There has been a lot of uproar in the black
community on the UT campus last year and in the past two weeks due to the
bleach balloon attacks on west campus. Many of my peers have continued to
protest against these attacks. This Tuesday the Black Student Alliance(BSA) held
a rally on West Mall to challenge these attacks called “A Rally against Racism
and Ignorance” in response to more attacks on students of color three days
after their first protest on August 28. On Sat., August 31st 2013 University of
Texas at Austin student Alex Watson was victim to a balloon attack at the
corner of 24th and Nueces. In conjunction this incident, another student
(visiting from Texas A&M) was also victim to a balloon attack between the
25th and Longview (A Rally against Racism and Ignorance. https://www.facebook.com/events/203984206438169/.
Are these assaults sincerely ignorance or discrimination
amongst minorities? The reoccurrence of these actions makes me think of how
people in dominant groups can still oppress people or make minorities feel discriminated
upon. In this situation the individuals who are throwing these balloons are unaware
of how their insensitivity can be taken indirectly and make minorities feel
that they are the targets of their actions. I heard that the idea of these
balloons are to “whiten on lighten people of color” so could these actions be intentional?
If this is the case and looking at the oppression of black people in our
society one may feel that this is an act of racism.
This controversy made me think about our class
discussion on Wednesday about working in organizations and about wanting to
change the flaws you see within. I feel that the BSA is trying to educate
people about the problem and bring awareness to everyone and the UT community.
Thinking about our discussion, I see BSA as being the social workers in this
picture because they see a flaw in the community and want to do something about
and UT/APD (technically West Campus isn’t under the jurisdiction of UT since it
is off campus so its under APD jurisdiction) as the administrator in this
organization because in order for change to occur the organization has to be
willing to change and has to be behind you to help you implement change. I
know that the black community has done many protests about these incidents and it seems as though nothing has been done, but no prospects have been accused
and it takes time for things to change, especially in a scenario like this.
Observation
I recently read an op-ed in class this week about
how republicans plan to cut $40 billion from the SNAP (food stamps) program. This
article talked about how some of these benefits are not necessarily going to the
people who really need them now and how this huge cut will affect people in
society leaving the people who really need them out.
I read the op-ed in a newspaper in class so here is
a link about this issue http://nbcpolitics.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/08/02/19831109-republicans-to-propose-40-billion-cut-over-decade-to-food-stamps-program?lite
Comment(Blog 2) #2: I find it surprising to hear that situations such as these continue to happen not only here, but around the world. I lived in 24th and Nueces last year, so I feel as if that somehow ties me more personally. Our generation has grown up with the flexibility of adaption and diversity, for the most part. Examples like these remind us all of what we are trying to steer away from. It is our duty to increase awareness, stop the injustice and acts of discrimination as a UT community, students, and individuals. This can be as simple as voicing you opinions and disagreements with the situation of bleach balloon attacks, or joining an organization such as the BSA. Nevertheless, partaking in the community facilitates action, and action brings about change.
ReplyDeleteComment #3: This is very disturbing that these actions are taking place, specifically because it is an act of racism and discrimination toward the black community at UT. I also feel like this ties to me more personally because I too lived near this location last year and this year. These actions show how dominant groups of people still try to show power by dehumanizing others in a way they might find funny. It is encouraging that people are taking a stand and trying to change this, but it sounds like there still needs to be progress made.It also made me think about other situations that possibly could be occurring if something like this is already happening. It is sad to think about how groups of people based on skin color are still visibly separated throughout the community at UT.
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