Chapter 2- Privilege, Opression & Difference

I read chapter two of the Privilege Power and Difference. In chapter two the topic of privilege, oppression, and difference are discussed in great length and detail. After reading this chapter I learned the problem that surrounds the term of difference, is really a problem as much as the terms that relate to why people are different such as privilege and power. Difference however is not the problem, the illusion or misunderstood fact is the popular conception is that people are afraid of what they don’t know or understand. In chapter two the topic of the diversity wheel is brought up as an aspect to which we can compare and accurately describe one another to classify people into distinct groups. The different characteristics listed in the hub of the wheel include age, race, ethnicity, gender, physical ability, qualities, and sexual orientation. Around the outer ring others listed are religion, marital and parental status, and social class indicators of education, occupation, and income. It was brought to my attention while reading chapter two that if we change or slight shift are status in the wheel could change peoples lives tremendously. The book states the reason why there is trouble that comes with diversity is not the obvious differences of people from each other, rather the way the world tries to in ways include, exclude, reward, or punish, credit or discredit, elevate or oppress, value or devalue others by their differences. Another detail that is brought to light is that in America is that we only accept two genders in our culture while most accept several, which means if you don’t fit one or the other you are automatically labeled an outsider. A quotation that says “No one was white before they came to America; it took generations, and a vast amount of coercion, before this became a white country.” (Baldwin 17) This quotation shows that by force and powerful domination against other people, that a group of people who classified themselves as white were able to rise to power and control other groups who they felt were less superior in doing so made the other groups inferior. In turn this type of treatment has lasted until the present day, not in every aspect but is clearly present in our culturally diverse society. In chapter two we also learn that privilege exist when one group has something of value that is denied to other groups because of groups the people belong to, not because of what they didn’t do. This explains the conclusion that privilege is highly associated to what race you are a member of. There are two types of privilege mentioned one types is “unearned entitlements”, which are things with some sort of value that all people should have. The second type is called “conferred dominance”; this step proceeds to go further than the other by giving a clear cut advantage in power to another group. The power of privilege increases the power of others and dominates the rule of others, and in turn it helps increase the level of what is called oppression on the lives of others. Oppression is named in chapter two as being the social conflict that results between privilege and oppressed categories. I believe that privilege can often be used in negative ways for the benefit of only certain people, and it should be reviewed as a term that should not be viewed with such a positive connotation for what it is usually used for is not positive in any way.

Chapter 2- A Different Mirror

Brian Bates
Professor Altman
Ethnic Studies

Chapter two in the book A Different Mirror by Ronald Takaki entails many different accounts of how the English took over lands and controlled the lives of both the Irish and Indians through means of violence that left their populations in ruins near extinction from the earth. This chapter lists the main reason why the English thought they should take other people’s land; they felt it was a God-given right because the other cultures were so called “savages” therefore they deserved the other people’s property.
The first accounts we read in the chapter are that the Indians are intrigued by the English settlers coming into the land. The appearance of these strange pale complexion men with hair growing from their face were foretold by Indian prophets who predicted the arrival of the English man. The book also describes in detail of how they thought the Irish people were “savages” as well. The English reduced the Irish population by more than half of the original number they had found them with. They did the same with the Indians except for these type incidents occurred at three different locations. The Indians were farming their land and doing very well, but in order to claim most of their lands the explorers would write various details about the Indian people being cannibals and the females doing improper things like prostituting themselves because they liked too. After hearing these type of descriptions the English people that it was only naturally right that they should be able to claim the Indians land and be able to drive them from it change their way of faith and what religion they believed in. The accounts that foretold of the Indians as civilized people were usually disregarded or not told to people, so that the English could send more to claim more of the land that the “savages” did not need.
In the stories throughout chapter two we learn that English think they are highly superior to everyone else they encounter in new lands because their culture was different their own. The settlers who were settling the land when John Smith came to Virginia were almost wiped out by winter that they were not prepared for, they were saved by the Indians who gave them provisions and helped them survive. After this had occurred the English settlers captured a few Indians and took them back to England to show people of their new discoveries. The work of cultivating land was so hard for them they thought that people beneath them should work as slaves and pay them with their crops for the land they were using.
The events in chapter two showed in many ways how the English were wrong for almost all the actions they performed against the Indians. They intruded upon other peoples land the Indians and Irish wiped them out and took it as their own. They should not be celebrated for discoveries and civilizations in these lands merely for the fact that they were already present, but the English destroyed them and expanded their own.

The Meaning of Difference "Framework Essay"

Brian Bates
Professor Altman
Ethnic Studies

The main statement or thesis of the article that the author is trying to convey to the audience is that is that are four important questions about difference. The questions are how is it constructed, how is it experienced by individuals, how meaning is attributed to difference, and how differences can be bridged.
The author of this article believes that the main source of difference between Americans is the master statuses, which are people’s position in a social structure. The author believes that the master status affects every aspect of people’s lives including their personal identity. They also believe that racial categories are always present in every social process, and are thought to be the real difference that separates everyone. The author uses examples of not only race but also sexual orientation as another large aspect which largely differentiates people from one another. Throughout the article we learn of other ways people are separated through ways of naming, and then there are ways they are brought or lumped together by one generalization of an ethnic background. The use of dichotomizing is also a major focus point of the article, by dividing things two into parts like race, sexual orientation, class, and sex.
During the section of the article my group was assigned to pay extra attention to which was Creating Categories of People. I learned some new important facts of how the government creates and conducts a census of the general population. The census has always counted race since the first one in 1790 so different racial groups were always accounted for in some aspect. The census in 1970 was the first to allow the household to identify which racial/ethnic background in which the family should be identified as, but yet there was no still no identification of people who were from multi-racial backgrounds they could only choose one definitive section in which they could be accounted for. Also many groups like Hispanics, or people who lived in lower income environments were undercounted because they moved a lot and could not be contacted, or non-English speaking citizens. The data collected on race allowed the monitoring of many issues like the Voting Rights Act, equal opportunity employment programs, and racial disparities in health, birth, and death rates. The census also showed the under representation of minority groups in society in 2000 was the first census in which a person could identify themselves as person from more than one descent. Yet there is still an ongoing issue in which gay or lesbian people are highly undercounted, because they are not fully recognized as actual couples.
I personally think that the information in the text brings up valid issues and points that need to be addressed in order for our society to accurately account for all people. I think the country has finally started making steps of progression in the right direction, although they have a long way to go and still need to work on various problems that need to be corrected.

A little about myself

I am Brian Bates

• I'm a freshmen
• I'm 18
• Im from Solon ,Ohio a suburb located 30 minutes outside of Cleveland

I decided to take this class not only for my degree requirement, but I also wanted to expand my overall knowledge of other ethnic races besides my own.