Friday, October 14, 2011

The Sky is Green and the Grass is Red


Williams, Patricia. "Having Barack Obama as President doesn't make America colour-blind." The Guardian. The Observer, 25 July 2009. Web. 12 Oct. 2011.

Written by Patricia Williams, the article is a British take on prejudice in America. It is a humorous take on what other people think of all the hype about race in America. Right away Patricia opens with an Obama blunder. After an interview where President Obama was commenting on the acts of Cambridge police who arrested an African American Professor in his home. The President's comment was,  "… I think it's fair to say, number one, any of us would be pretty angry. Number two, that the Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home. And number three – what I think we know separate and apart from this incident – is that there is a long history in this country of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately…" Needless to say, the next morning's papers talked about Obama calling Cambridge police "stupid". The article then goes to talk about Supreme Court Judge Sotomayor and her race-related drama in her ascension to the court. In an interview she mentioned that her struggles as a Latina woman have strengthened her. The press returned her comment with accusations of "reverse racism". The article then goes on to summarize that America from the outsider's opinion is turning into an establishment that "punishes" the white male. The demographic is being beaten down for being common.
The article is a good take on this topic. I don't exactly believe in the concept of reverse-racism, but I do believe that it happens. I know that in college applications it takes into consideration one's race and other demographics that legitimately affect one's acceptance into college.
I believe that this article as a whole was a good topic for me because it mixed humor with a subject that I am passionate about. I believe that it would be good for others for the same reason. I think that the article tends to be biased against America, almost coming across with the opinion sometimes that America seems "stupid". It pokes fun at our political leaders and  I think that is something to be appreciated considering that they have such a huge impact on our everyday lives.

1 comment:

  1. hmmm prejudice.... its a very good topic to be dicussed. I cant believe that still today there is so much discrimination against African Americans and Latinos. I know that many of my elder redaltives are still very discriminating towards other races just because they were raised that way and just never broke that cycle of racism. this is such a good focus topic! good luck.

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