We bagan to think about race, segregation, and community today with our first group presenting on diversity. This group focused on how the segregation they experience in their neighborhoods impacts their sense of community identity. Feelings of cultural isolation, discomfort, and safety arose as we all worked through ideas about racial stereotypes and racial identity. Some personal experiences that were shared connect to larger social theory, specifically in group/out group dynamics, habitus, code-switching, and double bind.
7 Comments
CC
5/30/2013 02:05:44 am
Hi all,
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Marionette
5/30/2013 01:30:16 pm
One of the topics that was on police. When police are present do people feel safe? Well I remember one of my friends mentioned how ironically she felt unsafe when an officer is around because it meant something was wrong within the area. I feel like we are being watched when officers are around. Why is it that police officers no longer symbolizes protection? Maybe it is when police officers are placed in our neighborhoods, yet no longer mingle with the people within the community, but isolate themselves-creating this superiority.
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JB
6/3/2013 04:38:36 am
I have a few comments to say about this. Responding to CC i feel that Habitus is a big concern for people who feel stereotyped. I know that I personally try my best to remove myself from stereotypes because i feel uncomfortable knowing that people view me opposite to what i am based on previous ideas of people in my nationality. I often find that even if I do break out of the stereotype that it still is not good enough. People often say, "Oh you don't act puerto rican", and that bothers me because how do puerto ricans act? It angers me that they have connotations for groups because why should there be any?
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Luna
6/4/2013 04:55:03 am
In response to both of you, I find it really sad that we now live in a society where we no longer safe even when we're around the people (police), that are there to make us feel safe and protect us. I think many things are to blame for this though, just as you guys said. Not only are police abusing their power, but they are letting their actions become influenced by the stereotypes they believe in. The presence of police in a neighborhood does reflect poorly, but then again, police are present at times even in the best neighborhoods, it's just publicized and judged much less. So shouldn't they be judged similarly? It's unfair that some neighborhoods are judged for the presence of police, when police many times contribute minimal help to the issue at hand (depends on the situation, but cases exist where police were present, but nothing was done).
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Rachel
6/7/2013 08:42:19 am
Coming from Ireland when I was four, I had to, essentially, assimilate into American culture. My parents noticed my accent and behavior changing more and more as I continued in elementary and middle school. They felt as though I was losing my culture, but I, however, did not notice it. I merely felt more comfortable assimilating rather than being "different." (Although now I would choose the latter). This can relate to the idea of code-switching, something that we all do without realizing. It is natural that we act a certain way around family than we would with our friends, whether we realize it or not.
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Mandee
6/8/2013 07:03:11 am
After listening to this audio, I was surprised to find that such a system exists! Finding that social ties within the community play such a big role in the support system, I began to question economic integration. If many New York City communities are economically integrated, then why don't all markets have this system? Because of the amount of clustered Jews within this particular community enables this market to carry this program of support, I wondered why areas of New York City that hold a cluster of other minorities do not have this 'social backup'. It was said in the audio that "the stronger the ties within, usually, the stronger the boundaries between inside and outside". Discrimination against other groups and backgrounds unite a group? As members of a community justify themselves by what they believe in and reject, out group exclusion heightens. Is that why many New York city communities are so segregated?
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John
6/8/2013 10:17:22 am
I personally love where I live. I have no problem living with other groups of people with different cultural backgrounds. When we say that we are a diverse city, it is true but saying we are integrated is false. People of certain cultures get together because they feel welcomed and united with people similar to themselves. I live in a community surrounded by African American, Dominicans, and Jamaicans. Its diverse but everybody divide themselves into each street. On every street you might have certain groups of people, and this apply s to every building as well. I have noticed that my building was the Ecuadorian building back in the days, but as year have gone by, people have slowly started to move out. I have no problem with being isolated from my culture, as long as I'm proud of it and thats what matters to me.
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