Four Corners-Spite Fences/Night Introduction
One small caveat—-this blog will require you to be quite mindful of others’ feelings and respectful of others, remember to never refer to another student in a blog (even with his/her permission). This issue can be hurtful to others so be respectful; however, Elie Wiesel would agree by looking the other way and failing to discuss these issues, horrific events can unfold.
When we began Ellen Foster and House on Mango Street, we did a Four Corners activity to start thinking about some of the essential ideas in those novels. The next two novels you read have some essential ideas that are rather controversial as well. We might not be able to conduct a Four Corners activity literally, but we can have a four pronged discussion in cyberspace (for those kinesthetic learners, it won’t be as fun, though). Read CLOSELY, honors kiddies…I am going to give you two possible choices to discuss. Of those two choices, there are four options. Same thing with four corners, you can only pick one to agree with and discuss (for our purposes here). Later we may open it up to the possibility of multiple options.
1st set of Four Corners:
Race is not an issue in Harrison*.
Race is kind of an issue in Harrison
Race is a serious issue in Harrison.
What! Who are you kidding, we have serious racism, to the point of hate crimes in our community.
2nd set of Four Corners
Religious prejudice is a serious issue in Harrison.
Cultural prejudice is a serious issue in Harrison.
Racism is a serious issue in Harrison.
Classism** is a serious issue in Harrison.
So the first thing you want to do is decide which corner activity you want to respond to. Then decide which corner you are in. Say why you are in that corner. You must respond (at least twice) by Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013 by 8:30 p.m. You should check back and respond (thoughtfully and insightfully) at least once to some member of this blog by Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. After you post your initial corner, then you can qualify your corner or corners’ stance. Actually you can respond as many times as you want. Happy Blogging!
ps….I know I haven’t posted your grades from last time, but many of you did quite well on your first blog!
*by Harrison I mean the greater community served by the Southwest School District/our high school–still not sure, ask me
**Classism–is like racism, but by class, middle class vs. poor–still not sure, ask me
I do believe that race is kind of an issue in Harrison. Harrison has never really been very diverse. I’ve noticed that in the past, families that have grown up in Harrison never leave Harrison. But time brings change.Now a days,a lot more people have been trying to move to Harrison to get away from the city. Also, a lot more families have been trying to move out of Harrison as well. Eventually, Harrison is going to because more diverse just on it’s own. When this happens, we may not have such a bad race issue as we do now.
I agree with Morgan. I don’t think that it is right to judge someone just because they aren’t the cookie cutter Harrison kid. I think that if we go and make connections with people outside of Harrison we won’t be so quick to judge. If we start making connections, it may be possible for Harrison to become more diverse.
I have to agree with Mark and Mackenzie. Sadly, anywhere you go, you have the problem of prejudice against someone or something. That’s just how the world works.
People are just so quick to ASSUME Harrison is a racist community based solely on the fact the we aren’t fortunate enough to have a lot of ethnic diversity. I, personally, do not see how that makes us all racists or makes WHHHS automatically have a “SERIOUS” racism issue. Back to what I said before, there’s just that ignorant few that ruin it all. I just think we are unlucky, putting it lamely, when it comes to our population’s diversity.
i agree with lindsey cron when she says that the ignorant, few people who do flaunt the confederate flag around do it more for attention rather than their own actual beliefs. These people seem to want attention and really have no idea what their own belief system is since they are only worrying about other people. They need to really look at themselves and decide what they believe and not how they can get attention from others.
I think that racism is a major problem in Harrison. I feel like there aren’t enough people with different races to even act as a “well except him/her, she’s okay” person. Everywhere you go you see a majority of white people. Even the stereotypical places you expect to see members of other races you don’t, they have a few restaurants where you see it, scattered throughout our city. But not enough to make a difference. The people in Harrison are sheltered to a point where anything or anyone that is different scares them, and they respond with their fear with hatred. It’s human nature to oppose something different from yourself, whether it be a kid with glasses, or braces, or anything. Some scientists say that it comes from when we were cavemen, we would differentiate ourselves from other “clans” and battle with them for resources. I feel that this tendency just manifests itself with skin color.
I feel that our community, as a hole, are not willing to commit to the change because we like the way things are now. So why would we won’t change?
What I keep reading is that almost everyone wants WHHHS to be more diverse. Some make it sound as easy as turning off a light. But the truth is that a single new person that comes to school has a very hard time fitting in, let alone these same students having the ability to accept a different culture. Change is hard to accept for everyone involved.
I debated sharing this story, but I decided to post it because I think it offers some personal insight and experience.
A couple weeks ago while I was at work (as most of you know I work at the McDonald’s in Harrison) I was in the back window on headset and taking money. It was a slow evening but I had a customer who came through and asked about the drink prices (in the summer our drinks are all $1 but after labor day they go back to regular price). It happens every now and then that the customer complains about the prices going up but this customer was different. When I told her that the prices go up after labor day and then return to $1 in the summertime, her response was “Stupid economy but that’s what happens when you have a n***** for a president.” I want to say I was shocked but that’s not completely true. I know Harrison has it’s share of these… lets call them “unfortunates”, but I’ve never had anyone directly be as blatantly racist as that. Seeing as I would have been fired if I would have acted upon my anger over this statement, I simply gave her her money and told her to have a nice day before closing the window and just standing there like “What the heck?”. I was extremely aggravated by this statement. It offended me and I’m obviously white. But the whole experience troubles me and worries me more than anything. The fact that someone I have never met in my life can be so openly racist without a second thought is what is wrong with Harrison. These “unfortunates” are not a majority but it is still not acceptable to go around being blatantly racist to innocent people you don’t even know. That’s ignorant and disrespectful.
1st set of Four Corners:
Race is kind of an issue in Harrison.
In our high school/ community you can count the number of African American families on your fingers.
There are even less Asians. When a community has very little cultural diversity, the citizens of that community will develop not a racist mind, but they are careless of what they say. Also, since there is a very little racial diversity in Harrison, I feel like we judge other communities around us that have a variety of races by what we hear and that can also have negative thoughts about other ethnic groups. Then again, other townships, communities, cities, what ever also judges Harrison too. So its not so much of a racism issue, but in a way, a judgement issue and people getting the wrong ideas about others just based on their hue.
Mark, when you say to drew that he is saying a difficult thing because he cannot speak for the whole of the community when he says that Harrison isn’t open to change you then take the same scenario and flip it on its head, you say basically Harrison is open to change, yet there are families that have live here for decades and have no plans on changing anything. I know you are trying to take the brighter side of the argument but your reasoning is as flawed as Drew’s in that case. Harrison is a tight knit community and I feel like the things that have happened for years are going to stay the same until a generation spawns where the kids take initiative and change that.
I agree with Hannah. Its going to take time for a little community to get big changes. It all just doesn’t happen over night.
Racism is a serious issue in Harrison
In Harrison, we live in an ethnically and racially congruent environment. By this, I mean a majority of the people in Harrison are Caucasian and there is a minute amount of other ethnic groups. Therefore, when this same majority of Caucasians sees a non-Caucasian in their enviorment, they are “weirded out” by the difference in their society, coming from a fear of incongruety, or a break in what we know to be the “status quo,” as well as simply ignorance to other ethnic group’s values and attitudes. It also comes from racial stereotyping, which again comes from ignorance. This can lead to intolerance, discrimination, and racsism. From this, I can conclude that, yes, rascism is in fact a problem inside our community, especially in a community that is increasingly becoming more ethnically diverse, according to recent Harrison demographics. It’s not a major problem, where individuals participate in activities like (forgive me for being a bit blunt)”Klu Klux Klan Cross and Effigy Burnings” or shouting “Hey *racial slur beginning with N*, Why don’t you go back Africa?”, just to make fun of someone (I don’t condone any of these deplorable actions, nor would I ever participate in these dubious deeds. They’re are just examples.) The racism that exists in our town is one of racial jokes and stereotypes, and even though it may be small thing, these comments still hurt other people. I feel like we need to educate everyone about differences in human values, other religions, and ethnic groups, so that we can stop the ignorance, the hate, the discrimination, etc. and advance forward in human society where everyone is seen as equals no matter the race, gender, or religion that one might have. It may seem like an impossible task, but if we work together, we can acomplish this goal.
Catch ya on the flip side
I believe Harrison has a racism issue. I do not believe it is a huge issue but there is definitely a problem. I was apart of a school last year with more people than just white people in my school. There people would not throw around racist slurs they would be more careful not to offend the black kids at the school. The black kids would also respect the white kids and would be appropriate to the white kids. I have noticed at Harrison the students are not as tolerate. I played sports at both schools and whenever we played teams like Withrow and Walnut Hills nobody thought much of playing black schools. At Harrison we play teams like Northwest and Mt. Healthy those athletes were referred to as “dumb N*****” but as the white kids from Harrison we get called crackers and whitey so the racism goes both ways. Back to the original topic yes Harrison is not racially diverse but other schools are not very good either. I think strides can be made in schools to help people become more diverse. We have sexting and bullying assemblies but we never talk about the issue of race and I think that could be something our school can work on.
I like what Nick had to say about how our school undergoes different seminars on bullying and sexting, but how we never have seminars on rascism. I believe that the administration thinks that rascism might go along the lines of bullying, or its simply not considered an issue by the adminstration. By what I’ve seen from the posts today, I think that there is, in fact, a large portion of students who feel that rascism is something that should be addressed more, and something should be figured out to stop it from happening
Allie I agree with your post about how we are born to know what we are taught. I disagree with your first sentence saying Harrison has a serious issue with race. I think if we had a huge issue we would see people hook rebel flags to the back of their trucks and actually committing crime to other races but we do not have that problem. I’m not denying that we have ignorant people but also look at the reality that the racist kids probably are not some of Harrison high schools brightest. Katherine and Jennifer both are not completely Caucasian but they also are some of the smartest kids in our grade. The unintelligent kids at Harrison (who also are probably the “gap” kids) are the ones wearing rebel flags on their shirts and display their hate for other races. I agree with you Allie that we have a problem I just do not believe it is serious.
I chose the “race is kind of an issue” corner because in Harrison, obviously, we don’t have a diversified school or city at all. You look around and its milk everywhere with maybe a piece of chocolate or caramel trekking through occasionally. Harrison- ites have grown up that way. They think that its normal to live in a place that completely lacks ethnic diversity so when you here a racist joke or something like that, you don’t feel the need to keep your voice down in fear of offending anyone. We’re all the same for the most part and I think that’s led to an issue with racism. Its like they get away with one quite vulgar racial slur and someone laughs so now its okay. The reason I said its “kind of” a problem is because I don’t think that making racial jokes- though inappropriate and uncalled for- is necessarily a scary problem to have. I believe its wrong and that it shouldn’t happen but I do believe that a greater portion of Harrison knows how to be mature and not make hateful statements toward or about people racially different than the cracker that has became our home.
Courtney, I like how you said “When a community has very little cultural diversity, the citizens of that community will develop not a racist mind, but they are careless of what they say.” Its a lot like the point that I was trying to make about how no one really gets reprimanded, in a way, for saying things like that. We’re all (pretty much) white so no one ever gets yelled at or anything by their friends if they do say something racially offensive. I completely agree that it makes people careless. That’s a perfect way to put that.
Danielle, I am glad you shared that anecdote. I would have shared your indignation; perhaps the younger me would have said something, but more than likely I would have stared at the window dumbfounded and pondered that customer’s multiple levels of ignorance (the first level being her knowledge of economies). On a grander scale, I think that Ben was right earlier when he said attempting to mitigate racism is wrong. Either it exists or doesn’t. It is powerful and wrong. Small barbs and jokes are not small and not funny. “Tiny” comments are actually huge fissures in a foundation…I think we will learn about this as we read. I also think you probably had a feeling of what I am talking about after listening to the McDonald’s customer’s comments–I’m guessing here. Thanks for sharing.
I believe that racism is kind of an issue in Harrison. Harrison is very sheltered and not very diverse. I do know some people of different race that go here, though and they are treated fine. They are treated just like everyone else, except for every now and then when people are joking around. I think Harrison needs to be more diverse, but is not Racist towards other races.
I agree with Hannah Stehlin. Harrison isn’t very racist but it is very stereotypical. We get our stereotypes from the news and other places with out experiencing it first hand. We need to be more open-minded toward what things could be and not go with what we think they should be.
OH my gosh! There are so many of you who have very thoughtful and insightful and most important AUTHENTIC COMMENTS!!! Yay! And I was worried about you…I do want to discuss some of these before I “go.” I am very proud of you.
I don’t believe Harrison has a large issue with racism. I don’t think the issue is necessarily that people in the area are racist as much the fact that they have just not been exposed to more diverse cultures. Of course, there are those inconsiderate racist people who fly their confederate flags in their front yards with dignity, and the kids who go around school and the town putting down others of different races, but those people don’t make up the whole population of Harrison. Yes, I understand all it takes is that one person who tells you you are less because of your skin color to really make that difference, but there are also so many more people telling them they are doing the wrong thing by saying that. It seems as though some of the younger population doesn’t know quite how to handle being around other racial ethnicities, so maybe that is part of the issue. But what we have to keep in mind is that it is that way in places all over the world. Maybe some of the younger people in the community who are racist are only that way because of a family member or close friend whom they are around a lot. Many older people (grandparents, etc) do have issues with African-American people, Japanese, or Koreans because in the times they grew up in, that was accepted. They were taught to hate those races and if they didn’t they were wrong. Now these people being exposed to this now can’t help it, but they can help following (or not) in that person’s footsteps.
I am just going to say I do not think racism is a big problem in Harrison, but it is kind of a problem. When I think of racism in Harrison High School,I tend to think of some kids that I personally have had issues with. It wasn’t about race, but I’m sure we can all think of that one guy, or in this case a few of people, who are just racist. Not just the joking around type of racist, which I don’t tend to think of as you being racist, but the vulgar racism that’s supposed to be offensive. However, having said that, I believe that those types of people are the few in the school. In your mind you separate out the good and the bad actions, memories and events. The bad parts of your memory have a bigger impact on your mind. That’s why when you think back over your life, the quickest memories to come to mind are bad ones. That’s why when you think of Harrison, all of the racist “rednecks,” if you want to call them that come to mind. I feel like people think racism is such a bad thing just because they aren’t racist and they just don’t understand that kind of thinking at all, or they’re just in denial and want to put on a fake look. I’m not either of those types of people. I have no problem with people of other races; I actually find it good when there is more diversity because having the same old thing can get boring. Some people may joke around and think it means nothing, but it could just be because everyone is trying to hide their disturbance by the comment. No one wants to say “Hey man why don’t you stop with that.” No one ever says that, and I think it’s mainly because, deep down no one cares. We may say “Oh racism is bad,” but do most of us really think it’s an issue. I think the answer is no and I think that is represented by the high school. The true racists are few and the non-racists don’t care. There are a few die hard anti-racists out there, but they are few too. I can understand being offended by racism or bullying if you are the recipient of all that, but chances are it’s one of the few racists, or it was just a joke you never said offended you. I don’t believe anyone is at fault really unless they are the diehard racist. A joke is a joke and if you get offended let them know, chances are they didn’t mean to offend you.
I agree with both of Nate Perenovic’s posts. He discussed that we all will accept things that we are undoubtedly familiar with, rather than something we are new in experiencing. If you are a kid who was raised in a society that had absolutely no ethnic or cultural diversity, you are susceptible to being influenced by elder peers or grandparents who grew up in times when certain racial groups were not accepted in our society. Harrison is an extremely close-knit community, so it is almost tempting to follow the actions of our elders because your views are just important to you, as they are to your elders. In such a family oriented town, we almost feel the need to be accepted because according to the elders in our community, it’s the right thing to do.
Danielle, I agree with you that these “unfortunates” are extremely rude and disrespectful. However, as you have said, are not the majority. Race, no matter how bad, is a problem and should not be neglected, but with the entirety of the community being considered, I find it to be easy to discount these people because they are not the majority. Race appears everywhere, this is true. I’m sure that everyone in our school can say that they know a racist. In this regard, those such as Dj and Katherine may be right. However I still hold strong with my opinion that racism in our community is a matter that can be dealt with easily and avoided easily. Now obviously I am not in the position to experience slurs being thrown at me on a daily basis, but I can see it around. Dj, you are right in your critique of my statement. My opinion was flawed in that regard that you had stated. Thank you for your insight, those of you who had responded to my posts that is.
I’m going to go a different way. Not only is racism a huge problem in Harrison, but I believe classism is another problem that we have. I never really thought about it until reading this blog. When you walk through our halls, the different groups are pretty apparent (at least to me.) There are kids who can afford a new pair of shoes every month, or to go shopping for absolutely no reason every other weekend. There are also the kids who wear hand-me-downs and whose families struggle just to pay for their lunches everyday. There’s the kids that all live in the same nice neighborhood, or the one’s that live in a trailer park. Those types of kids usually tend to band together, because it’s easier to stick with what you know than to try to understand what someone else’s situation is like. I believe that for the most part, with exceptions of course, this makes up Harrison High School’s social classes.
DJ I like your comment to Mark, I know surprising right, but a lot of people make arguments that are pretty much the same argument just with one detail different. This one being that Harrison is accepting and Harrison isn’t accepting. However, and this is where I disagree with you DJ, saying that you can’t know the community as a whole and that not everyone is unaccepting to change to Drew doesn’t necessarily mean Mark thinks everyone is accepting to change. Now in Harrison as a community there are quite a few racists but it’s not so bad. The few “hillbillies” or “rednecks” who are racist aren’t everywhere. Just to clarify, I’m not saying every hillbilly or redneck is a racist. I think people just see things too black and white. No pun intended, this is just the easiest way to say it. It’s either good or bad and if one stands out more, then that means the whole is that good or bad thing and I don’t think that is right.
Dj, I really like when you said “The people in Harrison are sheltered to a point where anything or anyone that is different scares them, and they respond with their fear with hatred. It’s human nature to oppose something different from yourself.” I would absolutely love to see some of the kids from our school walking through the halls of say North College Hill or Northwest High School..
I agree with Nick that racism does go both ways. I also agree that it’s not a big problem. Like he said, we have assemblies about sexting and bullying, but since racism isn’t a huge problem, we don’t have assemblies for it. If you look at Harrison High School and compare it to other schools who have more diversity, we don’t have a big problem with racism. However, we do have people who say some very racial things and it happens throughout the entire school.
I think that race is kind of an issue in Harrison. You don’t see very much prejudice against other races here because there isn’t much diversity. Therefore, residents aren’t very public with their discomfort with minority. A lot of times when some one looks different it is like a car crash, sometimes you just can’t look away. You never really notice the nonchalant stares. However, if you listen closely to the conversations that the people have here, they turn out to be very offensive because they rely on stereotypes. I know it sounds silly, but people trust the internet more than you think. Many people just expect certain people to exceed or fail based on what they look like. People always have had very high expectations for my siblings and me. They think we will be highly intelligent because we are Asian. Let me tell you, it was a surprise to them when they found out that we don’t fit stereotypes very well. I often hear many very offensive “jokes” about African Americans every single day. I know that it would be very rare for a resident of Harrison would be disrespectful to a minority. I feel that if we were more exposed to it, then we would be less rude about it.
Well, commenting on what many people have already said (Hannah, Mark, Thomas, etc), Harrison may not be actually that racist as a whole, but there are the people that are extreme racists, who just make the town look bad. And this makes us get looked upon as a racist community. Maybe the people here do want some ethnic diversity, but that is not something you can fix that easily. If this is a predominately caucasian town, there is not much a certain person or group of people can do to change that. However, maybe we can all help the racists in our town to become more understanding.
Danielle I find your story to be just astonishing and just scary. I hate knowing that people are capable of being so hateful. That is so sad. I think maybe that was just an extreme case. The majority of the people are not actually that spiteful.
Nick and Sara have very valid points. Seeing as how they both went to other schools last year, they have another perspective in comparing the schools. What I got out of their comments (and correct me if I’m wrong) is that they noticed a significant increase in racism since switching schools….in less than a year! Whenever someone thinks of a racist, their mind automatically goes to someone such as a KKK member or someone who would yell swears at black people trying to integrate. This to me is only extreme cases. The definition of racist is: a person with a prejudiced belief that one race is superior to others. This does not limit it to the people that outwardly wave the confederate flag or the ones who are very public in their opinions. To me, this includes everyone who believes the stereotypes, makes racial comments, and tries to deny that there are people who aren’t white in our community. I do find it VERY offensive when someone says to me “….but Katherine…you aren’t black…you are just tan!” To me, that is very racist. When someone tries to deny who I am so that what they may have been taught about black people can still hold true or so that they don’t think colored people are in the community, I take it personally. A majority of kids who attend the high school have families that are rooted here. In one way or another, a lot of kids here have some sort of cousin in town. These families have lived here for generations. It was not long ago that segregation was a HUGE thing. My grandmother even met Dr. King. We are not just talking about the kids at the high school, we are talking about the community as a whole, meaning the adults too. There are a lot of families who have grandparents who were alive during the civil rights movement and would still have those ideals. My own great-grandmother was a racist. My grandmother thought she wouldn’t attend my parents wedding. It took a lot of time and very personal connections with my mother and grandmother to make her more tolerant. That being said, do you think a dash of other people is going to change the mindset of a lot of adults in here? If we had a large influx of African Americans, Asians, and Hispanics, I don’t think our community could handle it. Racists are not just the people who are public and showy with their beliefs. They are also the people who drop the “n” word, the ones who tell me we are going to get shot at different games, the ones who won’t go out to sit on a bench with me due to the sheer fact we are at a predominantly black school.
I love Joe’s point about how we have assemblies for things such as sexting and bullying, but racism is never addressed. It is something that is tiptoed around so not to offend anybody. I personally think the world has become too “politically correct”. Many people don’t know what to call my mother; black or African American. I can literally see the panic in their eyes as they stumble across the words so they can be sure not to offend me. I think that race is seriously something we need to have an assembly on. I know I can’t speak for the few others that are not white, but I sure as heck wouldn’t get offended by an assembly like that! I would be happy and quite proud our community is taking steps to control the closemindedness of Harrison. If this was something that was brought at the kids and almost thrown in their faces, it would shock them. Many people don’t realize what they say is very racist. Maybe some people would think twice about what they say.
This topic is very much a part of my life. It’s hard growing up feeling like an outcast. People try to get me to “racially identify” as white. Racism in my opinion is very much here and very much a problem that needs to be addressed.
Hannah, I too watch the news every night. In fact I am a news JUNKIE, I watch all kinds of news, FOX NEWS, CNN, Headline, MSN, I listen to NPR, watch PBS NewsHour, even RT (who even knows what that is) and the one thing I have to point out about your post is—yes, African Americans are on the News a lot…so are a lot of things that are perpetuated by the media (all of the media—liberal and conservative) FEAR sells. When I get back I really hope we can discuss this. Because if there is anything that will get you (BY you I mean the American consumer)to buy some thing,it is fear! Watch the news again with this in mind and see if something is on the news that night that isn’t scary? Flu? Snow storm? Rain storm? Asteroids falling on Russia–oh, wait, that is scary! Are scary black people being stereotyped as all criminal wrong? (Please know I am being satirical here!) Yes! But you (not, you, the “mythical,” highly influential, weak-minded, consumer) will probably go out and buy an ADT home security system and you will definitely make sure you have the best GPS system for your daughter when she goes down to Clifton for her freshman yr. at Clifton. Ya better make sure your son has a safe car, ya don’t want him to break down when he drives to Northgate, because you heard that Pizza Hut in Colerain got robbed last weekend. Listen,I lived in Mt. Healthy for 5 years and walked my dogs at night, yes, NIGHT…guess how many times I got robbed and murdered?? I grew up in NCH….guess how many times I got beat up—I know I’m tough—NEVER! And I had a beat up car and I walked at night.I’m such a rebel or I’m lucky. I could be lucky, Hannah:) Sorry for the tirade—so totally not directed at you, Hannah, but thanks ya just got me thinking!;) Your fellow students should thank you too…