When I was in Pennsylvania, I had noticed that black face students hung around with black face students and yellow face students hung around with yellow face students. Not always, but almost always they talked together played together studied together and even in the class room they sat together with the same skin color students.
One day, I asked one of the Chinese students why do you almost always hang around with just Asians? He could not answer, but just smiled. I thought the reason was because of a cultural gap or language barrier. However, I was still curious about that since between black faced students and white face students, there was no language barrier or cultural gap; they still hung around with the same skin color students. In sociology class, I asked the white face girl student the same question. She said that she could not even sense that circumstance until then. Finally, she asked the whole class the same question instead of me. No one answered a specific reason. They just shrugged their shoulders. Moreover, I had noticed that black face students almost always sat at the back corner of the classroom as if they were trying to make themselves invisible.
When I moved to Seattle, I realized that the environment is much different from Pennsylvania. The black face students often hang around with the white face students and it seemed very natural. Thus, when one student asked me how different Pennsylvania from Seattle, I answered that I thought Seattle seemed more liberal. But still, yellow face students usually hang around with yellow face students on the campus.
Since I love movies, I have seen many movies including racism and anti- racism movies such as A Time to Kill, The Human Stain, etc. In A Time to Kill, although I loved the plot of the story, but still I was wondering why the father, who got unfair treatment, needed to be helped not by the social system but by the white face lawyers.
In The Human Stain, the respected professor ruined his life and lost all of his achievements by just one verbal mistake. The irony and sad thing of The Human Stain was that he was not a racist and he could not be a racist because he actually had black face ancestors. But he could not tell his story because he never told the truth to anyone in his entire life. He lived as a white face man. His misery came to him maybe because of his not telling the truth and because of his actual race, but what I believe, however, was that the society forced him to lie.
As far as I know up until ten to twenty years ago in almost all American movies, the black face people were represented as not very good figures. It is also true that in almost all American movies, yellow face people are almost always represented as a lower class citizen than white face people. As movies reflect like a mirror of our society, then why do American movies express and treat black face people and yellow face people that way. The movie (or the media) could be misleading people or implant false idea into the society.
After my car was attacked by someone, one of my friends, who I met in the University of Washington, wanted to see my car, so I visited her house. When she saw my car she almost cried. She insisted to report to the police what had happened. I said to her that I was falling in love with Seattle, but after the incident and because of fear, I wanted to move to another place as soon as possible. She was so sorry for my having such a terrifying experience. She has a white face and I have a yellow face, but between the two of us, there is no difference or discrimination. We are just good friends who can talk to each other about our happiness and how to write a good composition. That is all.
After talking, she took me to her daughter’s track meeting which was held in a local high school. There were a lot of white faces, black faces and yellow faces: the students, the parents and the teachers. They cheered and applauded to the runners all together without any barriers.
During a 1,500 meter run, one of the white face boys did not look like he was feeling well so he ran slowly. He could barely run and he became the last one of the race. Everyone on the team went through the finish line except him, and he had to run one more track. He seemed very much in pain. Suddenly, a black face boy student started to run with him on the outer edge of the track. They ran together to the finish line as a result the white face boy did not need to give up the race. Everyone in the field gave them a loud applause. It was a beautiful moment.
The brisk wind came from the cloudy sky. I deeply breathed in my heart. At least at that moment, I could believe that in the future there will be no dividing into groups by face color. Slowly but surely, our young generations will break our typical stereo type of prejudice of skin color. I want to believe that our next generation would think that separation by skin color is the most unintelligent thing to do.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Are Race and Nationality More Important than Humanity?
The 2007 Pulitzer Prizes Winner of Feature writing was Andrea Elliot of the New York Times.
She wrote about a Muslim leader who lived in Brooklyn, NY, trying to reconcile with two cultures, Islam and America. In the movie, The Visitor (2007) directed by Thomas McCarthy, the illegal immigrants’ A Syrian musician and his partner, a Senegalese vendor, are struggling to live in America. Unlike the other many movies, The Visitor represents the illegal immigrants as HUMANS. They are expressed not like moving mannequins, or greedy animals, but as a human. They love and understand art, they are caring and they have self esteem. After the Syrian musician, Tarek Khalil, was arrested his mother visits the professor Walter Vale, who provided his apartment to Tarek and his partner Zainab. Tarek’s mother Mouna is represented as a very decent woman. Although the professor Walter sympathized with the illegal immigrants and Mouna looks like a loyal woman, they do not have any solution to the problem. They are in pain and trouble. And the initial causes are their race and their nationalities.
When I was in my home country, I believe that I had never thought about my race and nationality. Almost everyone around me was the same as me. I did not have to think about my race and nationality. But while I am in America, I have to think about my race and nationality almost every day, every second. Somebody might say that “Why don’t you go back to your home country and stay there forever. Then you don’t have to have any conflict because of your race or nationality.” Of course I could agree with the opinion, but it is not that simple.
Since Korea became one of the affluent countries, many foreigners came to Korea to seek to work. I saw many foreign workers but have never thought about their situations or loneliness or struggles. People usually have never been thankful for their health when they are healthy; people usually have never been thankful for their youth when they are young. I was the same. When I was one of the natives, I had never been thankful for my privilege. I just took it for granted.
It is true that sometimes I have a hard time in America. For example, on March 11, 2010 somebody scratched all over my car while I was sleeping and on Apr. 6, 2010 somebody black sprayed all over my car again during the night. I was so scared. I was horrified and terrified because at the first time, I thought it happened just randomly but the second time, I thought that someone might have a certain purpose. Thus, I was so scared and freaked out because someone might attack me or hurt me. I bought three security devices but I am still freaked out. My old car became a very unique figure all around the campus. Maybe somebody hates me, or maybe I have enemies but I could not guess the exact reason or the person who might have done it. That was why I was more sad and terrified. If I knew the person or the reason, I could think of some solution to help overcome the problems. I can fix it. But I still don’t know any reason and anyone.
Even though sometimes I have a hard time, I still strongly believe in having a warm heart. Because I love travel, I traveled a lot about 30 countries and I have met many people all around the world who have different races and different nationalities. Since I have a terrible sense of direction, I have got lost almost every time I traveled in different countries and I got into difficult situations while I was traveling. Whenever I got into trouble or got lost, there were friendly, nice, kind and warm hearted people to help me out regardless of race or nationality. When I was in Moscow, Russia, I was almost kidnapped, but somebody shouted to the police and I was saved. I got lost in Budapest in Hungary, Toledo and Barcelona in Spain, Prague, Paris, Rome, Istanbul, etc., every time there was somebody who saved me willingly. Especially when I got lost in Greece, I asked a middle aged- man how to get to my hotel. The man knew how to get to my hotel, but he wanted to let me know the best way or the short cut, so he asked the other man which and how the best way was. Suddenly, people who were waiting for the bus started to discuss very lively which and how the best was for me. The bus stop became a conference ground. It took over one hour and a half. Over one hour and a half!!! I believe I will never forget that joyful memory.
In 2008, I was in Pennsylvania and I drove cross-country alone, in my old car. As always, I got lost countless times, and whenever I got lost, there were kind, nice, warm hearted Americans who told me the right direction or way to go. Among those memories, I have to tell about two episodes. In South Dakota (or North Dakota, I am not sure), I got lost in the wild plain. There was no house, no passengers, only a wild, wild plain. I got out of the car and tried to find out the direction depending on the sunlight, and an old farmer appeared. Before I asked him the direction, he asked me if I got lost. I said yes, and he suggested that I could follow him. He drove the farmer’s tractor which runs 10 miles an hour, so I had to follow him 10 miles an hour. Finally he took me to the entrance of the highway. And when I was passing by Montana, I could not find a hotel to stay for that night until 10 pm. I was hungry and scared because I could not have dinner until then, and besides it was rainy. I thought maybe I had to sleep in my old car. Nevertheless, at the gas station I met a lovely family, father and mother and two daughters, who introduced me to the nice clean hotel for me.
As I said above, I have a lot of evidences that I can surely believe in humans’ warmth and that is regardless of race or nationality. I believe maybe our opponents are prejudiced but not for our race or nationality. Maybe someday the words, race or nationality, will disappear or become meaningless because as a human who lives on this planet we have the same red blood and the same body temperature and more importantly we have the same heart and we all have the same goal, a happy life. Without doubt, happiness and a better future are more important than race or nationality. Will I one day discover that people will stop dividing one from the other for having different races and nationalities?
She wrote about a Muslim leader who lived in Brooklyn, NY, trying to reconcile with two cultures, Islam and America. In the movie, The Visitor (2007) directed by Thomas McCarthy, the illegal immigrants’ A Syrian musician and his partner, a Senegalese vendor, are struggling to live in America. Unlike the other many movies, The Visitor represents the illegal immigrants as HUMANS. They are expressed not like moving mannequins, or greedy animals, but as a human. They love and understand art, they are caring and they have self esteem. After the Syrian musician, Tarek Khalil, was arrested his mother visits the professor Walter Vale, who provided his apartment to Tarek and his partner Zainab. Tarek’s mother Mouna is represented as a very decent woman. Although the professor Walter sympathized with the illegal immigrants and Mouna looks like a loyal woman, they do not have any solution to the problem. They are in pain and trouble. And the initial causes are their race and their nationalities.
When I was in my home country, I believe that I had never thought about my race and nationality. Almost everyone around me was the same as me. I did not have to think about my race and nationality. But while I am in America, I have to think about my race and nationality almost every day, every second. Somebody might say that “Why don’t you go back to your home country and stay there forever. Then you don’t have to have any conflict because of your race or nationality.” Of course I could agree with the opinion, but it is not that simple.
Since Korea became one of the affluent countries, many foreigners came to Korea to seek to work. I saw many foreign workers but have never thought about their situations or loneliness or struggles. People usually have never been thankful for their health when they are healthy; people usually have never been thankful for their youth when they are young. I was the same. When I was one of the natives, I had never been thankful for my privilege. I just took it for granted.
It is true that sometimes I have a hard time in America. For example, on March 11, 2010 somebody scratched all over my car while I was sleeping and on Apr. 6, 2010 somebody black sprayed all over my car again during the night. I was so scared. I was horrified and terrified because at the first time, I thought it happened just randomly but the second time, I thought that someone might have a certain purpose. Thus, I was so scared and freaked out because someone might attack me or hurt me. I bought three security devices but I am still freaked out. My old car became a very unique figure all around the campus. Maybe somebody hates me, or maybe I have enemies but I could not guess the exact reason or the person who might have done it. That was why I was more sad and terrified. If I knew the person or the reason, I could think of some solution to help overcome the problems. I can fix it. But I still don’t know any reason and anyone.
Even though sometimes I have a hard time, I still strongly believe in having a warm heart. Because I love travel, I traveled a lot about 30 countries and I have met many people all around the world who have different races and different nationalities. Since I have a terrible sense of direction, I have got lost almost every time I traveled in different countries and I got into difficult situations while I was traveling. Whenever I got into trouble or got lost, there were friendly, nice, kind and warm hearted people to help me out regardless of race or nationality. When I was in Moscow, Russia, I was almost kidnapped, but somebody shouted to the police and I was saved. I got lost in Budapest in Hungary, Toledo and Barcelona in Spain, Prague, Paris, Rome, Istanbul, etc., every time there was somebody who saved me willingly. Especially when I got lost in Greece, I asked a middle aged- man how to get to my hotel. The man knew how to get to my hotel, but he wanted to let me know the best way or the short cut, so he asked the other man which and how the best way was. Suddenly, people who were waiting for the bus started to discuss very lively which and how the best was for me. The bus stop became a conference ground. It took over one hour and a half. Over one hour and a half!!! I believe I will never forget that joyful memory.
In 2008, I was in Pennsylvania and I drove cross-country alone, in my old car. As always, I got lost countless times, and whenever I got lost, there were kind, nice, warm hearted Americans who told me the right direction or way to go. Among those memories, I have to tell about two episodes. In South Dakota (or North Dakota, I am not sure), I got lost in the wild plain. There was no house, no passengers, only a wild, wild plain. I got out of the car and tried to find out the direction depending on the sunlight, and an old farmer appeared. Before I asked him the direction, he asked me if I got lost. I said yes, and he suggested that I could follow him. He drove the farmer’s tractor which runs 10 miles an hour, so I had to follow him 10 miles an hour. Finally he took me to the entrance of the highway. And when I was passing by Montana, I could not find a hotel to stay for that night until 10 pm. I was hungry and scared because I could not have dinner until then, and besides it was rainy. I thought maybe I had to sleep in my old car. Nevertheless, at the gas station I met a lovely family, father and mother and two daughters, who introduced me to the nice clean hotel for me.
As I said above, I have a lot of evidences that I can surely believe in humans’ warmth and that is regardless of race or nationality. I believe maybe our opponents are prejudiced but not for our race or nationality. Maybe someday the words, race or nationality, will disappear or become meaningless because as a human who lives on this planet we have the same red blood and the same body temperature and more importantly we have the same heart and we all have the same goal, a happy life. Without doubt, happiness and a better future are more important than race or nationality. Will I one day discover that people will stop dividing one from the other for having different races and nationalities?
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Standing Between "Never Give up On Your Dream" and the Perfect Example of "The Other"
I cried while I was watching the YouTube of the show “Britain’s Got Talent.” In the YouTube, Susan Margaret Boyle was singing “I Dreamed A Dream.” I cried with hot tears from deep inside of my heart not only because her voice was amazing, but also because she was a kind of a woman like me in some respects; she can be considered as one of the in terms of “The Others,” in several ways.
She was definitely a “woman,” “slightly chubby,” “far from a classy dresser,” “not very sexy,” “ not had an attractive appearance,” and was “not young” as a new singer. She was born in 1961 and the show was held in 2009, so when she was singing in the show, she was 47 almost 50.
However, April 11, 2009, she was reborn as a woman whose dream came true. I think she was standing in the position of between “never give up on your dream” and an example of “the others”, for a long time, but not anymore. Susan showed to the people that “the others” can dream their own dreams. More importantly, she made a fool of people’s stupid prejudice and the media’s low grade malice by her beautiful singing.
Although she made her dream came true beautifully, I was very annoyed while I was watching the show because everyone’s behavior in the show was very impolite and rude. The audience behaved as if Susan Boyle was a kind of a freak just because of her appearance and her age. Before she began to sing, the judges and everyone in the show including the audience expressed their disappointment because she looked as if she was not suited for the show at all. One of the judges, Simon, asked her age. Susan answered “I’m 47, and that’s just one side of me.” I liked her response, but everyone on the show ridiculed her. Some of the audience humiliated and insulted her. However, when she started to sing, everyone on the show was astonished because her voice was like from heaven and her attitude was imposing and beautiful. I could not stop crying for a while.
The audience changed their attitude immediately and it was ridiculous. But I don’t blame on the audience rather I blame on the TV show makers. I know something about how a TV show is made. The show probably was recorded before being broadcasted. And the setting might be set up before being recorded. I cannot say that all the reactions of the audiences were fakes, but certainly the show makers exaggerated and emphasized people’s biased consciousness by editing and setting just to make the show dramatic. Even if people’s biased prejudice is our sad fact, the media should not do that because the media can lead people in a bad direction. The show was held in England, but I discovered that America is not very different.
When I was in my home country, Korea, I have heard that America was a nation of opportunity, a country that allows everyone to have their own dreams, the land of equality for everyone. However, while I am in America, my belief is shifting. Furthermore, while I am learning about the American culture and the way of thinking, I have to do self examination every moment. “What was I thinking?” “Can I still be dreaming in America?”
The most frustrating thing for me is that, I have realized that I am the perfect example of the term, “The Others.” I am a foreigner, more specifically an Asian, a woman, and I have a strong accent, do not speak English very well, and I am not young, not rich, not sexy nor beautiful.
For Susan Boyle, she is at least a white, more specifically British, and her English is her mother language. She was like me in some parts, but obviously she had a much better position than me, I mean in terms of “The Good and The Others.” And the sad thing is that, at least I believe, I have a same red blood and hot tears and the same emotions in terms of “The Good.”
Now I think I can understand more clearly why no one believed or supported my dream when I left Korea. The reason was not only because of English or my age, but their doubts were rooted in a more broad scale.
Then, should I stop dreaming?
At this point of time, one thing is clear to me that I don’t want to live with the awareness that I am the perfect example of in terms of “The Others.”
Should I ignore it? Do I have to forget it?
I have met many of friendly, kind, nice, and warm hearted Americans in the U.S. They don’t think about my characters as one of “The Others.” I also met some mean people, but I do not think they are racist or ageist. Good people and mean people are everywhere. I surely believe the positive human nature regardless of race, gender or nationality. Standing between “never give up on my dream” and “the perfect example of the others” is sometimes very frustrating to me. On the other hand, I don’t want to surrender the prejudices. Therefore, I want to believe that my study in America will be worth to try. I want to be still dreaming that someday maybe I can be the same as Susan Boyle. I want to show to “The Others” that “The Others” can make their own dream come true and I also want to prove that the false image made by the media is wrong like Susan Boyle.
She was definitely a “woman,” “slightly chubby,” “far from a classy dresser,” “not very sexy,” “ not had an attractive appearance,” and was “not young” as a new singer. She was born in 1961 and the show was held in 2009, so when she was singing in the show, she was 47 almost 50.
However, April 11, 2009, she was reborn as a woman whose dream came true. I think she was standing in the position of between “never give up on your dream” and an example of “the others”, for a long time, but not anymore. Susan showed to the people that “the others” can dream their own dreams. More importantly, she made a fool of people’s stupid prejudice and the media’s low grade malice by her beautiful singing.
Although she made her dream came true beautifully, I was very annoyed while I was watching the show because everyone’s behavior in the show was very impolite and rude. The audience behaved as if Susan Boyle was a kind of a freak just because of her appearance and her age. Before she began to sing, the judges and everyone in the show including the audience expressed their disappointment because she looked as if she was not suited for the show at all. One of the judges, Simon, asked her age. Susan answered “I’m 47, and that’s just one side of me.” I liked her response, but everyone on the show ridiculed her. Some of the audience humiliated and insulted her. However, when she started to sing, everyone on the show was astonished because her voice was like from heaven and her attitude was imposing and beautiful. I could not stop crying for a while.
The audience changed their attitude immediately and it was ridiculous. But I don’t blame on the audience rather I blame on the TV show makers. I know something about how a TV show is made. The show probably was recorded before being broadcasted. And the setting might be set up before being recorded. I cannot say that all the reactions of the audiences were fakes, but certainly the show makers exaggerated and emphasized people’s biased consciousness by editing and setting just to make the show dramatic. Even if people’s biased prejudice is our sad fact, the media should not do that because the media can lead people in a bad direction. The show was held in England, but I discovered that America is not very different.
When I was in my home country, Korea, I have heard that America was a nation of opportunity, a country that allows everyone to have their own dreams, the land of equality for everyone. However, while I am in America, my belief is shifting. Furthermore, while I am learning about the American culture and the way of thinking, I have to do self examination every moment. “What was I thinking?” “Can I still be dreaming in America?”
The most frustrating thing for me is that, I have realized that I am the perfect example of the term, “The Others.” I am a foreigner, more specifically an Asian, a woman, and I have a strong accent, do not speak English very well, and I am not young, not rich, not sexy nor beautiful.
For Susan Boyle, she is at least a white, more specifically British, and her English is her mother language. She was like me in some parts, but obviously she had a much better position than me, I mean in terms of “The Good and The Others.” And the sad thing is that, at least I believe, I have a same red blood and hot tears and the same emotions in terms of “The Good.”
Now I think I can understand more clearly why no one believed or supported my dream when I left Korea. The reason was not only because of English or my age, but their doubts were rooted in a more broad scale.
Then, should I stop dreaming?
At this point of time, one thing is clear to me that I don’t want to live with the awareness that I am the perfect example of in terms of “The Others.”
Should I ignore it? Do I have to forget it?
I have met many of friendly, kind, nice, and warm hearted Americans in the U.S. They don’t think about my characters as one of “The Others.” I also met some mean people, but I do not think they are racist or ageist. Good people and mean people are everywhere. I surely believe the positive human nature regardless of race, gender or nationality. Standing between “never give up on my dream” and “the perfect example of the others” is sometimes very frustrating to me. On the other hand, I don’t want to surrender the prejudices. Therefore, I want to believe that my study in America will be worth to try. I want to be still dreaming that someday maybe I can be the same as Susan Boyle. I want to show to “The Others” that “The Others” can make their own dream come true and I also want to prove that the false image made by the media is wrong like Susan Boyle.
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