For your new blog response, do the assigned reading for tonight. Then answer one of the following questions:
--> According to Wachtel , in "Talking About Racism," what is wrong with using the term "racist"?
--> What is the "paradox of guilt" that Wachtel refers to?
--> Explain what institutional racism is and give one example of it.
--> What does Wachtel mean by "Otherness" and what are the benefits of using this concept to think about race?
Length: At least one well-developed paragraph
Due: Before our next class
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In "Talking About Racism" Wachtel explains that the word "racist" has been extremely overused. As a result the word has lost its strong emotional affect and has become vague and unclear in its true meaning. The word has been so overused that many will even tune out. According to Wachtel,one of the problems with using the word "racist" is that it has become a conversation stopper where many people feel they have to put up defenses. This only makes communication more difficult and acts to put up barriers instead of tear them down.
ReplyDeleteWatchel refers to the "paradox of guilt" as having many different responses. When people are guilty, they can either be "intimidated or defensive while others are inured and desensitized"(546). He shares if the guilt one puts on another is too overwhelming, the response is what is "paradoxical" because of the desensitized feeling towards the ones they harmed and the feeling of anger for they who confronted them on the subject (547). These contradictory reactions when one is oppressed with guilt are, in reality, the truth.
ReplyDeleteIn the article "talking about Racism" The author argues that in our world today the words "racism and "racist" have lost a lot of the power they once had. The words have lost their power mainly because of the overuse of the words. And through this overuse the meaning and definition they once were weighted with has disappeared. It went from the words being linked to such things as killing to a common definition of its what the neighbors are doing. The author also brings up the point that those are conversation stoppers and that those words do nothing to help get rid of barriers in fact it just makes speaking freely harder.
ReplyDeleteIn the article "talking about Racism" the author show when dialouge is trying to be set forth to try and clear indifferences, it makes some people walk on egg shells and limit their ideas in fear of being called racist. This then only makes it difficult to clear problems, yet when it is said it only stop the person in shock putting a stomp on any futher conversation.
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