Thursday, January 10, 2008
Language quiz/video
I was surprised at how bad I did on the profiling quiz, I dont even think I got 50 percent right. The majority of the voices sounded the same so it was har for me to put a race to the voice. The videos were a little shocking, I am a land lord and was jumping at the chance to interview everyone and their dog just to get the place rented, it wasnt really an issue of race it was an issue of did they pay their rent/bills in the past on time, did they have the money to afford the place. I think we discriminate on dialect not only because of world events but also because of how movies and t.v portray different races in their films and shows. Maybe at one time or another we or someone we know has been hurt by somone ofa different race with a different dialect so we choose to treat them differently. We sometimes now put more emphasis on how people sound then what they look like and even more so then who they are as a person. I feel that the people who were discriminated against had a right to be angry, just because they are a certain race doesnt mean they are hardened criminals, it doesnt mean they dont pay their bills, everybody should have the right to a fair shot at renting a home/apartment or anything else for that matter. We should all want equal treatment, because there will be a time when we are treated unfairly because of race, dialect, age, size, gender etc...
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4 comments:
You are totally right, not only does the world events fuel the discrimination fire but also entertainment.
And to add to Octavia's comments that not only entertainment fuels the diffferent racial linguistics, but also the different ethnic backgrounds do as well. Take for example, if an African American talks more ellegant they are considered an "uncle tom" or really a black man trying to be white. So to hold to their identities, they make sure to hold to the different dialects.
I do agree that we often make judgment on the accent of a person rather than there image. I find it funny when I hear "Americans" correct people from other countries about pronouncing words. Because when people from other countries try correct "Americans" in pronouncing words they often are stubborn and refuse to correct themselves.
They definately do have a right to be angrey. Nothing is more frustrating than being punished for something that not only isn't wrong- but something that one has absolutely no control over.
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