Else”. Here is another clear example of how people avoid situations that might be difficult of uncomfortable. Johnson goes on in the following section called “It’s Better this Way”. In this section Johnson describes how people tend to think about issues such as racism and sexism. He uses the example that Blacks would rather live in segregated communities because they want to live with their own kind. In the patriarchal system that we live in today a man might say something like, “women like to clean house and raise children. So what’s wrong with that?” These are common ways of how people us the phrase it’s better this way to make themselves and other feel better about the problems at hand. Johnson follows with a few more examples of the techniques that people use to get themselves “off the hook”. For the most part I can agree with Johnson’s views of how people deal with these problems. It is easy for me to understand this chapter because I see examples of it in my everyday life. In fact I’m sure that I am guilty of using some of these techniques myself. Personally I think that a lot of what people do, they do without knowing, or without knowing the consequences that might arise from what they do or say. I am hopeful in my thinking that if people were more aware of the issues and weren’t afraid to discuss them more openly and without fear then more progress could be made. However as long as people are making excuses and refuse to see the problem then there really can be no solution.

Johnson Chapter 3

In Johnson’s 3rd chapter of PPP he begins by explaining the fact that racism and white supremacy is something relatively new and has only occurred over the past few centuries. So the question becomes, why did racism and slavery begin in the first place? This question can be answered several different ways. Johnson begins by explaining the effect that capitalism has had on the world (especially in the United States). The Capitalist system is made up of three parts. First there are the people know as the “capitalists. These are the investors and owners of companies that produce goods and services for profit. They produce goods and services that are sold throughout the country and to the rest of the world on the global market. Of course someone has to make these products. These are the workers, or laborers (labor force). These people work for the capitalists to produce their product. They tend to be paid very poorly. For the capitalists (owners and investors) to make any money they have to sell their products for more than what they are paying their workers. This is how they turn a profit. So why would these laborers work for such low wages? To be perfectly honest they really don’t have a choice. The investors control the factories, tools, and every other aspect of the capitalist system. So the laborer can either work under their conditions or they could not work at all. Although it might not be clear at first, racism ties in directly with the growth of capitalism in the early days of our country. One of the major problems with capitalism is the division of wealth. There is a small percentage of the richest people in America but they share the majority of the wealth while there are many more poor people who share a much lesser degree of the overall wealth in our country. Looking back in history the white male was always the wealthy land or business owner. This was generally because whites used blacks as a “FREE” labor source. This made the whites even more wealth because it hardly cost them anything to produce their product. So why did the whites feel that they had the right to enslave African Americans? White men on this era created the term “Whiteness”. This term expressed those who were human and civilized. If you were found to not have “whiteness” then you were found to be inferior and therefore the white man could justify using colored and foreign people as means of production. It is important to remember that this was the thinking of men over 200 years ago. Yet aren’t we still experiencing the effects of this closed minded way of thinking today? Privilege of white men and the oppression of African American still exist today. I feel that capitalism was a major cause of the racism that was born into our country. However capitalism is still hard at work today. So what does that have to say to the future of the under privilege labor force that is still facing the oppression that blacks and other minorities faced over 200 years ago?

Johnson Chapter 2

In chapter 2 Johnson makes several points about the privilege that some people experience and the oppression that is placed on others. He argues the differences between the two and how these groups are formed through society and not individuals. Society as a whole is complex. It is made up of difference groups of people who experience different ways of live. Sometimes this is based solely on what group they were born apart of. For example a person could be white or some other racial group. That person could be a male or a female. They could identify as a heterosexual or a homosexual. This person could be disabled or in perfect health. This most important thing to realize is that most of these categories are what you are born into and cannot be changed. If you are born a white male then that is what you are. If you are born a colored female then that is what you are. Yet Johnson goes into deeper meaning when he describes how being placed in these separate groups that make up society effect the privilege that is inherited by certain groups. This privilege is assigned by society and no one individual can change it. White males are the prime example of those who are afforded privilege. Johnson gives several examples of privilege that is given to white males in our society such as the fact that white males are almost always charged lower prices on new cars. Also an example of male privilege would be the tendency of men to dominate a conversation over women. On of the most important points that Johnson makes is “Privilege as Paradox”. Basically he is saying that just because someone is born into a privileged group they might not necessarily feel privileged. This is due to the fact that privilege is not based on individuality. Privilege and oppression are based on how society perceives a certain group of people. This means that just because a man in white and male does not mean that he is going to have a great life because he was born into a privileged group. Individual actions and circumstance could be the result of a person’s unhappiness. I personally believe that Johnson makes a good argument about privilege and oppression. The question that I pose is whether or not it can be changed now that people are starting to realize that it exists? Since it is society that categories a group as either privileged or oppressed can society come together to make is so that everyone has the opportunity to be privileged. Although this would be the ideal situation it seems as though this is a very utopian way of thinking. For if it is a fact that if one group is privileged then another group is oppressed then how would it be possible for everyone to acquire privilege? It is a difficult subject, which is probably why it is really discussed out in the open. However for change to be made there must be action taken to reduce the gap between those who are privileged and those who are oppressed.