An Interesting Video (Base filters are down again, woohoo!)
This Video struck me as very interesting.
A little background (which you can get from the video), 50 or so years ago a study was conducted in which young black children were asked to choose between two Dolls; a white Doll and a black Doll. The study found that the majority of black children preferred the White Doll. The video above is an informal version of that study conducted by a Highschooler and produced last year as a class project.
What really strikes me in the video is when the interviewer asks one of the children to choose the Nice Doll or the Bad Doll. Now, this study is informal and not necessarily indicative of the way young blacks think in todays society, so I'm curious to know if my black friends felt the same way growing up that the young black women and children intereviewed in this video feel?
There's a point in the video in which the women being interviewed descibe a "loss of culture." Essentially saying that because they don't know where there heritage comes from (which specific African culture they are decended from), they feel a loss and a lack of belonging as well as pressure to fit in. That's when my ears really perked up.
White people in America make a big deal out of heritage and culture. Who you're decended from can influence how people treat you in different parts of the country. Go to the heart of an Irish neighborhood in Boston and tell everyone you're Itallian. See how much good treatment you get. Essentially, for some unknown reason, we determine how people should be treated by their heritage and I can't help but think of how wrong that is. There are people in this country who won't marry another person who doesn't share the same cultural heritage.
Me, I'm a Mutt though and though. I can only begin to tell you where my heritage comes from. My last name sounds vaugly french, I have german/nordic features and I know at least part of my family is at least partially English. That's the best I can do and I believe people like me are, more and more, becomming the norm.
The problem is that there are many American's who refuse to embrace their American culture. Believe it or not, there is an American culture, but it's very broad and poorly defined. Our country is so large and spaced out that American culture means different things in different regions. In the Mid West, the Cowboy is a sign of American culture. In the North East culture may better be defined as fast living. My point being that there's not a lot we can point to besides Baseball and Hamburgers that have a distinct American flavor. And perhaps thats why, more and more, it seems that our country is slowly falling apart. Haven't you felt that way in the last few years. That with each new year, our country gets just a little bit closer to tearing itself apart. We can't seem to uniformly agree on anything anymore. And I think that the reason is because we are loosing our sense of unity because everyone is trying to desperately to embrace a heritage and a culture that is no longer theirs. So you're great grandfather was Scottish, so what? That doesn't make you Scottish. You weren't born or raised there. The only knowledge you may have comes from the discovery channel and maybe a vacation there to see the sights. The source of your blood does not make you a member of that culture. Hell, do you really think you'd fit in if you decided to leave America and go give being Scottish or Irish or Itallian or Zimbabwean or whatever else a try? Probably not.
So I say to all young Americans regardless of race or heritage: Embrace THIS culture. Find something distinctly American and hold on to it. Cherish it. Revel in the uniqueness of our own way of living. Don't worry about trying to replicate the ways of your grandfather or great grandfather. Worry about giving you're children and your children's children a culture to be proud of. And maybe, if enough of you do this, we'll redevelop the sense of unity and pride that we seem to be missing in America today.
That's all I have to say about that.
In other news, I am still dead and will remain so for the forseeable future.
A little background (which you can get from the video), 50 or so years ago a study was conducted in which young black children were asked to choose between two Dolls; a white Doll and a black Doll. The study found that the majority of black children preferred the White Doll. The video above is an informal version of that study conducted by a Highschooler and produced last year as a class project.
What really strikes me in the video is when the interviewer asks one of the children to choose the Nice Doll or the Bad Doll. Now, this study is informal and not necessarily indicative of the way young blacks think in todays society, so I'm curious to know if my black friends felt the same way growing up that the young black women and children intereviewed in this video feel?
There's a point in the video in which the women being interviewed descibe a "loss of culture." Essentially saying that because they don't know where there heritage comes from (which specific African culture they are decended from), they feel a loss and a lack of belonging as well as pressure to fit in. That's when my ears really perked up.
White people in America make a big deal out of heritage and culture. Who you're decended from can influence how people treat you in different parts of the country. Go to the heart of an Irish neighborhood in Boston and tell everyone you're Itallian. See how much good treatment you get. Essentially, for some unknown reason, we determine how people should be treated by their heritage and I can't help but think of how wrong that is. There are people in this country who won't marry another person who doesn't share the same cultural heritage.
Me, I'm a Mutt though and though. I can only begin to tell you where my heritage comes from. My last name sounds vaugly french, I have german/nordic features and I know at least part of my family is at least partially English. That's the best I can do and I believe people like me are, more and more, becomming the norm.
The problem is that there are many American's who refuse to embrace their American culture. Believe it or not, there is an American culture, but it's very broad and poorly defined. Our country is so large and spaced out that American culture means different things in different regions. In the Mid West, the Cowboy is a sign of American culture. In the North East culture may better be defined as fast living. My point being that there's not a lot we can point to besides Baseball and Hamburgers that have a distinct American flavor. And perhaps thats why, more and more, it seems that our country is slowly falling apart. Haven't you felt that way in the last few years. That with each new year, our country gets just a little bit closer to tearing itself apart. We can't seem to uniformly agree on anything anymore. And I think that the reason is because we are loosing our sense of unity because everyone is trying to desperately to embrace a heritage and a culture that is no longer theirs. So you're great grandfather was Scottish, so what? That doesn't make you Scottish. You weren't born or raised there. The only knowledge you may have comes from the discovery channel and maybe a vacation there to see the sights. The source of your blood does not make you a member of that culture. Hell, do you really think you'd fit in if you decided to leave America and go give being Scottish or Irish or Itallian or Zimbabwean or whatever else a try? Probably not.
So I say to all young Americans regardless of race or heritage: Embrace THIS culture. Find something distinctly American and hold on to it. Cherish it. Revel in the uniqueness of our own way of living. Don't worry about trying to replicate the ways of your grandfather or great grandfather. Worry about giving you're children and your children's children a culture to be proud of. And maybe, if enough of you do this, we'll redevelop the sense of unity and pride that we seem to be missing in America today.
That's all I have to say about that.
In other news, I am still dead and will remain so for the forseeable future.