5 Responses to “Unlearning Racism Pt.3: Just Lists”

1. Kelly Says:
   August 16th, 2006 at 10:34 pm Black: crime anger poverty discrimination quotas affirmative action aunt jemima little black sambo big cocks don't eat pussy like hairy legs matriarchy missing fathers prison population colour purple reverse discrimination slaves africa santeria spade jungle bunny jigaboo coon spook picaninny uncle tom deep rich singing voices motherly warm bosom goddess.
   Latino: dance samba tango good lover like big butts wolf calls machismo fried plantains west side story maria i wanna go to america jlo spic wop dago my cuban friends who taught me spanish.
   Asian: smart studious serious zen sage lao tzu polite chinaman railroad laundry cute babies girl prostitutes thailand M*A*S*H rice fields cambodian refugees chink i'm so ronery.
   First Nations: drunk respect for mother nature harmony with earth trail of tears bury my heart at wounded knee sweet grass cedar sage grandmother god spirit quest totem power animal redskin pow wow sweat lodge caribou chief.
   White: stuffed shirt wasp jokes white man's burden racist pig SUV rich bitch nazi underground railroad get out of the shower to pee kkk white trash redneck hillbilly me.
2. April Says:
   August 17th, 2006 at 9:29 am Black: This is really a hard one, because where I was raised, there were no black people . . . I was the only one (biracial at least), and all my experience with Black people in the U.S. has been first-hand within the U.S. I suppose the only bad thing I ever "heard" was that they are ugly and are good at sports. Mexican-Americans in south Texas would say that blacks are trouble makers and are ugly. They of course, would say the same thing about me until I burst their bubble (haha).
   
   My mother has a deep respect for Black people. She taught me a lot about slavery, and what Black people went through to survive in this country. She would also teach me about famous people in history other than Martin Luther King Jr.
   
   More importantly though, she taught me that being black meant that a lot of people would be racist against me and that I should be prepared to handle it. She would say that people who are racist are ignorant and stupid.
   
   Latino: Well, my grandmother used to tell me that they were lazy and that they are dirty. She didn't say that about the women, but she sure said that about the men. She also purposely did not say their names correctly because she didn't want to conform.
   
   Asian: Basically, there were NO Asians where I grew up. All I knew on t.v. was that they could possibly know martial arts, they were possibly into Buddism, and that they have a very strong work ethic.
   
   First Nations: I've never heard of the term "first nations" before. Okay, let's see. My mother has a deep respect for Native Americans, so I heard nothing but good about them. I was taught that their culture is highly connected with mother nature. On the other hand, I also learned from my mom about how they were killed, and that the stories of the conquistadores, well, that they were evil people who destroyed their culture. I could go on and one about this one . . .
   
   White: Well, I was raised "white" you could say. It's funny, because the study of white culture recently is not so off target. When I grew up, I thought I was better than the Latinos around me because I spoke better English than them and was smarted in school than them. It was all because of white culture (privilege) that I felt this way. Actually, it was all because of racism that I felt this way. I felt I was better than Latinos because I spoke "proper" English! Hahaha, what a riot!
   
   What I heard from my classmates was that white people always act like they are better. Hahaha, this isn't far from the truth, LOL.
   
   I've probably got more, but I don't want this to be a huge essay!
3. IrrationalPoint Says:
   August 18th, 2006 at 3:07 pm Black:
   Things I've heard? Too many to list. Don't see many black people around -- on campus, in museums, in libraries, at festivals. Where are they? Don't know many black people.
   
   Latino
   Family. What can you say about family? I don't know any at uni.
   
   Asians
   Asia's a whole continent. I don't think I ever think of Asians as being a single group of people. Thinks I've been taught: Asians are hospitable, "Asian" is the opposite of "Westerner" they work hard.
   
   First Nations (Native American/Indigenous/American Indian)
   Never heard the term "First Nations". Don't know much, well, anything about North American Indians. Only old stuff like Quanna Parker, and how they were treated like shit. When I was younger, I heard about ecological-type lifestyles, interconnectedness of people and nature, and I liked that. On the rare occasions that they're in the media, it's about poverty on reservations. Or abortion. They get a really raw deal.
   
   White
   Things I've been told: too many to list, again. Family.
   
   --IP
4. vegankid Says:
   August 28th, 2006 at 11:18 pm sorry it has taken me so long to respond to this. i was looking for the original lists that i had made, but i've come to the conclusion that they were lost in my move last weekend. So i went ahead and completed the exercise again, and here are the cringing results:
   
   Black: lazy, violent, hyper-sexual, rapists, ignorant, stupid, gang members, religious, oppressed, good dancers, loud, drug dealers
   
   Latino: lazy, hard-working, hyper-sexual, criminal, rapists, gang members, good dancers, family-oriented, friendly, drug-runners
   
   Asian: quiet, smart, asexual, spiritual, calm, determined, respect ancestors
   
   First Nations: alcoholic, spiritual, savage, ignorant, pagan, dead, violent, simple
   
   White: hard-working, lazy, superior, intelligent, rapists, pure, religious, wholesome, oppressor, bad dancers, individualist
   
   I'll be back later this week to start discussing all of this.
5. SFAlly Says:
   January 24th, 2009 at 1:48 pm Black: angry, violent, good dancers, stupid, reationary, good musicians, good athletes, religious, slaves, servants, lazy, mean, can't swim, don't get depressed, want their own American language, ungrateful, oversexed
   
   Latino: stupid, lazy, farm workers, religious, fanatic, Catholic, less than, short, unintelligent, oversexed, crazy, dirty, emphasis on family
   
   Asian: smart, short, passive, quiet, plotting, crazed, yellow fever, intelligent, unintelligent, uneducated, overeducated, model minority, large families, exotic, mysterious
   
   First Nations: drunk, spiritual, lazy, slacker, one with nature, victims of violence, had their land stolen, their women raped
   
   White: racist, ideal, better than, stupid, intelligent, selfish, self-seeking, heartless, beautiful
   
   Awareness is first.

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