Week One

I can see how the video on orientalism relates to our world today and especially to younger generations. In school when I was younger and growing up I was constantly exposed to the generic picture of the "Arab" and assumed that that was their culture and what they looked like. As a child, I did not realize that people from different cultures from all over the world dress and participate in modern culture/activities like "Americans" do. Not only have Middle-Eastern people been portrayed in a certain way, but at one point, and still some today, African Americans and people of Asian decent were portrayed a certain way as well. I think that it is very important for younger generations to be exposed to a more realistic portrayal of the world and its numerous cultures.
I thought that the poster was very, not interesting really but that's the only word I can think of at the moment. The fact that it implies that it is the duty of the "white man" to teach others about the value of cleanliness is just ridiculous. I also found it offensive that you read through this whole advertisement and at the very end it says that in civilized cultures it makes a good toilet soap which basically says that "non-whites" are equal to a dirty toilet.
The section in "The Discourse on Colonialism" that talks about Nazism caused me to think about other situations in history that can also be considered a form of Nazism. We can't forgive Hitler for what he did but we tend to overlook our offences against humanity. The sentence that says "at the end is Hitler" is true. If injustices against other cultures are allowed to continue, we will do what Hitler did too the Jewish race. The description of how the Europeans viewed themselves in relation to other "non-white" reminds me of the requirements for a dog show (being an animal science major I tend to use animal analogies for a lot of things.) In a dog show, only purebred dogs are allowed to compete because they are considered the best of the best. Dogs that are considered "mutts" are not allowed to enter in the show. There are also certain features of the purebreds that must meet certain criteria in the pattern or color of their coat. In reality, the "mutts" tend to live a longer, healthier life because they have the best qualities of several breeds. Same with cattle. Purebreds do have certain qualities that are good but two breeds can be crossed to enhance the qualities (*I am not trying to use the term crossbred as an offensive term but only trying to point out that pure is not always better). I also found the part where it discusses that other nations serve as an outlet for anger and violence of Europeans that would not be allowed in civilized society as ridiculous as the writer does. I completely agree with the writer when he says that it seems as though the colonized nations want to move forward and the colonizers want to move back.
The poem seems satirical to me. I can agree with what the poem says about the people who colonize other nations; the fact that they take advantage of what the native people have. Also, that they colonizers think that they are bettering the natives when really they are destroying their natural way of life. I do find this poem unjustified in a way, not because I disagree with it, but because this poem was written after Europe brought alot of their "undesirables" to America. So, although I do not agree with hindering someones culture or way of living, I think it is ironic that these "Americans" are quite possibly decedents from the so called "scum" of Europe.