Analyzing the Tim Wise Interview

Racism has been the downfall of American society. Tim Wise defines it as an ideology that separates people, labeling them as either inferior or superior based on the color of their skin (5). What gives anyone the right to label people? The answer is that no one has that right. Wise is not completely correct in his view of racism, however. He says that "Racism is a system as well as an ideology. It's a way of organizing society" (5). By saying this, he implies that Americans put people into categories based on the color of their skin. Wise is correct in his overall definition of racism, but has a skewed perspective when it comes to how racism is present in modern culture.

A focus of Wise during his essay is on "white privilege". He says that whites have an advantage over people of color, based solely on the fact that they are white. "We…know that job applicants with "white sounding" names are fifty percent more likely to get called back than those with "black sounding" names, even if both have the same qualifications" (6). This proves the fact that racism is still prevalent in America, and it still controls the American system. People still choose their employees based on the sound of their name, and this is completely unacceptable. This contributes to the many reasons that racism is so fervently a part of American culture. Furthermore, many whites deny that it doesn't exist. "White denial isn't new. It has always existed" (6). Everyday white people try to deny that racism is not a factor in modern culture, when in reality it is all around them, and white privilege makes them blind to it in their own society.

While racism may be prevalent in American culture, it is not a system. Instead, it is strictly an ideology. In modern times, people don't act on their racism consciously. Instead their racism is inactive prejudice, meaning that they unconsciously act on their racist feelings. Sometimes, the inactive prejudice is even reversed. For example, colleges are more likely to accept a minority since they require a certain amount of diversity among their students. Also, in the National Football League, when teams are attempting to hire a new head coach they are required to interview a minority candidate before making their final hiring decision. Clearly, racism is not a system in American society. As much as racism swings against minorities, there are plenty of examples of it going the other way as well.

Clearly, although racism is present in modern America, it is not a system. History may make people assume that racism is all targeted at minorities, but this is not completely true. Instead, there are many examples of racism against all different types of people. It is true that white privilege exists in America, and this contributes to many people's views of American racism. However, the other types of racism, mainly those not against blacks, largely get overlooked when racism is studied.

Works Cited

Wise, Tim. "By the Color of their Skin: Tim Wise on the Myth of a Postracial America." Interview by David Cook. The Sun July 2009: 4-12. PDF file

Sources for my writings.

Every since I was little writing has not been too tough of a thing. Mostly because I have always been able to get good information from any source that I find. I think that part of getting good sources is being able to relate the information exactly the way you want to and need to in your writing. When looking for sources since I have been in college has been a breeze.... they supply you with all you need online from the university..... Since all the papers I have been asked to write have called for scholarly papers, I always use Jstor. It is convenient and super easy to use and all the information for citing the source being used is right there at the top of every page. I have never not been able to find an adequate amount of information from sources using this. And even though you normally would have to pay for a resource like that, this one is paid for by WSU..... or you tuition. ha ha ..... but I guess I could improve the way I search for scholarly sources by looking for a source in a different database besides Jstor.... maybe another one provided by WSU, like world cat..... or something along those lines.... but I really don't see a reason for changing the way I find sources when the way I am finding them works so well. I have been getting A's in my english classes so why change?

Chapter 15

This was a very important chapter in my opinion.....The fact that Pollen chose to hunt kill, dress, and forage for his own meal gives a huge boost to his credibility and his ability to think outside that tiny box of animal rights activist, get outside of his comport zone, and see what it is actually like to hunt your own food. In my experience, I feel 100% better about hunting my own food every year.... because when your hunting... there is a respect for the animal and honor in taking it down yourself with effort and skill.... all the while the game being hunted has its ability to evade.... hide... and run to defend itself and outsmart the hunter..... to not take more than you need..... to respect what you kill......use all you can...... is a good healthy way to eat in my opinion... and I really respect Pollen for giving the effort and trying this even though he was obviously uncomfortable with the idea in general. It was a good chapter.

Chapeter 16 and 17

I really liked how the title of the book was talked about in more detail than in the beginning of the book..... the fact that we are omnivores and that we are capable of eating both plants and animals is an amazing advantage.... also, he says how it is a disadvantage too, he argues that because we are omnivores, we have to actually think about what we are going to eat instead of just eating. Like the Monarc Butterfly and how it only eats one thing, the milk-weed leaves. Because it only has one thing to eat, no emotion or thought goes into if it likes it or not, or if it is good or bad to eat. But we as humans have to choose what is most healthy, what we like the best, and even what could kill us or not..... This is a tough thing if you think about it.... and we as humans spend a large amount of time thinking about what we are going to eat.... I don't know about you... but about 11 in the morning I start thinking about what I want for lunch.... I can't help it.... I just really like the example of the rats and how they are like us in the fact that they can eat most anything but if they don't already know a food, they will taste it and see if they like it and if it hurts them or makes them sick or not. Then they forever associate the feelings they got from eating it to that specific food.... just like humans....Just like all omnivores.

Omnivore's Chapter 8

In this chapter, I thought it was very interesting when Pollen got into describing in detail the reasons and methods of Polyface Farms. I really like the whole entire concept of the completely and entirely self sufficient and sustainable farming of chickens, pigs, cattle, eggs, ect...... Using natures natural processes, they have firtilizer, pest control, and feed, all of which are produces using the combination of the natural processes of the animals being raised! The cattle graze on the grass, the chickens clean up ofter them, spreading the cow patties, and eating the insects and pests and then their droppings that they leave in pasture returns the nitrogen much needed to make healthy grasses. These healthy grasses are again used to provide nutrients for the cattle. It is an amazing cycle when you think about it. Refering back to Chapter 9's The Slaughter, you can see how he even makes use of the guts of the slaughtered chickens, he places them in sawdust and makes his own compost with it which is yet another natural form of fertilizer but is natures way and not mans way. I think this idea of self sufficient farming has the potential to change the face of America's food production. Not only because it is good for the environment and clean and pleasant for the animals, but it is capable of producing surprisingly large amounts of products. Much more than you would think in fact. On his 100 acres, he produces 25,000 lbs of beef, 50,000 lbs. of pork, 12,000 broilers, 800 turkeys, 500 rabits, and 30,000 dozen eggs. "...still more astonishing is the fact that this pasture will be in no way diminished by the process--in fact, it will be the better for it, lusher, more fertile, even springier underfoot..." Why would people want to do it any other way?

Chapter 12 and 13

Chapter 12 of Omnivore's Dilemma had a very detailed description of the slaughter of 300 chickens on a Polyface Farms. I, being someone who has been hunting animals for food for a long time and have slaughtered my fare share of animals also, was interested to hear what Pollen would have to say after taking part in the killing, feathering, and gutting of the chickens. What would his reaction be the first time he spills the blood? I was not really surprised that he eventually came to not even think about what he was doing other than his slicing technique. I have seen first timers before and if they are willing to try it and able to get past the first one without something overly catistrophic happening, then they usually can keep right on going, giving less and less thought about taking a life as they go. I agree that if you had to work full time slaughtering animals, it would have some type of affect to mood or moral, but from personal experience in slaughtering, though never working full time, I don't think it has as much of an impact as Pollen lets on.
Chapter 13 was covering how Polyface Farms does it's buisiness. I really like the way that Joel does things on his farms. The way he raises, pastures, butchers, cleans, and recycles the remains all on the same property is the way things should be done when possible. I personally don't see this replacing the giant corporations, but I do see this type of farming becoming more popular and prevalent in the future.

Omnivore's Chapter 9

In chapter 9 of omnivore's.... I got a few different ideas from it. First, I liked how the owner and founder of the organic Cascadian Farms corporation stated that, "Everything eventually morphs to how the world is." When he said this he was talking about how his strictly organic and independent organic farms slowly but surely conformed and began doing business exactly the same way as the big non-organic agra-business corporations. It just goes to show that when a business starts to make it big... I think that people start to care only for making money than their original values that made them want to grow organicly in the first place...... this is reinforced when Pollen said that when producers realize that consumers only care about the "number" or price of the item, they start to only thing about yield. I am a not a supporter of either organic or in-organic food one way or the other, I am one of those people that want the best tasting, looking, and price on food.