Okay, so there's this weblog: http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.org
It's basically a site that makes fun of the stereotypical white person. Take a look at it if you want. I think it's funny....but is it offensive?
At first glance, one might think that it's "okay" to make fun of white people because hey, they haven't suffered the inequalities that other races have. Making fun of them is just harmless fun.
But I thought about it and I don't think it's fair to make fun of someone even though it's not based on years of oppression or injustice.
Maybe stereotyping of this kind is harmless if it's taken ironically by all parties involved (the joke bieng how obviously racist and ridiculous said stereotyping is) but that can easily be misconstrued and taken literally under the former context. (it's okay to make fun of white people)
Honestly, there would never be a weblog called "stuff black people like" because...wow. But THIS blog has been made....and it seems just as bad to me.
I dunno, maybe I'm suffering from "non-white guilt" (i.e. I'm just as bad a racist white person back in the day, only worse because we all should know better)
What do you all think?
Friday, February 15, 2008
Friday, February 1, 2008
The Big One
What does moral behavior look like to you?
The difficulty of defining "morality" is an issue that I think is taken for granted entirely too often. We discuss what is "right" in abstract, complicated terms and at the same time make quick snap judgements about what behaviors are right and wrong.
Often, identifying moral or immoral behavior seems to be an easy task. We think of issues like "it's wrong to steal and murder" as good examples of how you really don't need a complicated, concrete definition in order to live well and be a good person.
But there are times when one person's obviously right behavior seems much less obviously right to the rest of us. A man from Borneo was interviewd for NPR today and said that people should uphold their traditions. While that may not strike you as a moral statement, I think it indeed is. Saying what we should or should not do is a moral judgement about what is right and wrong. Even "I think" statements regarding optimal human behavior are assertions about morality.
So, what do you think of morality? Is it a feeling? A philosophy? Is it a truth and we're just trying to define it, or is it a construction that we devise to help ourselves live?
How important is it to be moral?
Are there things outside the bounds of moral judgement; can there be things that are too subjective for a moral assessment to be made?
The difficulty of defining "morality" is an issue that I think is taken for granted entirely too often. We discuss what is "right" in abstract, complicated terms and at the same time make quick snap judgements about what behaviors are right and wrong.
Often, identifying moral or immoral behavior seems to be an easy task. We think of issues like "it's wrong to steal and murder" as good examples of how you really don't need a complicated, concrete definition in order to live well and be a good person.
But there are times when one person's obviously right behavior seems much less obviously right to the rest of us. A man from Borneo was interviewd for NPR today and said that people should uphold their traditions. While that may not strike you as a moral statement, I think it indeed is. Saying what we should or should not do is a moral judgement about what is right and wrong. Even "I think" statements regarding optimal human behavior are assertions about morality.
So, what do you think of morality? Is it a feeling? A philosophy? Is it a truth and we're just trying to define it, or is it a construction that we devise to help ourselves live?
How important is it to be moral?
Are there things outside the bounds of moral judgement; can there be things that are too subjective for a moral assessment to be made?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)