Tatum raises very interesting points in the opening pages of the first chapter. One very interesting point that is made is that the assumptions and prejudices that people make and develop are not a result of what we have seen or been told on television or books but from what we have not been told. I absolutely agree with this idea. I think people often develop false ideas and impressions of other people because they have never been exposed to any actual facts regarding those individuals or those facts have been distorted in some way. When children grow up with certain prejudices and believing certain stereotypes, in my opinion, this is mainly attributed to them not being taught otherwise. I think people are often quick to blame things like the media or some other external factor for people behaving or thinking a certain way, but it is important to understand that individuals must be taught right from wrong especially from early childhood. I think omitted information can be just as if not more devastating for a child than distorted information. I think this plays a significant role in the development of prejudices that carry on into adulthood.
Going back to the class discussions we’ve had on the influence of the media on young children, should the media be blamed more for displaying certain stereotypes and assumptions, or for not educating children on the actual facts and teaching them right from wrong? Or stated differently, do the media affect children more by what it shows/says or by what it does not?
In Chapter 4 on Identity development in Adolescents, Tatum brought up a great point in explaining why Black youths tend to think about themselves in terms of race, and that is because that is how the rest of the world thinks of them. I think our self perceptions are definitely influenced by the messages and ideas we perceive from the society around us. If society places emphasis on race, than that is how we as individuals will tend to identify ourselves by. Whether or not society does place a major emphasis on race is debatable since I also believe that race is something we as individuals tend to think about subconsciously especially when we are young and are placed in certain social situations. If emphasis is placed on race, than individuals will tend to identify and associate themselves with other individuals of the same race.
I really agree with your point on the influences of racism, Victor, because it is so true that people that don’t know the facts about racism often assume racism is nonexistent in today’s society. However, as we all know, having read the facts, this is far from the truth. I think one way to battle this is to teach classes about racism. Racism ruins whole nations and causes wars. It is a human duty to know the effects of racism and when we are made aware of them, maybe there will be less of it in our culture.