White Denial-Strong Response Essay Example for Free

White Denial-Strong Response Essay In the article, (Proto)Typical White Denial: Reflections on Racism and Uncomfortable Realities, written by Tim Wise he informs his readers that the article is not his first about white denial. He also reminds his readers that when talking about white denial, someone is bound to get offended. Wise received an email from a man claiming that Wises article was racist against whites and that Wise stating that whites are in denial would be like him making the broad generalization that all blacks are criminals. Wise informs his readers that a generalization based on stereotypes in racism and if the generalization is based on actual proven facts, it is not. Wise proves his point within his article by showing his readers the facts. He gives his readers the surveys and experience that either he has found on his own or that he has found in doing research on the subject. As Wise wraps up his article he explains that until whites that until whites can prove in these tests and surveys that they are not automatically putting blacks in one category and hispanics into another, whites are in fact in denial about being judgmental towards other races. For instance, after reading Wises article it brought back a specific memory I do not particularly enjoy. It was when I realized that some people hold themselves higher than others. In this case, she was better because she was white, I was better because I was white, and someone who had a dark skin tone was a criminal. White privilege was very apparent. I was in the eighth grade and my best friend Codee Ricks was half black and half white; which meant absolutely nothing to either one of us. One morning after a sleepover we decided to walk over to the gas station across the street from my house to get some donuts. We had gone there before plenty of times but this time was much different. There was a new person working, she was a fairly young white woman, we walked in and smiled, she half smiled and from the moment we walked in watched Codee like a hawk. I did not understand what was going on, I was pretty oblivious until the woman told me to come up to the counter for a second. In Wises article he reports of a study he did on his own where he asked different types of questions, When asked to envision a criminal,[ ] almost all white participants[ ]respond that their first image was that of someone who was black or Latino/a. (Wise 96) After I walked up to her counter she acted like she was showing me some kind of deal when she whispered, Watch your friend, I do not want her stealing anything. It was right there that she expressed white privilege to me. She showed how she believed she was better for being white, as well as I. I did not say a word to the lady behind the counter, I was shocked someone could be so ignorant. I told Codee the story as we walked back to my house; I had never seen my friend so sad. White privilege is very vivid in the study, and in the story. In the story the woman at the counter assumed I was not going to steal and that my friend, who was of color would, she was holding whites to a higher standard when I had done nothing to prove or earn that assumption and neither had Codee. In the same study of Wises mentioned earlier, most whites, and even large numbers of participants of color held whites up to a higher standard by assuming that the criminals were of color. In the same study another question asked reaffirmed white privilege, if I ask people to envision an all-American boy or girl, or even worse, God, they invariably admit to envisioning white images(Wise 96). At the gas station the clerk pictured a criminal being black and pictured a young girl of innocence as white. This is similar to what people automatically think when they think of the all-American boy or girl or Santa Claus. Incidents like the picturing of someone as a certain color, is what causes white privilege, and white privilege often leads to white denial. Whites automatically have some sort of unearned power that leads to them feeling as though they are superior to those of different races. Although they normally do not recognize it. For instance, I have a roommate from Kansas City, shes upper middle class, gets whatever she wants and judges whoever she can whenever she can. Just the other day I was sitting in my room talking about Dillards and how I like to go and visit my mom and occasionally shop. My roommate interrupted me with, I do not really like Dillards. When I asked her why she stated, Well, where I come from thats where the, well I am not racist or anything but the blacks and mexicans normally shop. When I asked her why that mattered she said, Well, normally, they do not make very much money. At that point I left the room. This was not the only occasion I had heard I am not racist or anything but leaving me to the conclusion that white denial, as well as white privilege are related. In the case of Codee the lady made a generalization about Codees race in the fact that she felt Codee was going to steal. While my roommate believes that those of color other than white are poor. My roommate holds whites above other races by making the assumption that those of color make less money than those who are not. Although I agree that whites are in denial, Wise himself made a broad generalization about whites, similar to the clerk and my roommate. Later within Wises article he writes of the events during Hurricane Katrina which, suggested that black folks were raping and killing people en masse and goes on to complicate things by stating, Needless to say, were a hurricane to take out Nantucket, or destroy the summer homes of the white and wealthy[ ], and were the media to broadcast rumors to the effect that rich white folks were raping and killing people []no one would believe them without evidence(Wise 97). I do not agree with no one, the reason that I do not agree is because I know for a fact that there would be a lot of people of all sorts of colors, even white, that would believe it, no one is a large statement to make. As well as it is a assumption; he does not provide any other sort of factual evidence when he makes this statement. I know that there are plenty of people who would believe it, like my one roommate, but that is one out of four. Not four out of four, which leads me to believe that there are more good people out there then no one. There are a lot of good people in the world, people who do not look at the color someone is. Like my friend Codee, who even after that incident happened to her does not hold a thing against upper class white people or white people in general. I know that I do not think of color being a difference, I do not think that I should be more privileged than Codee or anyone else for that matter. If I were to see that upper class whites were raping and killing, I would think it would be just as horrible if I could even remember the rumors about the people in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. There are plenty of people in the world who do not think in terms of poor=black or rich=white. When there are stories of serial rapists here in Manhattan, I do not automatically think or picture the rapist as someone of color, I actually picture a creepy older white man; which would be me stereotyping and proving that judgment in general happens about someones own race, or a different race; as Wise and I have both shown. I do not think that it is fair for Wise to state, no one would believe them without evidence(Wise 97). As I stated above, no one is just too broad of a term. Although there should not be anyone out in the world making broad assumptions about a certain race, everyone unfortunately does. Until proven, most people in the world will not believe the the fictional, and often times even the non-fictional. Making it difficult for white denial, and white privilege to completely disappear. Throughout Wises article he makes valid points, shows his readers that is a problem by not only proving it with evidence, but also by showing us in the article that he himself makes judgments about certain types of people. Before reading this article I would not have recognized when people, including myself were judging people solely on there appearance. Not just skin tone but down to the way a person presents themselves. Looking at personal experience with Codee and my roommate, I believe that there will always be some form of white privilege and white denial. If more people were to read Wises articles and others similar to his, there would be some hope that it would go away some more.

Hamlet Essay -- essays papers

Hamlet Hamlet Critique Hamlet, a play by William Shakespeare, was written in approximately the middle to late 1590's, while Shakespeare's work was flourishing, and his company was putting up the Globe Theater. Shakespeare was a profound writer, and Hamlet is considered to be his most prolific writing, and is a favorite among the readers. It is a tragic tale of conspiracy, death, disease, and a young man's struggle to avenge his father's murder. I would like to set apart Hamlet from the array of characters in this play, as to analyze him from a formalist point of view. To start off, Hamlet was, of course, the main character. As a promising king, his life is suddenly torn apart by his father's death, and his mother, Gertrude's hasty marriage to the late king's brother, Claudius. Hamlet is soon there after, visited by the ghost of his late father, who tells him the gruesome tale of his true death-poisoned by Claudius, his own dear brother. The ghost tells Hamlet he must remember, and thus avenge his death rightfully. Though the tale was horrifying, Hamlet agrees, and begins ... Hamlet Essay -- essays papers Hamlet Hamlet Critique Hamlet, a play by William Shakespeare, was written in approximately the middle to late 1590's, while Shakespeare's work was flourishing, and his company was putting up the Globe Theater. Shakespeare was a profound writer, and Hamlet is considered to be his most prolific writing, and is a favorite among the readers. It is a tragic tale of conspiracy, death, disease, and a young man's struggle to avenge his father's murder. I would like to set apart Hamlet from the array of characters in this play, as to analyze him from a formalist point of view. To start off, Hamlet was, of course, the main character. As a promising king, his life is suddenly torn apart by his father's death, and his mother, Gertrude's hasty marriage to the late king's brother, Claudius. Hamlet is soon there after, visited by the ghost of his late father, who tells him the gruesome tale of his true death-poisoned by Claudius, his own dear brother. The ghost tells Hamlet he must remember, and thus avenge his death rightfully. Though the tale was horrifying, Hamlet agrees, and begins ...

Is Jesus God? Essay

Christianity has been rigid in the self-contradictory allegation that a human being put to death as a malefactor is the origin of God’s life-giving and transforming Spirit. Also, this â€Å"good news† has been reckoned as imbecility to the wise of the world (Morwood 17). The specialty of the Christological fashion of discussing about Jesus dwells in its theological lineament. Christians acknowledge God only as he has been exposed in and through Jesus. All other debate about God can have, at most, provisional significance. In this sense it may be very purposeful and necessary, even a presupposition for the message of Christ. 1 But the way in which God is revealed through Jesus debars even its own presupposition, so that one can only speak about God himself in that at the same time one talks about Jesus. Therefore, theology and Christology, the doctrine of God and the doctrine of Jesus as the Christ, are bound together. It is the goal of theology as well as of Christology to explicate this connection (Morwood 17). On the contrary there is a perpetual debate as to whether Jesus is God? How is Jesus to be understood? Did he stride out of the wilderness 2,000 years ago to preach a gentle message of peace and brotherhood? Or did he perhaps advocate some form of revolution? Or did he instead look for heavenly intervention to establish the kingdom of God? What did it mean for Jesus to be tempted by sin? When did he realize that his mission would end with death upon a cross? Did he view himself as the promised Messiah? Did he understand himself to be both God and man, and what imponderable struggles of the soul would that have meant for him during his sojourn on earth? See: Roberts, Marty. R Scriptures make it clear that Jesus is God (Rockingham). The News & Record Piedmont Triad, NC. 1998. (2) See: Royce, Graydon . That time of year again to wonder: is Jesus God? Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN), 1996. Thesis Statement: This research paper will debate on certain pertinent questions as to whether Jesus is God based on the scripture, church and related teachings. The discussions and recordings of this paper will be limited to the scope of the literature surveyed. Historical Evidences The participation of the man Jesus in the omnipotent Lordship of God over his creation is the crowning aspect of the unity of God and man in Jesus Christ. It has been expounded that Jesus’ unity with God established in his resurrection from the dead with the resulting divine approval of his pre-Easter activity (Rubenstein 23). Its concrete form as personal unity was seen in the dedication of Jesus to the Father as Son. The effect, however, and highest expression of this unity is reached in Jesus’ exaltation to participation in God’s Lordship. Once again, a precise understanding of Jesus’ Lordship can be acquired only in the context of the whole of his earthly activity. Certainly in this question Christology is not restricted to the ministry of the pre-Easter Jesus. 3 Rather, this involves primarily the present reality of the exalted Lord to be revealed in the future. But in order to understand that present reality, we must once again start with the historical Jesus of Nazareth to assure that we do not speak unknowingly of something quite different under the name of Jesus. â€Å"If the conception of his present Lordship cannot be filled out with definite characteristics of his earthly ministry, it is either a worthless schema or an excuse for every possible enthusiasm. † (3) See: Ritschl, A. The Christian Doctrine of Justification and Reconciliation, p. 406. (4) Refer: Martin Kahler, The So-called Historical Jesus and the Historic, Biblical Christ, ed. and tr. by Carl E. Braaten ( Fortress Press, 1964). The pre-Easter Jesus did not proclaim his own Lordship, but the coming kingly rule of the God of Israel whom he called â€Å"Father† (Rubenstein 25). Thus his activity stands in the same line with the Old Testament and Jewish hopes of Yahweh’s kingly rule on earth. To be sure, Jesus spoke of the dawn of God’s Lordship in his own activity. But this presence of God’s future in Jesus’ activity is rightly understood only when one has taken seriously the futurity of the Lordship of God whose imminence Jesus proclaimed. Then its â€Å"presence† is shown as the overpowering by God’s future of all merely present occupations and concerns of men (Rubenstein 23). The future impinges upon the present precisely as future, and thus the future of God’s Lordship announced by Jesus Lordship of God whose imminence Jesus proclaimed. Then its â€Å"presence† is shown as the overpowering by God’s future of all merely present occupations and concerns of men. The future impinges upon the present precisely as future, and thus the future of God’s Lordship announced by Jesus remains wholly distinguished from his own activity, as sharply distinguished as the Father himself is distinguished from Jesus, even though the power of God’s future is already presently active through its announcement in Jesus’ message. If its futurity were forgotten because of this, its present effectiveness would collapse into nothingness.

Constituents of Presidential Leadership Free Essay Example, 1250 words

It is essential for the president to receive support from all sides of the government if they wish to have a smooth term in office. Having the congress on the president s goes a long way in getting things done as actions will meet less resistance if a majority of the members of congress show support for the president s moves (Patterson 51). The President can use the Veto power when the congress needs to be curbed, but it should be noted that this ability cannot serve as an efficient substitute to an amicable relationship between the two parties (that is, the president and members of congress). An example can be seen in the current gun control debates that in the United States with the president having a hard time implementing stricter gun laws as there are members of congress that are strongly against it. The president can be said to be under the mercy of the congress to a certain point as they are able to remove them from office through legal processes that can be activated should doubts be raised over the president s capability. We will write a custom essay sample on Constituents of Presidential Leadership or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page There are various issues that affect the level of public support that the president is able to enjoy and some of these include aspects such as the use of the media to garner support on certain issues, the state of the country and certain international issues that may affect the nation directly or indirectly. An example of this was when US President Barrack Obama managed to capture Osama Bin laden which increased his popularity in the process.