Who Is At Fault?

Is it the fault of every individual that benefits from the system, or is it just the fault of those who mold the system? Is it possibly the fact that people inherently create inequalities within a system, either economic or racial? Most importantly, is it at all the fault of those that are poorly impacted by the system? If so, why?

The poor get poorer, the rich get richer.

Today, America faces many unacknowledged inequalities; the fragmented form of "separate but equal" remains, yet the conditions reflect anything but equality. There is no formal -- or even conscious -- ethnocentrism. There are no laws, as in the past, that permit and even perpetuate segregation, but traces of the former stance remain. This becomes extremely obvious with policies such as racial redlining. With such policies in place, it essentially encourages the old saying: the poor get poorer, and the rich get richer. Though not impossible, it is very unlikely that a family living in poverty will ever be able to rise from that socio-economic status. Further more, with tax cuts for the rich, their status in the top percent is only increased. These divisions may not appear directly racial, but considering the legal discriminations prior to the Civil Rights movement and the social advantages of whites, such as "Levittowns", race enters into the equation. Basically, whites have had the upperhand for centuries; with more advantages for minorities and impoverished people, society would be far more equal.

Why so divided?

In the movie on friday we learned that if a community was predominantly white and how if an individual of African American race was to move in, most whites would begin to move out due to fear that their houses would lower in value and other reasons. Not only did they do this because of the fear that their houses would lower in value but I also think because of the idea that within our society they did not want to nor did they begin mixing their Social Locations. They were comfortable with the way their society worked and with people of their own kind.

I think this is a very sad, but true statement that still holds true to this day. In society, whether it be in your community, in your high school, in your state, etc. I think that people are more comfortable with people that are similar to themselves whether it be their race, religion, sexual orientation, etc. If it something we want to change, it is going to take a lot of effort and I think a long time. One way that I think is working against that change is treating the minorities like victims. If we treat them like victims by saying stuff like, "Oh, poor them" we are still separating ourselves from them. We are creating a wider gap where we look down or them or we seem better then them because we are trying to make them have equal rights as us. Instead, I think we should say something like we need to make a difference for everyone in the community as a whole to make is more integrated so that we close that gap between whites and other people of different race.

Race/Ethnicity and Socioeconomics

The film brought up an interesting fact that this racial divide has been occurring for several years with no real progress. In my own town of Evanston, there obviously is still a clean cut racial divide amongst people, which is mostly based on your location. Although everyone in Evanston attending a public high school is all at the same location, their homes and grade schools play a major part in who they will be become friends with and ultimately what they do later on in life. I spent my grade school experience for the most part as a minority in a primarily African American school and I can say that that integration is not only daunting, but not very effective. This shows that maybe integration in schools is not the best way to bury racial barriers, which was also present back in the mid 1900s when a small amount of black students were brought into a primarily white school. Obviously, my school experience was nothing like this, but racism was still present there.

I would go as far as to say the racial divide has become worse since the times of redlining and urban renewal. Yes, there are more equal opportunities for all now and much less blatant racism, however there is still a present divide amongst people of different classes and races. Notable, the African American race has been the less wealthy race, which brings about more racial stereotypes from both ends and ties money into an already tense issue. This is a problem that, as it seems, is very hard to solve. When I was younger and attending my primarily black school, I thought that the best way to deal with racism was to simply not talk about it; I realized that the majority of racism, whether it be based on the color of your skin or how much money you have, had been passed down through generations and that the parents of my fellow students were often just as racist as the kids themselves. However after watching the film and reading over the statistics, I realized that the best way to deal with racism is to create a dialogue amongst different people and try to find a common ground for everyone. ETHS is a great start to that, placing literally every race and economic class in Evanston into one place. As I said earlier, people there still tend to stick with people like them, but at least getting them together and possibly creating some common experiences will be helpful. The government's role in this seems to be a murky one, for the damage that has been done is hard to undo. Hopefully the race of our president will help create this dialogue, however there is always the possibility that it will simply reinforce racial stereotypes. Despite these factors, I do think that this is an issue that will take work and several years to even get us to a place where these problems are not so obviously within American society.

Pas si simple

With all of the world war two veterans returning from the home front, America was in desperate need of quick housing solutions. One solution was "Levittown." 17000 new homes sprung up to fill the increasing desire of the American people to own a home and raise a family. The movie acknowledged that the government and realtors were afraid that the presence of just one non-white family would cause a decrease in real estate. I do not believe that the families moving into "Levittown" (or places similar to it) were aware of this. As a resident of an all-white "suburbia" neighborhood, I can personally declare that I never thought of my neighborhood as being discriminatory. As the wealthier inhabitants of the world, we are very blind to not only to the happenings in different parts of the world, but also to the events in our country/neighborhood. The movie stated that many whites during the post- Civil Rights era believed that the U.S. is already "colorblind." However, this is not the case as seen through redlining, urban renewal, block busting, etc. Through these practices, society gives whites the upper hand, and presents them with the opportunity to gain wealth and "be successful." In the article that we read, it informs us that the top 10 wealthiest people in the U.S. are all white.

Topic 3: Dead Man Walking

“The director did not want the film to be labeled as anti-death penalty. That’s why we see so much about the crime in the movie. [The director] shows the horror of what Poncelet did to balance out the possible view of the prisoner as victim. I have no doubt that some people will leave the theatre saying ‘Fry ‘em’ about everyone on death row.”
(www.salon.com/06/reviews/dead3.html)
Do you agree that the film is not necessarily anti-death penalty? Does it offer a balanced portrayal? Do you understand why some people will still agree with the death penalty after viewing the movie?

Topic 2: Dead Man Walking

How do artists work to affect social change? Has Dead Man Walking made you question ideas you once had about the death penalty? If so, how? Do you believe that plays and movies can ultimately change how you feel about an important universal question?

Topic 1: Dead Man Walking

The following is an excerpt taken from the book Dead Man Walking and it involves Bill Quigley, a local attorney and his young son.
‘Patrick has asked why people wanted to kill Mr. Sonnier. “Because they say he killed people,” Bill had answered. ‘But, Dad, then who is going to kill them for killing him?” (60)
Do you believe that government should engage in the killing of criminals? Do you believe the state has the right to say who lives and who dies?

Topic 3: Early Life

Sex selection is a form of gender discrimination.

Topic 2: Early LIfe

It is unethical not to proceed with embryonic stem cell research if we know that it could potentially offer cures.

Topic 1: Early Life

In this brave new world of reproductive technology, we risk the diminishment of human dignity.

At Life's Beginning

Today in class we read a short editorial titled "At Life's Beginning." I want to open this post up to any comments or reactions that you might have from reading it. Was there anything that struck you or anything that surprised you? Do you agree with the author's argument(s)?

Welcome

Welcome to Ethics 1- an ongoing class conversation about Ethics. Be sure to follow all our class guidelines for blogging! To demonstrate that you were able to find this blog, please comment below to the question: What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?

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