Racism

Rand’s main point is that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is racist. She claims that the fact that there is a Civil rights act is racist and thus depriving the rights of whites (the majority) which is contradictory of the act itself. It is obvious that Rand is a big proponent of the individual’s rights, which is why she thinks that an act like the civil rights act is immoral because it groups people into “collectives”. She relates racism directly to political philosophies like capitalism and communism. She claims that the more capitalist a country is, the less racist it is because people look at the accomplishments of the individual, rather than the accomplishments (or failures) of a group. Also, the more communist a country is the more racist it is too because the government only looks at people as a group, rather than individuals.

                I thought that Rand’s points relating racism to political philosophies made a lot of sense. The freer a county is, the more individuals look at each other as individuals. In a capitalist society, no one should be linked to their ancestors. One’s ancestors shouldn’t affect someone’s ability to succeed or fail. Rand also claims that in a communist society racism is more relevant because people are looked at as “collectives” or groups. However in a pure communist economic society as defined by Karl Marx, there is no class system and everyone is looked at the same under the eyes of the government. This should mean that there is only one collective, everyone which implies that there is no racism. However as Rand points out, a true capitalist society has never existed and this is the same for communism.   

Solution to Saturday's Puzzle

I thought the way that "Solution to Saturday's Puzzle" was written was what made it funny. The situation he is in and the way his thoughts are presented makes the text funny. I think a majority of the jokes come from the crossword puzzle when he is filling in words about Becky, himself, or the situation he is in. For example, when he wrote in "I am not an asshole" in the fifteen-letter space, that was a joke. These jokes though aren't funny if you only read the punchline, you need to understand the situation as a whole and thats what make the individual jokes funny. There are many funny parts in the piece but the next joke that I thought was really funny was the end, when he describes the word that Becky called him as they were getting off the plane, shithead.

My joke is: Why did the turkey cross the road?

To prove he wasn't chicken.

The Klansman who won't use the n-word

In Jon Ronson’s chapter from Them: Adventures with Extremists, Ronson explains his experience with the Ku Klux Klan and how the Klan has begun to take a new image that is different than the old stereotypical Ku Klux Klan. Throughout the whole chapter Ronson is describing his experience with the Ku Klux Klan and even though we know that he is a Jew, he doesn’t seem to be too offended by their beliefs or actions. At one point he even puts on the Ku Klux Klan uniform, but he does admit that he feels a bit sad for doing it. The general feeling behind this chapter is that the perception of the Ku Klux Klan is changing to a less derogatory one.

                I feel that a “reincarnation” of the Ku Klux Klan is somewhat of a foolish idea and that it shouldn’t be done. Most people that aren’t racists associate the Ku Klux Klan with very radical racists that hate all races except for whites. In the chapter, they said that the Ku Klux Klan doesn’t hate blacks, they just advocate for white supremacy. To me this doesn’t really work because saying “white supremacy” is basically saying that you hate all races except for whites.

Bitch

In Beverly Gross’s “Bitch” Gross talks about the word bitch, and evaluates how the word as changed meaning in different situations and over time. She begins by speak about how the word bitch is conventionally used only by men meant to insult or degrade women. However, the original meaning of the word is a female dog. She then cites multiple definitions from dictionaries all of which differ slightly but have the same general meaning of, a malicious woman. She also talks about how the word bitch also is used when a man feels threatened to his masculinity. Gross then gives various examples of how people have used the word bitch publicly. She cites Barbra Bush, Esquire and other sources and how they used the word bitch.

While reading this I realized that I mostly associated the word bitch with “bitchiness” or incredibly annoying, nagging, or very mean. I've heard the word bitch used in many contexts, including just referring to women in general and not meant to be insulting at all. However the most common way I've heard it used is mainly referring to a women who is mean or ill spirited.