ignorance is bliss

there has been quite a bit of discussion going on over at my myspace page about some statistics i posted about race and gender inequality. one of 'hot topics' being debated is the idea of wage inequality.

i feel that first i must say that any discussion on race, gender, and inequality is not ment as an attack on any individual. it is an attack on a socially constructed system.

having said that, i have been feeling incredibly overwhelmed lately. i am taking two classes that deal with race and gender. so basicly, i spend at least two hours a day tuesday - thursday discussing issues of difference and inequality. the days i am not in class are spent reading about said topics.

i'm not sure why, but i feel very drained. it is hard to spend so much time talking about and identifying horrid injustices. it is discouraging to look injustice in the face and feel that you have no solution. at least not a quick one.

a lot of pepole disagree with these ideas. (you're not alone justin) some say that inequality does not exist, or that it isn't 'that bad'. i was incredibly frustrated and distrubed that people could feel this way at first. the only explaination i have is that these individuals have not been subjected to this system of marginalization. so for them, ignorance is bliss? (please note: i'm not saying that everyone who does not agree with me is ignorant....well, not really.)

i'll leave it at that for now. here are some of the statistics that started all of this:



Huge's study found that in detroit, it took unskilled, unemployed whites an average of 91 hours to generate a job offer; it took similarly qualified blacks 167 hours.

at every educational level, women and people of color seeking employment are more likely to be unemployed than white men.

2001: for every $1.00 earned by a white male, white women earn .73; african-american men earn .78; african-american women .65; latinos .63; latinas .52 cents.

in 2002, white households had a median net worth of greater than $88,000. that is 11 times that of hispanice families, and 15 times that of black families (this gap increased from 2000 - 2002)

2002 - 2004 average number of people living in poverty (those earning less than $9, 800 a year): 8% white; 11% asian-american; 13% pacific islander; 22% hispanic; 24% black and american indian.

2003 - 2004 people without health insurance: 11% white; 18% asian-american; 20% black; 21% pacific islander; 29% american indians; and 33% of hispanics.

the u.s. lags behind most industralized nations in prenatal care and the gap between the rich and the poor. 1 out of 5 children will be born poor in the u.s. 1 in 46 will die before their first birthday.