Journal #2

"...some people charge into the voting booth guided by the primitive, inevitable force of melanin."

This quote comes from an assigned Poynter Online article we had to read for class. It was written by Keith Woods and the article is centered around the Black/Latino vote around the 2004 Bush/Kerry election. Besides it being just a really funny, clever quote, it definitely resonates with my voting pattern in the 2008 Obama/McCain election. It's this sort of notion that we tend to vote and get behind people or movements we identity with because it makes us comfortable.

During the ethnic politics class session, we had a discussion about "how to report it better". Professor Reisner brought it up, repeatedly, during this class session, and I get that it's sort of the central theme of the class itself, but I'm still a bit confused as to what that means. When a white candidate appears at an all-Black church, reporters consider it an attempt to gain the "Black vote". Then the question is begged: "How do we report this better?" Y'know, what can we, as journalists, write to make it sound better? Because, obviously, it sounds a bit skewed and kinda racist when someone writes that McCain was trying to gain the black vote. McCain is just an example, but I'm almost positive that a stop in a candidate's campaign trail is certainly an Episcopalian church located "in da hood".

Let's see. How can we report this better? Well I guess we can start off by stating that there really is no Black vote, right? Like Woods writes in his article, the term "black vote" is a term derived from a foundation of stereotypes and groupings. It's a general assumption that all Black people are the same and all their problems are centered around their low-income and violent surroundings. So maybe with this in mind, we can write this as objective/fair as possible. Talk to people in the neighborhood and talk to the churchgoers, because I'm almost positive that not all of them hold the same views.

It's been said that the black community tend to lean towards the Left side of the political spectrum, which isn't entirely true. We can also make the argument that a lot of the people in that community are highly religious and look at politics in a more conservative light. But ultimately, especially in the 2008 election, the assumption was that the black community will vote for Obama because, well, he's black. Even some of my black classmates were honest about it and admitted that assumption. And I gotta be pretty honest-- I admit it, too.

Over the years I've become more and more liberal. My parents raised me Republican... but it was only a support system rooted in ignorance and just following what my parents said. But as I became more collegiate and educated, I started to sympathize and lean on the Left. Reminds me of the saying "if you're young and not a liberal, you don't have a heart. if you're old and not a conservative you don't have a brain." Eh I don't completely agree with that, but I just thought it was funny. Anyway, as I became more liberal and I supported more social reform movements, I wanted change.

Obama was change personified. He was a black candidate and he was a liberal. He was all for social reform and what-not. But my main drive for supporting him was he was black. Voting for a black candidate was such a milestone for our country. It was a monumental step for civil rights and I wanted to have a hand in that. Maybe it was dumb of me to do that? But after having that class discussion, it seems that my vote is characteristic for a large voting trend. Less than a handful of people said they had voted for Obama because of his policies and promises. I didn't even take the time to look at his policies. He was a Democrat and he was black. Good enough for me. At least, that's what I thought at the time.

So dumb of me. I walked out of the class feeling like a terrible American. Haha. It just made me think that maybe Obama is a president because of his skin color, and it might not be too far from the truth.

So, "Writing it better" means painting the entire picture. Inputting enough complexity to the issue of votes so that it's not just a black vote or latino vote, but just a vote. Behind each vote, there's a motive. The NPR radio program from All Things Considered played in class analyzed the in-depth thought process of how people vote and why they vote for particular people Besides it being a really great, well-done radio show, it shed light on why people voted for McCain or Obama. It was a perfect example of a better-written story about "the vote".

Listening Post #1

My initial listening post was a diner in Liberty City called MLK Diner/Restaurant.

When I went to the Martin Luther King parade a couple of weeks back, I was in the car my with classmates and we drove down Martin Luther King Blvd and saw a huge amount of listening post possibilities. The streets were packed with people, though, so everything really seemed like a hangout spot. It was one giant block party with apartment buildings vibrating and shaking from the walls of speakers laid out across the complex lawns. People walking all over the place in groups, leaning against the walls of the random meat markets and cornerstores scattered throughout MLK blvd.

I spotted MLK Diner on MLK blvd and 27th Ave, and it seemed pretty quaint and old. Looked like it had a lot of history and regulars. It was perfect. I also passed by a cornerstore that had a lot of people walking in and out of it. Again, it was MLK day so it could've been just a special day with lots of rushes.

So I chose a day in the week where my schedule allowed me to go to MLK Diner. I chose Tuesday before class at 11:30 a.m. I drove to Liberty City and I'm already a little scared. Really scared actually. I had been the there days before but that was different. It was a parade and people had different attitudes. This was a Tuesday morning where people came out to eat and such. Only thing I was looking forward to was eating some food because I was hungry.

I parked in the parking lot and I'm so scared. My main worry is having my car broken into. I don't know why this is in the back of my mind. But it is.

I walk inside and there's really nobody in there. I saw some people in the tables. Two men were having their breakfast at one table and there was an old man sitting at another table reading the paper and drinking coffee. I was terrified. It didn't really seem like a hangout, honestly. People just minding their own business. How do I initiate a hangout with random strangers at a restaurant?

I started putting myself in their position and played the scenario in my head. I'd feel uncomfortable with someone coming up to my table.

I walked out. I went back to my car and drove out. I didn't really think this was a hangout. Maybe it was just a slow time of the day?

I drove to the market a couple of streets down to check out if it was a hangout. I parked my car and over yonder are a group of Black men just hanging around. I get out of my car and walk into the market. Nobody really hanging out. I think I'm gonna have to walk over to that group.

But I was just too scared to do it.

I'm going to check out MLK Diner at a later hour and see how it checks out. It could be more a hangout at a later or more early time.

Journal #1

Well, this is my first journal for Multi-Ethnic Reporting. I believe Professor Reisner told us to write these things as if they were diaries, so I guess I should get more comfortable.

One of the things I really like about this class, honestly, is the fact that we're addressing racial stereotypes and the idea that "political correct-ness" should be left at the door. Yet, when I come to class, I still feel uncomfortable talking about that sort of thing because of our diverse set of students. I mean I don't want to offend people and I definitely don't want people to hate me because of something ignorant I said, or will say.

The first session had the professor talking about stereotypes such as whether or not Black people get sunburn, or whether all Asians are smart and good at math. One guy in the back of the class was whispering to his friend during the professor's famous All-Time Favorite Mistake story (one of many stories I've heard more than once). Reisner made the guy tell everyone what the whisper was about, and the guy was talking about a stereotype that had to do with Asian women and whether their vaginas were slanted. I laughed, mainly because I have never heard that stereotype in my life and I found it to be absolutely ridiculous.

It's that kind of thing that had me and the entire class feeling a bit more comfortable about the topic of discussion.

One of the links the professor posted on the listserv was Harvard's Implicit Association Test, a test designed to uncover one's "unconscious biases". I was pretty curious as to how it worked, so I decided to take it. There were many test options, each designed to challenge a different bias. I chose the one dealing with race.

The test is a little deceiving, man. It's a bit complicated to explain, but my results showed that I prefer people of European descent than I do to people of African descent. What bugs me about this test is that it deals more with your reflexes and concentration than it does with things like ignorance or discrimination. But, I already knew, beforehand, that I feel more comfortable around people of European descent than African. So I was kinda like "duh".

In our most recent class session, we watched the film Barbershop, which is such a funny, watchable film. Though, the film suffers from some meandering subplots, it's still pretty great. But, this isn't a film class and I'm sure nobody gives a crap about my Barbershop film critique. The point of the viewing was to show that every place has a history, and that hangout like the barbershop is a place filled with characters and key-players of the community. These are places people go to to talk about politics, sports, neighborhood gossip and the world. These are the best places for listening posts.

-ryan