Airing my Philthy Laundry

Caution: Semi-Serious Post

It doesn't happen very often here, but I'm about to delve into a more serious topic I've been thinking about lately. Hopefully this will satisfy the needs of all the distinguished scholars who frequent this blog, but are too afraid of ruining their reputation to comment on such hootanany that is normally discussed here.

Last weekend, I saw the move Crash. The movie deals with race relations in Southern California, focusing around several interweaving characters, all a different racial or ethnic background.
So we're all familiar on the various racial stereotypes out there, I'll summarize the ones discussed in the movie, just so we're all on the same page. (Note: the following broad generalizations are NOT the views of Philthy Laundry...so don't even think about bringin' it down on me.)

-Black people are dangerous criminals, and they're lazy. The reason for this is that they've never been given a fair shake since they were discriminated against, and thus must resort to violence to even the score.
-Asians are bad drivers, and are really good at running dry cleaners and nail salons.
-No matter where your ancestors are from, if you're of Latin decent, you're Mexican (Unless you are in Southern Florida, and then you're Cuban).
-White people are racist against everyone and don't trust anyone of other races. The sometimes fortunate position they've been given has come from hard work and wise investing, and the reason blacks and "mexicans" are poor is because they spend all their money on drugs and pimpin' their rides instead of investing in an IRA or Mutual fund.
-If you have olive skin, and are from Southeast of Europe, West of China, and you're not black, you're Arab. And if you happen to also be Muslim, you're a terrorist. This is particularly frightening sense they know the best ways around the city from years of driving cabs.

Now a little over 7 years ago, I was an ignorant white boy from a farm in Central Illinois. I thought all Asian-Americans lived in Chinatown in San Francisco and New York City, had no clue that "indian" and "native american" did not describe the same people, and I had never met or talked to a black person in real life. The closest I ever came was when I was trying to "Be Like Mike" playing basketball with my friends. Experiencing a Big Ten campus which is a Mecca of diversity in the midst of cornfields, opened my eyes to alot of culture that I had never been exposed to. I started to think about my perceptions of other cultures and battled with ingrained stereotypes and prejudices from the community in which I grew up. It's something I don't think about much anymore, to which I'm grateful.

But the real question here is what is the current status of racial relations in the United States? We've come a long way in the last 50 years as far as the white-black discrimination is concerned, though there are still several areas of the rural Southern US that are segregated (not law mandated, but it's "understood") How does the Latinos becoming the largest minority group affect things? Are Arabs the new scapegoats? Are black people finally off the hook?

I'm not sure what I think about all this, I guess that's why I'm throwing it out there. But what I've come to realize is that though racial stereotypes shouldn't be used to pre-judge someone, that doesn't mean that they aren't sometimes, though not universally, true. I do think that race relations are a bigger issue than most lead to believe. Especially when it comes to topics such as affirmative action. There are several times that it might be beneficial for a boss to promote or hire a black man over a more qualified white man...is that right or wrong?

Let me hear your feelings. The movie Crash got some great reviews, and I think it provides an entertaining and dramatic look at race relations in the US. If you can spare the $8.50, I'd recommend it.

posted by philthy @ 7:41 PM