Second Reflection

As was demonstrated in class, it is difficult to argue against the inequality created by technology. While the issue of the bridges being too low for buses is brought up, it is easily countered that already existing means of transportation, ferries, can still be used for public transportation. It can be said that the overpasses are not meant to restrict bus travel, but rather to allow for an easier commute for those who have their own cars. The group defending the bridges brought up how the money saved from building at decreased elevations would be able to be used towards a metro system in the future which would eventually save more money, even though there is no evidence to show this was something the original designer of the overpasses intended.

Despite the valid reasons for having the bridges built in the way they were, restricting the type of vehicle to personal cars during a time when they were affordable mostly to only middle to upper class white families created a large inequality between who would and would not use the new bridges. As the original builder, Robert Moses, has had his intentions made clear by his biographer, he exemplifies a built in form of inequality that comes with technology.

It brings up a couple questions, such as where else have systematic prejudices been created? Are we aware of them all? My experience studying racism in the media has shown me that race is still an issue that has yet to reach equality due to the very nature of media which are marketing to the largest possible demographic, and is another example of systematic inequality. This type of inequality has been called the “New Racism” by some scholars and is deceptive because the general public assumes that civil rights movements of the past have achieved equality when the inequality has just become systematic and less obvious to those who are unaffected by it.