Author and video: Tim Wise, B.A. -political science; between Barack and a hard place

First I must say that I am very happy to have seen this video. Tim Wise's speech was educational, enlightening, funny, and I felt he spoke a lot of truth. "But some of my best friends are black" or "I have many black friends so I can't be racist" is what many white people say when they are pressed about being racist. The poll from the 90s was very crazy to me that 75% of white people said that they have "many" black friends. Yet half of black people say that they do not have any white friends. I myself as an African American and Mexican American do not have any white friends, at least any that Tim Wise would define as a friend. I do not think that there is anything wrong if you do not have friends that are black, white or any other race. However I do think it is wrong if you try to say that you are not racist because you have a friend to of a different race.

I feel that everyone has had racist thoughts, sexist thoughts, and homosexual thoughts in their lives against another group or against their own group (male, female, gay, straight, black, and white). When he talks about the black pilots the he saw on the plane and how his first initial thought even though it did not last long was that I hope those two black pilots can fly this plane. We all have those thoughts subconsciously. To be honest I get worried on campus with the white males. I often wonder if one of them will shoot up the campus. I know this is wrong of me to group all the white males as potential threats that would shoot us on campus. But at the same time the history of school shootings are of where a white male is the one committing the shooting.

Tim Wise is correct about how black people are turned down for jobs because they have a “black last name”. My last name is Washington which is widely considered with Johnson, Williams, Smith, Brown, Robinson, Thomas, and Jackson to be black last names. This makes no senses to me because several of the names I just mentioned are in the top 30 of the most common last names for white people. My whose last name is Washington as well decided to put her maiden name Wasley which is a last name of Irish decent on her resume after she went nearly two years being unable to find a job. She has her degree in paralegal studies and she has experience with legal matters in several states. Most times she did not get a call for an interview or a call back after the interview and we thought that may be because the law firm wanted someone with different credentials. Once she put Wasley on her resume she received more calls for interviews. She received calls from law firms that she had previously sent her old resume (the one with Washington). She did not change anything on her resume other that her last name.

There was a very funny part to me in this video when Tim Wise discusses the two southwest white pilots that got naked in the cock-pit and had the flight attendance come in as a joke. He said that he knew they were white because no black pilot would ever think they would have been able to get away by calling some white flight attendances in to the cock-pit while they are naked. Tim Wise said that the two white pilots must have been thinking what the hell I’m sure they won’t mind, it will be great and funny. Dave Chappelle did a skit that relates to the two white pilots thinking in his “killing them softly” stand up.

This clip is a trailer of a movie that is out "Dear White People" I feel it relates to the Tim Wise video and other reading we have had

I ask everyone how many Black friends do you have? How many of your friends are of a different race? Last how many of those black and other race friends would turn and say that you are their friend?