Keep in mind our Online Discussion Guidelines:
https://openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu/pol-100-introduction-to-american-government-artinian/online-discussion-guidelines/
Instructions for completing this discussion board assignment:
a) Identify which discussion question you are answering in your comment by placing the relevant number at the start of your answer. For example:
2. Crime has often been used as a form of social control by…
4. Michelle Alexander’s argument about segregation…
b) Respond to two other students’ comments.
Respond to the following questions in the “Comment” box below:
- Ruth Gilmore says that capitalism will stop being racial capitalism, when all the white people disappear from the story. What’s the connection between “whiteness” and racism, do you think?
2. Gilmore makes the point that criminals are actually being created by the criminal justice and prison system (she says “the category of ‘criminal person’ can be perpetuated”). According to Gilmore, how does that happen, how does the prison system create new “criminals“? Do you agree with her view?
3. Describe how your understand what Prof. Gilmore – in the last part of her video – calls “liberation struggle”?
1) I believe the connection between whitness and racism is literally just being white. She says racist capitalism is gonna end when all the white pople disappear from the story because white people is the root of racism . IF it wasn’t for them rasicms to be wouldn’t exist and there for racial capitalism would not exist as well. There will be no need for racial capitalism because there would be no white person to spread racism and start something so big. Every racist hates anyone that isn’t white, even asians or hispanics who are light skin if you are not their spacific white they will be racist.
2) According to Gilmore, there has to be a steady stream of criminals in other to consider them criminals.Meaning that group has to get bigger or sentencing has to get longer. They either then are release if they could, into communities where they have to stay there .List of behaviour has to get longer, conus crime has to grow. This is how prison systems create criminals. Also I believe the communities that are created by the government is a cause of the prison system creating criminals.
3. I didn’t understand what she meant by liberation struggle . After reading responses I would probably be able to understand better.
Hi Morayma, I like your response to the first question. I can not really agree with the second not the last one because I didn’t fully comprehend much less formulate my thoughts to answer the questions.
great job!
your response to question 1 is absolutely a bold answer nice input
Good point on Q1: labels like “white” and “black” won’t make sense at all, if the politics behind the meaning of these labels went away – which is to say that Gilmore argues, that racism will only end of the political/economic system that created it (capitalism) goes away first!
1. The connection that she is trying to make is that racial capitalism comes from racism and having hierarchies. This means that we cannot end racism unless we end capitalism because it is a continuing cycle that depends on each other. Having capitalism means that there needs to be inequality and the racism ensures this.
2. According to her point of view prison systems create criminals because of their needs as a state. They use racial inequalities and create criminals based on it. The system creates new criminals by adding to the system this means longer sentences and new laws. I agree with her because over the years I have noticed that prison system only seem to increase.
3. Liberation struggle is something that has become a cycle for a certain group of people. This means that they constantly struggle to break from the system that is unfair towards them.
love your work!
I like the way you think Kyara!
On Q3: yes, liberation struggle means just what it suggests: the need for constant activism, learning, thinking, aimed towards the elimination of any type of political oppression suffered by a group in society.
Hello Professor Arto and Classmates
1. The connection between “whiteness” and “racism” in my opinion according to Ruth Gilbert Wilson is that racism derives from capitalism. The capitalist at that time was predominantly white and control the capitalist economy. Capitalism can be looked upon as an inheritance. Modern-day capitalism survived and keep building due to inequality. I order to achieve equality everything needs to be equally distributed. As a result, capitalism would cease to exist eliminating racism.
1. (Despite not comprehending this question fully I will try my best to answer it.)
Capitalists realize that building more prisons is much more beneficial as opposed to building schools, libraries, or colleges. Private institutions perpetuate mass incarceration yet private prison companies are making a hefty surplus /profit from people being in jail. As Ruth mentioned “there has to be a stream of criminals of those eligible to be categorized as criminals. They have to keep coming so the group has to get bigger or deeper overtime.”
3. I have not fully comprehended the question on “liberation struggles” but I do think it entails oppressors keeping the poor oppress.
On Q1: yes, the big connection is between capitalism and race. The needs of a global capitalist economy, the fact that M-C-M’ had to be done over and over, meant that the invention of “races” played a role in making profits higher. Thus, as long as you have capitalism, you’ll also have racism – as it enables profits by capitalists on a global scale.
1. Ruth Gilmore states, capitalism will stop being racial capitalism, when all the white people disappear from the story. Overall, The link behind “whiteness” and racism is the power that is given without hesitation for the whites. Thus, If what is needed is for whites to disappear, then evidently what is acknowledged is the problem. Lastly, without the need to be seen as superior, racism would not be a barrier in many lives.
2. The point that is trying to be made by Gilmore that criminals are being created by the criminal justice, and prison system, was to longly establish the undermining issues. Ultimately, this is followed along with the concept of racism, by the negative stereotype that is placed among a majority of individuals that only hope for change. As a result, what has led because of it is unfair sentencing. Yet, with enough time upheld in a cell, only anger may derive, whereas it creates new criminals, amidst the stream of other “criminals”.
3. In my understanding of the term “liberation struggle” it can be seen as a wave to overwhelm the less fortunate. In my belief, it is more or less of a method to keep the poor down, while the whites continue to thrive in their created, advantaged environment.
I agree on your response on question 2 very well put.
Or rather, it is a description of how the poor, find ways to organize and resist, to fight for gains that are important for their lives – in the face of oppression and injustice at the hands of the wealthy, the powerful in society.
Edmin Alicea 12/7/20
1.Ruth Gilmore says that capitalism will stop being racial capitalism, when all the white people disappear from the story. What’s the connection between “whiteness” and racism, do you think?
The connection between “whiteness and racism” is that white people are racist. When Ruth Gilmore quote “Racist capitalism is gonna end when all the white people disappear.” she means that without white people being racist and racism being a huge negative impact to society to this day then racial capitalisms would be taken out of the picture. Men and Women that are Black, Hispanic and Asian will not suffer racism from white people to this day.
2. Gilmore makes the point that criminals are actually being created by the criminal justice and prison system (she says “the category of ‘criminal person’ can be perpetuated”). According to Gilmore, how does that happen, how does the prison system create new “criminals“? Do you agree with her view?
I agree what Gilmore about how the prison creates new criminals because the prison system rapidly increases over other systems and brings a beneficial impact than building schools, libraries and colleges. From her point of view prison have a way of creating criminals because of stereotypes and racial inequalities.
3. Describe how your understand what Prof. Gilmore – in the last part of her video – calls “liberation struggle”
After listening to Prof. Gilmore last part of the video on liberation struggle. I believe that I understand liberation struggles means its a struggle for people who are in the low class, mid class and high class and this is an endless cycle till something develops to break the system.
On Q2: great point, indeed, if governments actually cared about eradicating poverty and racism, they would invest much more in education and health care, rather than prisons and law enforcement. As it is, spending on police and prisons vastly outpaces investment in schools and education in general!
1.Ruth Gilmore says that capitalism will stop being racial capitalism, when all the white people disappear from the story. What’s the connection between “whiteness” and racism, do you think?
I think that the connection between whiteness and racism is that when white people are in the story they always want to belittle people so thats why she said that when all white people disappear from the story racist cant take advantage of other people.
2. Gilmore makes the point that criminals are actually being created by the criminal justice and prison system (she says “the category of ‘criminal person’ can be perpetuated”). According to Gilmore, how does that happen, how does the prison system create new “criminals“? Do you agree with her view?
I think that the prison system create new “criminals” by placing negative stereotypes and racial inequalities. This happens because when these individuals are held in a cell only anger derives which is not good for them , this would only create criminals.
3. Describe how your understand what Prof. Gilmore – in the last part of her video – calls “liberation struggle”?
In the last part of the video on liberation struggle. I thinks that liberation struggles means that people who are low class ,mid and high class who all struggle in an endless cycle.
On Q3: yes, they struggle for self-improvement and against various injustices – and that’s bound to continue until capitalism, which Gilmore notes produces repression against the poor as a condition of its own existence – is not overcome itself. But that is surely a long-term process…
1. When Ruth Gilmore quoted that capitalism will stop being racial capitalism when all the the white disappear from the story, I believe she meant to say that whiteness is the structure in capitalism which brings racism. With that being said is that if the capitalist’s wouldn’t be racist than racism is out of the question.
2. I believe that the prison system creates new criminals because while more criminals are being incarnated, it is more likely for more crimes to happen in the cells. Having to think that their life is in jail, prison invites people who already committed a crime and would more likely create more trouble with other criminals surrounding them. This creates anger.
3. In my understanding, liberation struggle means that individuals who are already struggling economically or any type of struggle, it means that they are fighting for what’s fair without an ending.
1.Racial capitalism occurs when whites who regard themselves as superior to the other races exploit people of color for their economic and social benefit. The exploitations are done by denying people of color equal pay as the whites doing the same jobs. White people regard themselves as important and view African-Americans as a human being that do not hold any importance. These perceptions about their supremacy make them oppress the blacks by denying them equal rights since they believe they deserve better than them. The whites form policies that support the development of their commodities. Ruth Gilmore believes that for racial capitalism to end, then white supremacy should be eradicated, and equality prevails among the whites and blacks.
2. Gilmore advocated for the closure of prisons because she believes that society would be modeling cruelty and vengeance. She believes that having prisons is like repeating the behavior that brought the problem in the first place. She believed that not solving violent crimes with violence in prisons would help a lot in shaping the society we want. She argues that life is precious, and one should not waste someone’s years of life. Besides, locking one person in prison does not mean that no one else will commit a crime on the outside. Instead, the government should create jobs, invest in health care, education, and housing to provide an environment free from violence for everyone. She argued that inequalities should be mitigated and resources are provided for people who need them before making mistakes. I believe that Gilmore was right because prisons will continue the cycle of violence. Abolitions of prisons could ensure a community where everybody’s life is valued regardless of race.
3. Liberation struggle explains the attempt of the people of color to get freedom from the white oppressors. Getting this kind of freedom is not easy as people of color will have to fight to eradicate their pain. Gilmore means that the struggle for freedom and equality has not begun recently, but it’s something that has been there for a long time, and for it to end, whites should end their supremacy and treat people of color with equal rights.
Great points on all three questions, and especially on Q1 and 3!
1.The connection between whiteness and racism is based on their race. It’s because they are white that racism exists because that’s how racism started. Ruth Gilmore had mentioned that racism was going to end when white people disappear, with that being said it shows that that’s why we have racism.
2.I believe that criminals are created by the criminal justice and prison system because they pick and choose who they want to actually take in due to racial inequality. The system creates new criminals by giving longer sentences. I agree with her because so much in our world happens and the racial discrimination gets worse and the crimes get worse.
3. What I understand from the liberation struggle is that it is the need for learning and thinking to eliminate political oppression.