Comments on: A Sobering Experience

By: Chelsey

Chelsey — Thu, 10 Apr 2014 14:49:10 +0000

WOW. That was pretty shocking. Honestly, i do not know what i would have done in that situation. I feel like i am still pretty new with feeling comfortable enough to talk about these issues so i would have been terrified. But i think what you did was great. You got person J to stop and think, and i think that is the most important thing. He/ she tried to use the rhetorical device that “They are not racist” but that was clearly a racist comment, so it was great that you asked them, “Why a black person.” I can’t believe they would honestly wish rape on one of their friends. I think i also would have brought up the association of black people with crime, and explained to them that comments like that are only reinforcing the stereotype to other people. But since person J was drunk, i might have tried to continue the conversation at another time to make sure that they understood the implications of the comment.

By: Chris Chaky

Chris Chaky — Mon, 07 Apr 2014 02:26:16 +0000

What an awful thing to say, for so many reasons. Good job starting a conversation with the person who made that remark. I think you did a great job!

I thought your analysis of the stereotypes this person was using was spot-on. I also want to add that there is a history to white people falsely accusing black men of rape and lynching them for the fabricated crime. This was especially frequent in the South in the late 19th century. It’s possible that this historical association slipped in as well.

I’m also curious as to the effects of drunkenness on implicit racism. Do you think people’s conscious egalitarian values give way more easily to racially biased implicit attitudes?

By: rachelbrookland

rachelbrookland — Sun, 06 Apr 2014 18:04:57 +0000

Wow! Reading your post was shocking that someone could actually say something like that, even out of such anger. Good for you for speaking up and trying to explain to this person everything wrong that he said. It can be awkward trying to tell someone that they are wrong or need to reevaluate what they had just said. You did a great job in talking to this person about the comment that he made. I think if it were me, I would have approached it in a very similar manner as you did. When it comes to following up with this person, I like to think that i definitely would follow up with this person to make sure that they understand, but I’m not really sure I actually would do that. Sometimes confrontations like that, with people who do not really understand or unwilling to understand can be very awkward.

By: jena.verlin

jena.verlin — Mon, 31 Mar 2014 20:24:54 +0000

My mouth is literally wide open as I read this post. Firstly, I seriously commend you for speaking up. It is not always easy to find the nerve to speak up as well as get your point across the way you want to. I am also seriously shocked that somebody could make a statement that is so loaded with issues, from blackness and criminals to rape. It is hard to know which concept to tackle first – the blatant racism or the horrible notion of wishing rape on somebody to “set them straight”. I can’t say that I know, if it were me, whether I would follow up or not. It would take a kind of courage I am not convinced I regularly have. But it does leave me with a deep desire for this person to understand what they are saying and why they are, in my opinion, unequivocally wrong in saying it.