"It's obviously a huge issue, and even with the first African American president, we still have a long ways to go"
I couldn't agree with you more on that and I've heard a lot of people say things that make me feel like I have to remind them of that.
And not like you didn't just say it but it's totally disgusting to see how racist the NBA and then a closer look into any other U.S. institution yields very similar results. One of my favorite books ever is called Savage Inequalities that, among other things, talks about racism in the education system--i recommend it highly.
I also agree that living in a different country makes you reexamine your own country. Living in Chile has really affected my perspective on all things social and political.
Also, I definitely notice I think about stuff like that more and I find myself comparing classism with racism and contrasting racism in both countries. There was never a dull moment when I was home and my best friend from my study abroad program, my family, and I were all talking about Chile, the U.S. and Obama and I thank my experience here for my input in the conversation.
Sara
· 11 months ago
I used to think Chile was a homogeneous. Now that I'm back in Minnesota for a while, i realize that people here all look alike. In fact, when I got off the plane I thought that I knew everyone because they all looked so familiar.
Abby
· 11 months ago
Totally agree. I think that here in Chile I am very observant because it's a different culture and I see things that Chileans don't see because they're so accustomed to it being a part of every day life and existence. Having such a critical eye has not only helped me to analyze US culture, but also to point things out to Chileans that they had never even thought about before but was staring them right in the face.
Emily
· 11 months ago
I think living abroad, at least in a place like Chile where people talk really openly about politics, definitely forces you to reexamine your own country. Some of the questions I've had here, including questions about racism in the US, don't allow for an easy answer. I don't know if that's something I would have just started to do on my own, though, as a result of sharpening my analytical skills while looking at Chilean culture or if I only do it now because I have people making me take a harder look at things.
Anonymous
· 11 months ago
Live next door to an average black neighbour and then revisit this topic. Plenty of whites are racist but even more blacks are.
Anonymous
· 11 months ago
Actually traveling/living abroad usually made me think the US was far and above less racist than I do when I'm here.
Teaching with TFA made me hyper aware of racism, though.
While teaching I wrote a letter to my college History of Baseball teacher explaining why I thought he should stop telling students that the collapse of the Negro League was actually its greatest success (saying that integration of MLB was the best thing that could have happened). After some thought and seeing the decline of baseball with inner-city youth, I began to realize that integration was a huge failure to most blacks in baseball. Why? Mostly because the Negro League owners were incredibly brilliant. Absolutely. They are the ones who conceived of stadium lights (bringing us nighttime baseball) and minor league baseball as a scouting tool. But they, of course weren't integrated with the collapse of their league...
And, yeah, there are still not enough African-American baseball owners or managers to this day...
I definitely spend more time analyzing things about the US since living abroad. Race is one issue. Sadly it seems that prejudice of some sort is a world issue. Some of the things people have said here really catch us off guard regarding differences between the more African influence in the north and people in the south. In Vienna, we heard a lot about remaining prejudice against Jews there. Then of course there is good ol' KY and once you get out of the larger cities it is scary. They are all for African Americans as long as they play basketball. So sad.
Most of my analyzing goes more towards health issues. I feel like I have more answers about our problems in the US after moving away. I also know solving them is nearly impossible. An expat experience is just positive all around. :)
All Comments
I couldn't agree with you more on that and I've heard a lot of people say things that make me feel like I have to remind them of that.
And not like you didn't just say it but it's totally disgusting to see how racist the NBA and then a closer look into any other U.S. institution yields very similar results. One of my favorite books ever is called Savage Inequalities that, among other things, talks about racism in the education system--i recommend it highly.
I also agree that living in a different country makes you reexamine your own country. Living in Chile has really affected my perspective on all things social and political.
Also, I definitely notice I think about stuff like that more and I find myself comparing classism with racism and contrasting racism in both countries. There was never a dull moment when I was home and my best friend from my study abroad program, my family, and I were all talking about Chile, the U.S. and Obama and I thank my experience here for my input in the conversation.
Teaching with TFA made me hyper aware of racism, though.
While teaching I wrote a letter to my college History of Baseball teacher explaining why I thought he should stop telling students that the collapse of the Negro League was actually its greatest success (saying that integration of MLB was the best thing that could have happened). After some thought and seeing the decline of baseball with inner-city youth, I began to realize that integration was a huge failure to most blacks in baseball. Why? Mostly because the Negro League owners were incredibly brilliant. Absolutely. They are the ones who conceived of stadium lights (bringing us nighttime baseball) and minor league baseball as a scouting tool. But they, of course weren't integrated with the collapse of their league...
And, yeah, there are still not enough African-American baseball owners or managers to this day...
Jayna
Most of my analyzing goes more towards health issues. I feel like I have more answers about our problems in the US after moving away. I also know solving them is nearly impossible. An expat experience is just positive all around. :)