#3 - Decoding the Dominance Paradigm

In chapter 3, Howard looks deeper into what dominance is. He focuses primarily on the idea of rightness in this chapter. He starts off by saying that in order to understand dominance, we need to explore the construction of knowledge, how people determine what is true and real. In the end, the people and societies that have the power are the ones who determine what the official truth is. Howard also says that those groups that are in control "construct reality in ways that reinforce, protect, and legitimize their position of dominance" (p. 50). When putting this information in terms of education, Howard says that those in power are able to control what knowledge the students gain and what truths are told.

In the early years of America's existence, America was known as a free land. People from other countries wanted to come to America for a new start. America was seen as a just and fair nation, but the things that America did did not coincide with that. For instance, extermination of American Indians, enslaving blacks, and stealing land from Mexico did not fill well with this idea of America being a just and fair nation. It become clear that "just and fair" was only for Whites. The "pursuit of happiness" was only for Whites. Our young nation found ways to justify the unequal treatment of non-white groups. It was okay to  run the American Indians off their land because it allowed for our expansion, enslaving Blacks was okay because it helped out the White people, and stealing land from Mexico was okay because it gave us what we wanted.

With young America came the notion of the melting pot. It was this idea that America was made up of many different cultures and races that have come together and "melted together" to create this one nation. Although this was true in the sense that many people are represented within our borders, there was not much "melting together." Not everyone could be a part of the meting pot. The White people of America wanted everyone in the melting pot to look like them. Howard mentions an extreme articulation of the melting pot theory as told to him by a White Australian. This person said, "The problem with Aboriginal people is that they want to keep their culture" (p. 53). Howard goes on to say that "belief in the melting pot [was] intimately related to the assumption of rightness: 'If White folks melted, anyone can. If you haven't melted yet, you ought to'" (p. 53). The idea here is that the White people gave up their pasts to start this new life, and they think others should give up their pasts to become like the Whites. They didn't want people to be called "African Americans" or "Asian Americans." They people should give up the lives they came from and just be called "Americans."

The belief in colorblindness is related to this idea of the melting pot. Often people says, "'I was raised not to see color. I have always treated everyone the same. I see people as individuals, not as member of a racial group'" (p. 53). Although this may sound good in theory, the idea of colorblindness means that race can be erased. The differences between us don't matter; we are all essentially the same. People think that if they see race, they are being racist. But that is not the case. We need to appreciate our differences. Some people have even said that God must be colorblind because he is not racist, and therefore does not see race. In a conversation that Howard had with a woman who had this viewpoint, he told her that if God is colorblind, why would he create so many things that contain a variety of colors? If God was colorblind, wouldn't he create everything to be the same color?

In my novice placement, we have been learning about Native American cultures. We have talked about where they live, how they live, what they eat, how they get their food, the roles of men and women, housing, and the government systems. At no point during these discussions do we stop to say that the way these people lived is wrong because they don't live like us. We talk about how they reason they live this way is because they are using the resources they have. They didn't have the technology or resources back then to live the way that we do today. Does that make the way they live wrong? No. Does it make the way we live wrong? No. Each of us is using the resources we have been given. We also take time to appreciate these cultures that are different than ours. Just last week we took part in a potlatch, which was a Native American celebration. It's really cool to be able to see the students get excited about learning about cultures and people that are different from us.

Worldview: This article really connected with my worldview. I believe that God created each person to be different. We are each unique. God created each race, each color, each culture. So, why did we, why do we, try so hard to make everyone the same. In the last post I mentioned a teacher who said all of her students were the same. They each had a brain, a body, and family, so she teaches them the same. But each of these students come from a different background. They each have different gifts and abilities and different things that make them unique. Instead of trying to cover up these differences and hide them away, we need to appreciate the things that make us different and that make us unique. It's okay to notice the different colors of people's skin because God created it. We just can't let the fact that someone has different skin define who they are where they fit in the hierarchy that we have created.