Attitude

With it being election time, our attitudes come into play in a major way. First there is your attitude on certain issues, like homosexuality, the economy, and so on. Then you have your attitude toward the different candidates. You may like a candidate but not agree with his views, or vice versa.  Attitudes are everywhere not just at election time. Everyone usually believes the attitude they have is the right one. I know I have very strong attitudes toward several subjects and a person will not shake me from believing what I believe. I don not believe that your attitude can be changed if you are truly committed to it. I believe our attitudes play a big role in who we are as people.

Stereotypes and Prejudice

This chapter was an important one for me. As a mother of two mixed race children it hits kind of close to home. In my years with my children's dad I encountered many people who were prejudice and who believed the stereotypes that are out there about black people. I was once told my a police man that he saw my children's father walking and stopped him and because he was putting his phone in his pocket they almost shot him thinking he was armed. This is sad to say but the local police knew him fairly well and knew him to never be armed. This was that officer thinking with a stereotype, it was a good thing that he had enough sense to think before he shot. That was the most extreme case of racial stereotyping that I encountered. There was a time when I was going to rent a house, I had just got my income taxes back and was going to pay my rent up for a few months in advance and the landlord had no problems until my ex went with me to give them the money and then the landlord asked if I had this money because of boyfriend and possible drug activities. When I asked that person why they said that they said well people of that color usually don't have access to lots of money unless they are a dealer. Needless to say we didn't take the place. With my children I have yet to experience any type of discrimination or stereotyping about them. I think that it helps there are more and more biracial children entering school every year, that it is becoming normal to see them.  I do also believe that people with those negative views about other races can change. My boyfriend now who my biracial children call dad was a racial person. He did not like black people, he grew up in a rural area and was not exposed to other races. Now he loves our children like they are his own and his feeling toward black people have changed dramatically. My parents grew up in a time when interracial couples were not the norm, they were very disapointed at first but then with more and more exposure they realized they were wrong in what they believed also. I will never forget going to my parents for Thanksgiving and my dad was on the phone with my brother and he said "Callie and the boys are here, time for the fried chicken and watermelon" He meant this as a joke and my son looked at him and said "I'm going home, I hate fried chicken and watermelon." So that just shows stereotypes are usually not true.

Blog 2

In my life I went about thinking I could read people very well. I have always been one of those people who generally believes the good in people. I AM WRONG!!! Through my experiences in the last 3 years I found out I was totally wrong.  I thought I had found the perfect person in my life we had 2 children together and seemed very happy. He was the kind of person I had always hoped for he was attentive and caring and a great father, but under it all he was a liar and a cheater and a abuser, and I had no clue. I lived with this man for 3 years.
For me reading this chaper on percieving other people made me think of him and my situation whcih ended with a prison sentence for domestic assault for him. I found that it is our human nature to believe the good in people and that people don't lie.
I also think that once you encounter that betrayl in your life, that is when you learn to be skeptical and not take things peole say or do at face value.
When I think back on those years there are so many telling unspoken cues that he was lying to me, and I chose not to pay attention to them.
The way we percieve people is the way WE want to see them not neccisarily how they truely are.