The word ghetto has changed over time from a noun to an
adjective. How many people know the true definition of the word anymore? I am
sure you have heard someone describe a thing or an act as “ghetto”, but what
does that even mean? The true definition of the word ghetto is a neighborhood
where a group of like people lives exclusively (Wilson, pg. 18). That does not
seem to match the known use of the word today. How did the meaning or view
change? Is it the media, pop culture, discrimination? I am not sure this
question will ever be answered. As a sociology major this change frightens me
because it is obvious it is on a societal level. I am a white female who grew
up in a rural area, but my education has allowed me to know the difference between
the two. I believe this is also the difference between right and wrong and
discrimination and acceptance.
Even
as I sat at work earlier thinking about what to write a coworker used the term
ghetto to describe someone’s appearance. It is funny how when you are focused
on something examples start to appear without even looking for them. In a
professional setting of course I did not jump down her throat (although I
really wanted too). At least with her I have seen her use this judgmental tone
with any people and not just minorities. Probably not a good thing that her
discrimination covers such an immense amount of people, but at least it is not
just racial. Being a very open
person who wants to learn and do things the right thing I find people’s ignorance
to be hard to handle sometimes. I am not saying I am perfect and have not
judged someone before by many means; I would just like to think that my image
of people is not based on ridiculous stereotypes. People may say being a white
female give me no experience with this, but I think my understanding and my
willingness to help change stereotypes should be appreciated. Not all white people are the same and I
cannot express that enough. Do I think the word ghetto will ever be commonly
known by its true definition again? Probably not, but it cannot hurt to educate
as many people as possible. I think that is exactly what Wilson is trying to do
through his research and writings.
I
think evidence of ethnic ghettos show how the definition originated. Of course
ghettos were used to cluster the Jews in Europe which was discrimination just
as the blacks are pushed into ghettos in large Metropolitan areas, but other
ethnic ghettos where different ethnicities that all seem “white” prove that
people of different ethnic groups can live together as long as they appear the
same. These ghettos were not in the same conditions and disarray as black or
Jewish ghettos, which show the definition does not have to always be negative. On
the contrary the dismantling of black ghettos and Jewish ghettos can prove how
the new definition might have come to be. I think when people use the term
ghetto as an adjective they mean possibly disheveled or unkempt. Of course this
is not the case for everyone and some people truly just use it in the most
ignorant and politically incorrect way possible. This reminds me of a skit on
Saturday Night Live when Elizabeth Banks hosted and a group of girls
talked about “how ghetto” stuff was. I have attached the link to this video
with the warning that not all people feel the same way. You will notice that they actually say "Do you really mean in the Ghetto?" which shows the place versus a descriptive word.
I cant agree more with your statement on ghetto being known as "unkept". It reminds me of my own personal experiences with people. As you walk past someone that either has saggy jeans, a dirty shirt or something out of the "norm" you see someone point to that person ans go "he/she is ghetto." I think in todays society especially, people need to find other adjectives to use if they want to be judgmental towards someone and not use the word "ghetto", out of context. This makes me think of the time Quentin Tarantino and when he was accepting an award for best original score and in his speech he said, "‘And when I say favorite composer, I don’t mean movie composer, thats ghetto. I’m talking about Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert. That’s who I’m talking about." That word is such a sensitive topic because were taking it out of context when that word should be explaining a neighborhood where a group of like people lives exclusively. Alot of people that use the word ghetto arent even educated on what the word even stems from. As a sociology major I firmly believe in educating yourself about something before speaking about it. Most people dont know the actually meaning of it.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this post, Samantha. I can appreciate that you made this post out of a sense of worry and with the intent to enlighten others. Sometimes those sincere intentions are what help people open up their minds more than anything else. As for you being a white female and, therefore, your opinion not being accepted so easily in this regard, I think that it is unfortunate. However, it is a reality and I don't think that should ever stop you from seeking to enlighten others, which is why I'm so happy to see this post.
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