Race is a social construct. Despite this fact, we are social beings who are governed by our social settings. Despite race being a human-fabricated idea, its effects are as real as night and day. This is not to say that ethnicity is not real thing as it very much is. The idea of race itself is made up, but the ramifications are both prevalent in, and the foundational idea the United States is built on. There are many social constructs that dictate the way we live our lives such as the way we measure time, gender, etc. But merely saying these things are social constructs is ignoring the struggles people have as a result of our society living by these parameters and expectations.
Race has been the reason for over 500 years of oppression and subjugation, it has been the reason people were enslaved, killed, segregated, institutionally discriminated. Race is a social construct but much of my, along with so many others’ lives has been dictated by it and its effects. People in my neighborhood, in my family, have been discriminated against, brutalized, and even killed for things they cannot change about themselves. Young boys and girls for generations have grown up hating themselves for not looking like the people they saw on tv and in the media; they felt themselves to be ugly and were made to feel less than human.
Group work: Verb Tense. My group members were Damo and Daniela
Activity 1: For a long time, my stepson, Jonathan, was unhappy to have me as part of his family, for he resents that he didn’t have both biological parents at home. I tried to get to know him better, but he would complain that I invaded his privacy. As a newcomer, I understood that our relationship would require effort from both of us. It was not enough that I was friendly. Jonathan also needed to want us to be friends, and I was not happy with the two of us being strangers, but I could wait for him to feel more comfortable around me.
Activity 2: Anne Marie collects antique bottles and loves to turn them into works of art. She will buy bottles if she likes them, but she prefers to find them in the ground. She will find bottles everywhere, but she picks them selectively. However, she has the best luck at construction sites on old farmland, where she spends most of her time. Often, bottles appear on the surface after a good rain, but they disappear very soon. She uses special tools for excavating bottles, including a set of brushes. She does not want to break the bottles as she removes them from the ground. After finding a new bottle, Anne Marie will add it to her display case and hang it on the wall as an artistic piece (Mangelsdorf, 2013, p. 411).
