1. Tara McPherson’s article, “I’ll Take My Stand in Dixie-Net” is explaining how many white men in old Confederate states are trying to create a new Dixieland in cyberspace.
2. She begins the article by telling us how she first encountered these Dixie web pages. But she found that in these web pages blacks were hardly mentioned. She explains this when she says, “Cybercommunities like those of the neo-Confederates invoke specific registers of place, yet these places, like the majority of writing bout cyberspace, evade précis discussions about race or racism.” This even though blacks were a huge part of the south’s history. The creators of these websites say that they created them to preserve Southern heritage. She explains that most of the websites link to other neo-Confederate websites. One of the main facets of the heritage was the war. McPherson exclaims this when she says, “The war itself becomes the ground upon which claims to heritage are waged, though here heritage clearly functions as a universal and naturalized category which only some can lay claim to and which all “real” Southerners would die to defend. The South’s complex racial history and its relationship to the Civil War disappear as the war is rewritten in univocal terms.” She also says that numerous maps show the 11 Confederate states separated from the rest of the United States. These maps signify the way the south could have been had the war turned out differently. The “Lost Cause” is then mentioned as their remembrance of the Civil War. Even though the racism is covert, it is still clear in these websites. The heritage that they mention is undeniably white. Her point in the article is that these websites are meant to encourage a covertly racist southern society.
3. For my analysis I visited the Confederate.net website. I actually found it to be fairly disappointing. According to McPherson, this was one of the big three sites for this neo-Confederate movement. I didn’t think it had all that much Confederate stuff on the site. From reading the article, I thought it would have a bunch of discussion boards with people talking about how great life would be if there was a Confederate nation. But on the site there were only two links on the main page that had anything to do with this movement. I figured the whole site would be dealing with the Neo-Confederate movement. I was extremely surprised to find links to foreign resort vacations, adult sex, and a bunch of random sports. Another thing that surprised me about this site was that the color combinations and format of the page had nothing to do with the Confederacy. The page was purple with a random picture of a woman pouring water on herself. The confederate link at the home page linked to two Confederate on-line stores to buy Confederate merchandise. The Confederate States link just had a bunch of random Confederate pages on the internet. My final analysis of the site was that it was poor and was nothing like I expected it to be by McPherson’s description in her article.
4. I must say that the whole Neo-Confederate movement bothers me a little bit. I always wonder when I see a Confederate bumper sticker on a car, Why do you have a Confederate bumper sticker. We live in the United States of America. I honestly believe the Confederate goods should be outlawed. We live in the most wonderful country in the world, I don’t understand why people think a Confederate nation would have prospered. I hope that as I get older this movement doesn’t become an actual concern, because that would ruin this great country.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Why I hat Abercrombie and Fitch post
1. The very sense-making, the deciphering of the codes that allow one to appreciate what it is that “Abercrombie” stands for and means in our culture, can only be accomplished when we bring a variety of racialist thinking to the experience. (86)
2. The first thing that Dwight McBride did in his article was give us a brief history of the company. He said that Abercrombie and Fitch first dated back to 1892 when David Abercrombie opened his store and featured outdoor supplies. He then went into a partnership with Ezra Fitch and their company became Abercrombie and Fitch. But just a few years later Abercrombie resigned from the company because the two men wanted to take it in separate directions. By 1917 it became the largest sporting goods store in the world. Things kept getting better for Abercrombie as the company eventually became a huge business. McBride puts it, “Abercrombie’s reputation was so well established by this point that it was known as the outfitter of the rich, famous, and powerful” (86). After telling how the company came to be, he explained why he hates the company. The main reason was because, “Abercrombie has worked hard to produce a brand strongly associated with a young, white, upper-class, leisure lifestyle (86).” There are several facets of the company that point this out. One is that in their advertising; most of the models that they use are white. The appearance that the company considers the best contains features that are mainly white and not many that are black. For instance, Dreadlocks are unacceptable. It is also stereotypical to Asian Americans as one shirt that they put out read, “Two Wongs Make It White” (72). Another thing that bothered McBride about the company was their refusal to hire employees that were of the “A and F” look. In June of 2003, this was taken to court as a lawsuit was filed against Abercrombie and Fitch. But no action was taken against them. It is clear though that Abercrombie clearly hires a much larger percentage of whites than of any other ethnic group. One man whom McBride spoke with said, “The Company requires its managers to hire and continue to employ only Brand Representatives who fit within the narrow confines of the ‘Look Book’ resulting in a disproportionately white Brand Representative work-force” (78). The only non-white people who work at the stores are usually found in the stockroom, so they were not noticed. Another person with whom McBride talked to said they were looking for “All American, clean shaven, natural, football player- looking guys” (82). I think a good quote that sums up the article is, “Abercrombie, through its strategy of marketing…has convinced a U.S. public… that if we buy their label, we are really buying membership into a privileged fraternity that has eluded us all for so long, even for such vastly different reasons” (85).
3. I thought that this was an excellent and very readable article. I feel that the author gave an awesome amount of support for her arguments. It seemed as if all of the previous employees gave the same description of the racist actions that go on at Abercrombie and Fitch. With so much support from sources who actually experienced A and F first hand, she makes a rock solid argument. In my opinion, this was the best written article that we have read all year.
4. I have never seen or been to and Abercrombie and Fitch store. But I have seen many people wearing their products. I just thought it was a clothing company similar to American Eagle or Aeropostale. But clearly it is not. Therefore I’m glad that I have never seen a Abercrombie and Fitch store and after reading this article, I will never step foot in one.
2. The first thing that Dwight McBride did in his article was give us a brief history of the company. He said that Abercrombie and Fitch first dated back to 1892 when David Abercrombie opened his store and featured outdoor supplies. He then went into a partnership with Ezra Fitch and their company became Abercrombie and Fitch. But just a few years later Abercrombie resigned from the company because the two men wanted to take it in separate directions. By 1917 it became the largest sporting goods store in the world. Things kept getting better for Abercrombie as the company eventually became a huge business. McBride puts it, “Abercrombie’s reputation was so well established by this point that it was known as the outfitter of the rich, famous, and powerful” (86). After telling how the company came to be, he explained why he hates the company. The main reason was because, “Abercrombie has worked hard to produce a brand strongly associated with a young, white, upper-class, leisure lifestyle (86).” There are several facets of the company that point this out. One is that in their advertising; most of the models that they use are white. The appearance that the company considers the best contains features that are mainly white and not many that are black. For instance, Dreadlocks are unacceptable. It is also stereotypical to Asian Americans as one shirt that they put out read, “Two Wongs Make It White” (72). Another thing that bothered McBride about the company was their refusal to hire employees that were of the “A and F” look. In June of 2003, this was taken to court as a lawsuit was filed against Abercrombie and Fitch. But no action was taken against them. It is clear though that Abercrombie clearly hires a much larger percentage of whites than of any other ethnic group. One man whom McBride spoke with said, “The Company requires its managers to hire and continue to employ only Brand Representatives who fit within the narrow confines of the ‘Look Book’ resulting in a disproportionately white Brand Representative work-force” (78). The only non-white people who work at the stores are usually found in the stockroom, so they were not noticed. Another person with whom McBride talked to said they were looking for “All American, clean shaven, natural, football player- looking guys” (82). I think a good quote that sums up the article is, “Abercrombie, through its strategy of marketing…has convinced a U.S. public… that if we buy their label, we are really buying membership into a privileged fraternity that has eluded us all for so long, even for such vastly different reasons” (85).
3. I thought that this was an excellent and very readable article. I feel that the author gave an awesome amount of support for her arguments. It seemed as if all of the previous employees gave the same description of the racist actions that go on at Abercrombie and Fitch. With so much support from sources who actually experienced A and F first hand, she makes a rock solid argument. In my opinion, this was the best written article that we have read all year.
4. I have never seen or been to and Abercrombie and Fitch store. But I have seen many people wearing their products. I just thought it was a clothing company similar to American Eagle or Aeropostale. But clearly it is not. Therefore I’m glad that I have never seen a Abercrombie and Fitch store and after reading this article, I will never step foot in one.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Takaki Chapter 7
1. The Mexican, Spanish, and Mestizo people were already in Texas and California before the Americans discovered the west. Many of the first settlers in the western region of the United States were from Spain and Mexico. After time many people were considered to be “mestizo” a mixture of Indian or negro and Spanish. One reason that these people settled in California and Texas was because the Sapnish government promised them equipment and food. But not many Spanish settlers went to these areas and after time Mexico became independent and then controlled the land. Some of the people who owned land in the west were given it because of service for Spain or Mexico in past wars. There were really no drives or motivations for them to immigrate to the California Territory. On the other hand, the Americans went to California for one purpose, to take it away from Mexico and continue their manifest destiny.
2. The title of this chapter, “Foreigners in their Native Land” pretty much summarizes the entire chapter. The Spanish who owned the land for around seventy years or were in the blink of an eye foreigners as Americans took it over and didn’t recognize them as equal. A governor in California during the flock of Amreican’s to the west commented, “We find ourselves threatened by hordes of Yankee immigrants who have already begun to flock into our country and whose progress we cannot arrest.” Takaki also says, “Suddenly, they were “thrown among those who were strangers to their language, customs, laws and habits.” Then after the Califorina gold rush they were the minority and were forced to make many concessions through tough American laws. So in a short time span they went from wealthy rancheros to poor laborers and were treated as foreigners.
3. The Social Construction in Takaki’s seventh chapter, was how the Americans acquired and then constructed a society where the natives that had already lived in Texas and California, became a minority and had a hard time re-establishing the life that they had lived previously. They had been rich land owners before, but their land was taken by them with harsh taxes and then became poor and had to work as laborers to the “superior” Anglo Americans. The Mexican Americans were forced to work for white landowners on their farms and ranches, work on the railroads, and work in mines. When they did do the same jobs as white Americans they were paid worse wages. Takaki writes, “In Southern California…75 percent of the Mexican workers were crowded into low blue-collar occupations such as service and unskilled labor, compared to 30 percent of the Anglos. So the Socially Constructed society became the Anglo Americans at the top and the Mexican, African, Asian, and Native Americans all together at the bottom.
4. The Mexican American laborers fought for their rights in labor by continuing to go on strike wanting better pay and working conditions. Takiki writes, “Mexican members of the United Mine Workers won strike demands for a pay increase and an eight-hour day.” Eventually the Mexican and Japanese laborers joined in the cause together as they established the Japanese-Mexican Labor Association (JMLA). Labor rights were the thing that mattered the most to these people as the union declared, “Many of us have family, were born in the country, and are lawfully seeking to protect the only property that we have-our labor.” The Mexian Americans organized mutualistas, organizations that allowed the Mexicans to take a stand together. These organizations helped members who were in desperate need of additional finances. Takaki sums them up nicely when he writes, “Mutualistas reflected a dynamic Mexican-American identity-a proud attachment to the culture south of the border as sell as a fierce determination to claim their rights and dignity in “occupied Mexico.”
5. An example of race would be the mestizos. They were a mixture of Indian or Negro with Spanish. An example of ethnicity would be Mexican Americans. This ethnicity consisted of different races such as the Spanish, the mestzos, or Indians that lived in Texas and California. The difference is that an ethnicity can consist of several races. Such as the Mexican American ethnicity.
2. The title of this chapter, “Foreigners in their Native Land” pretty much summarizes the entire chapter. The Spanish who owned the land for around seventy years or were in the blink of an eye foreigners as Americans took it over and didn’t recognize them as equal. A governor in California during the flock of Amreican’s to the west commented, “We find ourselves threatened by hordes of Yankee immigrants who have already begun to flock into our country and whose progress we cannot arrest.” Takaki also says, “Suddenly, they were “thrown among those who were strangers to their language, customs, laws and habits.” Then after the Califorina gold rush they were the minority and were forced to make many concessions through tough American laws. So in a short time span they went from wealthy rancheros to poor laborers and were treated as foreigners.
3. The Social Construction in Takaki’s seventh chapter, was how the Americans acquired and then constructed a society where the natives that had already lived in Texas and California, became a minority and had a hard time re-establishing the life that they had lived previously. They had been rich land owners before, but their land was taken by them with harsh taxes and then became poor and had to work as laborers to the “superior” Anglo Americans. The Mexican Americans were forced to work for white landowners on their farms and ranches, work on the railroads, and work in mines. When they did do the same jobs as white Americans they were paid worse wages. Takaki writes, “In Southern California…75 percent of the Mexican workers were crowded into low blue-collar occupations such as service and unskilled labor, compared to 30 percent of the Anglos. So the Socially Constructed society became the Anglo Americans at the top and the Mexican, African, Asian, and Native Americans all together at the bottom.
4. The Mexican American laborers fought for their rights in labor by continuing to go on strike wanting better pay and working conditions. Takiki writes, “Mexican members of the United Mine Workers won strike demands for a pay increase and an eight-hour day.” Eventually the Mexican and Japanese laborers joined in the cause together as they established the Japanese-Mexican Labor Association (JMLA). Labor rights were the thing that mattered the most to these people as the union declared, “Many of us have family, were born in the country, and are lawfully seeking to protect the only property that we have-our labor.” The Mexian Americans organized mutualistas, organizations that allowed the Mexicans to take a stand together. These organizations helped members who were in desperate need of additional finances. Takaki sums them up nicely when he writes, “Mutualistas reflected a dynamic Mexican-American identity-a proud attachment to the culture south of the border as sell as a fierce determination to claim their rights and dignity in “occupied Mexico.”
5. An example of race would be the mestizos. They were a mixture of Indian or Negro with Spanish. An example of ethnicity would be Mexican Americans. This ethnicity consisted of different races such as the Spanish, the mestzos, or Indians that lived in Texas and California. The difference is that an ethnicity can consist of several races. Such as the Mexican American ethnicity.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)