Racism

I really enjoyed this week's reading assignments. Ayo's "I Can Fix It" and McIntosh's "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack" demonstrates the issue of racism in two completely different ways. I took McIntosh's article more seriously than Ayo's because of how she presents the information. She uses her personal experiences as a white woman to acknowledge the privileges of the white race and offers suggestions to create a balance between all races. She points out these issues in a subtle way, which makes the reader comfortable, especially if they are white. As for Ayo's article, her comical approach to the issue left me disappointed. In addition, her sharp words are harsh and create the assumption that all white people are racist. An issue, such as racism should not be humored, especially if you want people to take the topic seriously.
These two articles obviously relate to current social issues in our communities, because racism has been a struggle to eliminate for many years. Society and the media portray heavy stereotypes on minorities, which creates this stigma in our minds. The youtube video we watched in class clearly displays the significant amounts of stereotypes we have for minorities and the very little we have for whites. As I continue to read more and more articles, I keep noticing a common trend. Society controls our perception and until society can be stripped of this power, issues like gender and racism will only continue to produce these stereotypes.