In the two readings, “I Don’t Know What to Do with Good
White People” by Brit Bennett and “Small Change: Why The Revolution Will Not Be
Tweeted” by Malcolm Galdwell, they both talk about how acts of activism have
changed by comparing society with and without technology and media. In “I Don’t
Know What to Do with Good White People,” Bennett criticizes that white people do
small acts of kindness towards African Americans on Facebook by making aware
they they deleted racists people and think they are doing good, but really they
are just trying to be viewed as a good white person for doing that. That since
they are white they want to be praised for doing that “good” deed. They like
having that sense of self-achievement. Also that people including herself
automatically assume that white people are being racists all the time when
someone is, or think, is being rude to them but they really aren’t. In the
other reading, Galdwell criticizes that not all social media can be used as a
benefit. He compares it to the sit-in incidents that occurred in the 1960’s
because the turnout was tremendous and all of that occurred without social
media. Although, he does agree with it somewhat. It can be used for good, but only with participation with motivation.
It has to be easy and doable enough for many people to participate in it. I
agree that social media can be used for good advertisement for activism because
in society today pretty much everyone I know has a Twitter or Facebook and it
will be seen by many. There will be no stop to what social media can do. I also
agree with Bennett that white people will always do things just to get praise
for doing nice things for African Americans because of the recent and
continuing scrutiny towards them by police and others.
Both author Brit Bennett of “I Don’t Know What to Do with Good White People” and Malcom Gladwell with “Small Change: Why The Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted” express their opinions on how social media in today’s world has changed the way we interact with one another. In Bennett’s article, she talks about how people nowadays people of color who are discriminated against try to make a lot of their oppression racial based. The author cant see eye to eye with this because she talks about how there are people who do things regardless and have intentions no matter the color of the other persons skin. She also talks about how a lot of white people try to help these discriminated groups and decide to pat themselves on the back through social media as if they are rewarding themselves for acting humanely. Gladwell’s piece is about how social media can be used for good if it has the right intentions and compares it to non-violent segregation protests sent waves across the country – all without social media. In my opinion, I do agree with Bennett’s point of seeing people with the same mindset of assuming that their actions would be the same for everyone and Gladwell makes a valid point in stressing the importance of having good intention.
ReplyDeleteIn the blog “I Don’t Know What to Do with Good White People” by Brit Bennett, Bennett discusses the problem of people in society today that act like they have good intention, but keep their true racism and prejudice concealed and tucked away in the crevices behind the scenes. I think that Bennett’s point throughout her blog was to highlight on the fact that people try to act one way and are really another and that it’s not benefiting the social movement of racism but that it is instead hurting its progress. Bennett makes several interesting statements one being that she would rather have someone who was flat our racist than deal with someone who tries to be a “good white person”. She praises the racist bigots on their “authenticity” stating that she and her family are in more danger with people who pretend to be “good” than with people who “let you know where you stand”. In the article “Small Change: Why the Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted” by Malcom Gladwell, Gladwell discusses the major differences he feels like social movements of the past had and how they no longer carry as much significance now. Gladwell praises the sit-ins of the 60’s and the couth it took all the civil rights activist then to stand up for something they believed in so much that it involved risking their lives for. While Gladwell states that social media can be beneficial and a source for helping the little man, he also makes a point in stating that it can also be a source in helping those be controlled by the big man, and that it is not as authentic or as attention grabbing as actually being there in the flesh and risking your life.
ReplyDeleteThe blog "I Don’t Know What to Do with Good White People” written by Brit Bennett she talks about the intentions of certain white people. She does note that their are many genuinely good white people, but the "good" white people she is mainly writing about are those that do little nice things and expect praise. She gives the example of people who delete racist friend off FB or perform small acts of kindness to black people. She thinks most of them do it just to make themselves look good, but they would never actually do something that really makes a difference.
ReplyDeleteIn “Small Change: Why the Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted” by Malcom Gladwell he writes about the "activism" on social media. He compares it to the sit ins that took place in the 1960s. He says that that is activism, not what we see on social media today. He states that social networks "are effective in at increasing participation-- by lessening the level of motivation that participation requires."He also says that social media can raise awareness and helpful in some cases, but its not as efficient as real activism.
I think both authors are right in most of what they say. Although, I do believe some white people really do just want to help and don't do it just for the praise. I feel like she was a little harsh on them. As for Gladwell I agreed with his article completely, he's right when he says social media raises awareness but its not as effective in actually making the change.
In the article, "Small Change: Why the Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted" by Malcom Gladwell he talks about how acts of activism are different when comparing society with and without technology and media. Gladwell states, "Social Media can't provide what social change has always required", meaning that those who try to use social media, like Facebook and Twitter, as a way to make change to society will not work. Instead he praises the four college students for protesting against segregation amongst white and black, because they were able to actually stand up for something they believed was unfair by risking their lives. Gladwell wants us to see that by taking action you can accomplish a lot more change in life. But as for Brit Bennett's blog, "I Don't Know What to Do with Good White People", she talks about how blacks feel like they are being discriminated against whites based off of their race. Bennett praises how people, no matter your race , focuses on what they intended to do rather than what they actually did. For example, when Bennett and her friends would discuss people they disliked, they often ended their conversations with, "But he means well." In other words, they wanted to affirm themselves as fair, non-judgmental people. But she criticizes those who feel that every decisions or choice made by people is based off of racial judgement. For Galdwell reading i would have to agree because, nothing else says more than you fighting for what you want, but trying to make a change to society off of social media isn't going to work because it doesn't show others how serious and passionate you are about the topic and if people can see that they may just side along with you. But as for Bennett's blog i would have to agree to disagree because i do real like some people can tend to make everything about race and that's not always the case, it could've been just as she said a good intention that just ended up as a bad result. Unfortunately there are those who do actually do things that are all based off of race so i can't always say people had good intentions when that may not necessarily be the case either
ReplyDeleteIn "I Don't Know What to Do With Good White People" by Brit Bennett she talks about how she grew up around good white people, and how racism has changed compared to her other family member's experiences. She criticizes the people that judge people based on race, and praises people who judge people off of their actions and intentions instead of the color of their skin. Bennett tries to not judge people because of their race, but she does admit when the white women cut her in line at the airport, all she could think about was whether or not the women did it out of racism. Instead of white people being straight forward about their racism, it's harder for her to understand their true intentions because racism does still exist, it's just not as obvious as it used to be. In "Small Change: Why the Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted" by Malcom Gladwell he talks about how activism has changed since the technology era, and how social media is both good and bad for revolutions. He praises hierarchy when it comes to revolutions, and criticizes social media for it because it creates loose ties with no leadership. He states that hierarchies are more effective because they have stronger lies and a more centralized idea, so they are better able express the things they want done. He doesn't completely criticize social media though. He says it's good for some things, such as finding the lost Sidekick, because it unifies people in a broader way and it makes some things easier to get done. I agree with Gladwell because I think that social media does not help very much for revolutions because in order for activism to work, people need to go out and do things to make a change instead of just sitting on their phone tweeting about it. Social media does have good aspects, it's just not the best option when it comes to activism. I also agree with Bennett to an extent, because while racism is becoming less prevalent, I do believe that white people do good things because they are simply just good people. While some might do good things to make them feel better, I don't believe that is the case for everyone. Some people are naturally good people, and some are naturally bad people who really are racist, but I don't believe that everyone's intentions for doing good is for their own personal benefit.
ReplyDeleteIn Brit Bennett`s web article, “I Don`t Know What To Do With Good White People”, she expresses the majority of “good white people” only commit small acts of kindness towards black people for self-praise. Brit talks about from the perspective of blacks how they feel they are being discriminated against due to their skin color. Brit talks about how blacks question the motive of white Americans with skin color, she proclaims “She'd cut me because I was black. Or maybe because I was young.” The man starts questioning her reasoning for cutting him, and ends up concluding his skin color as the outcome, but soon starts to analyze other aspects of possibilities. I agree with her argument of good white people do not make a difference and act out of self-interest, but there is a small fraction dedicated to making a difference. In the article, "Small Change: Why the Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted" by Malcom Gladwell he talks about how internet had revolutionary changed politics and interaction. Malcom explains how in the 60s when four college students decided to protest, the only way word got out of it came from newspapers. With our recent technological advancement, social media websites like twitter play huge political roles in society as millions of people can communicate online. Malcom supports his statement by adding in that,”Mark Pfeifle, a former national-security adviser, later wrote, calling for Twitter to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Where activists were once defined by their causes, they are now defined by their tools.” I agree with Malcom that technology plays an significant role in society that are controversial but will benefit the future.
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