The Racism behind "Grand Theft Auto"

Racism can be found anywhere you look, even in so called "games". Rockstar Games have released a series of games many people are familiar with and I myself am guilty of playing. The Grand Theft Auto franchise features racism and racial stereotypes in the most controversial ways. Specifically in the game Vice City there have been unhumanitarian slurs used and encourages gang violence. A Haitian group  is up in arms about the games use of racial violence toward their particular group. The players in the game were told to "kill the Haitians" in the orginal release of the game but has since been revised and rereleased. The fact that these games are sold and purchased for entertainment purposes but support outright violence and killing against people and groups who are different is despicable. The Franchise is currently working on their fifth game, in which the main characters, generally either black or white are set in to typical stereotypes and sent to kill one another and fulfill other gang related duties. The Grand Theft Auto Franchise is both disconcerting and harmful to any movement aiming to educate the youth in egalitarian ways.

Re-Civilize Yourself

Nivea's ad featured above sparked a lot of controversy in the media when it was released. Being considered a racist slur against the African American community. The suggestion that the cream designed for men would change his appearance and make him an altogether more presentable person is most offensive because it features an African American man throwing what is implied to be his own head once he adhered to a certain stereotype of "civilized". The idea that the African American man wasn't civilized before he used the handcream suggests a certain racialization. Its long been suggested that African American's do not have the same status quo as the caucasion male and this ad reinforces the idea. While Nivea claimed nothing offensive was intended in their ad featuring the African American, the companion ad featuring a white man had an altogether different tone. The second ad featured the line "Sin City isn't an excuse to look like hell" implying nothin of the man or his character, but that he had a hard night in a fun city. There has been no mention of the second ad being pulled as it makes no direct reference to the man in a racial manner. The stark contrast of the two ads adds fuel to the debate of the racism in the first. If no offense was meant, why did the second ad featuring a white man not have a similar slogan and meaning?

Barack Obama and the Ambiguity of White Privilege

In this video clip, Barack Obama gives a speech on the issues of racism he's faced in his presidential candidacy. He addresses everyone in the diverse country, bringing issues to the forefront that effect everybody in the same ways. From health care to the war on terror, he addresses the people of America in an even and equal fashion. He talks about his own background, of having a black Kenyan father versus a white family on his maternal side. In this, he embodies the essence the opposes exactly the idea of white privilege. In his upbringing, does Obama not admit that he experienced the positive effects of white privilege? He talks of the positive experience he's had growing up with a white mother and a white family, and he contrasts this sharply with his experience of living in Kenya, which he refers to as one of the poorest countries.

Review of River Thieves by Michael Crummey

This book, River Thieves by Michael Crummey, encompasses not only issues of whiteness in its pages but also broader issues of colonization. Set in the early days of Canada, the European settlers are beginning to inhabit and develop Newfoundland, encountering the indigenous group, The Beothuk, on many occassions. One of the main characters, a man by that goes by the name of Buchan, is selected to make a team and go into the wilderness to make peace with the Native people of the land. He attempts using abducting one of their people in order to use her as a translator or mediator, he tries giving gifts and in the end he ultimately tries to win their trust by force. In the end, his attempts at friendly contact go unheeded and all that he causes is bloodshed and death.

Reflection Five

 Bannerji’s “Geography Lesson: On Being an Insider/Outsider to the Canadian Nation” and the Memorial March of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside

The discrimination of which the women of the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver face from day to day is different from regular racism. It does not base itself on the people, but their location. It is assumed that because these women live in this area, they are in fact less important than the other, more middle class women of Vancouver. The video “Survival, Strength and Sisterhood: Power of Women in the Downtown Eastside” talks extensively about women who have been murdered and disappeared without any recognition from law enforcement or support. The women rely on each other to cope with their grief and consider their neighbours as their family. These women experience the same sort of “outsider” feeling that Himani Bannerji talks about in her article “Geography Lessons: On Being an Insider/Outsider to the Canadian Nation”. Despite being Native to Canada, they are treated as though they are no more insiders than immigrants from other countries. The women talked about their early experiences of marching for their lost ones and people throwing things at them from passing cars and being disrespected for living where they do.

The Comedic Approach

Some language may be found offensive.

Dave Chapel's comedic approach to racism touches on many actual issues that arise in classroom discussion. The first thing he discusses is the different work ethics of African American people versus Caucassion people and also the ability of caucasions to travel undisturbed. He reinforces the idea of white privilege in this segment, just as Peggy McIntosh did in her article by discussing situations where he may be seen as a racialized figure, by white or otherwise ethnically different populations. Moving on to the 2:00 mark of the skit he talks about typical stereotypes. From accusing a white man of colonising to a black man of drug use, he reinforces many of the stereotypes that we have discussed in the source material. He discusses the issue lightly, while there are many people still face the negative effects of racism. From bullying at a younger age to acts of crime against individuals in a professional or institutional sense, as Razack outlines in his article of the Canadian Airborne Regiment, racism is still very much an issue. His differential views give rise to the idea that racism is NOT a negative social factor, but indeed a natural and accessible thing. As long as racism can be treated as a joke is it possible to overcome it?

Reflection Four

Gendered Racialization in the Canadian Airborne Regiment

In Razack’s article on Canadian Peace keeping she addresses the issue of colonialism and how it plays a part in not only the racial aspect of the incident but also the gendered aspect. Gender and race often times go out together, especially I find in the context of whiteness and men. The article focuses on the reasoning behind the events that occurred in Somalia between the people there and the Canadian Airborne Regiment. The men of the regiment were accused of torture, murder and rape, which of course do not fit with the traditional view of the Canadian people. Through the article she often discusses the idea of Canadian’s as an innocent people, especially compared to our Southern neighbours. There are many different aspects that Razack brings up through the article, be it the essential colonizing which the Canadian people inflicted both on the Somalian people or the indigenous ones when the Europeans first came to Canada or the gendered