Unfortunately my ability to complete this blog assignment is dependant on someone responding to my status change. I'm in the same boat as those who rarely use facebook, and so only got about 5 responses. Most of them were responding in a very sarcastic way, just as I guessed they would. One person responded that they're not racist because they hate everyone equally! Another one joked about the fact that he's phillipino and is dating a mexican. Another joked that he hates white girls because he's half asian and can't get his dating life to go anywhere.
Although most of my responses were somewhat crude and sarcastic, (possibly shedding light on the dispositions of those responding), I believe they do illustrate a deeper feeling felt by most people. I think it's a part of human nature, that when something uncomfortable or different comes our way we can dismiss it with humor. The fact that most people didn't take my status question seriously, may demonstrate that they would rather avoid a sincere answer, and just turn it into a joke.
However, I did receive one response that was sincere and heartfelt. She explained that simply because we are raised in certain circumstances in a certain culture we are all naturally a bit apprehensive when it comes to people that are different from us. She then went on to explain that that is not necessarily racist, especially if we take the time to get to know the person, that apprehension can go away.
I agree with this last comment. As long as there are differences between outward appearances of people, there will always be racism to some degree. We can overcome those natural feelings by recognizing that all are sons and daughters of God and we all have something positive to contribute to the frameworks of our lives.
6 comments:
I got a lot of sarcasm and chalked it up to bring afraid of vocalizing or even beginning to think how they really feel.
I think humor is a very common tool of defense. I think those comments shows that it's a light enough subject that we can joke about it but also that it is still an issue as to merit humor.
I think a lot of people feel uncomfortable posting their opinions of an social network. Most of the comments came from the same people making comments about what the others had said. There was a running conversation between 3 people, but not many others added anything.
My findings were the same-- most people only know how to deal with it by joking. If anything is ever going to change people will have to engage in conversations like this at some point.
People usually feel more comfortable if they add humor to this type of subject. Most people don't ponder about it and just comment on the first thing they think without really analyzing it.
I also had very few comments because I deactivated my facebook account back in April. I do think what your friend said was true - there is a bit of apprehension until you really get to know the person and then that generally disappears as you replace stereotypes with facts
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