Return-Path: <nifl-povracelit@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id e93H9o901299; Tue, 3 Oct 2000 13:09:50 -0400 (EDT) Date: Tue, 3 Oct 2000 13:09:50 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <s9d9bca1.041@epcc.edu> Errors-To: listowner@literacy.nifl.gov Reply-To: nifl-povracelit@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-povracelit@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-povracelit@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: "Andres Muro" <andresm@epcc.edu> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-povracelit@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-POVRACELIT:101] Re: Examing Racial and Cultural Thinking X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII X-Mailer: Novell GroupWise 5.5.4 Status: O Content-Length: 4811 Lines: 72 Kay does a good job of introducing the issue of "Hegemony". She argues that white people are not the only racists, but minorities can adopt racist postures. This is the result of "Hegemony". While there is overt racism towards people of different "colors". There is a more subtle cultural racism towards people who don't fit the "status quo". At the same time, many minorities invest energy to become part of the status quo as a result of hegemony. Once they become part of the "status quo", they begin to look down at those people who don't fit. In general, things that don't fit the "status quo" are those that don't contribute to capitalism. Any posture, cultural idea that doesn't contribute towards capitalism is marginalized. The tie between hegemony, racism and the economy is an interesting topic to explore further. Andres >>> kayt51@hotmail.com 09/27/00 11:31AM >>> Hello everyone . . . (I apologize in advance for going in so many different directions here, but the thoughts are racing . . .) I agree with Laura Chenven that white teachers must examine racism in themselves, but I also know that racism isn't limited to white teachers. I live and work on the border, where more than 70% of the population is not white, and the majority of the adult ed teachers are not white. However, I have seen that many non-white educators -- who have achieved a certain level of education and income -- also hold discriminatory presumptions about the people they teach (although teachers and students share the same racial/cultural backgrounds). These presumptions negatively affect their attitude toward students. Of course, one can make a strong case that these non-white teachers were schooled by the dominant culture and took on the attitudes/values/presumptions promoted in the wider educational system. I am also familiar with Paulo Freire's concept of the "oppressed becoming the oppressor," and expect this is also a factor. Secondly, we also shouldn't ignore the fact that racism and classism exist within the countries from which many of our immigrant students come from, as well. A young, very wealthy woman from Mexico once told me (proudly, I might add) that in her country they didn't discriminate against people because of race, but that it was perfectly acceptable to discriminate against the "lower class." This aside, I know that indigenous peoples and those with the darkest skin shades ARE looked down upon in Mexico. I also believe that many stereotypes, and even positive "attributes" commonly ascribed to certain ethnic groups, may actually be more closely related to education and income level than to culture. For instance, it is a widely held belief in our area that Hispanics do not put their elderly in nursing homes because of their strong belief in the importance of family, respect of elders, the desire to live in close extended-family, etc.. Of course, these concepts/lifestyles are positive and laudible. However, I have come to wonder if this is more strongly connected to education and income levels. Do lower income whites routinely put their parents in nursing homes? My extended family is lower to lower-middle income and have limited educations. No one has ever gone to a nursing home, and many live in extended family groups, reside close together and support each other in many ways. Additionally, research has told us that the more educated live longer because they avail themselves to (and can afford) higher levels of health care. The longer we live, the more apt we are to reach a point where we develop delicate health problems that require extraordinary levels of care and make it increasingly difficult for family members to take care of our health needs within the home environment. Wealthier people are more apt to be well-insured and better able to afford costly care. Additionally, higher levels of education and income often mean that younger generations move a distance away from their elders to seek new and more challenging job opportunities. This compounds the challenge of taking care of aging relatives when the time comes. As more Hispanics achieve higher educational and income levels, will the numbers of elderly Hispanics in nursing homes increase? In any event, these questions and ideas are just food for thought. I have no statistics/data. But I think that as educators we all need to carefully examine the assumptions we hold in light of the bigger picture that includes education and income as well as race/culture. Kay Taggart _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at http://profiles.msn.com.
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