Identity

The Bear That Wasn’t What does the title “The Bear That Wasn’t” mean? Why didn’t the factory officials recognize the Bear for what he was? Why did it become harder and harder for him to maintain his identity as he moved through the bureaucracy of the factory?

The Bear That Wasn’t What is Tashlin suggesting about the relationship between an individual and society? What is he suggesting about the way a person’s identity is defined? How do powerful individuals and groups shape the identity of those with less power and authority?

The Bear That Wasn’t Why is it so difficult for a person to go against the group? Have you ever experienced a similar problem to that of the Bear? How did you deal with it? How did you maintain your independence? How difficult was it to do so?

Who Am I? German Heritage Freeman Student Senior ME Sister Band Member This is a question that each of us asks at some time in our life. How we answer it, helps us to define ourselves. The word define means “to separate one thing from all of the others.” Sister Band Member Enjoys Animals

Create an Identity Box Using a shoebox, glue pictures and words of how you view yourself on the inside of the box. On the outside of the box, paste pictures of how others view you.

Labels and Race How can labels be misleading? What does the term race mean? Imagine you apply for a copy of your birth certificate and when you receive it, you discover that it lists your “race” as something other than what you and everyone else thought it to be. What happens when you categorize people and label people? What happens when we label people as gifted or special education? Race refers to those who share an ethnic heritage

Labels and Race This happened in 1977 to Susie Guillory-Phipps from New Orleans She was a white woman who was defined as black Went 222 years back in her heritage to discover her great-great-great-great grandmother was black. She considered herself white, had twice married white men, and her family album was filled with pictures of blue-eyed, white ancestors. The state of Louisiana defined her as black. When she protested, state authorities carefully traced back her ancestors 222 years and found that her great-great-great-great grandfather was white, but her great-great-great-great grandmother was black. Under Louisiana law, anyone whose ancestry was at leat 3% black was considered black. Thus, even with an ancestry that was 97% white, she was considered black. She spent $20,000 to force Louisiana to change her birth certificate and in 1983, Louisiana repealed the law. Why did she go to such an expense? Beyond the obvious shock to her identity, there are larger issues. Why does the state have a formula for officially deciding what each person’s race is? Why would a tiny percentage of black ancestry cause her to be considered black, while an overwhelmingly white ancestry would not mean she is white?

Religious Stereotyping Like race, our religion is part of our identity Religion is defined as “an organized system of beliefs and rituals centering on a supernatural being or beings” All religions teach respect for individuals, but in practicing their faith, individuals tend to stress the differences rather than the similarities. The word religion comes from a Latin word that means “to bind together” Each religion has a code of conduct that guides individuals in their dealings with the people around them. They all have something else in common, too- they all teach respect for individual differences. Yet often, in practicing their faith, individuals tend to stress the differences rather than focusing on the similarities. As a result, some come to regard those who choose to follow another religion as suspicious, different, and dangerous.

Religious Stereotyping As a result, some come to regard those who choose to follow another religion as suspicious, different, and dangerous. Hatred may spread throughout the land like the plague, so that a class, religion, a nation will become the victim of hatred an no one foresees the inevitable consequences. What religious groups do we discriminate against today? Jehova Witness (different from us, go door to door, don’t celebrate Christmas) Islam (associate Muslims with 9-11) How does a quarrel within a group differ from one between groups? Are there things you can say to a friend or family member that you would not say to outsiders? What happens when words used in a “family quarrel” move outside the family?

Tolerance World History documents the struggle of people to build societies that include and protect everyone. Why would some people object to the word tolerate? Respond to the following prompt: Without tolerance, society is doomed. One meaning of the word tolerate is to put up with or endure. They argue that people ought to do more than tolerate each other. Do you agree? If so, what word would you substitute for toleration?

Us and Them Sometimes identity is used to exclude people from membership in various groups. When we identify something as like us we are accepting, but when classify something as unlike us, we are dividing the world. We use our language to exclude, to distinguish- to discriminate.

Nations and Identity Nations, like individuals, have an identity What would an identity chart for the U.S. look like? What groups has our nation discriminated against? (Native Americans, African Americans, women, immigrants) The Constitution recognizes and protects slavery. Yet the words slave or slavery do not appear in the document. Instead the document refers to persons “held to service or labour” Why do you think they went to such lengths to avoid calling a slave a “slave”?

Nationalism Membership is very important to idea of a nation. Nationalism is a feeling more positive than love for one’s country, it is a feeling of superiority of one’s nation over other nations.

Nationalism By 1800’s many Europeans were defining a nation as a people who share traditions and a history. Germany insisted that a common language, history, and culture was essential to national identity.

Nationalism In 1810, a German nationalist wrote, “A state without Volk is nothing, a soulless artifice; a Volk without a state is nothing, a bodiless airy phantom, like the Gypsies and the Jews. Only state and Volk together could form a Reich, and such a Reich cannot be preserved without Volkdom.” Nationalism is a positive idea. It is a way of uniting people. At what point is it dangerous? Can any idea, no matter how positive, be abused?

Nation Building In Germany Early 1800’s Germany was not a united nation, but a confederacy of more than thirty autocratic states. War broke out in 1870 with Kaiser Wilhelm I (William of Prussia) declaring a German empire with Otto von Bismark as the Chancellor, or chief advisor Debates over freedom and equality continued in the United States, France, and Germany throughout the early 1800’s. In an autocracy, a few individuals hold almost unlimited power. German rulers agreed only on the need to outlaw democratic ideas and maintain their own power. As a result, censorship was a part of life in each German state.

Nation Building In German Bismark and Wilhelm prepared a Constitution that gave all German men the right to vote. Established the Reichstag, German parliament, which had little authority.

A Changing World 1800’s world changed faster than ever before Industrial revolution Created a rootless society where it was easy to blame someone else for all that was new and disturbing. They were responsible for all of societies ills Many people were bewildered by those changes. They longed for the “good old days” when life was safe and secure. “Everyone knew how much he possessed or what he was entitled to, what was permitted and what was forbidden. Everything had its norm and definite measure and weight.” The industrial revolution changed not only the way goods were made, but also where they were made. More and more people were now leaving the countryside for jobs in large urban centers. A society that was rooted in tradition became a modern rootless society in which old ways were no longer respected. Traditional society was exemplified by the small rural community where every family was linked in some way to every other family. People knew their neighbors. Modern society, on the other hand, was exemplified by large industrial cities where people lived and worked among strangers. In a rootless society it was easy to blame someone else for all that was new and disturbing. They were responsible for societies ills. We are blameless. Who were they? Sometimes they were the people who held unpopular ideas. They were communists, socialists, even feminists. Often they were people who were different in some way. In the Ottoman Empire that straddled Europe, they were Armenians, a Christian minority in a Muslim empire. In the United States, they were immigrants, African Americans, and Native Americans. In much of Europe, they were Jews. How do labels affect who is tolerated and who is not? Why are periods of rapid change often followed by periods of intolerance? What conditions seem to encourage racism? What conditions foster tolerance?

Who Were They? In the Ottoman Empire, it was the Armenians. In the United States, they were immigrants, African Americans and Native Americans In much of Europe, they were Jews.