Racism = Prejudice + Power

I feel like it's my responsibility as a human being, and especially as a teacher, to educate myself about race, gender, sexuality, ability, etc.  Learning about discrimination and oppression is infuriating, but the more I learn, the more I feel like I can help my students become thoughtful adults who try to correct inequities when they see them.  Anyway, today's post is about the definition of racism, namely a couple questions I have.  My expertise is education, not social justice, so if anyone who does have a social justice background would like to help me out, I'd appreciate it.


Question 1: Why the Definition?
I get pushback from people about "racism = racial prejudice + power."  Many people are new to that definition, while others have heard it before, but don't see why the definition is being changed to something other than the dictionary/colloquial use.  I feel kind of unprepared, and the conversations tend to go like this:

Other person: "Racism has been used to mean racially prejudiced for a long time, why should we change it now?"
Me: "Because we need to make a distinction between prejudice and prejudice that has power behind it."
OP: "But why didn't they make a new term instead of trying to re-purpose this word?  Racism is a charged word, and you can't suddenly make everyone change how they talk."
Me: "Um..."

And that's where I get stuck.  I'm cool with redefining words, and I know the dictionary isn't exactly bias-free, but I also recognize that it's hard to change speech patterns.  Many conversations about racism that I've had/heard seem to get sidetracked by linguistic arguments, even when both parties are generally in agreement.  So, why is it important that we argue for the prejudice + power definition of racism instead of creating a new term? 


Question 2: Kinds of Power
Training to become a teacher has made me very aware of how much power I have over students, not only in terms of official things like grades and discipline, but also socially and emotionally (it's inspiring when I feel like changing the world, but scary when I fear saying the wrong thing).  What I want to know is, does a teacher's power in the classroom have an effect on whether someone is racist vs. racially prejudiced?

Here's a scenario:
A white student in high school has a black teacher.  The teacher has strong racial prejudices against white people (let's assume a "low normal" level of prejudice on the part of the student).  Teacher ridicules student's answers, calls student a racist to other students (which leads to threats from these students) and staff.  Teacher makes frequent statements about what "all white people" are like, uses student as negative example.  Teacher claims "I can't be racist because I'm black."

Can a teacher be racially prejudiced, but racist specifically in the context of the classroom?  I'd like to know more about what types of power come into play when the discussion is about an individual vs. society.
 

If you're reading this and can help answer my questions, I'd appreciate your explanations and/or links to papers, blogs, forums, etc.  If I've written anything offensive, outdated, or otherwise counter to my goal of being a decent human being, please let me know.  I'll adjust my behavior accordingly. 

- Brianne

Happy with the Hum-Drum

The past few days have been pretty low-key.  Husband goes to school, I run errands, cook food, follow a hilarious exercise routine (I rather pathetically wave my arms trying to figure out the moves. I'm not sure if I'm even using the right muscle groups), and yesterday I started playing Skyward Sword all by myself. 

The only interesting elaboration on that is that I made meatloaf (and ate meatloaf) for the first time, and it's tasty, but both Husband and I would prefer it without the bacon.  Noteworthy.


Basically I'm just constantly happy that I never have to live across the country from Husband again.

- Brianne

First Road Trip I Can Remember

My family went on a few road trips when I was really little, but I don't remember them.  This drive down to Texas is the first real road trip I can remember, and definitely the first one for which I've done any of the driving.  Anyway, here's how the trip went.

Day Zero (Wednesday):
I was surprisingly fast getting through my to-do list.  I programed the addresses for all of our planned stops into the car's navigation, I loaded up the trunk (a lot can fit in an Elantra) and even had time to make cookies.  I had my last round of hangout time with N and L, and went to bed at a semi-reasonable time.

Day One (Thursday):
I got up early to roast potatoes for breakfast.  Mom and Dad got up later, and Dad made sausages and scrambled eggs.  We left at a quarter to eight.  We stopped for lunch in Cincinnati, and after parking in a sort of sketchy lot (I don't like double parking and handing my keys to a stranger) we got a bite at Arnold's Bar and Grill:

Image source: http://www.arnoldsbarandgrill.com

It's the oldest bar in Cincinnati, and it has a cute courtyard.  I had spaghetti and Dad had a meatball sandwich.  They have good food and reasonable prices.

After lunch, it was back to the car to drive until dinner in Nashville.  I let Dad choose between Indian and barbeque, and I am glad he chose the latter!  This is where the best BBQ comes from:

Image source: http://www.hogheavenbbq.com/

This place has been featured on Food Network's Best Thing I Ever Ate, and it's right across from a park.  It probably would have been really busy, but it had been raining a lot, so there were only a few other people there.  Dad and I ate fantastic beef brisket sandwiches.  If you're ever in Nashville, eat this food!  Unless you're a vegetarian.  Then don't.

After dinner we drove some more (surprise!) and made it to our hotel in Jackson, TN.  We basically just watched Rachel Maddow and went to bed.

Day Two (Friday):
Our hotel had a breakfast buffet, the high point of which was the waffle maker (I got really excited).  Dad and I are pretty fast travelers, so we were on the road again by 7am.

It rained very hard through the rest of Tennessee and through much of Arkansas.  But we still made really good time, and arrived at our planned lunch destination about ten minutes before it opened.  Instead of using Urban Spoon to find something else, we just chilled in the car for a bit.  Dad got some business calls in, and I just kind of zoned out because I was hungry. 

Image source: http://www.littlerockpantry.com

The restaurant is called The Pantry, and the food there is awesome.  We thought the restaurant high point was going to be Hog Heaven, but The Pantry was just as good (in a totally different style).  They specialize in Germanic/Czech dishes, use local ingredients, yadda yadda.  What's important is that their stuff is delicious.  Dad had a salmon wrap, I had beef goulash (so. good.), and we had apple strudel for dessert.  I told Husband that we have to stop at The Pantry on the way back.  I just want to know that I'll get to eat there again.

After lunch, it was another 5+ hours in the car to get to my Aunt D's house in Dallas.  Aunt E was there too, and Cousin N and her husband C came for dinner.  Aunt D is an awesome cook!  She made pork loin with an I-don't-remember-what rub (I know it had jalapeno) and grilled peaches with honey.  She also made an Italian version of pastry cream and layered it with berries for dessert!  I was in food heaven.  It was nice to be able to relax and spend time with family after so much time in the car.  I'm looking forward to visiting her with Husband. 

Day Three (Saturday):
After blueberry buttermilk pancakes (seriously, food heaven), we were on the road again!  We left somewhere around 10am.  I wasn't theoretically in a rush, but I when you haven't seen your husband in three months and you're finally about to see him, you get kind of antsy.

There isn't a lot between Dallas and San Angelo, so we ate lunch at a Whataburger.  I thought the food was all right (think Wendy's), although the number of cockroaches in the ladies' restroom was alarming!

After about a billion more miles of Texas, we finally made it to San Angelo.  Only to find that Husband wasn't at the apartment complex, because his ride was MIA.  Eventually he found a way to us (we couldn't pick him up because the car was full of things), and we got to set up our castle!  Naptime ensued.

We had dinner at the Cork & Pig Tavern (decent place), and drove around town and the base.  I wasn't too keen on being in the car any more, but Dad wanted to take a look.  We came back, watched Sleepless in Seattle, and went to bed.  First night home!


Yesterday we took Dad to the airport and got some groceries.  I had some fun dealing with chemical smells in the kitchen, but I made an okay dinner.  I set up the Wii, then realized I forgot to pack the sensor bar. :/  We were in bed by 8pm, because Husband had to get up at 3am today.  Hurrah for 4am PT. 

Anyway, that's how I got down to Texas.  I'll be doing the drive in reverse in a few short months, with Husband in tow!

- Brianne

Maybe I'll Write Here

In one week I'll be moved out of the house, on my way to live with Husband.  I thought I should create a new blog to document our "travels" (as in not going outside if we can avoid it because Texas), but then I remembered I had this one.

Anyway, I'll test out how much I feel like writing in here before I go all, "look at my blog!" on everyone.

Moving to Texas doesn't quite seem real yet.  I'll feel like it might get taken away until we're together in our apartment.  Then I'll get incomprehensibly excited.

- Brianne

Size Charts are B.S.

This is a story about size charts for jeans, and why looking at them is pointless.

Recently, I found out that Levi's has a new line of jeans called CurveID. Apparently they scanned a crazy number of female rear ends and came up with four curve types that supposedly will fit 80% of the population (world or U.S., I can't remember).

The Levi's website has a tool to determine one's curve type. You measure your "hip" (4" below your natural waist), "seat" (widest part of you, the part that I always called hips...), and the widest part of your thigh. My measurements were 35", 40.5" and 23", respectively. I fell into the "demi curve" category. Now, when you find your magic shape, you can shop for jeans in that style. I looked at the size chart, and saw that I'd be a size 10.

I really don't care what size my pants are, as long as they look nice. However, since the bottoms I own are almost exclusively size 6 or 8, I thought this odd. Maybe Levi's just doesn't indulge in vanity sizing. Still, I thought I would investigate further.

I own a pair of Rerock for Express bootcut jeans (bought during a huge sale. I will not pay $98 for pants). Those are them in the picture at the beginning of the post. I know they still fit, because I'm wearing them right now and I've even washed them recently. They are a size 4. I've had them for a little over a year, so it's possible that they've stretched to be a size 6.

My jeans are still on the Express website. The jeans I'm wearing in a size 4. A screen capture of the size chart is below:

According to the hip measurements, I should be a size 10. My waist is 29.5", which should also be a size 10.

Dear Express, why do you have a size chart if it doesn't mean sh*t? I truly have no problem with vanity sizing. If you think it would hurt my feelings to put the number 10 on the tag of my pants, that's fine. You can label sizes however you want, but for goodness' sake, create your size chart accordingly!

Just as a side note, their inseam measurements are spot-on. I'm 5'4", so I should be wearing short pants. My jeans are regulars, because shorts are harder to find in-store. Lo and behold, the inseam is exactly 3" too long for me.

Thank you, jeans manufacturers, for making sure to be perfectly accurate with the ONE measurement that is easy to fix at home, and is the easiest to adjust to with different shoe heights.

-Brianne