Blog #5

For my final blog post, I decided to sit down and really think about what I have learned during these past couple weeks and how it has shaped my family to what they are today. Granted, I have taken numerous Ethnic and Culture classes as requirements for my major but, after putting all these classes together and re-examining everything that I have learned, I realized it definitely was not easy to get where we are today. The past readings and stories that we have looked at proved the struggles and hardships many of these individuals had to go through. Whether someone was coming to America as a slave to just moving away from their country because of the political and economic hardships, America was the one place all these cultures came together and clashed. We built an empire on what each culture brought to the table and even after all these years we have changed and acknowledge parts of other cultures into our own. Not only that, but I have never been exposed to the different kinds of racism that are out there and after re-reading these articles and taking the time to apply them to my daily life, it honestly blew me away to know how there are various approaches to crossing that line.

After I had done the interviews for my family history, it took me a moment to process everything just because my grandmother's words were still ringing in my head. She is a very conservative woman who has fought greatly to get the status she is today. She has sacrificed education in her early 20s just so she could marry my grandfather and have a family. My grandmother (who we call Nani by the way) strongly believes that my siblings and I have to marry a white, Jewish boy and well, for the guys in my family a white, Jewish girl. But, clearly my generation and my grandmother's have different views. I, for one, am not dating a Jewish boy but a catholic one while my sister is dating an African-American. We are the time when the thought of looking for a Jewish boy to marry is not a priority unlike my grandmother who was married at the age of eighteen. Clearly, times are changing and so are the privileges that we inherit.

I am a white female who does receive a lot of advantages because of my skin and gender but, at the same time I also experience the disadvantages. In fact, I have read the "White Privilege" article in my last class and every time I read it, it amazes me some more because when I take the time to truly think about the privileges I have, I never realize how much I take it for granted. There are sometimes when I do use my skin color to my advantage which I know is wrong to say but, sometimes we do it without realizing it. Many of us never really stop to think how this would be if maybe we were a different race or culture and how tough it could honestly be. I am also a female which tends to become a little frustrating just because society still has not come to the idea that females could posses higher position than males. I know I am stepping into dangerous territory because there are many males in the class in general who will most likely disagree with me when I say that in the long run, males will never truly be able to give up their "standing" in society to a woman. We have been raised to know that the male will always take care of the woman because he is stronger than she is. But, now that times are changing and women want to have the same opportunity as males, it is becoming more difficult. Females are now having to pick whether or not they want to raise a family and sacrifice their job or progress far in their career and sacrifice their family. Or, could it be simply that males are a little intimated at the thought of a woman dominating them? Since the very start of time it has always been the male in charge so what if this new possibility is making some males feel less masculine regarding their positions? Either way, being a female does have its advantages and disadvantages. In fact, because we are female some of us are able to get away with certain things while at the same time, many of us are often viewed as "weak" therefore we do not get the same respect as we do if we were a male. Just looking at history it took women years to even get the right to vote which is something that everyone should be able to do. I could honestly get into a whole post just about being a female but I know I need to move on and discuss more about my religion and the privileges I received from my family history.

My family is quite wealthy because of my great great great grandparents. Moving here was a dream to them and yes, they did start out with minimum waged jobs but they put their heart and soul into everything and eventually they had their own companies. Because of the success my family has, we were able to move to a wealthy neighborhood in Ohio and attend one of the top schools. I live in a prominently white Jewish neighborhood but, at the same time my school is starting to change. Over the past couple years many more African Americans, Asians and Arabs have moved to the area. It is not uncommon to have many friends from different cultures at my school. In fact, my best friends were all a different race but we enjoyed each other for who we are and the fact that we looked different never seemed to cross our minds. But, because of my race, gender and the economic status my family has given to me, I was able to get the best education I could receive and had enough money to go to an University. In my High School, if you did not graduate and attend college you were looked down upon. My High School strived and even acknowledged all the students who were attending college by having them stand up during graduation while those we were not were forced to sit in the back. Attending Bowling Green was very different for me because first off, there are not many Jewish individuals and secondly, there is a heavy population of races that my High School really never got close to. I was being open to a world that I have yet to see outside of the "bubble" my High School put me in.

Overall, after reviewing these past readings I now have a better understanding of where each culture is coming from and how difficult it truly was to get where they are today. We still live in a world where racism (despite which form) is still heavily present. Many, as stated in "Internalized Racism" feel as though they are not welcomed in society because of their race and because of me being white, I have never honestly felt anything similar to that so just to imagine the mental suffering an individual can receive from that is terrifying. To be honest, we can not judge someone just by their physical appearance because we do not know their story let alone their roots so what right is it for us to judge and jump to conclusions? My grandmother definitely is one to do that and I feel if maybe she had learned everything I have about the different cultures maybe she would have a different opinion as well. Maybe she would welcome people of different cultures with open arms rather than making comments that are rude and disrespectful. But, even if she does not change her views, I know what is right and I now know how to better respect and understand what each culture has brought to America. We are all Americans despite where we have lived and maybe one day America will finally become the "melting pot" it has so graciously bragged about before.

Blog #4

When a group of individuals are faced with a tough decision to make, it is truly hard to come to an agreement of how to address the situation. More than likely the group will have people divided with their opinions which causes great tension and confusion. But what are the right steps to take? What approach will be the best regarding the violent and non-violent approaches that the African American community faced during the Civil Rights movement? Many will agrue that violent approaches are neccessary while others will disagree and say that non-violent is the best answer. Despite everything, the black race had to fight for many years both directly and non-directly to get where they are today.

Direct violent action is something that clearly can be seen to the visible eye. This was a response that was heavily felt for during the the years of the Civil Rights movement. Many individuals witnessed their own relatives being lynched, sexually violated, abused, and being stripped from their rights just because of their skin color. The anger that many of these African Americans had was fought with violence and those who supported violence as the answer was Malcolm X, the Black Panthers and Stokely Carmichael. By viewing themselves as a society trapped within white American, they believed strongl in black nationalism and black power. If they used violence as a way to fight, they believed that they would recieve the response they wanted. They joined together as one and attacked with violence causing much tension between their opposing forces. They did everything they could to make sure that no crimes were being committed unfairly and that they were fighting for the right cause. Malcom X always said that he believed every black individual should be able to own a gun and that he had nothing against whites but they were the ones who were the opposing side in this battle. Overall, many black individuals were filled with hatred and anger towards the whites for treating their race so poorly so the motivation and need to fight directly was extremely high.

Non-voilent action is visable to the naked eye in its own way. Rather than using physical violence to prove a point, organizations such as sit-ins and peaceful protests get their voices heard. Being silent can still prove to be very loud. As they say, actions can speak louder than words. Martin Luther King Jr. was one to support this. By holding peaceful protests and boycotts, it definitely caused tension within the white community. It is hard for someone to not notice a reoccuring event which gets the word around. Many will argue that the African Americans should fight with violence to get their revenge on the abuse and shame that they experienced as a society but, many disagree by saying that this only causes the Government and white society to view the blacks more negatively. Yes, violence does get a point across rather quickly but not using violence also has just the same result. Granted, it might not happen rather quickly but if the tension grows and so does the awareness of the cause, it makes people began to question what they are doing. Martin Luther King Jr. wanted to interegate the societies and eventually assimilation while the those in charge with violence did not.

It is hard to say which motive is better since both seem to have positives and negatives. But to me, I believe that the non-violent approach is a much better option than the violent one. Yes, black individuals were treated poorly by society and had to witness many burnings, unfair court cases, rape victims and abuse but, in order to get a voice heard I believe the non-violent way is to go. By fighting fire with fire, you only cause more hatred and tension between the two groups while peaceful protests, petitions and letters show that you are mature and serious about your cause. Granted, it might not make sense to believe that but even if every day life we witness the perks of being non-violent towards an issue than violent. Overall, both sides definitely helped one another out with their causes by raising awareness and support for their reasonings.

Blog #3

To be honest, starting this blog was more difficult for me than the rest. I am not too sure as to why but, what ever the reason may be, I knew I at least had a background to one of the communities that immigrated into America. I knew that this background could help me understand as to what my own relatives had experienced and definitely could teach me a lot more than I already knew. Over the past week, we have looked at numerous groups from the Irish to the Japanese and as we read and studied each one of these groups, I realized that regardless of what their background was, they all had one common goal to settle here. America provided a sense of starting over and making money and with issues going on within each one of these communities regarding their homelands, coming to America gave them hope. But, with all these different cultures coming together, it was only a matter of time before things in America would suddenly turn to the worst.

The Jewish Immigrants in Russia definitely found themselves in a situation none wanted to be a part of. With constant watch over their beliefs and ways of living, many Jewish immigrants knew that America was the answer to get away from all of this. They knew that it would be a place where they can raise their families in success and peace and so the urge to move there only grew. Packing together on boats way too crowded for their liking, the Jewish immigrants made their journey over to the “free land” with many dreams. Once arriving, many were often told to “Americanize” their last names and to me, this sounded like the first sign to Jewish immigrants how hard it would be to actually fit into this society. If they had to change their last name, the name that ties them to their family, shouldn’t the immigrants take this as a sign that assimilation might be within the question? In fact, I am Jewish and I remember when I was little that my father told me on his side of the family that once they had arrived at Ellis Island, they too were told to change their last name. Sadly, I can not remember exactly what our full name was but in the end they ended “feld” which then created our current named “Weisfeld”. Jewish immigrants moved to the east side of New York City where they lived in tenants created their own sense of community. Many were literate which also helped them succeeded when it came to colleges in their future while others found themselves working horrible conditions as garment workers. These Jewish immigrants did what they could to succeeded in America’s society even by changing their clothing, names and ways of living. Even despite the fact that many colleges put a cap on how many Jewish individuals were able to attend their schools, these immigrants bonded together in their very cultured community and helped bring them to where they are today.

The Mexican immigrants, just like the Jews, found their homeland threatened with economic and political hardships. In fact, one main reason as to why they left was because of the Mexican Revolution that was pushing many of these Mexican immigrants over the border. Many of these immigrants found themselves working in agriculture, garment and construction work with harsh conditions and low wages. It was only a matter of time before many of these immigrants began to form strikes to fight for higher pages. Similar to the Jewish women immigrants who had started their own strike, one can see how these two communities already are beginning to have many things in common. Mexican immigrants wanted to feel a sense of fitting into their new society so many often sent their children to schools in hope that they would be educated like many of the whites. Sadly, this did not go as plan. For Mexican immigrants it was harder to assimilate themselves into American society because many of the white individuals did not want them to. In fact, these schools were segregated and many Mexicans were taught only to be obedient workers. I still find it odd that despite the fact that certain communities did not want to assimilate into American society were forced to while one that was trying their best to change was being forced not to? Confusing but, it is what happened. And so the Mexican immigrants decided to create a sense of community that they can be a part of. Having their culture mixed into it, these Mexican immigrants created their barrios and transformed into a Mexican-American society. Like the community the Jewish immigrants created, this often gave a sense of belonging to these immigrants and helped their fellow family and friends in trying to succeeded in America.

Overall, these two communities share many differences and similarities. Both came from different countries but, with the same sense of wanting to leave them. The Jewish and Mexican immigrants found that their homeland was being threatened within economic and political ways. Wanting to free themselves from this, they packed their belongings and moved to the land where they believed they could start over and have great success. These communities settled in different areas but still had the same idea when it came to keeping their culture. They wanted something that would help keep them together and still incorporate the culture they had left behind. The two communities worked similar jobs but, the Mexicans found themselves more wanted in the agriculture rather than in the factories similar to the Jewish immigrants. Both groups had low wages which caused strikes to occur which showed a sense of how strong their communities were. Lastly, the Jewish immigrants were more educated than the Mexicans which caused many of them to go to future colleges while the Mexicans attempted to send their kids to local schools. Sadly, as mentioned earlier, the white citizens did their best to keep these Mexican children only educated about being an obedient worker. In the end, despite their hard times and differences, these two communities are very similar and have proved to American society how strong they can be. By incorporating their cultures into our daily lives, many individuals were able to experience a culture they never imagined they would. It seems as though we are slowly beginning to become the true "Melting Pot" as we claim to be but, it is definitely not easy. It will still take some time but in the end, I feel that the Jewish and Mexican immigrants have come a long way from the hardships in their homelands and have proved to American society that they can do this and be successful at the same time.

Blog #2

Slavery, one way or another, is always surrounding us. Granted, it might not be visible to the naked eye but through certain conditions and ways of addressing it, slavery will always be around us. Many races experienced slavery living in America and were definitely not the last to. What may have started as something that would eventually quickly be "destroyed", slavery instead grew into a way of life. Many individuals (mostly in the South) incorporated slavery into their daily lives. Wars even broke up due to slavery which clearly shows how important this issue has on our society. And yet, society always tends to have a different view regarding what slavery is and how to stop it. What began as an indentured servant developed into the slavery that we all know. It began similar to the domino effect and how just one thing, just one tiny idea can trigger something that can last a lifetime.

In America's history there is not a time when slavery was no woven into their society. In fact, it was viewed differently than it is today. Granted, some slaves had certain "advantages" when it came to their masters but overall, it is nothing to be proud of. But what really started it? Was it the fact the the Europeans were lazy? Was it that they simply just need help? Or was it the idea of having control over someone that caused the idea of slavery to be so tempting? What ever the true reason behind it was, it has been a major part of building American history. In the beginning, the indentured servant really had nothing to do with their race. It was a fair system (or so it seems compared to the rest) but then, why not have someone who you can pay very little to and will do a full day's work? From there, eventually the idea of African American slaves came into progress. In fact, once slave owners had their needed slaves, they put them to work mostly in the agriculture industry. Slaves were to do the jobs that they were told without going against their masters' wishes. This caused many slave owners to feel a sense of great power that only fueled the fire. These slave owners eventually sold, traded and bought many African American slaves. Overall, these slaves were building and helping the economic system. The slave owners depended on them and viewed these slaves as nothing but stupid and non-human like objects. Many slaves were treated with harsh punishments and women were used for sexual favors or to simply reproduce more slaves. Clearly, these slaves were not treated as human beings just the Native Americans in their own different way.

The laws that followed only allowed these slave owners to have more power of their slaves. By indicating that African American slaves would be treated more severely for the same crime a white man did only showed how the division between the two races was growing. In fact, this affected everyone even if you were a slave, slave owner or just a citizen minding their own business. When laws are passed stating certain actions or ways of living regarding slaves, it deals with everyone in their daily lives. No one during this time could ignore the slavery because it was everywhere. Including in newspapers which slaves were not allowed to read. Ironically enough, a law was passed in North Carolina which stated that, "any free person, who shall here after teach, or attempt to teach, any slave within the State to read or write...shall be liable to indictment in any court of record in this State having jurisdiction thereof, and upon conviction, shall, at the discretion of the court...be fined not less than one hundred dollars...and if a free person of color, shall be fined, imprisoned, or whipped...not exceeding thirty-nine lashes" . Clearly, it shows the unjust and unfair treatments that slaves experienced.

For slavery to start ending, many people began to realize how cruel these slaves were being treated and that things really needed to stop. Famous Black Nationalist and individuals such as Booker T. Washington, Frederick Douglas and Martin Delaney helped many to see their views regarding these issue. This helped caused awareness not only to white and black slaves, but also to those that were free in American society. The ideal that everyone is treated equally regardless of race, age and gender was necessary for it to end. This idea was fought through a Civil War and many (mostly in the North) were against slavery in their states. Overall, the idea of White and African Americans fighting together rather than against one another was a key factor in helping to end slavery.

But, even today there is still social control in our daily lives. The poor versus the rich is one that affects basically everyone in this economy. The poor are staying poor while the rich are getting richer. As hard as many individuals try to get themselves out of the poverty that they're in, it is very difficult because the rich have certain systems that keeps these people under the poverty line because the rich need the poor to make more money. In fact, there are millions more people in the lower class area than there are in the higher class so how come the rich have the most power? What about even in agriculture today with the Mexican Americans? Granted, they also have had protests to fight for their rights but, with the way the farming system is, these Mexican Americans find themselves back into the cycle they do not want to be in. Overall, the urge to have power or to basically obtain it will always be an urge that any individual will have. It is how they go about it that determines what the outcome will be. This is not only in America anymore because other countries have their own sense of social control over their people. It is a world wide phenomenon and eventually needs to be stopped. How to go about it? Not so sure. Maybe, just maybe, the millions and millions of people being controled will step up, fight hard for what they want and bring a sense of peace to the system. Just maybe.

Blog #1

When one often wonders about the first "Americans", many seem to think about the European settlers who started from scratch on these lands and built their new lives here. But, rarely do many people talk about the Native Americans, the ones who were here in the very beginning. The Native Americans did not ask for these settlers to stumble across their land and stay but, with the British settlers holding the attitudes they possessed, they felt otherwise. The Native Americans lived a different lifestyle than the settlers which caused their cultures to clash. But, who's culture is the best? This similar scenario was present with the Irish and just like the Native Americans, both were considered "savages".

The Native Americans had not only a different lifestyle but, they also had different ways of confronting these settlers. Both sides did not want to change for the other which caused many reasonings for violence to be used. In fact, the Native Americans differed greatly from the settlers in also their physical appearance. Unlike the blond hair and white-skinned men that came onto their land, these tribes had a much darker skin color along with their straight hairstyles that were judged by these settlers. Also, even the way that the two sides harvested and prepared their meals determined what was civilized to the settlers and what was not along with the clothing that each tribe wore. Because of their drastic differences, the British settlers felt that these Native Americans needed to be educated and "transformed" into the European culture.

But, things did not go as planned. The Native Americans appreciated what they have accomplished as a society and therefore felt that the British settlers were invading their land. In their eyes, the settlers should be the ones trying to fit into Native American culture. At first, there was semi peace in that the Indians helped the settlers adjust to the new land but, soon after the British settlers felt that because they were setting up towns and having a "real" society, that the Native Americans should do the same. And so many of these motives ended in violence and murdered many, many lives.

Even today, there is an interest in these Native Americans because of how they stand out from many other cultures. In movies and television shows they are often portrayed as magical creatures and yet at the same time exhibit wild behaviors that the white culture would never show. Also, many sport teams use Native Americans as a mascot, not a human being. In schools there rarely is ever any discussion about the mass murders of these Native Americans which results in this fake perspective that many children and adults today have of them. I feel that this should be taught more at an earlier age and how trying to get someone to change their lifestyle for yours is completely wrong. If the United States is in fact the "melting-pot", why did the settlers not incorporate their lifestyles along with the Native Americans? Overall, the first Americans were brutally murdered, stripped of their land and culture and turned into mythical creatures who now represent mascots for sport teams.