[Peace-discuss] Thoughts on institutional racism

[Ken Urban]

Following Mike's advice, I browsed the Anarchist People of Color Site
[thanks Mike] and came across this really good article:

http://illegalvoices.org/apoc/knowledge/articles/ideas/shawn.html

I see compulsory schooling as one of the chief means of social control
in the U.S. 

Marshall McLuhan said "The Medium is the Message", what is the medium of
school?  A windowless room?  Bells that ring every 40 minutes causing
you to stop what you're doing jump up and start something else?  Asking
permission to pee?  

Everyone needs to know their place and to accept it without complaint or
you'll get in trouble.  School enforces this by labeling people 'ADD' or
'at-risk' or 'special'. Schools put kids in age segregated classes, and
should you get a bad teacher, the student has no rights to change this.
(Of course, well connected parents can, another lesson).  This
reinforces the class system.

Everyone needs to look to an authority figure (teacher) to see if they
did it right and to find out what to do next. Imagine a country where
everyone decided for themselves what was best?  You'd have anarchy,
which is not very good for an industrialized society in need of assembly
line workers.  Everyone now accepts 'authority figures' telling us on TV
that we should be scared of VX nerve gas today, dirty bombs tomorrow. 

One of the functions of schooling is create a 'stable' society. Since
our society is racist and sexist, it reinforces racism and sexism.    

John Taylor Gatto also talks about this in a couple of speeches and
essays which are well worth reading:

http://www.cantrip.org/gatto.html

http://www.noogenesis.com/game_theory/Gatto/Gatto.html

And a forthcoming documentary:

http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/fourthpurpose/index.htm

Thanks for bearing with me on this slightly 'off topic' rant.  

Ken

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Ken Urban
Assoc. Prof. in Computer Science

B129A
(217)-353-2246
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