Today, during a break in between classes, the following exchange took place between one of my female Taiwanese classmates and me. She had this little booklet listing all the universities that MCU students can do exchange programs with and was trying to get my input on the American ones before she made her application.
Classmate: “Are these places cold?” (pointing to a listing for a university in Minnesota and a university in Ohio)
Me: “What do mean cold?”
Classmate: “Colder than Taiwan?”
Me: “Yeah of course. Every place will be colder than Taiwan. Out of the two the one in Minnesota will be colder than the one in Ohio though.”
Classmate: “How about this one?” (pointing to a listing for a university in South Carolina)
Me: “That one will be warmer but still colder than Taiwan.”
Classmate: “But does it have a lot of black people?”
Me: “What does that matter?”
Classmate: “Black people are dangerous.”
Me: “Why do you say that? White people are dangerous too. Why are you only afraid of black people?”
Classmate: “The movies. All the gangs and guns are dangerous.”
This isn’t completely verbatim but I tried to get it as close as I could. The ending of the conversation was said with hints of humor and blitheness but one could tell these were real thoughts going through my classmates head and were real concerns she wanted addressed before choosing a university to spend time at as an exchange student.
I also had a similar conversation with a Taiwanese friend who was going to go work for a while in Houston.
What does this mean other than it is definitely true that the wrong-headed but major message sent out from Hollywood/Mtv/mainstream media is that black people are dangerous gangstas? What should the call to action be? My classmate isn’t a racist. She is just trying to make the best decisions with the information she has…something all rational people do. That means that she can be convinced of a new reality without blind hatred getting in the way.The problem is not with her, it’s with us.
Should media outlets care how blacks are portrayed as opposed to how others are portrayed? Should I care? Should I care what Taiwanese students think of black Americans as opposed to other Americans? Should black Americans care? Should all Americans care? Should all the world care? I believe the answer is yes but that means actionable change needs to be pursued and that is where I get completely befuddled.
What can be done other than publicly denouncing these lies about my black brothers? Should all Americans be forced to move back into the cities so that, at least, to be authentic they’ll (the media outlets) have to show a “new” racial diversity in portrayals of inner-city problems? Should we all just keep yelling at black Americans that this is all there fault? Should we support the propagation of media that demonizes other people groups in greater proportion to balance this view so that at least all Americans would be seen as dangerous as opposed to just blacks? Should we make movies about Westboro Baptist Church, or the Iran-Contra Scandal’s connection to crack being introduced into American cities, or how public education was thought up by rich people in an attempt to obtain workers who would be satisfied with assembly line lives? Should we do more to share with the world some of white America’s suburban/rural problems seeing as how we are the majority? Should we support exchanges and multi-cultural experiences for all people (young, old, black, white, American, Iranian, Christian, Muslim) so that we can base ideas about others in reality? Should we “purify” all entertainment and media messages into non-truth about inter-racial love and acceptance? What can be done that is actionable and also brings about positive change? How can we make Michael Jackson’s profound lyric, “I’m not gonna spend my life being a color” be true for EVERYONE and to EVERYONE?
These are the thoughts that are circling round my head.
My approach to stereotypes and prejudices is this: If I hadn’t met any black people, it would be hard not to draw upon knowledge, whether from TV or movies or journals. Once I had met black people, I would draw upon my personal experience and verified sources more than the media or culture, but in both cases, keeping in mind that one person or experience doesn’t define an entire group. Of course, when we’re talking about people, it isn’t skin color that matters. People are not kinder, more violent, or more intelligent simply because of their skin color, are they?
Wow, very interesting.
“Like a grain of mustard seed…” it starts out very little, very small, like you, Michael, sharing the truth with this girl. She now has new information…and if she does go to school in the States, she will share the truth about Taiwan,as she knows it with Americans…the truth is so much more powerful than stereotypes…and she will learn things that will blow her pre-conceived ideas…one person can do more than any of us knows, not by starting a movement necessarily, but by just sharing truth with whoever he/she meets. Look at John Taylor Gatto, for example. Wow, that was an amazing speech he gave that you linked me to in your blog! Thanks!