What Takaki Means by the Racialization of Savagery - Essay Example

The basic need to outlive and outlast anybody and everybody is evident in every one of us regardless of where we came from.

Takaki, in his attempt to rationalize differences, has in fact highlighted likenesses in terms of gender, race, culture and religious practices and how one societal group ( Native Americans, Chicanos, Chinese, etc.) different physically and in other aspects as well, could be influenced in their behavior by the culture they are accustomed growing up into (social roles) that they bring these problems, tensions, prejudice, morale, etc., biased or unbiased into their relationships affecting other people. Takaki meant that racialization of savagery is how one defines the multi-cultural diversity confined in the country at that time. 

It’s the political correctness that seemed to hug the essence of scholars and literary greats that was. It is the greed and hope and the changing demographics we have only seen recently but happened to unfold throughout history-shaping its people in the process. The very boundlessness of this ethnic and racial difference generated a need to impose interior borders. The idea of preserving racial homogeneity while becoming a multicultural society baffled the policymakers of the new nation. Thus, the introduction of trade opened the market for interaction, perspectives and views that helped fuel multiculturalism and its ensuing debates. Cohesiveness in a society and its norms were preserved to be later handed down to generations ahead.

Cross-cultural relationships were formed and various frontiers were closed and new and better ones opened, changing the lives and the economy with it. Money has become the nexus of social relations, i.e. the wealthier you are, the more people you could influence or buy to be influenced. Assumptions are born and labels are attached to the non-conforming to be “accepted” against the standards of that time. A need for others to confirm identity to what one is not has become rampant so long as acceptance followed.

Typical European influence early on played a major part against Native Americans and several other fair-skinned or darker-skinned peoples believing that black was heathen, foul, stained, dirty, vile, barbaric, and without god or laws, while white symbolized goodness, purity and innocence. Laws and trade and treaties were made to favor white people and punishments were harsher for black or darker-skinned citizens. Being made to believe they were natural slaves, even then, multi-culturalism was prevalent but was ignored or subdued, and was set apart as minorities and lower-class citizens. The European assumption prevailed and the English-American identity was defined as black conscious and white favoring.

The integration of historical studies to the current cultural and societal issues relates the origins and differences as well as views, patterns and themes that speak to each individual and subliminally suggest or influence his/her outward behavior towards an ethnic or socially different group or individual stems from the past. His acceptance of a people or not is dictated by a lot of factors that may or may not be a general idea accepted now but a reflection of how his race shaped his personality. Injustice, mainly evidenced through the early legal system, injustice in cultural and religious identity, and injustice in the most basic of human interaction, money. The book and the author described the stark discrimination by the Anglo (white) race played against races that were different and pointed out the leniency in racial disparity that still needs a lot of working on. We can glean from these readings and believe that the strength we can get and use is for a positive change against the weakness of prejudice and ostracizing others. Read More