Growing up I had a very normal childhood. I have lived in the same house my entire life, I am not adopted, and I have not been aware of any financial difficulties within my family. I understand that I am ver blessed in this way. My parents have raised me very strictly to treat everyone as equals.
One day I was frustrated with someone and said, "wow that is so gay'. It was that day that my Dad yelled at me and then sat me down to explain to me how hurtful this saying was. He told me that my Uncle was gay. I do not think this was s surprise to me; however, I do not remember because I was so young. I remember I felt uncomfortable the first time I saw my uncle kiss his now long time partner. However, it soon grew to be normal. I love my uncle and his partner very much, and I have learned to accept homosexuality.
Now that my sister is married, her husband believes that homosexuality is a sin. This is very stressful for her because she is afraid our uncle will find out, and that it will ruin her relationship with our uncle. For me this proves that the acceptance of homosexuality is not always natural. My sister's husband has never been around a gay person before and is probably a big reason why he feels uncomfortable around it. I believe that it is very important to surround yourself with people of different lifestyles before you make a clear decision on what your view is because I would probably think differently of homosexuality if I did not have relatives who were gay.
Thursday, December 12, 2013
Because of this class I have been trying to reflect on the microaggression that I face day to day. I realized that there is a lot of microaggression facing me that I have not realized. I play a lot of pick-up soccer in the summers at Gonzaga.When playing there, I am usually the minority. There are a lot of immigrants from other countries, many coming from Saudi Arabia, varying countries in Africa, and there is a large group of Asians (I do not know which country because sadly I have never actually had a conversation with any of them).
Our teams are very segregated. One team is full of people from Ghana, the other team with the Asians, the other with the Saudi's, and then there is a mixed team of my friends and other people usually from Ghana. The people on my team are usually more assimilated to American culture. There is a lot of cultural misunderstandings in the way we play and a lot of discrimination between the groups. People say things such as "the asians are annoying because they always laugh when they mess up" or "It's soooo annoying how the people from Ghana are always a half hour late". I have often been frustrated if I am placed on the team with the Saudi's because they will not pass to me because I am a girl.
It is crazy that I have not put much thought into this ongoing scenario I am faced with. I usually think that I do not face racism; however, this is not true. I may not see evil malicious racism every day; however, I do see microaggression everyday, and I should be more aware of my surroundings.
Our teams are very segregated. One team is full of people from Ghana, the other team with the Asians, the other with the Saudi's, and then there is a mixed team of my friends and other people usually from Ghana. The people on my team are usually more assimilated to American culture. There is a lot of cultural misunderstandings in the way we play and a lot of discrimination between the groups. People say things such as "the asians are annoying because they always laugh when they mess up" or "It's soooo annoying how the people from Ghana are always a half hour late". I have often been frustrated if I am placed on the team with the Saudi's because they will not pass to me because I am a girl.
It is crazy that I have not put much thought into this ongoing scenario I am faced with. I usually think that I do not face racism; however, this is not true. I may not see evil malicious racism every day; however, I do see microaggression everyday, and I should be more aware of my surroundings.
Thanksgiving break
I recently went to Charleston in South Carolina for my cousin's wedding. This was the first time that I have been to the South. She was married at an old plantation. It was a beautiful, but I could not help wonder why she would want to be married at a place where so many horrible things happened in history. When I looked around, all I could think about was that there once was slavery that held this place together. The separation of wealth was also absolutely crazy. The amount of land people had and the size of their houses were truly astounding. As a result of seeing this, I could better imagine the panic these plantation owners felt when their free labor was going to be taken away from them.
We also walked around downtown Charleston where I noticed that many people working in the restaurants were black. The waiters were often white, while the people working in the back kitchen were black. I understand that there is a lot of racism here is Spokane, but it was crazy to see the way black and white people act towards each other is the city where 50% of slaves were brought to for the selling and distribution of slavery. This city has so much horrible history, which now because of tourism keeps the money rolling in and the city alive.
We also walked around downtown Charleston where I noticed that many people working in the restaurants were black. The waiters were often white, while the people working in the back kitchen were black. I understand that there is a lot of racism here is Spokane, but it was crazy to see the way black and white people act towards each other is the city where 50% of slaves were brought to for the selling and distribution of slavery. This city has so much horrible history, which now because of tourism keeps the money rolling in and the city alive.
Christmas. As much as I should be studying for finals right now, all I can think about is Christmas. Relating this to out Intro to US cultural studies class, I figured I would share with you all some of my families traditions around the Holidays.
On Christmas Eve, we have a full house of people over for dinner, dessert, presents and a show. My mother's best friend from college and her Jewish husband, my father's Marine friends and their wives, and my aunt and uncle never fail to show up. And then we have the handful of friends who had no place to go that night and it is always fun to see who shows up.
My sister and I always put on a little show, I usually sing something and my sister dances. Then we eat my mother's lasagna and an ridiculously fancy salad. And after dinner we open presents. My sister and I always receive a new pair of pajamas from our mom and there is always an exchange of dog toys for each others fury faced family.
Lastly we eat dessert, pumpkin pie, peanut butter balls, toll-house pie, gumdrop cookies and as per tradition, we read the book Santa Mouse. Then we put out milk and cookies for Santa, carrots for the reindeer, and a piece of cheese for Santa Mouse.
The rest of the night is spent out by the fire pit, laughing and sharing stories. It is my absolute favorite night of the year.
On Christmas Eve, we have a full house of people over for dinner, dessert, presents and a show. My mother's best friend from college and her Jewish husband, my father's Marine friends and their wives, and my aunt and uncle never fail to show up. And then we have the handful of friends who had no place to go that night and it is always fun to see who shows up.
My sister and I always put on a little show, I usually sing something and my sister dances. Then we eat my mother's lasagna and an ridiculously fancy salad. And after dinner we open presents. My sister and I always receive a new pair of pajamas from our mom and there is always an exchange of dog toys for each others fury faced family.
Lastly we eat dessert, pumpkin pie, peanut butter balls, toll-house pie, gumdrop cookies and as per tradition, we read the book Santa Mouse. Then we put out milk and cookies for Santa, carrots for the reindeer, and a piece of cheese for Santa Mouse.
The rest of the night is spent out by the fire pit, laughing and sharing stories. It is my absolute favorite night of the year.
Something that has been really bothering me lately is all the hate speech that has been showing up on my Tumblr dash- toward strait allies. Why is being an ally of minorities such a bad thing?
Here are some examples of what I am talking about:
http://shutthefuckupstraightpeople.tumblr.com/post/43040098347/are-you-a-good-straight-ally
http://saintwerewolf.tumblr.com/post/41138999512
http://anarcho-queer.tumblr.com/post/41835948698
I think what these people are trying to say is that they feel strait allies are only saying they are strait allies in order to get attention. Or that in order to be a strait ally one must dedicate their life tohelping out the LGBTQ.
Do you all agree? What is your definition of an ally?
Here are some examples of what I am talking about:
http://shutthefuckupstraightpeople.tumblr.com/post/43040098347/are-you-a-good-straight-ally
http://saintwerewolf.tumblr.com/post/41138999512
http://anarcho-queer.tumblr.com/post/41835948698
I think what these people are trying to say is that they feel strait allies are only saying they are strait allies in order to get attention. Or that in order to be a strait ally one must dedicate their life tohelping out the LGBTQ.
Do you all agree? What is your definition of an ally?
Considering Christmas is just around the corner, I figured it would be appropriate to talk about the uproar and debate about what is going on in the Netherlands right now. There is an age old holiday tradition in the Netherlands, where Santa and his helper Black Pete walk the streets and hand out candy.
Black Pete is always portrayed by a white man in black face and hands out candy to the children as they parade down the streets.
The tradition's origins are not very clear, from what I can tell there are two predominat ideas of how black Pete came to be. The first is that Black Pete is black because of the soot when he follows Santa down the chimney.
The other idea is he was based of a black slave in an old children's book.
Recently, there has been uproar in the Netherlands over whether the character is racist or not and if the age long tradition should be disbanded.
You can read the full article here: http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2013/12/5/black-pete-foundracist.html
Is this racism? Or just a fun tradition? Personally, I love traditions but I think this one should soon be on the way out.
Black Pete is always portrayed by a white man in black face and hands out candy to the children as they parade down the streets.
The tradition's origins are not very clear, from what I can tell there are two predominat ideas of how black Pete came to be. The first is that Black Pete is black because of the soot when he follows Santa down the chimney.
The other idea is he was based of a black slave in an old children's book.
Recently, there has been uproar in the Netherlands over whether the character is racist or not and if the age long tradition should be disbanded.
You can read the full article here: http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2013/12/5/black-pete-foundracist.html
Is this racism? Or just a fun tradition? Personally, I love traditions but I think this one should soon be on the way out.
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
What kind of Asian are you?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWynJkN5HbQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player
I have never really understood people’s fascination with
trying to figure out or guessing other peoples heritage or ancestry. My own ancestry
is so mixed that I do not have much to identify with so I think that because I
am hesitant to discover my own I have little interest in discovering this part
of others unless it is something that is prompted by them. Though I would not
ask someone about their ancestry I have seen it happen on many occasions and
more often than not the person asked was proud of their heritage and more than
willing to share. However in modern American society there are many people who
are minorities in appearance but do not identify themselves with the culture of
their ancestors. This video gives humorous look at what happens when someone
turns the tables after being asked about what she is.
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