Difference between revisions of "325--2011--Week 3 Questions/Comments"
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I found this passage very interesting. We begin to see a change in American culture with a source like this, that is, the idea of racism. Though Frederick Douglass was free, the white workers in the shipyard felt threatened by him, since he was ''facilitating'', "Poor white men being thrown out of employment" (p. 155). They also look down on him as he says, "My fellow apprentices very soon began to feel it degrading to them to work with me" (p. 155). This really shows the racism and white superiority that was beginning to emerge. And we continue to see later on in the passage that even the lawyer Esquire Watson could not and would not defend him in a case against the white workers after they beat Douglass severely because he simply needed a white witness' voice agreeing with what Douglass stated.. American culture is really about the success of white men at this point. This also shows the battle in the manufacturing business as with new technology, less and less people were needed to do tasks, so more people were left unemployed. -Claire Brooks | I found this passage very interesting. We begin to see a change in American culture with a source like this, that is, the idea of racism. Though Frederick Douglass was free, the white workers in the shipyard felt threatened by him, since he was ''facilitating'', "Poor white men being thrown out of employment" (p. 155). They also look down on him as he says, "My fellow apprentices very soon began to feel it degrading to them to work with me" (p. 155). This really shows the racism and white superiority that was beginning to emerge. And we continue to see later on in the passage that even the lawyer Esquire Watson could not and would not defend him in a case against the white workers after they beat Douglass severely because he simply needed a white witness' voice agreeing with what Douglass stated.. American culture is really about the success of white men at this point. This also shows the battle in the manufacturing business as with new technology, less and less people were needed to do tasks, so more people were left unemployed. -Claire Brooks | ||
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| + | I think Kevin made some excellent points. He first pointed out that Frederick Douglas expressed his disdain for having to answer to several masters at once. I can relate to how one could connect this with contemporary issues in jobs today where one employee has to answer to several superiors. However, we also have to look at Douglas’ circumstance or in broader terms look at the African American race as a whole during this time frame. They were basically treated as though they were not even human beings and were afforded no political or social rights. This position that Frederick Douglas had wasn’t easy to come by. We can leave a job and go find another one. This wasn’t the case for African Americans during this time. For instance, how often do we call our boss “master”? This alone shows us how different things were for Douglas and his contemporaries. | ||
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| + | I do appreciate that Kevin brought up the disadvantages for minorities and women that exist today. I think many times because we have reached certain plateaus in progress, an African American president or certain income levels reached by women and minorities for example, that we go on as if these differences don’t still remain in the work place. Yet, I think these differences are very real. We can’t deny the progress, because certainly we have come a long way but I do believe there is a ways to go. -Sheri Foster | ||
== Judith McGaw, Gender and Papermaking == | == Judith McGaw, Gender and Papermaking == | ||
