Re: get a grip/"to catch a thief"

Pedro Portes (prport01 who-is-at ulkyvm.louisville.edu)
Tue, 07 Oct 1997 13:56:02 -0400

Dewey, I could not agree more. It is puzzling that often times it is
precisely those who are from the most oppressed groups that often maintain
and re-construct the identities others would like institutionalize. They
(us) learn and maintain the us/them lens, the pain of discrimination
becomes ingrained in in the identity formation process, saliently and
understandably so. They (Us) buy into buying into others' definition of
what is white and non, learn to self identify as Polish etc once here etc.
R. Tharp recommended to me a very useful book "White by Definition
(Virginia Dominguez author) that uncovers the construction process
historically. (Well worth the time)
I guess we should all resist at times institutional efforts to divide us,
like crossing out the options offered in gov. forms and endorsing
membership in the "human race"....like my Colombian brother in law does
when he visits here.

Of course it is much more complex of a problem and i am not suggesting this
as an oversimplified solution, just a reaction to hopefully diminish color
coding exercises.
On a related note, I wonder about the extent to which agency, individual or
collective, can be a means to minimize the pain, alienation of those in the
"them" slots (however the role is configured). I would hate to "blame the
victim" in suggesting the problem lies in accepting, acting "as if" the
constructions are "real". Yet, in some cases, in some spaces or states (of
mind), some traits do not matter,
in others, like cali-for-uno, they sure do.

I know Peter McLaren, he is no thief (although I suppose that at a certain
level, we all are, intelectually). Streams of consciousness can be/are
social, socially produced and transmitted/reconstructed, are'nt they?.
Individuals just seem to take turns driving that stagecoach (of
consciousness), no?. They shoot horses, don't they?
pedro
At 04:54 PM 10/6/97 -0600, you wrote:
>Gosh, I see the dates on the two references as 1981 and 1988, and the
>advice: history, history, history and ...
>
>>there's the amazing tradition of critical writing that actually
>>PRECEDED the
>>great white hype of Giroux et al.
>
>
>At the same time I find on my shelves two books by Giroux dated 1981 and
1988.
>
>Instead of labeling people as women, white men, black, hispanic, etc. why
>not talk about the ideas they are trying to present or get at?
>
>Dewey
>
>+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>Dewey I. Dykstra, Jr. Phone: (208)385-3105
>Professor of Physics Dept: (208)385-3775
>Department of Physics/MCF421/418 Fax: (208)385-4330
>Boise State University dykstrad who-is-at bsumail.idbsu.edu
>1910 University Drive Boise Highlanders
>Boise, ID 83725-1570 novice piper
>
>"Physical concepts are the free creations of the human mind and
>are not, however it may seem, uniquely determined by the external
>world."--A. Einstein in The Evolution of Physics with L. Infeld,
>1938
>"Don't mistake your watermelon for the universe." --K. Amdahl in
>There Are No Electrons, 1991.
>+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>
>
>
P. R. Portes
Professor
Educational & Counseling
Psychology Dept. 310
University of Louisville
KY 40292
Fax- 502-852-0629
Of. Tel. 502-852-0630