ill take my stand in dixie net

In the article “I’ll Take My Stand in Dixie-Net” by Tara McPherson cyberspace seems to be the place where people can express their views without pushing the boundaries of race. The article explains how she came about the neo-confederate sites that explained how people wanted the south to be today and how people viewed such sites. When the sites have such slogans as, “Preserving OUR heritage is preserving YOUR heritage” they mean white people from the south.
People are glad that the cyber net has overcome boundaries of race in a way that people do not feel like discrimination is a problem or such an issue as it was years ago. Others believe that the cyber net is a place where people can have multiple identities to but has the “ability to destroy one’s sense of place.” Race and identity have been major issues throughout the years but people may think the cyber net doe not apply when it comes to those terms. When the author told her friends about going to such sites they responded with grimaces and questions about why someone would even go to such sites consisting of “rednecks and racists.” Many of these sites try to uphold the meaning of a confederate and southern heritage. They also explain the heritage violations meaning the people who try and ban the confederate flag. Other sites may talk about what a southern woman must be like and provokes images of a black male rapist. Such stereotypes make it hard for people to even look at such sites because it is almost as if you’re an active participant with these sites you are racist or you HAVE to be racist.
Why do these people want the south to remain like it was so many years ago? After everything that has changed over the years society has become more accepting to different races and cultures than ever before. These people can have their sites and express their personal views, but not everyone will agree with their views. Overall the south is not going to change into what it used to be, but if these white southerners feel it should be changed they have a right to think that, but in reality society will not go back to its “old ways.”
I thought the reading was decent and it made me think about the cyber net a little more. There are so many good and bad sites out today but I really do not even realize, or take notice, to such sites.

Cybernetic Tourism, the Internet, and Transnationality

In the article “Where Do You Want to Go Today?” the article talks about cyberspace that has no boundaries. For example there is no racism, discrimination, no gender, and no age limit. Yet the commercials these big companies put out, such as IBM MCI and Anthem, use a technique that pushes the racial barriers to try and promote their company and products. The “other” groups that these companies are referring to are Arabs or people in African tribes. The companies also are trying to keep the privilege of the white society.
The ads that these companies put on TV makes it seem as if Americans are the dominant society and how we are able to go to different places and experience different thing because of the privileges that Americans have. Nakamura states, “Like the Microsoft and AT&T slogans this one links networks with privileged forms of travel, and reinforces the metaphor by visually depicting sights that viewers associate with tourism.” The author is explaining one of the commercials put out by Compaq. Even ads put on TV by Coca-Cola have a distinct image they are trying to portray to people. One of their ads consisted of the slogan, “I want to teach the world to sing.” The ad features people of all ages and races and tries to get people to be “uniform” and get the idea that people can all be “just minds”.
Why do these commercials have such underlying meanings? Why do people not see the techniques these companies are using to advertise their product? Some people may not think about the commercials in a discriminating way, but others take it in to consideration. The strategies to promote such products could be changed, but the companies are only thinking about the privileged community and how it may apply to them.
I thought the reading was different. I did not enjoy it that much because I somewhat lost interest in the piece. But overall I think that the reading does have a point in how these major companies advertise their products and try to eliminate race discrimination in cyberspace. I believe all advertisements have some sort of underlying theme that people do not usually see unless it is pointed out to them.

Why I Hate Abercrombie and Fitch

In the reading, “Why I Hate Abercrombie and Fitch” the author talks about a side of Abercrombie that people do not like to talk about, but still knows that it exists. First the author asks the question about why white gay men wear Abercrombie. Then goes on to talk about the history of Abercrombie and what it has stood for over the years. People may not realize the types of actions related to race and discrimination that has been associated with Abercrombie.
The author, Dwight McBride talks about the history of Abercrombie and how it all first started with David T. Abercrombie. Abercrombie was known to be the clothing store for the rich and famous. Some famous people that first wore Abercrombie included some presidents, Amelia Earhart, and Katherine Hepburn. The company was popular for selling clothes for both men and women in one single store. Over the years Abercrombie changed its headquarters and expanded its shops across the country. In 1977 the company filed for bankruptcy. Over the years other companies tried to revive what was still left of Abercrombie but no one succeeded except for Michael Jeffries. Jeffries hired a professional photographer and targeted the college students who were white and in the upper class status. The author states, “Abercrombie has worked hard to produce a brand strongly associated with a young, white, upper-class, and leisure lifestyle.” Abercrombie has a quarterly magazine that comes out and a look book for the employees. It was noted that, “of the group shots [in the magazine] two include the one African American model in these pages, while all of the rest of the photos are of male and female models who appear to be white.” Abercrombie has even faced a lawsuit because of the company discriminating against hiring people of color, and firing people for not fitting the “Crombie look”.
When the news of Abercrombie got out people may not have been too shocked about what was going on with the company. Why did people not say anything about the stores and what they were doing? Why did it take so long for a lawsuit to be filed? People wanted to keep Abercrombie an all white store but in reality that was never going to last. People do not realize how situations like this affect other ethnic groups looking for jobs. Discrimination will always be present in the world but Abercrombie seems to take it to a whole different level.
I was disgusted when I read this. Growing up I wore some Abercrombie but it was maybe one or two shirts I owned. People used to talk about me when I wore it and now I realize the true meaning why. I think that people need to wake up and realize times have changed and discrimination like this needs to stop.

Takaki Chapter 12

In chapter 12, “El Norte”, Takaki talks about the struggles of the Mexicans and how immigrating wasn’t always what it seemed to be. The Mexicans were not shown respect and their children were not given a valuable education. Throughout the struggle the Chicanos fought for higher wages and equality.
Many Mexicans left Mexico to escape from starvation but others went to America to be with family that had already settled in and established themselves. They wanted to find jobs and have their own wealth. But another factor that forced the Mexicans to move was the civil war in Mexico. The war forced numerous industries to shut down, such as mines and factories, leaving the Mexicans out of jobs and no money to support their families. Inflation was also a problem because it made the cost of food rise up to 2,000 percent. The development of transportation was also another reason why the Mexicans moved to the north. Although there are numerous reasons why the Mexicans crossed the boarder they were soon being welcomed because their labor was needed. “Mexicans represented about 75 percent of all the construction labor in the state.” A Mexican worker talked about his view on the jobs the Mexicans have and how they are not able to succeed in getting promotions. He stated, “I know that if I want to amount to something in any work I will have to do it in Mexico.” The Chicanas had horrible jobs and get the lowest wages and most Chicanas worked as waitresses, cooks, and maids. Most Chicanos worked in agriculture and really had no other choice but to work on the railroads. Most of the workers in agriculture could not leave their employers because the employers set up a system to put the Mexican workers in debt. During that time the workers had to pay off all their debts before leaving.
The Mexicans would send their children to school, but when they sent their children to school they would only learn about jobs that their parents were doing and how to take over those jobs when their parents could no longer work. A teacher even told one of her students, “Your people are here to dig ditches and to do pick and shovel work….I don’t think any of you should plan to go to high school.” Why would someone ever say this to a child? People really did not have respect for the Mexicans even though they were the ones who did the hard labor that others did not want to do. It not that white people were incapable of doing work it is just they wanted the Mexicans to do it for them.
I thought the reading was sad for the facts about the education the children got and how they were not respected. No one deserves to be treated that way but everyone deserves to be treated with respect.

Race: The Power of Illusion

In the short film that we watched in class the film expressed that people do not really know how to define race. People may think that race is just who someone is because of how they look. Everyone tends to notice how people look before they think anything else of them. In the movie the narrator quoted, “we notice appearance before anything” because that is how people judge others.
Race is really defined as the laws and practices in different cultures. Immigrants have to fit in a society based on race because they are not seen as the “typical” American. Immigrants come to America to seek freedom, work, and a future for themselves and for their family. Most of the Immigrants that came to America were from eastern and southern Europe. When they came here it was said that, “58% were miners.” People say that “biology is destiny” because years ago what race you were determined your status and how you lived your life. The black people were seen as lazy and stupid, the Jews were of the lower class, and the whites were the privileged ones. Lynchings were very common during a certain period of years and black people were not the only ones getting lynched. The narrator talked about a Jewish man being lynched for supposedly killing a white woman. Whiteness was also a key to citizenship. Also after the war blacks got the right to vote but the majority of voters and juries were predominately white so the black people really did not have much say in the government.
In the film it stated that different states had different definitions of what qualified people for being black and white. For example one state had a law saying a person was considered black if they had at least 1/8 of African American heritage in their background and other states had somewhat similar laws. Why would states have such rules? Why did people not realize what they were doing? In the past it was all about race and what race you were determined your future. Today race is not an issue but has other problems associated with it. People do not realize what is going on until their culture or race is affected and someone gets laws changed to make a difference.
I thought the film was different in a way. Although it was a review of issues we have already discussed in class it was interesting to watch.

How Jews Became White Folks

In the article “How Jews Became White Folks” Karen Brodkin talks about how Jews became privileged mainly because of the G.I. Bill that paid for their housing, provided them with jobs, and paid for their education. Jews moved up into the middle class and African Americans and other people of color were being discriminated against.
“European immigrants, including Jews, had been largely assimilated into the white population.” The European races were divided into in Nordics, Mediterranean, and Jewish people. The peoples’ definition of a “real American” consisted of being white and having a background from northwest Europe. Jews were the first to enter college which put them in a privileged category. Jews tended to be discriminated in the work force such as not being able to become corporate managers and corporate employed professionals. The G.I. Bill of Rights that came out in 1944 became one of the largest affirmative action programs in American history. Although the G.I. Bill was intended to help all people, it discriminated against African Americans, for the most part, and other ethnic groups. African Americans were dishonorably discharged so they would not be able to qualify for the benefits such has education and jobs. Also, the African Americans were affected by the red line which meant they were forced to live in areas that were predominately black because they would not be able to afford the houses where the white people lived. Realtors discriminated against the African Americans even when there was laws passed saying discriminating against people was illegal.
Over time things got better the different ethnic groups. Why do some people believe that affirmative action today should not be allowed? Why did the African Americans get treated in such a way where they were not allowed to be equal like everyone else? It seems like affirmative action today is helping those ethnic groups who were oppressed. The people who were not discriminated against were the white males. Now that they are not in a privileged society they feel they are being treated wrong even though other groups had it 1000 times worse then them. As soon as people are put in an underprivileged category they tend to be offended.
I thought the reading actually made me think about our society today. Affirmative action and the issues in the past have changed over time, but in the end people still feel like they are discriminated against such as homosexuals. I think that there will always be someone discriminating against a group of people.

Takaki Chapter 7

In chapter 7 Takaki talks about the Mexicans and how they struggled from being land owners to workers and fighting for acceptable wages and lands. Boarder disputes throughout the years forced the Mexicans to give up what is now Texas, but overall the Mexicans have struggled to be accepted and had somewhat succeeded.
The chapter starts off by talking about the struggle over California. Commandante Vallejo was the authority figure in California at the time representing the land north of San Francisco. Vallejo explained after being released, “I left Sacramento half dead, and arrived here almost without life but am now much better.” He did not let his captors get the best of him even after he lost his land. Vallejo’s servants never asked for pay and in return Vallejo provided them with everything that they needed. For example they were provided food, shelter, and were taken care of when they became ill. The people had various ranks though. The gente de razon were the people at the top, the laboring class was below them, and the Indians consisted of the lower class. The Mexicans were then criticized as being Yankees and were said to have “lacked the enterprise and calculating mentality that characterized Americans.” Soon enough the Mexican-American War started and California was annexed. The Mexicans then outlawed the immigration into Texas and slavery. Although this made people upset people still continued to own slaves and illegally immigrate into Texas. The president at the time, James K. Polk had to order troops to dispute the boarder of Texas which ended up being near the mouth of the Rio Grande. Over the years Mexicans were granted suffrage but to a certain extent. For example Takaki states, “Mexicans in San Antonio could elect a government if they voted” but were then called ignorant and were said to not be able to make such choices.
In the end the Mexicans established a Mexican-American identity and continued to fight for equality. But why did the Mexicans strike more than the other groups? It is almost as if they felt they deserved to be treated equally and have fair wages so that is exactly what they demanded. The other cultures may have felt scared, at first, to stand up to authority, but the Mexicans stood their ground.
I thought the chapter was very informative and I recalled some information from previous history classes. I am glad the Mexicans stood up or what they believed even though they were defeated in areas such as the land disputes.

Takaki chapter 6

In chapter 6 Takaki explains how the Irish were treated in America and why they immigrated. The Irish were viewed as savages like the slaves and were not given the respect they thought they deserved. Takaki explains how they had to struggle to keep their jobs and how certain stereotypes accompanied them.
The Irish had somewhat survived a famine and lived off of potatoes for a long time. Irish families would receive letters from family members in America saying how they were able to be independent and get good jobs, so more of their family members immigrated to America to have the same opportunity as them. Unfortunately the conditions on the ships were almost unbearable. The ships reeked of the smell of previous immigrants and the Irish were pack into small shelves. Takaki states that, “20 percent of the immigrants died during the passage or immediately after arrival.” When trying to get a job in America the Irish had only one choice. The only job they could obtain happened to be the most dangerous of them all. The Irish started laying down the railroad tracks and some men would fall into ditches, or be crushed by the beams. Accidents happened all the time and became very common in the news. As the Irish struggled with jobs and continued to strike another problem arose. The Irish people were being compared to the black slaves who made them classified as savages. The Irish saw blacks as “a soulless race” and were appalled to be compared to them. The only difference between the blacks and Irish is that the Irish were allowed to vote. The blacks would not obtain their suffrage until many years later.
The Irish women became servants and obtained different jobs, but what really drove the Irish to succeed? It seems as if the Irish wanted to belong and be together as they were before coming to America. When the Irish immigrated they split up to find jobs and many of the Irish women seemed to obtain jobs where they would have housing and food provided in exchange for their labor. In the end the Irish were happy to be away from the British rule and America was their new home.
I thought this chapter was interesting and I learned something new. I never thought about some of the struggles the Irish had to go through and how they were compared to the black slaves.