- Race is a Four-Letter Word by Teja Arboleda (pgs. 120 - 124)
- Three Ways of Meeting Oppression by Martin Luther King Jr. (279 - 282)
On Thursday, we're also going to engage in a Grammar Hotspots Challenge. Prepare for it by reviewing pages 561 - 601 in our book.
For Discussion:
1. How would you describe Teja Arboleda's racial ethnic identity? How is this different from his cultural identity? How does he distinguish between the two? Finally, how would you describe your own racial ethnic identity, and does this identity differ from your cultural identity? In what ways?
2. Martin Luther King Jr writes, "To accept passively an unjust system is to cooperate with that system; thereby the oppressed become as evil as the oppressor" (281). Give an example of an "unjust system" that we (as Americans, as people) or you personally have come to accept. What is the danger in accepting this system?
I would describe Teja Aboleda's racial ethnic as "Filipino-German" as his father stated. His racial ethnic identity differs from his cultural identity because he travels around the world with his parents. He distinguish between the two by his description of texts and images in the Time magazine. I would describe my racial ethnic identity as Korean. No, this identity does not differ from my cultural identity.
ReplyDelete2. Ironically, after reading Martin Luther Kin Jr's Three Ways of Meeting Oppression, an unjust system that I personally have come to accept is nonviolent resistance. When I was growing up in Korea, there was no such thing as "nonviolent resistance" in my world. I would always get into a fight with kids who used to tease, bully me and my friends. Despite, my immaturity levels, I try resisting the fight by telling my teachers about what the bullies were doing to us. But our teachers wouldn't take the matter seriously, and do nothing at all. Eventually, I would fight those kids, and win.
The danger of accepting the system is low-self esteem, and low self-confidence because the bullies would continue to oppress you with violence, and profanity. This only applies when I was still young in Korea, because the education system, and security system were corrupted.
1. I think Teja Aboleda's is German and Filipino. This is different from his cultural identity because he has traveled to numerous countries. He mentions even though he has visited so many countries that his flesh is irrelevant to the language he speaks and overadapting to new envirionments has become second nature.
ReplyDelete2. I think as people we have come to accept that saving the youth is a lost cost. So many young people are killing each other they are in gangs, jails, dropping out of school and it seems like no one is stepping in to fix this situation. If this continues this way the streets are not going to be safe for anyone. These youth are supposed to be the future but the majority of them are in gangs and they can care less about the future.
1)I think Teja Aboleda's racial ethnicity can be decribed as german and philipino. His racial idenity does differ from his cultural identity because since he has traveled the world with is family he was able to distiguish the differences between his two culturals and how much different they are. my racial ethnicity is no different from my cultural identity
ReplyDelete2)An example of an unjust system that we americans today still deal with is racism.Even tho racism was ended,unfortunatley we still deal with all types of racism present day.
1. Teja Arboleda parents, play a huge role in his racial and ethnic identity biologically. His father is African American/Native American and Filipino Chinese, while his mother is German Danish. This makes him a mixture of races, which cannot be defined into one category but "multiracial". His father made him use the "identity" Filipino-German. But he has been called several things, much of which had been derogatory slurs. He is culturally defined as having many cultures because his parents traveled all around the world, never settling in one place for him to feel right at home. He separates culture from race: In America, race is determined by skin color. Culture, is defined as the different experiences we face and the intermingling that we do within a society, big or small. My racial identity would be West Indian Jamaican. My cultural identity is the same as my ethnic identity.
ReplyDelete2. The war on drugs in American society today has made us as a society come to accept it. By having the war on drugs, which can never be solved, the price of the illegal substances are very high, making the market a very profitable business. As a matter of fact, since it is illegal it is dangerous, therefore many cops and innocent civilians die, while our tax dollars are used to incarcerate offenders. We lose our rights, when police go by probable cause and search your homes on false tips, and in certain cases people get killed by officers when they are innocent.
I would describe Teja Arboleda's racial ethnic identity as Filipino-German. His cultural identity is different because he grew up in different place and practiced different ways of life. He distinguish between the two by traveling around the country and proved that his skin color and appearance had nothing to do with the language he speaks, the way he talks, eats etc.
ReplyDeleteI would describe my racial ethnic identity as Bengali, and it doesn’t differ from my cultural identity.
To my opinion American Government that is supposed to do something about the genocide in Darfur. Not doing anything makes the American gov’t as guilty as the people who conducted the genocide in Durfur. The danger is, if this kind of genocide continues and no one does anything about it the human population will decrease and the humans will extinct by killing each other.
1. I would describe Teja Arboleda's racial ethnic identity as him being a mix of differentiates due to his parents background. Which are African American/Native American, Filipino Chinese, and German Danish. It is different because of the reason that he traveled to so many different countries as he was growing up and was not able to settle into his own culture. He distinguish between the two by his statement he said in the "Times" magazine. I would describe my own racial ethnic identity a being from the Dominican Republic. I don’t believe that my identity differs from my cultural identity.
ReplyDelete2. An example of an "unjust system" that we (as Americans, as people) have come to accept is the Illegal Immigration problems that we have in this country. The danger in accepting this system is what we are experiencing today. We label these people as day labors, in which they work for cheap and do hard physical labor that the average American would not want to do. They affect the unions that have fought so hard to get to where they are today.
How much does where we come from contribute to who we are?
ReplyDeleteA lot, despite I have learned new ways to interact and behave, my Dominican culture prevails. For example, the Dominicans use to be cheerful and talkative. In my case, I live in a city with so many different people I continue seem Dominican style. I think throughout my life, although I will learn many new things, basic principles will never change on me, such as to show solidarity with my neighbors and friends, maintain a close relationship with all my family members, and so on. These two things are characteristic of the Dominican culture.
-How would you describe Teja Arboleda's racial ethnic identity? How is this different from his cultural identity? How does he distinguish between the two?
Race and ethnicity in the United States are self-identification data items in which any person choose the race or races with which they most closely identify… I think Teja does not feel identified by the races of her parents (my opinion). She explained that her parents never emphasized their own cultures (I mean they never tried to define it or gave her explanations) but they always taught her “the value and beauty of difference”. For this reason, if she feels tired of seeking a definition of her very-mixed heritage, I do not think I can give it a definition. However, according to her essay I think the racial identity of Teja is like her father said “Filipino-German”. But see this: The racial categories represent a social-political construct designed for the race or races that respondents consider themselves to be (she does not consider any thing) and "generally reflect a social definition of race recognized in this country" (I don’t know how American society defines the Filipino-German). The OMB (Office of Management and Budget) defines the concept of race as outlined for the US Census as not "scientific or anthropological" and takes into account "social and cultural characteristics as well as ancestry” using "appropriate scientific methodologies" but not "primarily biological or genetic in reference."… So, the supposed cultural characteristics of Tela have to be the American ones because she grew up in this society but note that she also has international experiences. She has traveled a lot since childhood to present and she must have certain influences from her parent’s cultures.
-How would you describe your own racial ethnic identity and does this identity differs from your cultural identity? In what ways?
ReplyDeleteI am from Dominican Republic, a Caribbean island. My parents are Dominican and their parents are also Dominican. I am married to a Dominican. So, our race is totally Hispanic, Latin… whatever society wants to denominate it. I denominate my self as a Dominican woman that looks stereotypically Dominican. About my cultural identity, I was raised in my country, I learned from my parents and relatives Dominican culture that’s the only thing I knew until I got married and went out of my country. Now I think transculturation phenomenon has affected me and has changed a little bit my cultural identity. I say this because I am doing common things in a very different way my parents taught me or I did before. Now I have new eating habits, new ways of dressing, etc., because I am interacting socially with North American people. So, I have to admit that I am a Dominican woman with a little of American’ style.
-Martin Luther King Jr writes, "To accept passively an unjust system is to cooperate with that system; thereby the oppressed become as evil as the oppressor" (281). Give an example of an "unjust system" that we (as Americans, as people) or you personally have come to accept.
Really, I don’t think this country has an unjust system; on the contrary I think this system is based on institutions that promote equality for all. Sometimes there are people who do not understand or respect this concept and act accordingly their wrong thinking. Once, an employee of Jacobi Medical Hospital told me "Fuc... inmigrants… I'm tired of F… Immigrants do not understand English," Because she was trying to explain me some things about my insurance coverage and I didn’t get it. She was an employee of that hospital so she was representing that institution before me. I sought a person who serves as interpreter and I replied to her: You have no right to use offensive words against me. The hospital must provide assistance in Spanish to those who needs it. By law, the hospital must provide medical care to all pregnant women regardless of race, country of origin or if they have money to pay. You are an employee whom is not supposed to make decisions; you only have to follow directions. Then I went to the department of administration and complaint.
-What is the danger in accepting this system?... As Mr. King said, to accept passively an unjust treatment or system is to cooperate with that system. Non cooperation with evil is a moral obligation as is cooperation with good. If I had not taken action against the bad attitude of this lady, I would help her to continue mistreating others. Probably in the future this might affect another person who doesn’t knows how to claim their rights.