Havlyn Ehrich - CSA post

Havlyn Ehrich 


CSA FILM 

    Incorporating this weeks’ film, CSA clearly portrays white Americans as privileged and proper, wealthy, good and successful. At the same time, they portray black Americans as dependent, ignorant and helpless outside of white support. In our real world, most popular films of the last millenia included only white actors, both kids and adults, as did TV advertising and media. I’ve seen this entertainment industry’s bias played out, as a kid while watching that era’s movie and television and while watching media from my parent’s era. So much of our culture is influenced by what we hear and see. As black Americans were left out, the likely unintended consequence is a diminished perception of their ability. This translates equally into important positions at major corporations as well as significant political leadership roles at the federal level. I’ve often asked myself “where did this come from?” speaking about racism and how it cultivates in humans. The idea of racism is so prevalent in our society and history. I thought about what would happen if we stopped teaching about the United States' racist history and how that would affect our society. If our younger generation was not taught about this history, how would they know what racism is if they weren’t taught it? Would racism eventually fade out through the generations?  Countering this argument, we cannot ‘erase’ history and pretend it didn't happen. Using the old saying ‘we learn from our mistakes’, it would be vital that our history is still taught today. What happened in history was inexcusable and pretending it didn't happen is not the right answer. I feel like it is a vicious cycle that will continue to go on for generations unless something is done about it. What that is, I am not sure. I often find myself down a rabbit hole with these thoughts. I recently watched a video of two kids (about 2 years old each), one black and one white, who ran into each other's arms and showed such love and compassion for one another. The thought of discrimination or inequality was simply not something they knew or cared about. Then I get to thinking, where is it in our lives that we cultivate the idea of racism and how does it inevitably end up in our society? Once again, where is this ultimately coming from? We must find the start if we want to end.  





Comments

  1. David BernellJanuary 28, 2023 at 6:18 PM

    The question of how racism is manifested and when people become aware of it ("where does this start?" as the entry puts this), happens at both a personal level and with respect to systems of exclusion and oppression. Once one starts looking, one can find racism and inequality in everything from a bank's lending practices, to a grocery store's location and product offerings, to how history is written and taught, and far more. Where do you see it starting?

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