UGC 211 1st Edition Lecture 5White PrivilegeArticle 6 (Textbook) o Unconscious of a bunch of privileges she has o 26 privileges that she has done nothing to earn them o People of color are put at disadvantage in many ways o Active racism – racial slurs in faceo Passive racism – unconscious you’re being racist, or more subtle o Moving sidewalk – running on it fast (active racism), stand on sidewalk (passive racism) not doing anything to go forward, but still going forward o Myth of meritocracy o Example: “White people can choose blemish cover or bandages in “flesh” color and have them more or less match my skin”“Racists Stereotyping in the English Language” By Robert Moore o Blackly = angrily o Blacken = defame o Black outlook = pessimistic o Black hearted = malevolent o Black mark = detrimental fact o Black sheep = devianto White lie = not intending to cause harmo White wash = cover up or gloss over (crimes) o How we view words in our language implicates how we view others and way of life overall o Primal connotation of black being night (scary) and white being night (day) o But also possibly to skin tone o Racial slurs still used today o Words out of favor: “colored” “oriental” o Elementary and high school textbooks have incorrect or omitted information o “At first the slaves worked the cane and they got only food for it. Now men work the cane and get money.” o Passive voice can make people of color disappear o “Culturally deprived” “Underdeveloped” “Economically disadvantaged” – place responsibilities of their own conditions on those being described o It’s blaming the victim and now explaining how they got in the situation o By changing certain words presents a whole, new, different view of looking at a situation that has happened or is continuing to happeno Loaded words reflect Euro-centric history and reflect a judgment value o How people of color are depicted in cartoons and children books speaking is often racist – use of black and white stereotypeso Makes people of color seem less intelligent and less capable than English-speaking white characters What is Word Reclamation?o Taking the sting out of the slur o Example: “slut” use it to mean something positive (changing the meaning of it or using in a different way) o Effective way of making slurs less harmful o Only the members that have been affected by the reclaimed word (slur) can use it The “N Word”o Paula Dean uses that word – says she hears black people call each other that all the time, questions why she can’t use it o Used daily, some people don’t care if it’s used, some care a