Courageous Conversations

Humanities P. 1-2
Kevin Villa
05-06-16

Over time we have seen that there is always a type of discrimination, no matter who it is,
or what they do, or who they are. We see it happen, but we are quite indifferent towards it. It is
considered as a normal occurrence and is reasoned with the fact that it will happen to everyone at
some point. But there are people who go their whole life, having to live with absolute
discrimination wherever they go. Whether it be in their jobs, in their community, or even in their
own homes. These people usually tend to be the minority within this society, and have no option
but to live with it. So we have to change certain aspects of society in order to get equality.
Therefore we must first understand and accept that there is racism in order to be able to have a
courageous conversation about our identities.

White privilege is a reoccurring issue that impacts the way in which different races treat
each other and prevents the society from having a balance. What this is in short, is the hidden
advantages that white people have over other ethnicities, because of the society that exists and
promotes it. We can see this occur when we look at how a white person is raised in comparison
to other races, specifically minorities. A white person will have many opportunities from the
moment they begin their education, they will be set on a path that will allow them to be
successful in school, which in turn leads to good jobs, which also leads to a good life from a
monetary perspective. Meanwhile, other races might have a rocky start within their life journey,
and this can easily unbalance their path to a successful life. This is the vicious cycle of white

privilege that forces others to find alternative routes to a common goal and creates a divide
between races. White privilege can be accredited a little bit to white preference.
White preference is what allows for privileges to exist and plays a role in why it
continues to exist. In short what this is, is exactly what the name of the title suggests. And
although it seems like a very intense thing that only racist people would do or say, it really isnt.
White preference is very subtle and so thats why we don't always realize that it exists within
ourselves. We can see this occur in a lot of places, whether it be in the school system, or out in
the working field. It is the result of years of having a society which promotes white race over
others. Here is a quick evaluation which will allow you to see what kind of person you are and
the way in which your mind thinks. When I ask you what characteristics a hero has, just go with
the the first thing that pops into your mind: Age? Sexual Orientation? Race? Religion? Gender?
You will most likely have answered with: Young, Straight, White, Christian, Male. And although
you might not have gotten the exact same thing it will most likely have been very similar. This
shows exactly what our society has taught us, and that there is a preference when it comes to
these simple questions. This can also be reflected through the Implicit Association Test or IAT.
This is a test that was specifically designed to show whether or not someone has an innate
preference for the White race, in comparison to African Americans. It shows and helps articulate
what I have learned these past few weeks. In order to also see what impact society had, we
interviewed some people and got their perspective on the subject.
Our first interview sessions began with an older white male at a retirement home. He said
that throughout his lifetime he had always seen that african americans were treated rather fairly,
and that just about everyone was okay with everybody else. They were all people who would
help each other to reach their own goals, and this was his first hand experience of what race was

like for him. Our second interview session involved a group of four college students at CSUSM,
and their perspective of what race was like was much different. The way in which they saw race
while growing up was that there was a difference between races and it was very apparent to them
since the majority of them werent from white descent. The difference wasnt on a hateful level
for them, but they could see that there were always going to be some type of issue when race was
involved. When my partner and I told them a little bit about the interview we had the previous
day with the elderly, they felt that what he had said was wrong. It was this type of discordance
that got me thinking about how the different times and the way in which they were all raised,
affected the way in which they thought of race.

Change in perspective will always be difficult, and even after working on it, there might
still be traces of a previous belief. I quite frankly felt somewhat in the middle of the matter of
race because it doesnt affect me too much, but then again it does affect me. I wasnt expecting to
have a major change in the way I see the world, but I did and it was good. I began to see that
there are always small details that one misses and they can show a clear difference between one
ethnic group and another. I learned about new insights that I hadnt yet learned about and this
allowed me to be able to change my perspective accordingly. I began to see that there were huge
gaps within groups, and they could range from education, to wages. These can be identified as
the Racial Inequality Gaps, and involve the differences that exist within the various racial
groups. This was something that I learned and began to recognize quickly, but it wasnt very easy
for some.
My partner had a very similar mindset to mine and was relatively open the majority of the
time to talking about other races without him taking any offence or being triggered. The only
thing that was somewhat difficult for him was changing the way in which he expressed his

humor. He was very good overall when it came to learning about race, but he didnt care about
how people felt whenever he made offensive remarks due to race. He would say something and
keep on going with his life as if nothing had happened, leaving a couple with their mouths wide
open. He once said that he was willing to be friends with just about anyone, no matter what race.
I think that this was what allowed for him to be able to learn more about other races that werent
his own and change the way in which he treated them.
Our class was very good overall when it came to the subject of race and learning about it,
the majority of the people tended to be very open about it and they were okay with discussing
very sensitive topics. This allowed for us to cover a lot of ground on the subject and just about
everyone had a different experience when it came to what they were learning. Sometimes they
would completely agree with what was being said and some would sometimes get a little
defensive. It was relatively normal to see some of those reactions because they were what just
about everyone would say when their race was sometimes targeted. By the end of the day we
would sometimes see that some people were a filled with resolvement because they wanted to
keep on going and some were okay because their burning questions had been answered. The
change in thought that I saw within my classmates was positive and I think that we managed to
change the way in which they live their lives.

Race is always a hard topic to talk about, especially when the audience already has set
ideas that they aren't very willing to change. Some of the best ways to approach the subject of
race are to first create a space in which they know will be meant for confronting the topic.
Afterwards they have to know that one has to be open in order to be able to change or even learn
about the subject. This will allow for them to be become more talkative and will lead to changes
in personality when it comes to race. These are some of the most important steps to take when

approaching the subject of race because it is really hard for some to have a conversation about it.
And because of this they dont learn anything, they dont think about how they are, and they
most certainly dont change how they treat the issue of race.
Another way which is helpful when approaching the topic of race is making sure that
whoever is teaching or helping cope with the problem, isnt biased themselves. This will allow
for everybody to feel understood when they talk about race because it helps to show that they can
make their point without feeling like they arent being listened to. It is good to have people that
are feeling equal because this will allow for them to be able to speak about race more freely
without having simple issues due to preference within the people who are learning. And by
being able to talk freely about race it is possible to come to resolutions on how to fix the
inequalities that exist within the world because of race.
One of the most important things that can happen when talking about race is that there
has to be equality. Equality is the end goal of where we want to be when we resolve issues
involving race. Equality is the solution because it would mean that everyone is treated equally
and will have the same rights that others do as well. Reaching equality is the end goal, but to get
there we have to go through a lot of steps a that involve personal change. First we can start by
educating oneself on the subject so that no false arguments are started because of lack of
knowledge. From there we also have to realize that different people have different reactions to
what you say, so approach race with caution. And above all else, educating others. There is no
change if no one knows whats going on, so they have to first learn about the subject in order to
make a proper judgement. Only then will it be possible to come to a solution on how to find
equality for all no matter where they are.

If we are capable of understanding and accepting racism, we are then capable of having

courageous conversations about our own person. This isnt just an issue that I have been studying
for the past couple of weeks, it affects our nation as a whole, and impacts the life of millions
yearly. We have the knowledge necessary to confront this issue, and we have people who are
willing to change in order to find a balance for all. We just need cooperation from everybody in
order to see a change in the way that the various races and ethnicities are treated. Once this
occurs we will have a slightly better world to live in, one which has equal opportunities for all.

Es un tema que todos entendemos que sera lo justo o lo ideal encontrar ese balance entre
todos, pero es muy dificil llegar porque muchos no estn dispuestos a tolerar. Entonces nos
cuesta trabajo aceptar que todos tenemos ideas diferentes. El dia que el ser humano acepte la
diversidad de ideas, tendremos un mundo mejor. Desde un principio del mundo hubo
problemas basados sobre la religion y el poder. Lo que me llega a la mente es que al final de
cuentas Quien tiene la razn? Y en nombre de que dios tu tienes la razn?