Discussion Board 2: Race, The Story We Tell by Beligh Ben Taleb

Robert Shelton's Post:

BBT — 2015-09-22 01:44:18 UTC

19th century America was able to rationalize their social divisions and unequal treatment of others while maintaining that “all men are created equal” by excluding them based on race. By calling races like the Africans and Native Americans “savages” and “barbarians”, it then became much easier to deny those peoples the rights enjoyed by the whites. The “racial scientists” of the time further escalated the problem by claiming that “blacks were not only inferior in intelligence but also belonged to a libidinous race.” (Takaki, 68). Since black people were presumed to be deficient in terms of intelligence and morality, the whites became even more willing to deny them the “blessings of liberty and equality” due to fear of how they might use their newfound freedoms. Such racial science at the time even found support for slavery in genetics and in the bible, arguing that the “natural state” of blacks was to be enslaved and controlled.

Native Americans were also harshly discriminated against in 19th century America, but they were seen through a different lens. Although they were seen as “savages” on a level equal to that of the Africans, many believed that the source of their poor qualities came from “nurture” instead of “nature”. This meant that it was possible to “civilize and instruct them.” (reader, 36). Such assumptions were proven true by the assimilation of the Cherokees into American society. However, according to the video Race: The Power of an Illusion, Episode 2: The Story We Tell, the Cherokees only did so because they saw such an act as a tactic for survival.

One can also see how American society adopted the idea of race to discriminate against other “lesser” peoples through changes in their values. For instance, before slavery became popular in the colonies, a person’s status in Virginia was determined by their religious beliefs and how much land they owned. After the colonies began importing large quantities of slaves in the early 1700’s, however, this “vision” of status changed to favor those who were white. According to historian George Frederickson many white gained prestige, recognition, and an increased ego, but such an act on its own would have been looked down upon. Therefore, society then turned towards “racial scientists” to find ways to rationalize or validate their discrimination, forming a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy.

Emily Heater's Take:

BBT — 2015-09-22 01:46:10 UTC

“Not only did we genocide Africans, we also genocided Native Americans through assimilation. It was thought that Native Americans were savages and needed to be civilized. This is how the United States rationalized the process. It was cheaper to mold the Native Americans into American society than to go to war. Instead, they were forced to speak English and the kids were forced to go to American school. Often times, the kids were kidnapped from their homes and sent away to boarding school. Their identity was completely stripped. ”

Trail of Tears is an example

BBT — 2015-09-22 01:49:21 UTC

Slavery is another example

BBT — 2015-09-22 01:51:33 UTC

Lucy Koch’s reply:

BBT — 2015-09-22 01:53:55 UTC

“Because slaves were not considered men, they were given unequal treatment unable to gain social status. People of the 19th century who believed in and used slavery did believe in the idea that all people are equal and deserve equal rights, however they got around it because they considered slaves to not be men or citizens of the United States.”

- I don’t entirely agree with this statement you’ve written. I understand your point in saying that because slaves were treated as property they were not considered men. I agree with that. However, you state that people of the 19th century who “believed in and used slavery did believe in the idea that all people are equal and deserve equal rights,” I have to disagree with this statement. I think that slave owners knew what they were doing was wrong but justified it by the implementation of racial discrimination. They knew that slaves were just as much people as they were, although they oppressed them to chattel/property because they felt they were of a lower societal standing—essentially a non-existent one. Also, slaves were citizens of the United States as mandated under the 3/5 compromise for population reasons. Whites used race as both an excuse and a reason when the situations were convenient for either excuse.

Robert's Reply:

BBT — 2015-09-22 01:56:09 UTC

Robert Shelton writes,

I also think it is rather strange and unfortunate how American society came to develop their discriminating views against Africans, Native Americans, and other "outsiders". The sad part is, even if racial scientists never ended up "finding" that blacks were inferior in body and mind and that they and Native Americans were libidous, bloodthirsty savages, then society would have eventually just found another way to exclude them from the phrase "all men are created equal". It's just that at the time, whites in American society needed a way to sound noble while only granting full rights and privileges to other whites. The circumstances make their prejudice seem even worse, but I believe that it would have been a similar situation if the colonies had imported slaves from, say, Ireland or China instead of from Africa, for example.