According to the Census Bureau, about 28% of adults in the US have earned bachelors degrees, and another 28% have associate degrees or have taken some college courses. As such, about 55% percent of Americans probably know something about the academic field of sociology. It’s too bad that number isn’t higher.
One of the most important things that sociology teaches, in my opinion, is that we humans do the things we do largely because of social influences. And most of the time, we don’t even know it. A fish in water doesn’t stop to think about water. And a social animal in a society doesn’t usually stop to think about whether the crowd is going in the right direction. As social animals, we mostly go with the flow.
That’s a good thing, in many ways. But there are cases where it causes problems. Take race relations, for instance. I was browsing a page on pollingreport.com recently, which showed the results of various recent polls on race relations. The results clearly show that white people tend to think that racial relations aren’t much of a problem anymore and that discrimination barriers are mostly a thing of the past for blacks. By contrast, black people more often think that race issues have not been settled and that discrimination is still a big problem for them. Another poll appearing in the NY Times a few days ago said basically the same thing. So why the difference?
In my opinion, racism is still alive, but it is manifested in a much more subtle way. The days of “back of the bus” and separate white and “colored” restrooms are long gone. But a lot of white people who make decisions that affect blacks, such as teachers deciding on how to instruct students, or business owners deciding who to hire and promote, could well be influenced by race and not even know it. Social notions and evaluation standards, such as who is more trustworthy or more industrious or more likely to cheat or to be violent, are not formed through overt discussion; they come about through subtle signs and unspoken assumptions, sometimes even through sub-conscious processes. So yes, it is entirely possible that a form of continued racism is going on within white American society in a sub-conscious fashion, and is manifested by people who don’t overtly hold any bad feelings towards people of color.
So, blacks complain about continuing racism while whites aren’t sure what they are talking about. Perhaps they think that blacks are just being political or are being outright ‘whiners’. (As to the political aspect, I do believe that some black political leaders draw the racism card too quickly). But mostly what they are trying to say is that a certain sociology is at work, and that whites need to be more aware of this and work to end it. Unfortunately, sociology is not an easy thing to talk about, especially if half the country isn’t very familiar with it.
I’m not saying that popular sociology is the answer to race relations. But it would at least be a way to get some movement from the present stand-off between whites and blacks, a possible grounding for an open, intelligent discussion. (As part of that openness, common black attitudes about whites would also need to be discussed.)
And here’s another sociology problem: our nation is currently in an economic crisis fueled by too much debt. Over the past ten or twenty years, too many people spent too much on housing and consumer items using borrowed money. And now the banks and investors are sweating because it turns out that a whole lot of that debt isn’t going to be repaid.
There have been a lot of “profile” articles in the papers lately on the people who borrowed all this money and are now in hot water over it. You’ve seen the story, e.g. a couple in their late 40s making around $50,000 bought a big house and an SUV and much other good stuff. Then something went wrong and one of them got hurt or was laid off, and had to take a lousy job paying only half of what they used to make. And then the mortgage payments jumped, and they couldn’t refinance to draw out equity because housing values starting sinking. In the article, the couple is quoted to say that they were duped by the lenders and credit card companies who offered them all sorts of easy loans just a few years ago, and are now pestering them day and night about their past-due balances.
So do we blame the couple or the banks and mortgage brokers who bombarded them with all sorts of tempting loan deals so that they could live even higher on the hog? Well, David Brooks of the NY Times just wrote a very intelligent article that suggested another way to look at such a couple. Brooks feels that we have to consider the “culture of debt” that has been developing in America over the past few decades. In other words, borrowing and spending to the limit has become a sociology thing, a crowd phenomenon. Everyone was doing it, because everyone else they knew was doing it. It’s easy to think that it must be OK to do when no one else is worrying about it. But now things have changed, and social attitudes will eventually adjust to the new conditions. America will go back to a somewhat more frugal and thrifty way of life. Living within one’s means may come back in fashion, although the banks and credit companies will try not to let that idea get too far (through massive advertising campaigns).
Had everyone thought a little bit more about sociology, had everyone been aware that they were following a crowd and questioned whether that crowd was moving in the right direction, perhaps some of this mess could have been avoided.
Sociologists of the world — where are you now that we need you? How about getting out a bit from your ivy-covered halls and making yourselves more accessible to the masses. You too are following your own little academic herd, living in your (relatively) protected world of universities and conferences and journal articles. It’s time to get out there into the evening news and the local papers and the shopping mall bookstores. And maybe even make some appearances in church basements and at evening adult-school courses. American society has some nasty messes to untangle, and we need people who can help us to see the big picture. Elsewise, we’re going to just keep on dancing in circles, thinking everything is fine while an increasingly competitive and hostile world, jealous of our comforts and our past achievements, closes in around us.
Jim,
I’m amazed that 55% of Americans have degrees—why in the world do we not see some evidence of that education in their opinions and/or their writing and thinking? And in their actions and lives? Specifically:
You are definitely correct that racism of not dead—it’s just manifested in a different way and more subtly than it used to be. For instance: How many white women have gone missing, presumed dead by some predator and there is a major media blitz and horror. YET, the very same thing can happen to a black woman; and it barely makes the news. Another example: There have been hundreds (and I do not exaggerate) of young people, mostly black (and here I mean teenagers under sixteen) who have been killed by guns in Chicago this year of 2008. Where is the outrage at the decimation of a generation of young people? If the same number of white youngsters were being killed, there would be a shocked and unending media blitz about the loss of a generation of young people. Yet, at this point the media simply runs a line or two about one of these killings and that’s it.
As to “some black leaders drawing the race card too quickly”: I think it is not so much that some black leaders draw the race card too quickly but that some black leaders do not choose carefully which black individuals and issues deserve defending. Too often these leaders choose individuals and issues that can be too easily discredited while not mentioning, forgetting other individuals and issues who end up left by the wayside. And here I’m talking about black individuals and issues.
I agree with you in that some of the worst offenders when it comes to racism are blacks themselves. I’ve seen some terrible prejudice exhibited by blacks against Asians, for instance. I was taught as a young girl in fifth grade to be careful of being prejudiced against anyone at all; I recall my teacher saying that if “they” “go after” that group, it’s just a matter of time until “they” will come after you (the group you are in). Yet, the prejudice blacks may show to other groups still does not negate the very real prejudice they themselves experience.
And while we are talking about prejudice: I’d like to include the very third-status women hold in our country in so many ways. I think of the grown men making money off the “girls gone wild” series. Notice the first word: “GIRLS!” It seems by definition these grown men, who are nothing more than pimps, are making megabucks off young women—who I admit should admittedly know better.
And then culminating this whole discussion, I wonder how it has turned out that it seems that “young” people—well into their twenties have been heard to use the excuse that boils down to, “I didn’t know any better.” I find that excuse extremely strange; I was always taught that an individual could distinguish right and wrong by the age of SEVEN (not seventeen or twenty-seven)—SEVEN!
And I start to rant.
As to the attitude of the “young ‘uns” regarding serious debt: I’m at a loss to comprehend the attitude way too many of the younger generation have: If I can’t pay, I simply go bankrupt—this when it was very easy simply to declare bankruptcy. Now it seems that the attitude is just don’t pay. What is this about? Is it evidence of a generation that simply MUST have every item it sees? every update of each new piece of technology that comes out? Perhaps it is this undisciplined attitude together with no real concept of exactly what “credit” is. I actually had a young person call me recently from some credit card company. She was telling me how I could transfer balances to her card and reduce my interest payment. When I told her that I had no balances to transfer, she was incredulous; I could tell she actually believed I was lying.
I’ve never quite fathomed the fact that people actually believe the advertising they see: No interest until the year 2010: No one seems to question exactly what that might mean—likely that interest will accrue and the entirety of the interest will become due in 2010. No payments until 2010: I can’t help but think that by that time, exactly about the time the payments will come due the item purchased will probably be “used up” and/or not really “wanted” by the person any more—and the person will be looking for the 2010-item that will meet his/her transitory desire.
People do not seem to question any more—worse: they do not seem to THINK.
And then there is the seemingly unending one-up-man-ship that goes on all the time. I once had a friend tell me that he found that no matter what he said to a person he knew, the other person had something better. “I have a piano.” “I have a grand piano.” “Where did you get that?” The answer always must be some upscale place. Who will confess to buying at Wal-Mart?
Part of the problem may be the aura of C-E-L-E-B-R-I-T-Y!! that pervades our society. If the celebrities live in huge houses that cost megabucks, then I am entitled to that also. One just has to look at some of the individuals who audition for the “America’s Greatest” this or that—now there is even one for dogs! Some of the individuals auditioning have no clue of how far from being a celebrity they are; they simply have the idea that if they do not achieve FAME, they are nobody. Sad, sad. And once again I start to rant….
MCS
Comment by MCS — July 26, 2008 @ 10:57 am
Jim,
I’m amazed that 55% of Americans have degrees—why in the world do we not see some evidence of that education in their opinions and/or their writing and thinking? And in their actions and lives? Specifically:
You are definitely correct that racism of not dead—it’s just manifested in a different way and more subtly than it used to be. For instance: How many white women have gone missing, presumed dead by some predator and there is a major media blitz and horror. YET, the very same thing can happen to a black woman; and it barely makes the news. Another example: There have been hundreds (and I do not exaggerate) of young people, mostly black (and here I mean teenagers under sixteen) who have been killed by guns in Chicago this year of 2008. Where is the outrage at the decimation of a generation of young people? If the same number of white youngsters were being killed, there would be a shocked and unending media blitz about the loss of a generation of young people. Yet, at this point the media simply runs a line or two about one of these killings and that’s it.
As to “some black leaders drawing the race card too quickly”: I think it is not so much that some black leaders draw the race card too quickly but that some black leaders do not choose carefully which black individuals and issues deserve defending. Too often these leaders choose individuals and issues that can be too easily discredited while not mentioning, forgetting other individuals and issues who end up left by the wayside. And here I’m talking about black individuals and issues.
I agree with you in that some of the worst offenders when it comes to racism are blacks themselves. I’ve seen some terrible prejudice exhibited by blacks against Asians, for instance. I was taught as a young girl in fifth grade to be careful of being prejudiced against anyone at all; I recall my teacher saying that if “they” “go after” that group, it’s just a matter of time until “they” will come after you (the group you are in). Yet, the prejudice blacks may show to other groups still does not negate the very real prejudice they themselves experience.
And while we are talking about prejudice: I’d like to include the very third-status women hold in our country in so many ways. I think of the grown men making money off the “girls gone wild” series. Notice the first word: “GIRLS!” It seems by definition these grown men, who are nothing more than pimps, are making megabucks off young women—who I admit should admittedly know better.
And then culminating this whole discussion, I wonder how it has turned out that it seems that “young” people—well into their twenties have been heard to use the excuse that boils down to, “I didn’t know any better.” I find that excuse extremely strange; I was always taught that an individual could distinguish right and wrong by the age of SEVEN (not seventeen or twenty-seven)—SEVEN!
And I start to rant.
As to the attitude of the “young ‘uns” regarding serious debt: I’m at a loss to comprehend the attitude way too many of the younger generation have: If I can’t pay, I simply go bankrupt—this when it was very easy simply to declare bankruptcy. Now it seems that the attitude is just don’t pay. What is this about? Is it evidence of a generation that simply MUST have every item it sees? every update of each new piece of technology that comes out? Perhaps it is this undisciplined attitude together with no real concept of exactly what “credit” is. I actually had a young person call me recently from some credit card company. She was telling me how I could transfer balances to her card and reduce my interest payment. When I told her that I had no balances to transfer, she was incredulous; I could tell she actually believed I was lying.
I’ve never quite fathomed the fact that people actually believe the advertising they see: No interest until the year 2010: No one seems to
Comment by MCS — July 26, 2008 @ 10:57 am