Black Psychology Reflection Essay, Research Paper

Reflection Paper (II)

1. The participants of these crimes passed down racist attitudes, beliefs, and practices to their children. They taught their children the same ideas they believed in, which were white supremacy, racism, hate, and unjust violence against their fellow human beings. I believe they taught their children these beliefs because in more than one of the postcards I viewed I saw children gathered around the corpses of the lynched. They participants passed down the attitude that they were superior to blacks. To show their superiority they would hang innocent men, women, and children. The participants also taught their children to treat black people as less than human beings. Their attitude towards blacks was that they could do and say anything to them because they were less than human beings; they were animals.

2. I do believe that what was being taught in the ivory halls of education supported such behaviors. During the times of these lynchings most of the country was segregated and most of the whites believed in committing crimes of hate, racism, and in the idea of separate but not equal. Since hate was being practiced in this country it s only logical that hate was part of the education being taught. I went on a trip last year which central purpose was to teach us about the injustices that went on in this country towards the black people. I saw videotapes and heard testimony from people who lived during those times acknowledging that what was being taught in education back then supported such behaviors. Since hate was being taught in schools, then it only makes since that the students would practice this newly learned hate both in and out of school.

3. European historiography does support such behaviors. Europeans writing of history tells about the lynching, hate, and blunt racism that went on but doesn t explain how wrong it was and doesn t express much remorse for the victims. The history books don t come right and literally say that they support the behavior of the oppressor but do so in a more subtle matter. The books explain how slavery and lynching was just another part of our history that we must accept and how it was just something that was done in those days. Instead of supporting this behavior European historiography should denounce these attitudes and behaviors. History should also explain that the people who committed such terrible crimes were mentally ill. By acknowledging that the participants were mentally ill they will not be excusing their behavior but helping people to realize how sick these people were who committed these crimes and therefore not helping to support this kind of behavior.

4. The behavior illustrated by the men and women who participated in the hate crimes fits into the model of racism as a mental disorder. The ideas and beliefs of racist people fit the profile of mentally ill people. First of all the participants of these crimes were exercising white supremacy, which is a psychological/mental disorder. They were responding psychologically with a profound uncontrollable sense of hostility and aggression toward blacks because of their genetic color inferiority. This all steams from self-hatred, another disorder. They turn their hatred of themselves into hatred for others.

5. The attitudes, beliefs, and practices passed down to their children by the victims probably included hate, fear, and discrimination. The victims learned to fear and hate white people because of the way they treated them. The victims taught their children to stick together with their own kind and to stay away and have nothing to do with white people. The victims would also teach them to obey the whites so the children wouldn t end up physically hurt themselves. Another belief passed along was that all white people were the same, hateful, and dangerous. During those times they had just reasons to believe that all white people were out to get them because, most of them were. The victims also passed down the practice of discrimination. No matter who the white person was, they would dislike them because blacks believed that all whites were the same. Parents taught their children to fear whites because they had the power to do whatever they wanted, including murder because; they had the law on their side.

6. The reactionary behaviors (pathological normalcy) that members of the African-descended community adopted in order to survive such a hostile environment include amnesia and alienation. The members of the African-descended community adopted the behavior of amnesia, the total or partial loss of memory. They repressed from consciousness periods or episodes in their life in order to deny, escape, and avoid the re-experiencing of certain painful feelings associated with those periods or episodes. They used amnesia to suppress their painful memories of the terrible things they experienced, so they wouldn t have to deal with these thoughts consciousnessily.

The members of the African-descended community also adopted the behavior of

alienation. Alienation is to feel estranged from or separated from; indifferent or hostile towards; unfamiliar with; fearful of; withdrawn from; or unconnected to. Blacks alienated themselves from the members of the white community basically because they had no choice but to. During these times segregation was happening. The blacks separated and were hostile towards whites because of the way whites mistreated them. After being discriminated against, treated only with hate, and being physically assaulted all the time, members of the African-descended community had no choice but to separate themselves from and feel hostile toward the white community.