Observation 1
Date: Sep 16th, 2006 11:59:31 pm - Subscribe
Banks and Banks define prejudice as a set of rigid and unfavorable attitudes toward a particular individual or group that is formed without consideration of facts. They also define racism as a belief that human groups can be grouped according to their biological traits and these views oppress and often dehumanize these groups. Growing up in a rural town of Alabama, I experienced many views of prejudice particularly against African Americans. I had many friends who were African American growing up. I would often ask one friend in particular why he changed the way he acted when he was around me versus the way he acted with other African Americans. He used both formal and casual registers depending on whom he was around.
While I was in California for a temporary duty assignment, I decided to visit the area of Compton during the day despite my wife’s reservations. I initially drove around taking mental notes of the houses and the vehicles that were on the streets. I had expected to see run down houses with “pimped” out cars and a liquor store owned by Koreans on every corner. While there were some run down houses, many of them were old but in good repair and order. There was a mixture of older and newer cars, just as you might expect to see in many poor-middle class neighborhoods.
I received many wary stares from some of the people as I drove through some of the different streets. I decided to get out and ask directions from an elderly African American male. He was very cordial and gave me the directions. I got back into the car and tried the experiment with a couple of younger African American males. They to were cordial and helpful. The younger males were dressed like many other teenagers here in (town). I did see a lot of graffiti and gang signs throughout parts of the town. I took my directions and went back to my hotel to reflect.
During this observation, I learned that Hollywood, the Rodney King verdicts, and the media had influenced me. I had built a mental picture of a possible war zone. I did notice a lot of graffiti but that was really the only stereotype that had come to surface. While I do not consider myself racist, I did notice that I had indeed pre-judged. Banks and Banks are right when they say that institutional and individual racism shapes the existence and actions of all the people in America.
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