Socialized Self: Merton's self-fulfilling prophecy and Cooley's looking-glass self

(Robert Merton)

Robert Merton was an American sociologist who won the 1994 National Medal of Science for his founding of the sociology of science. He spent most of his career as a professor at Columbia University, where he developed the concepts of the "reference group," and "self-fulfilling prophecy." For the purposes of this post, I will only discuss the latter.

Truth and Reconciliation Story Illustrates Colonization of the Mind

As I was reading through news articles a few days ago for one of my posts, I came across this story about an Aboriginal man who, as a kid, kept aggressively scrubbing his skin while taking baths. His mom caught him one day and asked why he was scrubbing so hard. His answer: "I don't want to be an Indian. I want to be white." I'm sure this narrative has recycled itself thousands of times over, especially when social institutions are constantly ramming in the myth that being white is better than being an ethnic minority.

On top of that, these social institutions want minorities to adopt the white culture and disown their family's culture and traditions. It does this by painting ugly images of minority cultures and spreads this propaganda via education, media, religion etc. This is what colonization of the mind looks like.

Socialized Self: Erving Goffman's 'Dramaturgy'

(Erving Goffman)

Erving Goffman was a Canadian-born sociologist who discussed and contributed to symbolic interaction. He was considered to be the twentieth century's most influential American sociologist, and he gained this title with his research on social interaction and the social construction of self, among many others. His most well-known concept is Dramaturgy -- the illustration of human behavior through theatre.

Stories from Truth and Reconciliation hearings to illustrate the violence of residential schools

(CBC)

It is universally known that residential schools are one of the main reasons why First Nations people are going through tough times at the moment. The church-run, Eurocentric schools harmed more than just the 150,000 plus kids who were abducted and forced to attend -- it also harmed their parents and family members. Still, to today, there are residual effects from that dark period, which ended in 1996 when the last residential school closed down in Regina, Saskatchewan.

But even with these facts, there are still so many people who believe that the First Nations inflicted that suffering on themselves and don't deserve to be compensated by the government and apologized to.

So to attempt to illustrate the pain and suffering that the First Nations went through, and are still going through, here are some stories that were shared at the Truth and Reconciliation hearings.

Nick Cannon whiteface is not racist

(Nick Cannon/Instagram)

Earlier this week, comedian and musician Nick Cannon used whiteface to promote his new album, White People Party Music, and while there were many who did not find Cannon's marketing strategy racist, there were still some who did. So I thought I'd take this opportunity to explain why whiteface is not racist or discriminatory, and why it is not comparable to blackface.

Socialized Self: George Herbert Mead's Self, Mind and Society

(George Herbert Mead)

George Herbert Mead was a social philosopher who discussed the connection between the self, the mind, and society. He believed that society has an effect on the self and mind, and the self and the mind have an effect on society. Mead is considered to be the father of symbolic interaction.

Socialized Self: Herbert Blumer's Three Basic Premises

(Herbert Blumer)

Herbert Blumer was a sociologist who discussed social research and symbolic interaction. As a supporter of George Herbert Mead's findings, Blumer was a big believer that individuals create their own social reality through collective and individual action. Through his works on symbolic interaction, Blumer was deemed by many as the leader of this sociological school of thought during his times.

Here is Blumer's Three Basic Premises for human interaction from his book, Symbolic Interactionism: Perspective and Method:

Thoughts on Western Canada High School's team name change

(Western Canada High School's Redmen logo)

10 years ago, I was a senior at one of Calgary's prestigious high schools, Western Canada High. I witnessed the good and the bad, and there is one thing that I can tell you about the school: Western is the whitest school in Calgary.

So for the current students of this school (the ones who are standing up and fighting to preserve the Redman logo and name that is) to say that their brand isn't offensive doesn't mean anything because they themselves have never felt true racial oppression and discrimination, and the stigma of being other (or not white). And if there are students who are non-white involved in this battle (which there probably is), A) they don't care and/or know about the history and legacy of the harm that First Nations have been through, and/or B) they don't have knowledge of institutional racism in Canada.

Institutional racism, not hip-hop, is why many blacks are held back

Are many black Americans living in bad situations because they listen to hip-hop and watch basketball? Or is it because of institutional racism that is holding them back? Well, Bill O'Reilly seems to think it is because of the former.

Reflections on Du Bois' Double Consciousness

W.E.B. Du Bois' concept of double consciousness talks about the sense of two-ness that blacks from his day experienced. The concept goes:

"It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. One ever feels his two-ness,—an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder."

But in contemporary times, more oppressed groups have been revealed in society, where some people are more than one type of minority. So with this knowledge, shouldn't Du Bois' double consciousness extend to the other feelings of oppression as well?