Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Trying to Digest

I fear something is wrong with my digestive system. Not in a way that I need to go to the doctor or anything, but it just feels a little off. It probably has something to do with the fact that since I started grad school my diet has been totally inconsistent. One day it's Greek food for lunch and then big globs of pasta for dinner, the next it's cereal for breakfast, Starbucks coffee for lunch, then a sandwich and pita chips for dinner (today). Ugh, how unhealthy is that?! Part of the problem I'm discovering is that since I have class at night and sometimes go to campus all day beforehand, it's hard to find things you can bring from home that won't go bad during the day. Anyways, you guys all know how important food is to me so I'm finding this to be a really difficult conundrum for me.

The other thing I'm trying to digest is all this knowledge I'm learning from my classes. The other day we talked about whether thought must be preceded by language or if it can occur even without it. At some point I just want to throw up my hands and say beats the heck out of me! It is really interesting though. Some people argued that babies have thoughts, but the professor countered by saying thoughts of hunger are actually reflexes. The basis of all of this is the theory of social constructionism in post-modern thought, which argues that we construct our own realities through our interactions with other people and there is no such thing as one objective truth. Although I am religious and believe God to be an objective truth, the concept of having free will to me is in line with social constructionism, and I can see how our own constructs have a lot to do with how we perceive reality.

Tonight in my multi-cultural class we talked about white culture. It's interesting how the whole concept of white culture can be thought of as so taboo, but it is a culture nonetheless. The article we read in relation to white culture spoke a lot about white privelege and its existence in our society. As the wife of a white male, I know that I indirectly benefit from white privelege. I also know what it is like to be on the other end of it. I think it is easy for a lot of people to dismiss the notion that there is underlying favoritism towards white people in our society because it is a hard thing to swallow, but I give a lot of credit to those who are able to openly acknowledge it. As assimilated as I am, there have been a lot of times in my life when I have wondered if I would be liked more or get paid more if I were just a part of the white culture.

2 comments:

BROB said...

Their are some really good lunch box's out there, with packs that you put in the freezer.
In grammer school, I think third and fourth grade, I was one of the few white girls in a mostly black school. The only way I was not picked on daily was to have a good black friend who would stick up for me.
I think society is changing for the better, at least in some States. The South is still full of bigotery.
I truly believe people should be judged by what they do, not the color of their skin, or their religeous beliefs.
Your Grandmother loves you not because you are married to my grandson, but because you are a wonderful caring person.
GB

Laughing Fool said...

I remember my friend Justin in college liked to say that white people are the meanest monkeys. The thought being every culture favors its own, but white people have taken the most resources and power. I think every single person is prejudiced in some way. White people have the most power though, so racism from white people comes with more lasting and global consequences.

I think that Grandma is right thought that over time things seem to be moving in a better direction.