The Worm in The Apple
In "Who Shot Johnny, A Day in The Life of Black America" Debra Dickerson sounds very upset for various reasons. The fact that her nephew was shot must of been very hard for the entire family, specially for Johnny since his life was ruined.
However, that is not why Dickerson is writing this awful experience. There are people in society that just do not care about anything. People who go around with an empty mind and no heart looking for someone to harm.
That is what bothers Dickerson and many other people. I am from Mexico, from a small city named Ciudad Valles. I can relate with Dickerson because even in my hometown I can find people like Johnny's shooter.
I have heard people talk in a mean way about mexicans. I can tell you that not every mexican is like that, but because of those who do wrong, the entire raze gets the blame for it.
It is not just Black America, in Dickerson's case or Mexico, in my case, but in the world, people who seem to enjoy hurting other people. When you see a small worm going through an apple, you usually throw the whole thing away.
Similar to the worms waisting a lot of good things are the people like the shooter holding back the community.
21 comments:
I agree with you Wendy because I also see these things happening everyday in my own neighborhood. I feel that when people now you and you have a relative or you now someone who is in jail or has been in jail they think that the entire family is that way. It seems to me that people should stop stereotyping people and really get to know them before they judge them.
i totally agree being that many times i personally have been sterotyped and have and have had to suffer the consequences of others actions when i haven't done anything at all
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I think this is a great blog Wendy. I completely agree with you. I believe that there is a stereotype that black males are most likely to be the people who do things like Johnny's shooter, and in many cases, this may be true. But there are probably just as many mexican, white, indian, and asian people who can be just like Johnny's shooter.
Why must a family be stereotyped because of one person doing something wrong? I mean one person doesn't make a family and sometimes that person doesn'teven consider the family's thoughts on the matter. I try to get to know a person before I judge them.
I agree with you Wendy, violence such as what happened to Johnny is not only in black communities or hispanic communities but everywhere. Like latasha said people always tend to stereotype people before they get to know them or anything about them.
The blog was great and I can agree with alot of the things that Wendy wrote about. We are living in a stereotypical world where one person sets the standards for the rest. Just because one black male shot someone that doesn't imply that when someone is shot that you point the finger at a black male.
Stereotyping is something everyone has been a victim of in the world today. It is something thats all around kids in schools and it follows them as adults.
I think the reason why stereotyping is so hard to control is because it has become second nature. I personally have been caught writing someone off as something they were not lucky for, me I had a friend to set me straight.
I guess the solution is for others to set an example and hope that it catchs on.
As I read everyones' blog i agree that Johnny's shooter can be anyone reguardless of ethnicity. Many people do terrible things all the time just to do them. And yes some ethnic groups may do things more than others but no can place judgement on an entire group of people. I believe everyone just needs to stop comitting so many crimes so it would be an easier life on all of us.
"When you see a small worm going through an apple, you usually throw the whole thing away.
Similar to the worms waisting a lot of good things are the people like the shooter holding back the community. "
I love that analogy. Just had to say that.
As for the actual blog, I agree. There are stereotypes to fit every genre and they're used DAILY, heck every second. It's a way to decide you know someone the second you've seen/talked to them.
My response to stereotypes is that, sadly, they're a way of life that I seriously doubt will fade, even given the best of times and the best intentions of the most people. It's a human reaction to stereotype someone. Dickerson is right when she says that Johnny's shooter could be anyone; but that won't change the way his case (or anyone's case) will be looked at. Everything concerning humanity is tinged with stereotyping.
Like John P said, life would be a lot easier if people just stopped committing crimes; but even if we were in a perfectly legal world where there was no crime, there would be other stereotypes. "Oh, they're of XXX decent, so they're really mean/infertile/some other stupid thing."
The truth is stereotyping will never die out. The best reaction toward it, I think, is a general rule for all people; To try to think that anybody can do anything. All they need is a will and way, not a certain race/ethnicity/nationality/whatever.
I agree with you that Debra Dickerson makes a good point in her essay. She is angry that people are willing to hurt each other and show absolutely no remorse. I also agree with you when you say that Dickerson wasn’t only talking about Blacks but all of humanity. She’s mad that in a single moment a lot of things Johnny was capable of were taken away from him, and his shooter didn’t care. This can anger just about everyone, because things like this happen everyday.
I agree with you on your statement that "people who go around with an empty mind no heart looking for someone to harm". I have heard that these types of people are miserable so they go around to make other people miserable as a mechanism to escape their depression.
I agree with Wendy and some of you others that sterotypes can lead to many bad decisions. It can also lead to missing out on great relationships that are possible.
However, I believe that there are many people who live in a stereotype and feel safe with that label. They like being known as a person who acts a certain way. This provides a mold for them to go by.
This is very dangerous because people who are singular and would not normally do certain things feel like they need to. If they avoid the sterotype they feel like they are lost in society.
The ultimate problem is within each person in the sterotype. They want to be accepted for who they are but don't know by which path.
I really agree with what you Wendy. Many people talk about others because of where they're from, or who they hang out with. Thats not the way things should be. People need to get to know others before they begin to cast judgement upon a person.
I agree with Wendy C, you should not hold an entire community back just because they have a few worms. Every race has its own problems and for the most part they are they same problems. Evil doesn’t see color all it see it opportunity, the opportunity to corrupt a person. You should condemn the person and not classify them by saying its just the color of their skin that makes them do the things they do.
I agree with Wendy in that people do judge before they get to know someone. Many people do not go by the “don’t judge a book by its cover” anymore and automatically jump to conclusions. Though Dickerson is speaking of Black America and the problems that are faced in this situation, the amount of stereotypes that are in the world today change with every turn of the road; They are out there and they’re pulling the communities apart day by day and the only way it will change is if people stop associating certain crimes with certain ethnic groups.
I agree that people are stereotypical towards black males. However, we as a society have created this image due to the violence we see on television and our everyday lives. There has to be some distinction between good and bad. Unfortunately for most black males, there is a bad image created, which is why people are stereotypical.
I agree with you Wendy. A lot of people in the world stereotype a certain group of people, whether they be black, mexican, etc., just because of what they saw or heard someone else did. That isn't fair to al of the good people who are actually in that group. It's almost like judging a book by its cover; You never can tell who a person is until you actually try to know them.
I agree with Wendy also, I think that black males are most stereotype in this world today. Many of our young black males are suffering the consequences of other black males because other races or society sees all black males through one eye.
I agree with jamie becuase there is an unfair that was created by black culture and supported by the media. We as a culture need to take things into our own hands and-as a whole, not just a minority-potray a better image for ourselves.
I really like your blog Wendy. I like the way you used your old hometown to help the readers to realate to what you are saying. I agree with most people in here when they say that we live in a very sterotypical world.
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