...‘Racist is as racist does’ is an article written by Carolyn Cooper a professor of literary and cultural studies at the University of the West Indies, Mona. The article was published in the Jamaica Gleaner on Sunday January 29, 2012. Ms Cooper’s article gives her audience a treat with diverse perspectives on racism and real life expressions most Jamaicans could find relatable. In her persuasive delivery she places great emphasis on the distinction between the hidden and upfront racists. The article boldly opens with strong statements about the barefaced convictions of some racists who do not shy away from their beliefs. The argument progresses and introduces us to the other racists that are more elusive in their position. Cooper takes her readers on a historical journey of facts that leads to situational scenarios which mocks the categorical racists as she has defined them, supporting her views by a well laid analogy of the breadfruit which most Jamaicans would appreciate. ‘Racist is as racist does’ unfolds relatable experiences and information with humour, supportive content and objectivity that makes the article a delightfully balanced work. The organization of the work is somewhat disjointed and has a lapse in fluency in the beginning, when Cooper takes us through historical facts that may have bearing on the core of what she is attempting to communicate but appears to be a roundabout way to get to her ultimate resolve. However once she recoups we find a delightful representation...
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...our last tests of the semester. We needed to buy milk, hence, we decided to make a little break and go to the supermarket. We got in the car while we decided that was better to go to Monroe, a little town next to our town, thereby, we could take some air. When we were on the road we saw a house full of police cars, we got nervous and just kept going. Suddenly a police car appears behind us, we didn’t know what to do, therefore, the police turn the lights on, they obviously wanted to pull us over. We finally stopped and they got out of their car, we opened our car windows and felt even colder. They started asking so many questions for hours, we didn’t know what was happening; the only thing we knew was that we are Chilean, they are American racist and they didn’t like us. They took Sebastian, my boyfriend, out of the car and kept interrogating us. I remember perfectly them saying, “What´s your name? Where are you from? Where are you going? Why are you going so far? Who are you? What were you doing at home? Why do you have this car? How did you get this car?” we felt like we were suspicious of a murder. After an hour of rude interrogation, neither Sebastian nor I understood what was going on, they just kept asking and asking. When the police finally decided to stop asking questions, they told us why we got pulled over, “We stopped you, because your light in the back is not working, I won’t give you a ticket, but this is a warning,” one of them said. An hour and half freezing outside...
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...Marx as a Racist Born on May 5, 1818, Karl Marx was the first son in the family to not die early. While his other older brothers had died of illness, Karl lived on and was thought of by his mother as a Gluckskind, or “child of fortune.” The Marx family was a middl3eclass family in the city of Trier. Karl, much like his father, had mental gifts. When he came of age his family shipped him to the University of Bonn for schooling. His father, a self-made attorney, implored Karl to study hard and attain knowledge for reaching steady employment. Instead of listening to his father, Karl squandered his father’s money and became engulfed in debt. Along with debt, Karl also indulged in drunkenness and even engaged in a duel. Karl chose to use his years at college learning Greek and Roman mythology. To add to his selfishness, after schooling Karl married much to his families’ consternation. Karl also refused to support his mother and sisters after his father had died. Karl grew disgusted at his mother and wanted her to die so he could gain her inheritance. There are many things Karl Marx did growing up that God’s Word speaks against. I believe Karl Marx proved early on just how selfish he was. In Ephesians 6:2 the Lord wishes us to honor our parents. There are also countless warnings about drunkenness and being in debt. But we must heed these warnings and not ignore them. Karl Marx was Jewish and raised a Lutheran so I believe he was taught proper morals. Often the choices...
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...Many people wonder why people are racist, In to kill a mockingbird people are racist they are calling the Finch family n-word lovers because Atticus took the Tom robinson case and is defending him instead of being on the Ewells side. In this essay I will be talking about the Tree that they always pass to get to their house, Jem and Scouts aunt that moved in with them, and the Tom Robinson's case that Atticus took. On the way to and from school Jem and Scout passes by this tree that has a knot hole in it, One day while Scout was walking past it she saw something inside it so she reached up and grabbed it, it was a piece of gum that had its wrapper so she took it and started chewing on it when Jem got home he told her spit it out. The next things they find in the knot hole are grey twine, a girl and boy carved out of soap, a medal, a watch and pennies, After they took the stuff that was in the tree they watched as Mr. Radley fill in the trees knot hole with cement he told Scout that he was filling it with cement because the tree is dying. The children in maycomb are afraid that Boo Radley is some kind of monster and the trees around his house are poisoned....
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...Is it true America is no longer Racist? America is still racist! It is nothing new that America is still living under racism maybe it is not as bad as back in the day when slavery existed but we cannot hide that fact that we do continue to be racist. I have personally seen and heard how police officers treat Caucasians differently from Hispanics or Black People. How our president, Trump has caused so much chaos between white, Hispanics, and black people. And how low-key everyone has something racist to say about each other. In fact, it is not as low-key as before since the day trump became the president. To begin with, America is still racist because policemen are more likely to pull over and frisk blacks or Latinos than whites. There have...
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...Steven Rousse English Composition Professor David Mook September 15, 2014 Is Law Enforcement Racist? Racism, stereotypes, racial profiling, discrimination, no matter what you call it it’s all the same thing, and it has been around for years. Lately racial discrimination has been greatly decreased, yet not completely eradicated. One would think that the last place there wouldn’t be a single shred of any discrimination in law enforcement, however, there is and the fact that there is racial discrimination makes for some very controversial cases; such as the case of the shooting of Michael Brown, the brutal beating of Rodney King, and the wrongful beating of Abner Louima. All of these incidents happened because of an unfair percentage that police are to show more brutality to a minority group than to whites and there are plenty of facts that support this such as the amount of white officers over colored ones, and the biases and stereotypes that are to blame for “racism” in law enforcement. The case of Michael Brown in Fergusson, Missouri a predominantly black society, with a predominantly white police force, there are multiple stories that both tell stories of what people saw. One account states that the teenager Michael Brown had his hands in the air and was surrendering whilst unarmed; the officer opened fire and killed him. However, what the authorities say is the exact opposite in which Michael Brown actually attempted to attack the officer in his car and tried to...
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...Pollution generating businesses do not target minorities or poor people when locating their facilities. Instead, they choose sites for some of the same reasons that these same sites are attractive to poor minorities. There has been a large controversy over whether or not the practices of these business constitute racism. The location choices are not intentionally discriminatory, although it may seem that way, so therefore it is not racism. A great deal of factors come into play when a business is looking at where to site ion the most commercially reasonable location. The siting of the Camden St. Lawrence Cement Company's plant in a nonwhite neighborhood in 2001 was not environmentally racist because the siting decisions for large plants such as this one are based on the ability to secure the required permits, sufficient transportation networks, and low land costs. The siting of this plant in 2001 in the Waterfront South...
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...Jody Koch Rebecca Brunson EN 106 April 21, 2013 Should I be a Racist? Look at that niggar run! A phrase said many times in my younger years during professional football, basketball, and even baseball games. As my step-father would sit in his chair watching sports, mainly on Sundays, there would be the loud yelling of racial slur against the African American race. Words that were spoken didn’t faze any of the family members that either lived in the house or were visiting. It was a normal thing in the area in which I grew up. From as far back as I can remember I was taught that if you were white you weren’t right sort of speak. The people that are on welfare, in gangs, killed, robbed stores or rapped were black. The only race that was negatively talked about was the black race. I never really knew why and didn’t ever question it. I remember taking a trip to Florida when I was a junior in high school to see my sister and being raised like I was made it very difficult for me to enjoy my trip because there were those bad men. A story comes to mind from this trip that had me so scared. We had just gotten to Bradenton, FL and my step-father had gotten lost. Of course back then there weren’t cell phones so my step-father pulled into a gas station and told me to call my sister on the pay phone. I went to get out and every person at the gas station was black. Now remembering everything that I had been taught up to this time I was scared that something was going...
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...In the essay On Racist Speech by Charles R. Lawrence III, he writes about the fact that racial insults have become an issue in what is supposedly a free country. Lawrence states that universities must create policies or codes in order to ensure the protection of all students from any remarks that can be considered racial harassment. However, he points out that the opposing side claims that if such policies were to be created, they would be impeaching on every American’s constitutional rights as stated in the first amendment. Lawrence states that this argument has “placed the bigot on the moral high ground and fanned the rising flames of racism” (65). I agree with Lawrence’s point of view in the respect that any sort of racial insults should not be protected under the first amendment and those who claim otherwise are only doing a disservice to everything the constitution stands for. In order to ensure the equality of every individual, universities should place policies that prohibit the use of racial insults. In the beginning of the essay Lawrence claims that protecting individuals against racist speech is one of the most important ways to “reinforce society’s commitment to (racial) tolerance as a value” (65). While I do believe...
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...“Nigger” shows up on 200+ occasions in the novel (Smith). According to Cassander L. Smith, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a racist book. Its constant use of vulgar language has caused many editors to try and remove the bad words. However, even if the words are all replaced, the message of racism and slavery still shines through (Smith). Even if the word nigger is replaced throughout the novel, the readers would still comprehend what is being said. (Smith). For example if one says “gosh darn” everyone knows what the message is even without the cussing. It is not just language and vocabulary used to get a point across, but tone and sentence structure. Towards the end of the novel, Aunt Sally asks if anyone was hurt and Huck replies, “No’m....
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...The Myth of a Racist Criminal Justice System By William Wilbanks The name of the book that I read was The Myth of a Racist Criminal Justice System by William Wilbanks and was published in 1987. It talks about the myths of having a racist criminal justice system. In this book the author does not believe that that the criminal justice system is racial but believes at times there is racial prejudice and discrimination within the criminal justice system that goes both ways between blacks and whites. According to the text this book is written in the belief that many aspects of the question "Is the criminal justice system racist?" have not been addressed by Criminologist. This book is intended to fill that void of not knowing. Wilbanks wrote this book basically to give us a better understanding of how sometimes what looks to be racism in the court system really isn’t but is looked at that way because of a high difference in number in the black/white ratio involved negatively in the court system. The book was written from a more general point of view in order to give a neutral understanding to both parties as to why the court systems are looked at to be racist but really aren’t.. The author also gives very interesting arguments of proof to back up his beliefs. There was a part in the book where Wilbanks says, “Thus the question of whether the criminal justice system is racist must not be confused with that of whether blacks commit crimes at a higher rate than whites because...
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...22 Aug. 2009 Abraham Lincoln - Hero or Racist? Abraham Lincoln is arguably one of the most interesting presidents in the history of the United States. Any research done on Lincoln will show, whether you agree or disagree with his philosophies, that he was, and still is, a fascinating historical figure. There have been numerous discussions regarding Lincoln before the Civil War, during the war as Commander In Chief, or his views on slavery and racial equality; furthermore, vast debates on his views, strategies, and solutions regarding events that helped shape our nation. Abraham Lincoln is such an interesting person that discussions and debates will lead to more questions open to more discussion and debate. What was Lincoln’s view on racial equality and slavery? What was the reason behind the Civil War? Was there an ulterior motive for the Emancipation Proclamation? These are just some of the wide variety of questions asked when the topic of discussion is Abraham Lincoln. What was Lincoln’s view on slavery and racial equality? Many people were pro-slavery. Stephen Douglas, Lincoln’s opponent for the Illinois Senate, was one and aggressively challenged Lincoln on his anti-slavery views. Lincoln’s statements concerning slavery were used to turn his constituency against him. Forced to defend his views, Lincoln held several public debates with Douglas around the United States. James McPherson notes that while in Charleston, Illinois for a debate with Stephen Douglas on September...
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...the focus away from the main purpose of the book. Twain expressed the true message of the book through Huck's “Adventures”, and how he is tested on his morals. During these Adventures Huck does not act in the stereotypical way expected of a boy in this society. This represents why “ The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn” is not a racist book rather a depiction of a boy in a racist society who choose to pick a different outlook on what is morally right. By considering the use of the word “Nigger” throughout the book, analyzing the adventures that tested Huck, and the relationship that developed between Hick and Jim. To make a stereotypical southern society Twain choose to mock the dialect and common language used. He choose to keep the society in the book as similar as possible to the one that would be seen in real life. This leads to negative conclusions on how Huck was raised and also to question the morality of the book. To dispute this Jane Smiley in “Say It Ain't So Huck” is that the use of this word causes there to be a deeper racism in this novel [pg.3]. Her augment is vaule in the thought that the use of the word “Nigger” is considered to have a racist connection however, it is not wronged in this specific type of society David Smith argues [Pg.5] the word “Nigger” is in the book as “a means of understanding the precise nature of American racism and Mark Twain attack on it”. This is clear reasoning on Twain purpose to represent a society...
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...every American certain guaranteed freedoms concerning religion, expression, assembly, and the right to petition. Expression or the right to free speech is one of those rights that is being targeted in some areas, including right here in some of our public and private universities, as a way to combat racism. Some people believe that universities should have the ability to regulate student’s free speech rights on certain types of dialog; racist speech. This is a very controversial topic that probably will never be agreed upon by the masses and will only cause more of a division between the people. However, racism is such an important topic, that maybe society should look at less typical methods to eliminate it, and maybe giving public and private universities the ability to limit their student’s free speech rights, could work? In the article “On Racist Speech” by Charles...
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...Good afternoon, I'm Stephanie, member of the committee for 5 years. When I was a teenager, I read the book for my English class. At that time I was shocked about how black people were treated and referred. But, today I'm able to see that it helped me to don't become racist. It was good for me to see the world that my parents tried to hide from me when I was a child. Yesterday, I heard a lot of good arguments. It's a very controversial issue but the one that got my attention the most was referred by the adolescent psychiatrist. By the time teenagers arrived in college, they had already formed their ideas about the world. So if we teach them how to deal with this topic as soon as possible, there are fewer chances for the person to be disrespectful...
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