Personal Jounal #3

Thoughts and feeling on today's class?

I don’t think I have been in a class discussion that has left me thinking to the point of having a headache. I remember when I was younger me and my grandma had a discussion about the color of my skin. She told me I was black and I told her I was brown. I never could understand why she kept calling me black, my skin was brown. I think from than on I started to understand the world. I now understand that when people look at me they see a black woman. While in class I felt very uncomfortable as I saw the list entitled “Agent and Target Group.” To be under the agent group, you had to be white, male, heterosexual, Christian, non-disabled, owning and upper middle class. To be under the target group you have to of a minority race, women, gay, bisexual, Jew, Muslim, disabled, lower middle and working class. I never thought as myself as a target person because I am a black woman and with disabilities. And the only reason I could be in the agent group was I am a Christian, heterosexual, and middle class. I don’t understand why people group people together based on what they look like and their status in life I get so frustrated when I hear people making stereotypes and putting people down because the color of their skin. My stomach turns in knots when I hear racist comments. There are some people that say all Christians are hypocrites and for that reason they don’t want to go to church. First of all, not all Christians are hypocrites and secondly it does not stop one from going to the mall where there are hypocrites. It is not a good reason to dislike Christians or choose not to go to church. I know that on talk shows I hear people say “I date white women because they are not controlling, not loud and not strong welled as a black women.” I also hear that “all black women are loud.” I get so mad because they are not realizing that they a making stereotypes. Whether you are Black, White, Spanish, or Chinese, you can be loud, controlling, strong welled. I have come to a realization of these things and it hurts. I can’t understand why people are like this. I do wish people could see the differences in each person as an individual not as a group. But I think there will always be racism in this world. I just hope people will handle there racism in the correct way and not looking down on someone because they are of a different race, higher or lower status in life.