Myself in Sixty Seconds

Outgoing, bold, smile, laugh, cry, loud, horses, friends, shopping, competitive, dedicated, kind, generous, grumpy at times, caring, hard worker.

Arranged Marriages

Before reading the article on arranged marriages, I was strongly opposed to them. I thought that there was no benefit and it was strongly oppressive to women. But I didn't know a lot about the culture behind it and the viewpoint of those who favor arranged marriages. I know understand the reasons why certain cultures do have them. It was interesting to see how girls thought that they didn't have enough experience to choose a husband, but their parents did. I would never let my mother choose my husband for me, let alone give me advice and interfere in my love life. But Indian girls certainly think differently. They see dating as pointless and marriage is the time when you fall in love with your husband. Although I can see their point and understand it, I still don't agree with it. I could never agree to spend the rest of my life with a complete stranger. Maybe it is just the culture I have grown up in, but the concept is so odd to me. Even though I am still opposed to arranged marriages, I have a new perspective on the matter. I believe that those who want one and want it to be a part of their culture, should be allowed to. It doesn't interfere on anybody else's life and certain people do benefit. For example, it brings about a greater family connection and ties two families together. I have grown up hearing parents complain about the "in-laws" throughout the media. But with arranged marriages, you gain a husband and a new family, which you learn to love. In this way, I almost think these types of marriages are better, but unfortunately, I am still opposed to them in my own life.

Literacy Test Analysis

Some of the questions in the Literacy Test definitely popped out as being racially insensitive. For example, when they ask "How many states are in the Union?", they aren't taking into account how a majority of black people, previous slaves, live in the South, and weren't educated about the North. In addition, when the questions about the President come up, they are almost pointing out how all presidents are white. And when asking "Who elects the President?", black people are yet again reminded of their minority in the political system.

In a lot of these questions, I have realised how unfair they are towards black people because of their slave history. As slaves, they weren't educated about anything. And they didn't know about anything other than what happened on the plantation they lived on and possibly in the town, if they lived in one. So all the questions about law making, branches of the government, Amendments, they are all things that normal black people definitely would not know about. In addition, slaves weren't really a big part of the economy when the original colonies were founded, therefore they wouldn't know facts about them.

One question that shocked me was: "What is the basic belief of the Declaration of Independence?" I think this is awful because the main belief was that "all men are created equal." But black people were definitely not treated equally, and still aren't. This is very insensitive to the fact that whites in America during this time thought of black people as animals, and inferior to the human race. But black people are humans and are just like white people, so their main justification for this was completely false.

Voting Registration Simulation

This simulation really showed how far white people would go to prevent blacks from voting in the South. It shocks me that they would ask such outrageous questions that not even white people could answer. It reminds me of something I did in AP US History last year, where we took the citizenship test for black people that included questions about American laws and we couldn't even pass it.

The next part of the simulation seemed much harsher than the previous part. By lying to black people and physically forcing them not to vote was clearly against the law. It was especially shocking when the sheriff pulled out his baton when a black person was just trying to register, but this was going against what they wanted. And I bet that they would probably tell lies about being closed and then a white person comes through and magically they are open again.

This last part was just complete intimidation. They try and point out how white people have power, and if you go against what they want, they will find a way to take you down. But it was interesting, because yet again they were lies. But in the justice system, most likely a white person would be believed to be telling the truth versus a black person. Therefore, a white person could say anything and ruin a black person's life.

The N-word

There are certain words in our society that hurt specific races, cultures, ethnicities, and genders. There aren't really any words that hurt my race, mainly I think because I am white and I don't live in the Deep South, where most racial white insults appear. But because I am a girl, there are definitely some things that I am sensitive to. Specifically, the b-word really hurts me. I find that a lot of other people use it because it is so commonly used and easy to say. But they don't realise the meaning of it, and how some people take offence to it. For me, it makes me feel like someone who is rude and selfish and doesn't appreciate the things they have. And that is exactly the type of person I don't want to be.

Going forwards, I think that I will definitely see the n-word as something so much more powerful than I ever could have imagined a word could be. There is so much history behind it and it has caused great amounts of pain over centuries that it is hard not to see how sensitive of a word it is. I am definitely going to pay attention a lot more to how it is used in our society, in music and other cases, and try and find what certain people are trying to get out of using it. I find it very interesting the way the n-word is used in music. I always thought they said it in hip-hop just to prove that they can say it. But there is definitely a bigger meaning to it.

Do I think I have the word in me? Honestly, I don't know. I really don't think I do, just because I feel bad even writing it down, let alone saying it. But there may come a day where I am pushed so far that the power of the n-word entrances me and I use it. For me, though, there is no way of knowing because I haven't been put in that situation yet. I really hope that it never happens to me, though, especially if I use it in a negative way, because I now known the real truth behind the word, and how powerful saying it can be. For now, though, I don't think I have it in me.