Me, My Race, and I: The Elephant In the Room

The slideshow that resonated with me was called "The Elephant in the Room." It focused mainly on how Caucasians handle being in the power position in our society. One white man that spoke in the slideshow said "As much as i can try to put myself in someone else's shoes, I'm still a white guy." This statement sparked a lot of thought in my head. I understand what this man was saying because even though I like to think that I understand what black people go through, I know that I can never truly know what it feels like to be in a minority group. The slide show taught me that feeling guilt because I am a white girl and have some advantages that a black girl may not have is not the right way to handle my position. Rather than guilt, the emotion that I should feel is righteous anger. So many people, both black and white, would like to change this aspect of our society, they just don't know how to go about it. As they said in the video, we have to be proactive and put our righteous anger to good use.

Q: What did you learn? A: After watching part four and five of "A Class Divided" I learned that that even adults can be susceptible to Jane Elliott's experiment. Prejudice is not bound by age and it is clear that everyone can stand to learn a little about how difficult it is to be discriminated against. Q: What scene or scenes do you think you'll still remember a month from now and why those scenes? A: I think that I will remember the scene from part four when the blue-eyed woman lashed out at Jane Elliott. It showed me how extreme a person's reaction can be to discrimination in such a short time. This woman was was discriminated against for a few hours while minorities are discriminated against their entire lives; it put things into perspective for me. Q: Did any part of the film surprise you? Do you think someone of a different race, ethnicity, or religion would also find it surprising? A: I was surprised by the scene I mentioned in the last question. I did think that the experiment would work but I was surprised to see how angry the blue-eyed woman was, even as an adult. I think that the scene wouldn't be as surprising to someone who is part of a minority group because they have felt the same frustrations as the blue-eyed woman who acted out. To someone of a different race, ethnicity, or religion this type of reaction would probably be expected.