Blog Post 3 - Black History Month For White People

I do have to say, I think that "ModPrimate" is a genius. He went off on a tangent (and a very logical tangent, at that) about how some people are totally ignorant to the fact that Black people have their own month for a reason. "All Men" in the Declaration of Independence clearly did not mean "all human kind," it meant all rich, white men. I had never thought about that before, and that was not something that was taught in any of the history classes I took in my prior education. He hits the nail on the head with the fact that all men are born into different privileges, no matter how prominent Civil Rights are today and no matter how long slavery has been over. Being born a different race does put you into a certain financial class, for sure. There are plenty of exceptions, but it's easier for a black family to become poor in this country than it is for a white person. He also talks about how easy it is for him to get a job because he is white and the man interviewing him is white; having no preconceived notions about ModPrimate, he would find it simple to just ask him a few questions and, if they are valid answers, hire him on the spot. We as white people don't have to worry about how our ethnicity is going to effect us in the world of work, among other aspects of life. Racism is present in all races - black people are racist against whites, too. Attitudes are formed against other people based on interactions, not always based on race, gender, or sexual orientation. However, we gave black people their own month because it reflects on how their culture grew in the United States, and instead of people wondering why we don't have a white history month, we can take the other 11 months of the year to reflect on how good it is to be white in the United States. This guy gets it!

Blog Post 2 - The Danger of a Single Story

I found it interesting that she started out her story by comparing foreign children's books to those of her own country, Nigeria. It's kind of strange how their can be such a mental shift in interpretation of books and fiction just by switching from one country to the next. I do enjoy how that gave her hope that people like her could be a character in a book, not just the type of character found in any American children's book. Now that I think back on it, I do sort of remember how American children's books are - usually a white child with both parents, usually a sibling. A small conflict arises, but is always resolved. Seeing that books can be so different at a young age like that has to be highly beneficial because it increases that child's perception of the world from then on. The more she talked, the more truth in what she said was apparent.

I thought that her thesis was very well done in the sense that she had a lot of knowledge to back up what she was saying, whether it be her stories or actual facts. The fact that her roommate in college only had one impression of Africa and one way of thinking about all Africans was astounding, but when Chimamanda stated that "she would only see one story too if she had never been to Africa." She does defend the faults of her roommate and didn't take offense, which I found amazing. What she says is true, though: we do have so many single stories that can "define" a whole person or group before you even know them. I know I have even been an offender: I have seen people around campus who I don't really know, but just by having one encounter or hearing one thing about them, I make up my mind about what I think of them. It doesn't happen often, but I have done it. People from all walks of life and all races are guilty of it - French people think we are lazy and fat as Americans, and we think the French are a bunch of uptight snobs. It happens! Chimamanda is brilliant, and I agreed with the bulk of what she said and the message that she conveyed.