Week 6 Blog: The Personal side of bias, prejudice, and oppression.

                Okay, to this week, when the assignment included tv shows, I remember from Tuesday or Wednesday’s watching Jeopardy and thinking of an instance on the show that showed some sort of bias, prejudice and or oppression. It is college week on the show and the three contestants had one category on College funds. The contestant was from an all black, Christian college. The girl answered the statement , which had to do with a scholarship for African American Women. Right after she answered, Alex said, “I figured you would get that answer, first” or something in that context. I was shocked. I looked to the contestant but she laughed and picked another category. I was kind of perplexed by that statement. What if she didn’t know that answer? What if she got it wrong? What makes her know that answer? Is it because she is black? What if the white male answered that question? Would he have known the answer? Would it make him ignorant if he knew the answer and got it right? Or got it wrong? I guess I see Alex’s statement as a microaggression and a view that creates a bias.

                Another incident happened when I was younger. My uncle lived down in NYC during the week. One weekend he brought home a young man from work who as about 15. He was black. My uncle and aunt took him in and raised him till he was 18. One day he came home and was really sad. He sat at the table and said that a few of the guys that he played football with made fun of him for not knowing what a skunk smelled like. What happened was that during football practiced the smell of a skunk came through the gym workout room doors. He asked who was smoking and that they could all get in trouble. The guys told him that it was a skunk. They said things like that of course he knew what weed smelled  like. I felt so bad for him. He loved living here but never felt more embarrassed. These statements were attacks stating that because he is black from the city he has been around drugs or has done them. He even stated that. He knew that it was a direct attack on who he was because of his color. In fact he went to state that he had a hard life growing up as a kid and has been around it and has done it. It doesn’t make who he is know and there is no room judgment anyway. Thinking about this today, made me realize how oppression runs deep. It affects down to the core of emotions and feelings.

In both instances, people need to be educated and learn that when you say something as a joke or say something towards someone's personal identity it can hurt. It is the think before you speak. If it could hurt someone's feelings, don't say anything at all. A joke doesn't always make it funny.