Blog Post Three

After taking multiple classes on media and ethics including this class about communication and culture, it is sometimes hard to face the fact that media controls the world. It has the ability to sway whomever, whenever. It feels like they know all our insecurities and pry upon them to sell us on just about anything. The unfortunate thing is that they created these insecurities in all of us. Beauty is being skinny and blonde with big boobs. Men must be emotionless, strong over 6 foot. The list goes on for stereotypes and the categories that each of us fall into.

After reading Black Girl Dangerous, I decided to choose a phrase because I couldn’t pick just one sentence from it. Mia McKenzie states that the 4^th way to not be an ally is that you “don’t see race/gender/disability/etc., she also notes that “If your ability to respects someone’s right to exist requires pretending that they are just like you, that’s a problem. We are not all the same. And things like race, gender, disability, etc. are exactly the kinds of things that shape our lives and our experiences and makes us different from one another. Being different is not the problem.” I personally believe this has a lot of truth, and I myself have fallen victim many times. I have always felt and been taught that everyone should be treated with respect, which is true, but it doesn’t mean that our differences have to be pushed aside and pretend to be forgotten. Sometimes I would go out of my way to make it a point that I am welcoming of everyone race, gender, religion I wasn’t pretending to be welcoming but I was ignoring the fact that we are all different and that’s okay. I had never thought of it in that way before. That everyone in their own way is unique and our gender, race etc. are our unique stories of how we got to this point right here and by pretending were not different is not helping it’s just highlighting how much we are and how much I try to hide that. I love when she says being different is not the problem because it’s not, it’s the way society has made us feel about being different that isolates us from others that is the problem.

I have already mentioned in a previous blog about a great example of media and how they portray certain people is Miss Representation. I think we could make a million movies on different races, gender, religions and how they are all misrepresented. I think it’s sad how we can’t see others for their unique qualities and abilities and for the stories all our differences share. It’s unfortunate that we have been led to make our differences so noticeable that it has led to terror and destruction throughout our world. I love my background and the stories from my grandfather coming from Yugoslavia I am proud to say I have Hispanic decent but not everyone feels like they can be proud of that because they’re considered different. Not everyone can be proud and open. Culturally here in America the “melting pot” of the world, home of the free its crazy to think after all this time people can still live in fear because of our differences. Fear of not speaking up, not dressing how you feel best, not speaking your native language, all fears of not wanting to stick out and be different.

 I think a great example of this currently is the protest over the national anthem. I have my own opinions about it and how I feel but I recently watched a video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZv-52xh2pc, with Barack Obama and his feeling and Donald Trump and his feeling in regards to the protest and I think it perfectly aligns with the statement from McKenzie. Obama talks about how we as a country need to recognize people’s difference but in doing so we need to understand why and truly educate ourselves, before dividing as a country. We don’t need to agree, but just understand that we all grew up differently and that it is their right to be able to say how you feel, even if it offends the rest of us. It’s a hard pill to swallow for some but I’ve also lived as a white female in a well-off family my entire life and am forever grateful to the people who protect me from living safely in my bubble. Some kids weren’t given this experience and unfortunately don’t see the world the same way I do but it’s what has shaped all of our lives, experiences and truly what gives us different outlooks on life, gender, race, and religion. A great example of this is a YouTube video about privilege, http://www.ntd.tv/inspiring/life/crazily-viral-video-showing-privilege-will-make-cry.html. After watching this video, it made me really think about how different we all see the world and the country we live in. Even if we lived in the same neighborhood. Not seeing color, race or disability doesn’t help. It just separates us more. I wish there was a solution to this problem because after watching this video, it was eye opening to how I shelter myself and my feelings. I’ve always tried not to see our differences but I hope to go forward I recognize the difference and embrace it.