Tuesday, June 8, 2004

Expressive paper #3

Living peacefully on the reservation, the Danh sisters realized they had to fight for their right to live on their land. The American government had begun to take their cattle so that they could not eat and would be forced to relocate to another area. The government was doing this because of a Nuclear Test Site that was on Western Shoshone and. The tribal people were opposed to the test site because the fallout from the testing had the potential of giving people cancer. Also, to be relocated by taking away the cattle that sustained them without any warning seemed wrong. The tribe had lived on the land for years and the government didn't have a right to move them especially in this aggressive manner. There was great disregard towards the Native Americans by the workers of the site as they yelled obscenities and foul language at them. I remember hearing one man yell at an indigenous woman, who was standing quietly near him, "Get off this land you fucking stupid red asses!" The anger within this man was so visible as his face became beet red while yelling at the woman. This discrimination was not uncommon as it still continues on today for the Danh sisters and Western Shoshone tribe. Discrimination still lives within our country's walls, despite the efforts of Martin Luther King Jr. who fought for equality in American society. The African-American rapper, Mos Def discussed his own discrimination on an airplane flight in his song "Mr. Nigga." He says about his flight, "The only brother in sight the flight attendant catch fright/ I sit down in my seat, 2C/...Her lips curl up into a tight space/ Cause she don't believe that I'm in the right place." This could show discrimination still exists in today's world because Mos Def was being singled out as the only black man in first class. The flight attendant's actions may also insinuate that black people cannot afford to fly first class which may be why she was prompted to ask if the rapper belonged in seat 2C. I have an African-American friend named Jamal who I've known since childhood. We have had many conversations about the topic of discrimination and he told me at one point that although he was proud to be black sometimes he wished that he were white. I asked him why he felt like this and he told me that if he were white then the police would not bother him. Jamal was a top student in school and was a very kind, gentle human being. I could not help feeling that it was the discrimination that he felt by the police was what prompted his statement about wanting to be white. In the area where we grew up the police were known for being racist and unjust to minorities. My own experience with racism and discrimination began when I was seven. My family and I were in the process of moving from Ohio to California when we decided to go have breakfast. We went to a restaurant somewhere in Texas and we were denied service. The people in the restaurant told us that the reason that they would not serve us was because my mom and I were Mexican (my father is Anglo-American). They said about my mother and I "We don't feed your kind here." My father was so furious and I was so hungry. I remember my dad saying aloud to everyone, "We don't need to eat here!" At that moment my pristine world of happiness was shattered. I could not understand why people would hate me because of what nationality I was. Furthermore, they refused to acknowledge that I was Mexican-American. They only viewed me as Mexican. It has been very important for me to accept both cultures in order to understand my roots and when someone has denied one of them I have felt a sense of discrimination because one of my cultures was not being acknowledged. Mr. Lovas in a class discussion discussed briefly that Mexicans in the seventies were called "Wetbacks." Well, they were called that in the eighties too. In fourth grade people at school who were not my classmates called me a "Wetback." Being that I was a sensitive child, I was very distraught and hurt by that word. I was being made fun of as I was viewed as a Mexican in a very derogatory way. When I discussed what was happening to me in school my dad told me to tell the people who were calling me "Wetback," to say that I had gotten a towel and dried off my back. This advice did not help me at all. I just felt like my dad did not understand and after talking with my mom I felt like she didn't understand me either. In all of these experiences with the Western Shoshone Tribe, Jamal, and myself I have gained the strength to stand up for myself and for others that I see are being discriminated against. I know how it feels to be judged by my nationality from other people and it still happens to me in this day and age. Discrimination involves the element of ignorance within the person who does the discriminating of another person or people. I'm actually saddened by this. I tend to take pity on those that discriminate because they do not know any better. Discriminators can be very narrow-minded people who view other people in stereotypical ways. I just wish that discriminators could open their eyes and wipe the cobwebs from themselves to see the reality in people and not what they want to see. Through my own experiences and watching other people go through their own struggles with discrimination I find that I am aware of other people and their feelings. Throughout my life I have been an understanding and considerate person because of being treated unjustly by others. I don't ever want to make people feel a sense of lost dignity in the way that derogatory comments can do. I think that my being consciously aware of discrimination on a constant basis has been influential for me in how I treat people. The year before Bush senior left the presidency he finally shut down the Nuclear Test Site that was on Western Shoshone land. I was so happy! I had gone that year and protested with the Danh sisters and even got arrested to help save their cattle and land. The tribe could remain at ease and peace at least during the time that the test site was shut down. I saw my efforts be greatly rewarded because I felt that at least for some time justice had been served. No one should have to fight so hard as the Western Shoshone tribe has in order to keep their land. The sad reality is that the government is still discriminating against Native American tribes such as the Western Shoshone. Bush junior has now re-opened the test site and the fight continues on. I hope that someday we can all live in peace and harmony as ideal as this thought may be. In the words of Martin Luther King Jr. it would be a wonderful day when we could all be "Free at last, Free at last." Posted by Adriana Worley on 6/8/04; 3:58:56 PM from the dept. Discuss