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I'm sure I've been in situations where a confrontation in race has occurred, but any recollection of these moments eludes me. So I'll talk about what some would consider reverse racism. When I lived overseas, we spent a lot of time in rural areas. Places where people may have never seen any white people. Often times I would walk around feeling like I had a third arm. It was more apparent in the kids, but people would literally stop what they were doing and watch us walking around. I guess if I were older, I would not have cared that people were staring - what do you expect? But as a kid, one who had lived in America for a couple of years where staring is considered very rude - it became a "what am I doing wrong" thing. I guess it made me feel self-conscious, but I also understood that they weren't staring at me, they were staring at a white person. I understood that this was a very natural reaction, so I didn't consider it racist, and I still don't. Maybe some people will. Was the interaction positive? Definitely. It was, like all aspects of living overseas, an incredible experience. People staring at me wasn't enjoyable but I realize that it have me at least some understanding of what being the minority or the "weird one" is like. Because most of the time in America I hide behind my white, middle-class identity. After reading Wachtel's analysis I don't really feel any different about the experience. I think I understood what was going on pretty well. It wasn't really any lack of communication, just the novelty of white people. But I certainly think that if a real racist situation were to come up, I would certainly feel different about it because of reading Wachtel's analysis.

Parrillo

Blog – What is the “socialization process” according to Parrillo? Do you agree that prejudices – or really any beliefs – are instilled in this way

According to Parillo, the "socialization process" describes the predisposition to prejudices that affect the development of kids. I agree that prejudices are instilled this way. But, as Parrillo wrote, this is not the only way that beliefs are formed. The "socialization process" is definitely a major factor in the development of prejudices. This is evident in discrimination that occurred across generations. For example. slavery in America lasted over 200 years. Clearly the easiest way for people to justify this cruelty was through beliefs instilled by the generation before them. If they believed that blacks were less important than them, or if they believed that they were giving blacks a better life by "exposing them to Jesus", then it was obviously easier for the slave owners to justify the fact that they owned other people. On the other hand, there are examples of times when the "socialization process" has not been effective. Take, for example, the civil rights movement. Even after the abolition of slavery America had been an extremely racist country. The Jim Crow Laws weren't even repealed until 1965. But around that time, something changed. Something enabled the civil rights movement to occur and change the way blacks were treated in society. Something overrode the predisposition to prejudice that so many white Americans had. While it is clear that the "socialization process" can determine one's beliefs, it is clearly not the only cause of those beliefs.

Thomas Jefferson

I have been fortunate enough to attend schools that never tried to tell the classic American history fabrications. So it does not surprise me to read that Thomas Jefferson owned slaves or that he was in favor of freeing slaves and kicking them out of the country. It doesn't surprise me that he also had some rather progressive and humanitarian ideas for somebody of his time. In many ways, Jefferson is the embodiment of a hypocrite. But in many ways Jefferson is the embodiment of the future. While reading "Notes on the State of Virginia" one gets the feeling that Jefferson is a racist, inhumane man who exists in a fantasy world where whites are the superior race. At other times, though, Jefferson appears to be so close to the truth. It is easy to see that Jefferson calls black people odorous, less beautiful, less loving, and inferior in thinking. But there are times when Jefferson seems so close: when he suggests that blacks may be capable of being free members of society if there weren't so many prejudices against them. Or like when he admits that there are examples of success by black people in society. Or when he admits that blacks may look inferior because of years of oppression in America that included lack of education and opportunity and being forced into slavery. In his time period, Jefferson must be considered a progressive thinker - a man who talked about freeing slaves before they were free and a man who saw some potential in black people. But at the same time, it's important not to forget that Jefferson was still very racist, that he was cowardly of doing the right thing, and that he was not the man that many people say that he was.