The Media's Image of Arabs

In a perfect world, everyone would see each other as a human and not as a certain race. It's not, though. To play devil's advocate for a minute, I would like to say that there is a slim chance in Hell of ever instituting a Bill of Rights into the film industry or the news. While derogatory cartoons could be banned, it would be hard to keep every negatory comment out altogether. Think of it this way: there are probably equal amounts of movies that make some sort of derogatory remark about some race other than Arabs. Take the movie Rush Hour for example. In the movie, there are quite a few comments shot back and forth about Chinese and Black cultures. This is taken, for the most part, in good stride.
While I hate for people to have their feelings hurt, or grow up thinking something is wrong with them, I believe that maybe it is too late. The text said, "The Arab remains American culture's favorite whipping boy." I think that is a little on the harsh side. If I were to take a step back and make a statement, I would say the "American culture" part is directed at the white people of America. Yes, that could paossibly be true. The point is, it is going to be a long time until people stop pointing fingers. We need to get passed our bias'. Maybe we should start with our movies and broadcasts, but in a time when comedy is ever-rising and humor is found in the slamming of other races, it is not going to be easy.
On that last note, maybe humor is a way to solve the problem? Humor can be fun, without being too hurtful. In bad and hard times, everyone needs a good laugh.

No Name Woman Part 2

While talking about "No Name Woman" in class, Ms. Lewis made a comment that got me thinking. She mentioned how being forgotten in the Chinese culture makes what the villagers did to the aunt's house pale in comparison. While I read the story, I could not believe the way the community was acting. I was frustrated that they would treat a woman in need so badly. She was pregant and could have used support. I did not expect the neighbors to do that because of how ashamed they were.

But what would it be like to be forgotten forever? We all dream that we are going to make some sort of impact in someone's life before we die, but what if that was all pointless? It is sort of a scary thought. I want to be remembered. If I was told I was just going to be erased from history after I died, I don't think I would be able to stand it. And the scarier part is this is real. This also made me think about how the speaker admitted to being a part of keeping her aunt from being remembered. And the irony is, the aunt is forever immotalized in literature. This may be the only gift the speaker can give.

My Culture

My family has a lot of traditions. Too many to count. They are made up of all different sorts of cultures. Food would have to be our main way we show our traditions however. We have to ring in the new year with black-eyed peas and pork and sauerkraut. On Easter, mom makes pickled eggs. On Thanksgiving, we have lime jell-o with carrots and cabbage and the usual turkey. On Christmas, we all have ham.
These traditions of different foods makes up the culture my family has become. I am unsure of where these foods have come from I wish I knew or remembered. I am a mix of Irish, German and Belgium for sure. I think my cultural background becomes interesting when I discuss my Italian family. And for all of my knowledge, have zero Italian in me.
My mother’s sister married my uncle who is half-Italian. A few years ago, his family decided to contact the family who still lived in Italy. My cousin became a chef and traveled to Italy to visit. He is now fluent in Italian. It is not odd anymore to walk into my aunt’s house to have the smell of some Italian recipe simmering on the stove, or have rapid Italian fired at you. This past summer, two Italian cousins visited and I found myself saying a few phrases.
I was jealous that I do not know my background very well, or have contact with foreign relatives because it is something fun and fascinating to do. I feel that I am a part of the Italian family who I am not related to. It’s how they make you feel. But it is also nice to come home to my mom’s and have some odd recipe set in front of me. One day, I hope to learn more about my family. Until then, I don’t mind what I have.

Response to Brownies

Though this seemed like a small part of the story, it is what struck me the most and seemed to be the underlying theme. Laurel was the member of the group who had the worst nickname and was never respected. She was the type who tries to help and winds up in trouble because of it. In the story, she says the only time the white girls are ever alone is when they are in the bathroom.

She means that they are hardly ever alone so there would not be any opportunity to fight them. What ends up happening is the other girls take it as an idea of when to fight. The theme of the story seems to be bullying. At the end of the story, Laurel explains how her father treated the Mennonites badly. The Mennonites were bullied simply because they were too nice to say no and it was not a part of their culture. While Laurel realizes how they were being mistreated, the other girls take it as something else to make jokes about.

No Name Woman

I found No Name Woman confusing as I read through it. I was unsure whether the speaker new what happened to her aunt or not. It was obvious that her aunt had become pregnant, was punished for it, gave birth and then killed herself and the baby. The part that had me hte most confused was how the aunt had become pregnant.

I think the point of the story was for the speaker to get the point across that it did not matter how hte aunt had become pregnant. No pity could be felt for a woman who was going to have a baby during hard times, even if she was raped.

The end of the excerpt helped clear up some of my confusion. The speaker felt guilty about helping keep her aunt buried. Even though the speaker had tried to Americanize herslef, she still ended up carrying on Chinese tradtions. I think it shows that no matter how hard you try to rid yourself of your heritage, you still find yourself following it.

This is evidenced also by the aunt who took the baby along in the well. Taking the baby into the well symbolized a loving mother, which was still important to the aunt. Though she was being punished by others of her heritage, she still had to show that she could be an honorable person, which is important in the Chinese culture. Having a girl can also be shameful in the Chinese culture which is the second reason the aunt probably took the baby into the well.

Even when her own people turned against her, the aunt did what she could to follow her heritage. The speaker followed her heritage even though she was trying to Americanize. In the end the speaker admits that she feels haunted by her aunt. Heritage is not easily forgotten or lost which is the point I believe the speaker is trying to make.

Response to Howard Zinn

Before I read Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States", I already knew that Christopher Columbus was not a great man. But while I read, I finally found out details of what made him so bad.
I hate that we have a Christopher Columbus Day. I decided that after the second page. How can we teach our children to idolize a man who did so much harm? He killed thousands of people. I almost give him the sole responsibility for wiping out an entire tribe. Yet children in school's think of him as a great explorer. But what can we tell them? That the man credited with discovering America was a murderer?
I compare Columbus to Hitler. Both can have the title of great leaders. They were able to get people to do exactly what they wanted. The trouble is their intentions and outcomes were not ethical. Then again, I'm not sure people in the 15th century were too worried about ethics.
When exactly did Columbus become an idol? Who decided to dedicate a day too him and did the people who wrote children's books about him, ever actually research him?
Though it has been 600 years since the white man came to America, I still feel ashamed about how we took control of this country. The world has always had wars. War is responsible for where people are today. Maybe one day we will find a way to stop takinng land by force. We found a way to realize slavery was bad, so maybe there is hope.

Town House, Country House

I decided to pick houses that were diverse in their setting. The first house I chose was on Prather Avenue (brown house pictured above). This house was smack in the middle of perfectly manicured house less than 100 yards away one either side. While the yard was kept up, unlike the other houses, this yard was cluttered with children’s toys.

The second house I chose was a ranch style home out in the country set back from on one of the county’s highways. As seen in the picture above, a basketball goal is the only active item set outside.

Because of the toys set outside the town house, I imagine the household has at least two young children. The country house brings to mind a household with older children who are able to make goals into the tall hoop.

If I were a child and had to choose, I would rather have the country house. I grew up in the country so I am a little biased. If the town house family lived in the country house, their children would have much more room to play rather than a tiny lot. It would also be safer without the danger of the kids venturing out into the street. The country house looks more peaceful and relaxed. It is more private and does not have neighbors who can look over the fence at you.

Had I been raised in a suburban area, I might have felt differently on my view of having close neighbors. These houses are very different and I think it shows how diversely families can be raised in different settings.