Archive for February 13, 2007

“Wild Woman”

{ February 13, 2007 @ 4:16 pm } · { Film Diary }
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Sarah Baartman was a young African woman that was taken into hostage at the age of 25. Although it has been said that she went willingly, she has described herself as a “very unhappy Sarah, who does not deserve her fate.” Baartman was known as a “Hottentot Venus,” due to her large buttocks, hips and genitalia. It was for this reason that she was transported to
London, England and put on display at the local circus. She was told to stand, sit and walk around. All the while, spectators would walk by and poke at her to see if her butt and hips were really that big and to make sure they were real.

            From London, England, Baartman was then transferred to
Paris, France, where she was put in display once again. They would make her perform various tribal danced and bang drums and sing. She was encouraged to do so by sweets and such. These performances were displayed to prove that she was a “wild woman,” something unlike that of European women. It was here in
France, that her care takers became more interested in the science, the make up of her body, rather than for entertainment purposes and values. She was forced to be scientifically observed, where they measured the sizes of her buttocks, hips and genitalia. The scientists then compared her with animals such as the monkey, the chimpanzee, and the orangatang.

            At age 28, Sarah Baartman died of what was thought to be small pox, mixed with alcohol poisoning. Her body was then dissected and observed in a well known French museum and it was not until the year 2002, when her body was returned back to her home land in
South Africa.

            After listening and reading Sarah Baartman’s story, one has to ask the question about rights as a human being… Baartman was black and a woman, making her a severe minority in the eyes of those who captured her. But even if she was considered a minority, does she not have the right to be treated like a “normal human being” instead of some object or wild animal that needs to be tamed and studied? In the era that Baartman was captured, scientists were highly interested in the sex organs of females. The Hottentot Venus’ sex organs were not like anything they had ever seen before. This stroke an interest and a felt need to observe her genitalia. But where should the line be drawn of scientific reasoning, and violation of human rights?

Affirmative Action

{ February 13, 2007 @ 4:57 am } · { Reading/ In Class Response }
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            Throughout history, the government has struggled with the argument of affirmative action and race. What do we base the regulations of affirmative action on? Do we base it on race, class, or need? Who are we to decide who should receive help over another person? It has to be done unfortunately and not everyone can be helped, however what do people base their decisions on? This is a difficult question that is touched in the article, “How Jews Became White,” by Karen Sacks.

            While the US was in World War II the economy was not the best, however afterwards the
US “emerged with the strongest economy in the world” (Sacks 123). In order to reward those male, Euro- origin veterans that served under the
United States the government the GI Bill of Rights. This act was known as “the most massive affirmative action program in
U.S. history” (Sacks 123) and strived to proved the veterans with a way of living that mirrored the economy. Not only did the government provide the veterans with financial aid through the transition from serving to working, but they also sent many of the younger vets to college to get an education. This action helped to raise the middle class population that had college degrees. Before college was for wealthy white families, the GI Bill opened college to the middle class and/or lower.  

            I believe that it is unfair to base affirmative action strictly on race. Although whites have been receiving assistance since the government was first created, that should not stop the government for assisting other whites who need the help, or vice versa. The GI Bill had good intensions in trying to help out the war veterans; however it discriminated against any person of color. It was only open to white veterans, and mostly from the Euro- origin. Many people today are still benefiting from the GI Bill, and taking full advantage of a free college education.

            To touch back on the original question of race versus class, I believe that class and financial need should have been considered for the GI Bill. What’s done is done, however we now know to learn from our mistakes. We should not assign help to a family or person that is fairly well off when we have much poverty in the world.

 

Lastly the article talked about how when people first started to immigrate to
North America, we were all a “different race.” There were Germans, Irish, Swedes, English, ETC. They were not all considered white at the time, and they all had one nationality that they claimed to be associated with. However as the
United States developed nationalities started to mix and people started to refer to themselves as half Irish and half German ( as an example). Nationalities started to become more subtle, and people started to refer to themselves as Americans and disregard their heritage.  This, for example, is how the “Jews became White.”