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