Frewrite
Why is thinking hard work? Are those who perform this task a minority? Tim Wise is a a scholar and most of his work centers in his introspection or self-analysis. He asks himself questions and hold up a mirror to find the answers even when such is not pretty or attractive. What does he cite as his motivation or inspiration?
Homework if there isn't enough time (smile)
What have you found most remarkable about this journey he is taking us on? Have there been times when you have wanted to jump ship? Why or why not?
Does Wise make assumptions or posit certain claims that we can't refute no matter how painful or embarrassing? What are some of these assumptions or unstated premises or conclusions (WLTC 62)?
Talk about his style. Is it implicit or explicit? Does he tell his audience what he thinks or does he make certain claims with the hope his audience will reach the same conclusions or does he do a little of both? Give examples where this is the case.
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Sandahl von Sydow
ReplyDeleteProfessor Sabir
English 5
10 February, 2011
From what I have read so far, I think Tim Wise makes his claims based on what has happened in the past via our history, and on his own personal experiences. These sources merged a bit when he goes into detail about his family history, and how his family has benefited from "white privilege".
He is explicit in his writing style. I get the sense that he isn't one to pull punches, or sugar coat reality. I don't get much of a sense of implicitness from him. However, that may change further in the book.
Many people get defensive when their flaws are put out on display. Especially in a straight forward manner. I think Tim Wise counts on this. I think he tries to inspire white people to overcome their privilege, which is hindering social justice, by forcing them to confront it head on.
Dylan Young
ReplyDeleteProfessor Sabir
English 5
February 10, 2011
Thinking is a task i feel everyone does reguardless of background or social status. Its not thinking itself that is a hard task but focused and aimed thinking that proves to be hard to some.The ability to put your own focus into a subject or idea that is given to you rather than found through your own thought process and logic is hard to wrap your mind around and give your full attention to.
Thinkers are not a minority but i feel scholars are, not many people will submitt their thoughts to given topics today. Tim wise's self-analysis comes from his realizations of whiteness and privilege in his own life and family. I think the beginning of his self-analysis and cultural analysis rooted from him reading Black Like Me in his high school class and sprouted from his analysis of why his family was placed in the social class they are.
Mercedes Rawlyk
ReplyDeleteSabir
English 5
10 February 2011
Thinking is hard work because you have to force your brain to function and go deep within the mind. For some thinking is easy, but for others, thinking takes time and can be extremely hard. Those who perform this task are of all races and minorities. Wise’s motivation or inspiration is from all the conflicts due to race and white privilege. What I find most remarkable about the journey that Wise is introducing me to is how honest he is as a person. The way he speaks and words things is amazing. He is by far an excellent writer and his honesty astonishes me. No I have not wanted to jump ship. Wise makes many claims that one can not refute. For example, when he speaks of the way his family way back on his family tree treated others or how the fact that when being born into a household if racism, one will grow up with the same thoughts. Some of the assumptions are that racism will always remain a problem. His style is very opening minded and he speaks what he feels without holding back. Like I said his honesty continues to amaze me. He is more explicit than implicit. Not with bad words or foul language but with his honesty and truth regarding racism and white privileged. I feel that Wise does a little of both with his words towards the audience. More times then less I feel he tells the audience exactly what he thinks, his honesty. Other ties I feel he is also trying to help his audience reach his same conclusions. In his book he tells some of his background with the truth and this is where he is telling the audience how he feels. In other parts of his story he speaks of his feelings towards white privilege and racism in a way to comprise the audience’s way of thinking and therefore making the audience come to his conclusions because with his honesty we realize the truth. What we thought isn’t what it was. His words are very powerful and have the potencial to change ones way of thinking.
Frena Zamudio
ReplyDeleteProfessor Sabir
English 5
10 February 2011
Freewrite
Thinking is a hard work because there are alot of ideas that can come up while we are thinking, like it is hard to focus on a certain idea when people around us are very opinionated. Also, we have to consider alot of factors in order to make a good decision. Thinkers are not a minority but mostly scholars who spend time to think about things deeply. I think he uses himself as his motivation or inspiration in order to make good novel. For example, when he talked about his family tree, certain things about the past especially how his family/ancestors acquired from 'White Privilege'
The book is so far interesting, it is not hard to read, though sometimes he gives us too much details about something that i guess not that important.
His style of writing is pretty explicit, clear and precise, he backs up his ideas with facts. I don't think anyone would write a book full of sensible details and ideas if they weren't true. I would think that it is just a waste of time. If he 'sugar coats' reality, then i must say he is doing a great job in this book.
Dennis Foley
ReplyDeleteProfessor Sabir
English 5
February 10th 2011
Why is thinking hard work?
Thinking is hard work because any hard work requires thinking. I believe some thinking isn’t hard work such as day dreaming. However if you are working hard on some task then you most likely are thinking hard also. When you are thinking hard you are evaluating ideas and making decisions based on in depth analysis. This requires problem solving inside your mind, wrestling with your thoughts, in other words. People who think hard I would say are not a minority because everyone has to work with their thoughts. Tim Wise cites his own reluctance to face racism as an issue as motivation for his book. He looks into himself and describes his experiences with the issue throughout the book. Wise writes explicitly with his details that he states directly and thoroughly. I think the only things that we can not “refute” are those of actual events of history. Other claims that Wise makes aren’t actual facts such as “we are, unlike people of color, are born into belonging.” He is speaking of white people, all white people, and although this may be true, it is debatable and not fact. Wise is making claims based on his own opinion and states them explicitly as fact, even though they may not be.
Christian Del Rosario
ReplyDeleteProfessor Sabir
English 5
10 February 2011
Freewrite
Thinking is not necessarily hard, it depends on what the subject you are thinking about. In some cases it may seem like it is difficult for minorities to think, but every ethnicity has contributed to this world.
What I found most remarkable is that Wise is able to look back and find out what his great great great great grandfather did from both his mother and fathers side. Some people barley know their about there great grandparents.
"Jumping ship" meaning to give up? There has been times where I want to give up and not continue shcool because it's too hard or difficult, but I stop and thing critically and realize that education is the key to success.
I believe that Tim Wise makes certain claims with the hope that his audience will reach the same conclusions. For example, like I stated before, Wise can look back at his family history, that is a privileg and I believe that he wants his audiance to realizes that conclusion like an epiphany.
Andrea Giang
ReplyDeleteProfessor Sabir
English 5
10 February 2011
Freewrite
Thinking is hard work because it requires the person consider different aspects of a situation, even when it makes him or her uncomfortable, rather than simply accepting what is presented. It is not about the things people see or hear superficially, but what one concludes from the facts that they have been presented with. Thinking requires that a person make their own conclusions rather than rely on others to draw conclusions for them. Thinking is a task that anyone can perform, not just minorities.
Tim Wise did a lot of thinking to be able to write White Like Me. He is not a minority but he spends much of his time considering the experiences of a minority. Wise was inspired by his experiences with white privilege. He remembered how he was able to get away with little crimes, like making fake IDs and doing drugs, even when the police were around. Wise realized that he was able to get away with these things because he was white. Had he been a person of color, he would have been charged with a crime already. Wise also remembered an incident where he was pulled over by the police for no apparent reason. He believed that they saw his rundown car and assumed that a person of color was the driver. These events in his life motivated him to publicize the concept of white privilege, an idea most people dismissed.
One of the most remarkable things about Wise’s journey is his ability to look past what everyone has accepted for so long and is able to draw his own conclusions. Even though he was born and raised in a white community, he was able to develop his own ideas about social injustice, contrary to what everyone else thinks or believes. He realizes that there is injustice in the world and does what he can to let people know that it is there. He does not want people to live in ignorance of the truth. He wants people to know the truth even if it makes them uncomfortable. His book is interesting so far, especially since it addresses issues that I have not considered before. The journey he takes us on brings up many issues in a different light. I cannot stop following his stories.
Wise presents many issues in a different way in his book. He talks about racism and what it is like to have privileges that other people do not have. Some of what I found most interesting was how he said that people do not want to talk about the past if it is terrible. However, although they are reluctant to accept past history or talk about it, people are willing to accept things that benefit them even if they have not earned it. An example of this would be inheritance. People are willing to accept an inheritance even though they did not do anything to earn it and despite where the money might have come from.
Wise’s style is explicit. He tells people exactly what he thinks and takes events from his life to prove his point. His stance is quite clear in his book. Wise tells his readers that white privilege exists despite what others might say. He wants people to accept that the past events are a part of us and that we have to be willing to accept it in order to obtain redemption. Although it is difficult for people to acknowledge their faults, it is something that needs to be done to be able to resolve social injustice in the world. Wise states everything he believes clearly and uses certain experiences to prove his point, but he can only argue his side. What the readers believe is up to them.
Sophia De Claro
ReplyDeleteProfessor Sabir
English 5
12 February 2011
Free write
Thinking is not hard unless you make it hard. We are all thinking without knowing it unless we have to sit there and analyze something. Thinking is something everyone can do, not just minorities.
One thing I like about Wise is he is able to tell us about he experiences and is able to tell us in detail what happened. He is able to tell us what he thinks and gives good examples.
Henry Wu
ReplyDeleteProfessor Sabir
English 5
12 February 2011
Free Write
Thinking is hard work because it requires thought and effort. The brain is like a muscle and making it do work can be tiring if you don’t train it often. I believe that most people perform critical thinking. As human beings, it is impossible to not think critically at one time or another in their lives. Even first graders have to use critical thinking to solve elementary math problems. Unfortunately, I don’t think people use critical thinking enough in their lives. Too often, people will watch only one news channel and are spoon-fed their news without thinking about the perspective, biases, and censorship behind the information.
Tim Wise's style of presentation of his ideas is very explicit. His approach is to face racism and expose all the negative aspects of it. Thus, it is clear in his writing style that he does not like to make the reader infer or guess what he is trying to say. For example, Wise will often say that racism is a huge problem and will use explicit examples that might offend some people. All of these examples clearly support his claim that white privilege exists and no one should be blind to it or choose to ignore it.
Paris Middleton-Berry
ReplyDeleteProfessor Sabir
English 5
10 February, 2011
I would not say that thinking is hard. The only time thinking is hard is when you make it or don’t understand the subject of what you are thinking of. Knowledge has a lot to do with thinking that is why I see why Wise is a great author because he holds a lot of knowledge and experience on racism. As what I read I see he does reflect a lot on himself, not just putting others down using his own journeys to review what he is trying to put in story. It is hard for people to blame themselves because most people likes to be right or do not want to be the bad guy in things like racisms.
Truthfully I have not found anything really remarkable so far about his story. I understand the story and what he is trying to conclude but I felt as if he could have done it a little different. His style is out there he is not scared to put himself and people of the front of the issue of which he is talking on. I feel as if the story doesn’t come together all the way its kind off dragging. He mostly puts blames on a lot of stuff and himself which makes it a little hard to see where he is trying to go in the first few chapters.
Melvin Pandey
ReplyDelete2/13/2011
Prof.Sabir
English 5
Most people think they are thinking they are not, what a lot of people do is replay memories, rearrange things in their mind, or day dream. Thinking itself is hard because it requires us to look for answer where it may not seem to be obvious. It requires us to look for deeper and hidden meaning of things. It requires us to be critical and analytical of issues rather than just forming an opinion on it from prejudice and biases. And people who perform this task are in a sense in a minority because like stated earlier most people do not think, they think they are thinking when all they are doing is replaying memories and rearranging things in their heard.
He seems to look back on his own life and says what is happening is not just, and thus things need to change. I think that would also be his motivation, that he wants people to see the truth and not hide behind it. He also wants to see things change for a more just future and I think that would also be his motivation.
There has not really been a time where I wanted to “jump ship” because many of the points he makes are logical and he does have good argument. And I will keep on reading his book even if I feel that I do not agree with it because, all he is doing is in many cases stating an opinion, and I do not necessarily have to agree with it, however to regard his whole argument as invalid and toss it aside by not reading his book will prove the whole point that he is trying to make in this book, that people just do not want to face the issue to racism.
I think wise makes certain claims that are true and at the same time he seems to make assumptions. Many of the things he said like for example, when he talked about how cops would show up at Tulane and not do anything even when people at the party were smoking weed might have to do with the fact that he is white and all there were to. However making the case that the reason he got into Tulane had more to do with him being white I think is little farfetched. He seems to go really far to try to connect the dots when there really are not dots to connect.
His style is probably explicit, he makes claims that many people would rather not deal with and he presents his argument, and then tell us what it all means. Then he leaves the rest for us to decide.
Jeff Norkunas
ReplyDeleteProfessor Sabir
English 5
Feb 14, 2011
Thinking is a process that happens automatically in life, if anything not thinking is probably the hardest achievement on the planet. To put your thoughts into a concise logical format so that your point is made clearly for any and all reading it is the hard part in the thinking process. There are very few people out there that can convey messages to large audiences that have validity in their messages.
Tim Wise cites the problems faced by a nation that lies to the world and a large part of its own people that this is a place where all are welcome and there is equality for all. From having a social conciseness Mr. Wise tries to help others see this problem so that the world and especially this country can become a better place to live.
The most remarkable thing that I have seen on this journey is that it has been tolerated for this long, that people in America have settled on being slaves to the dollar and believe that they can achieve the same status that the elite have controlled in this country for so long. There are many times that I want to put the book down due to the fact that this takes place everywhere in the world and it is just that here we are not all the same so instead of identifying this behavior as a problem of class it is done on a racial bias.
As with anything that is misinterpreted the more that people assume that classism is a privilege of skin color as opposed to other factors, the easier it is to hold these ideas true.
Mr. Wise’s style is very explicit, there are no real inferences in his writings, he talks about an event that he has experienced and then lets the reader know why the experiences are racist, as opposed to letting the reader make their own judgments on what the causes of the problems stem from.
Javier Chavez
ReplyDeleteProfessor Sabir
English 5
2-14-2011
We think constantly, every waking and non-waking moment we spend thinking. Notice I said thinking, not critical thinking nor thinking about philosophical topics. It is not bad to think about anything, unless you have some deep dark thoughts, which is discussion for another topic. But when we are trying to critical think, then things get much more difficult. This is due to the fact that when anyone is critical thinking it is going beyond everyday thinking, critical thinking involves analyzing every aspect of whatever you are analyzing.
Wise seems to be always critical thinking throughout the book, which is very insightful but at times it can be much, he is always thinking and analyzing every aspect of his life growing up, whether it be from a simple act or more complicated.
Wayne Chen
ReplyDeleteProfessor Sabir
English 5
14 February 2011
Thinking is very difficult in my opinion because when you think, you don't always scrutinize due to what you have experienced within the past. Currently, thinking for me involves trying to provide the least biased and least prejudiced approach at attempting to concoct an answer. Those who think are not a minority, but those who delve deeper into thinking critically are definitely one of the few in society that actually try to achieve a higher level of contemplation than that of others.
Tim Wise's way of thinking critically is analyzing his experiences in a way that his white counterparts could care less about. Sure, they did think about what they were doing, but they never suggested that what they were doing was wrong. Nobody really thought twice about other ethnicities at the time and just abused their white privilege to the fullest extent, whereas Wise's cherishing of the privilege was always thought highly of in his own eyes. He always put an unbiased mind to his actions after he realized that he was a very lucky boy to be born a white male.
Quan Lin
ReplyDeleteProfessor Sabir
English 5
10 February 2011
Freewrite
Thinking is a difficult task to endure, especially when the ideas that are being thought out are opinionated or based on bias ideas of Wise. Everything is based on one persons point of view. By Wise's perception, he views everything through his life, his thoughts, and his experiences.
Through his heavily opinionated writing, he gives a plethora of examples and is explicitly detailed showing us his ideas. Throughout the whole story he gives his take on how he was raised, and how he views how people are treated from his eyes. Lastly he makes clear his intentions of what he tries to say.
Darin Lago
ReplyDeleteProfessor Sabir
English 5
February 15, 2011
Free Write
Thinking is hard work because it involves using your mind to process information which can take time or practice to develop. Those who perform the task of thinking is not a minority, but of the majority. Everyone is thinking all of the time; the only difference is to what degree of thinking a person might do. Thinking is always a conflict because to someone who thinks something is a good idea might be bad to other thinkers. He cites his motivation and inspiration from his past and having white privilege. He realized what he was able to do or get away with and notice what other ethnicities other than white couldn’t do.
I found it interesting how wise is able to insert history facts with what he is talking about to remind us readers of what happened. There have been times where I’ve wanted to jump ship because Wise tends to repeat himself in the book. I understand he give’s examples about his life, but they are the same in dealing with racism.
Wise makes a lot of assumptions throughout the chapters about what would have happened if he didn’t have white privilege. Although I would agree with all of the examples he gives, but it would be much more convincing to get an actual black person or other ethnic persons to share their experience with the examples given.
I believe Wise has an explicit style because he makes many claims and assumptions about certain situations that lead us to believe what he believes.
Ricarda Sawatzki
ReplyDeleteProfessor Sabir
English 5
14 February 2011
The process of thinking is the fundament of all human achievements and innovations. It is the highest mental activity to perform. Everything we produce is basically the product of our thoughts. Even though most of our mental processes are unconscious the task of thinking can be hard work. Thinking requires the ability to reflect on an issue from different angles. Furthermore it takes a high amount of organizational talent and factual knowledge to consider a problem within its complexity. I do not necessarily think that a minority of people performs thinking but I do believe that just a small selection puts itself out there by publishing their work of thinking. Thinking can cost a lot of energy and time for some people, therefore I believe not everybody likes to take on that task and rather decides to go the easy route without reflecting on certain problems along the way.
Tim Wise clearly must have been highly motivated when he wrote and later on revised his book “White like me,” because he deals with his experiences about racism and white privileges in a way that is highly self-analytical. In his book he discusses the sad reality about disparities in terms of race. Wise presents multiple experiences during his teenage and young adult hood time, such as the time when he benefited of the racial educational system and got into college easily, even though he was not performing that well academically. Wise also explains that he could have been in a lot of legal trouble for his partying and drug abuse during college. However, since he was aware of having white privileges the police will not pay much attention to him. One of Wise’s main points he makes throughout the first half of the book is that he knows he does not have to fear any kind of judgments during his daily actions in society, simply because of his skin color. This is a statement he believes a lot of white people do not consider when they operate in society or it just seems to be natural to them to benefit from their white skin.
While reading the book I discovered some remarkable aspects about Wise’s journey. He writes in a very honest way even though his truth may not be everybody else’s truth. The way he reflects on white privileges as a white person does probably require courage because it is easy to be misunderstood by his readers with this issue that is not the most discussed problem in our society. Wise does not seem to be ashamed to admit or call out our failing system or society in terms of white privileges and inequalities.
Wise’s style to write is explicit to me. His writing is also very straightforward because he reflects on his own experiences by telling his story very detailed and analytic. I think that every author writes with an intention, which is to make a point and bring a certain message out in society, otherwise there is no reason to publish someone’s work. To me it appears to be Wise’s goal to open his audience’s eyes and to make the barely discussed topic of white privileges a public issue. It is not about convincing a reader about his believes but what can already make a difference is when the issue of white privileges gets discussed and is present. This can give people the opportunity to bring themselves and their opinions into the debate and come to their own conclusions. In his book he supports his opinion about racism with his life experiences therefore his arguments are powerful. His readers have also the chance to apply their own life to Wise’s experiences and reflect on their environment.
Hang Lu
ReplyDeleteProfessor Sabir
English 5
15 February, 2011
From what I have read so far, I think the Tim Wise wrote about his own experience about the racial problems. And he could face to two sides of the race to think about the same question. For a lot of things, he did many explore courageously. When I read the book, a lot of time I have to keep reading because I really want to know more about his opinion or his experience. I follow his thinking, and then, on the same topic, his thinking makes me think more which are I never think about before.
One of his assumptions is about Jesus. In fact, I never think about if Jesus is black, what will happen, what will become different, or what will change? It is hard to think, it is hard to say “if”.
His writing style is explicit. When he writes about the real things that happen around us, he is calm. He could see things more clear than a lot of other people. He tells his audience what he thinks and he doses a little hope that the audience will have the same conclusion. The clear example is rape case of the write guy. Tim Wise told the whole story plus told the audience of his conclusion also. No wonder the readers will follow his idea and maybe will do some research a little bit. (I did)
Dawit Girma
ReplyDeleteProfessor Sabir
English 5
15 February, 2011
Thinking is neither hard nor easy. It is a natural process to all kinds of healthy people, which makes us a human being. Our experience of life and our effort to learn, play a big roll for our consciousness. Thinking freely and expressing our thought clearly to the audience is the basis of critical thinking.
Tim wise in his book, stresses more about thinking freely. He explains, about what we already know about racism. he explicitly,uses his personal life stories and day to day realties to show us, how freely and frankly a person can think. I think his aim is to tell us to see our privileges in different perspectives and to take responsibility for what is not correct. His intention seems to be, to show his readers that social fairness is a key for collective happiness.
Randy Tran
ReplyDeleteProfessor Sabir
English 5
March 20, 2011
Hi! That was me up there! I forgot to put heading! THANKS!
Oops, sorry to confuse! This is the correct one.
ReplyDeleteRandy Tran
Professor Sabir
English 5
March 20, 2011
Thinking can be hard work, because everybody wants to arrive at an answer or conclusion easily without having to think. Thinking may become frustrating or difficult, and making matters even worse by not being able to come to any acceptable ending at all. Everybody wants to gain much wealth, but not everyone would want to work hard for it. Those who think hard are critical thinkers, and only the minority are really up to this task. Those who don’t mind and even love thinking critically are lovers of wisdom, leaders, and role models. Tim Wise often mentions that his mother was his motivation and inspiration.
What was most remarkable about WLM were the multiple occasions when Wise brings into attention irrefutable examples as to prove that issues such as racism, white privilege, and racial oppression exists. He does real well as to turn a problem which is merely spoken of day to day, and transforming it into something which needs immediate attention and begging for actions. But there were also many times in which he ties white privilege in together around moments of his life experiences exclusively. These times caused me to want to jump ship, but then again he does bring into argument many fine examples which prove his point strongly. He brought up how one could not compare one moment of tragedy during 9/11 to over four-hundred years of black oppression since slavery in the 1600’s. He argues how he was driving through a thick and foggy highway, and if he were to pull over for help from the homeowners off to the sides, he would feel safe doing so. But if he was a colored person, he would have not felt safe to do so. Wise assumes that a black person would not be given the same warm welcoming as a white person. He concludes that racism exists, and states the premises here that it’s unequal for blacks.
Wise’s style in writing is definitely explicit if anything. He is not afraid to blatantly bring any subject out to talk about. He refrains from telling his audience what he thinks, and rather make strong claims supported by some explanation or evidence.
Randy Tran
ReplyDeleteProfessor Sabir
English 5
March 20, 2011
Thinking can be hard work, because everybody wants to arrive at an answer or conclusion easily without having to think. Thinking may become frustrating or difficult, and making matters even worse by not being able to come to any acceptable ending at all. Everybody wants to gain much wealth, but not everyone would want to work hard for it. Those who think hard are critical thinkers, and only the minority are really up to this task. Those who don’t mind and even love thinking critically are lovers of wisdom, leaders, and role models. Tim Wise often mentions that his mother was his motivation and inspiration.
What was most remarkable about WLM were the multiple occasions when Wise brings into attention irrefutable examples as to prove that issues such as racism, white privilege, and racial oppression exists. He does real well as to turn a problem which is merely spoken of day to day, and transforming it into something which needs immediate attention and begging for actions. But there were also many times in which he ties white privilege in together around moments of his life experiences exclusively. These times caused me to want to jump ship, but then again he does bring into argument many fine examples which prove his point strongly. He brought up how one could not compare one moment of tragedy during 9/11 to over four-hundred years of black oppression since slavery in the 1600’s. He argues how he was driving through a thick and foggy highway, and if he were to pull over for help from the homeowners off to the sides, he would feel safe doing so. But if he was a colored person, he would have not felt safe to do so. Wise assumes that a black person would not be given the same warm welcoming as a white person. He concludes that racism exists, and states the premises here that it’s unequal for blacks.
Wise’s style in writing is definitely explicit if anything. He is not afraid to blatantly bring any subject out to talk about. He refrains from telling his audience what he thinks, and rather make strong claims supported by some explanation or evidence.