The Black Athlete Discourse

I just finished my masters degree at the University of Oregon. You all know the Ducks by now I am sure. If not, just open up the sports page, or any page for that matter. For my final class, I enrolled in a course from the International Studies department that focused on social theory. The final for this course was a paper, in which I researched the conception that black people are more athletic. The questions I took on were:

Q1: Are black people more innately athletic?

Q2: If not, why does every student in my class belief this to be true?

A1: In researching over 20 peer reviewed academic journals, I found that science does not support the hypothesis that black people are more athletic. This means that there is no correlation between any innate physical difference of black people and athleticism. While the common understanding is that blacks are in some way genetically more adapt to be athletic, on a physiological level, this is not supported by any scientific evidence.

A2: The lack of support for question 1 leads us to question 2. This answer is a little more involved and highly theoretical. Therefore, I will skip the social theory and move straight to the conclusion. The reason that most people perceive blacks to be more athletic is because this idea is part of a larger discourse of African Americans. This term discourse is basically references, symbols and other meanings that point to an overarching "thing." It is the same reason most people are a little more tense when walking by a black guy at night, that a women wearing a head-covering is now a reference for the "War on Terror," and the very way that the "Third World" holds meaning. They are all part of a larger discourse.

I feel challenged to question the ideas that I hold as "common sense." If I were to have been raised in any other country in the world, most of what I hold as common sense would not be common sense. Therefore, it is not common sense if not everybody knows it. Next time a stereotype flashes into your mind, ask yourself, "Why do I think this?" See what happens.

On a side note, me and my girlfriend read a Wall Street Journal article a few weeks ago, where it discussed recent construction of museums in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. The article stated, "The countries are trying to find a middle ground between modernism and Islam." Look into this statement. It is saying covertly that Islam is clearly not modern. Thanks Wall Street Journal.

Back Home

Inspired to enter the blogging world once again. I just recently returned from my journey across Western Europe, Africa, and Asia. To be fair, I only went to a single country in both Asia and Africa, but can still claim that my adventure spanned three continents. I would have to say that I have a dream that my next adventure includes Australia.

I went on the trip with Ryan John Roemer, my great high school friend. It was a trip of reconnecting after five years. Learned so much about each other and about ourselves. I will spend some a great of time unpacking the trip and will continue to comment of my findings.

Here are some pictures that were recovered from the journey:

Europe in Six Weeks

Me and my best friend in High School are now on a jounrey through Western Europe and Morocco. It should be an epic journey, a pilgrimage of sorts. Here is our itinerary of the great adventure:

July 7 - 9: Switzerland
July 9 - 11: Italy
July 11 - 16: Spain
July 16 - 20: Morocco
July 20 - 24: Italy
July 24 - 31: Mediteranean (Croatia, Greece, Turkey)
August 1 - 5: Germany
August 5 - 7: Netherlands
August 7 - 10: Scotland
August 10 - 17th: U.K.
August 18th: Home

Global Economies

I am taking an economics course about the Economics of Developing Countries. During the course of the first lecture, the Professor informed us that the average global GDP per capital is roughly $8,000. For those of you who are not current in economic terminology, GDP is basically a measure of total economic output. In other words, it is the value of all goods and services created in a particular country. GDP per capita is then simply a countries GDP spread over the country's population and it is a measure of the value of output of each person.

For comparison, the GDP per capita in the US is roughly $37,000. In class we talked today that you must take into account internal services and based on this fact, will factor in the purchasing power which will decrease the gap between the rich and the poor to a minimal extent. However, it is just a reminder of how fortunate we are in the US and also how as much has been given, much is required. So the question I ask myself is what am I doing with what I have been given? This is on my mind because the gap between the rich and the poor continues to grow.

Running or Sitting

Metaphorically, I have chosen to run in times when I am tired. As anyone can attest to, the hill gets longer, the pace quickens, and the heat get turns up. Yet, in general, I have continued to run the course. However, sometimes you need a break and today I chose to sit down. Notice that there is a difference between giving up and sitting down, of which I am doing the latter. I do not know for how long or when the run will recommence, but I am in search for some more fuel to spur me on once again. Outside the realm of the metaphor, I know that I walk with a God that is good and faithful.