Blog Post #5

As everyone knows, faith is a very personal thing. What an individual believes in, whether it be religion or other beliefs, shapes the way that person views and forms opinions about the world. My personal beliefs center around helping others and treating everyone equally. My beliefs stem from my religion as Hinduism preaches both of these values. The video “First time ever in the World, a Grand Symphony of a 1000 Sitarists – Raag Hansadhwani” showcases a type of music that I have heard my entire life. There is a beauty in the sound that I believe everyone can appreciate, even if they do not share my faith. The music sounds very celebratory and joyful, which is exactly something that I believe diversity has the power of bringing to all communities. Although I am not as religious as other people in my family, I do understand that the upbringing I had celebrating large Hindu holidays such as Diwali and Tihar have had a lasting impact on the way I view contemporary issues.

Although I believe diversity can do nothing but help communities, not everyone has the same viewpoint as I do. The Pulse Nightclub Shooting that occurred on June 12, 2016 in Orlando, Florida was the worst hate crime to have ever occurred in United States history. This mass shooting, which left 49 people dead, was targeted toward the members of the LGBTQ and Latino communities in Orlando. The shooter, Omar Mateen, pledged his allegiance to ISIS prior to attacking the nightclub, making this tragedy a terrorist attack. The article, “One Year Later: The Pulse of Orlando” describes the healing the city went through in the wake of the attack. A large amount of legislative action was taken in order to prevent such a terrible event from happening again. A point that is repeated multiple times throughout the article is the necessity of “organizations and institutions founded by people of color, for people of color”. The Orlando shooting had a large impact on me because it followed shortly after a family was murdered in my hometown. I do not enjoy talking about this because although I did not know the victims personally, I was in a club with Nina and she did not deserve to die at the age of 15. Something that mass shootings have taught me about myself are that I cannot stand the idea of people harming others because they are different than themselves.

Mass shootings have a way of sucking the hope out of us. Every time another one happens it makes me lose faith in humanity a little bit more. However, the article “What I Learned About Community from a Maximum-Security Prisoner” restored some of my faith. This article details the story of a maximum security prisoner, Clifford Powers. Powers is serving 45 years in prison for first-degree murder. His letter to columnist Courtney Martin depicts the community that is built in prison. Although many of us would think this is a very unlikely place to have a strong community, Powers knocks down the ideas of prison we outsiders have. He describes how prisoners, especially those in maximum security prisons, have a bond that makes them help one another at all costs. He states, “There is something about knowing that you’re potentially doing decades together that induces a long-term view and a mutual dependence to survive that short-timers don’t have.” Reading this article made me realize that even maximum security prisoners share some of the same values that I do.

As values and faith are two ideas that are very closely intertwined, the TED Talk “Misconceptions of Islam and Muslim Life” addresses the issue with the large amount of media attention on the Middle East. Bassam Tariq, a blogger, filmmaker, and halal butcher speaks about his experiences being Muslim and how even his own community has come away from values that he grew up with. He speaks about his film “These Birds Walk” which showcases the troubles children face in Pakistan as they grow up on the streets. Tariq describes how some people close to him told him to include drone strikes and military action in his film to make the issue “more current”. He did not include either of these in his film as he believes the issues these children face are equally relevant. Bassam Tariq also speaks about his halal butcher shop in New York. He states that most of his customers are not Muslim, which speaks to the diversity his shop brings to New York as the shop is a way for people to begin to understand Islam and the values it places importance on. Tariq places great importance on diversity as it is what makes us unequivocally human. I agree with his views as he believes that what makes us different in the end makes us more similar than anything else.

 

 

 

Blog Post #4

This past week I made the decision to start studying at the library on a regular basis. Late last week one of my friends asked me to study with her at the library. It is not necessarily silent in the library but it is quiet enough that you are able to be more productive in a shorter amount of time. From then on, I have done most of my studying in the library as I realize how beneficial it is for being productive. My choice to begin studying at the library comes from my desire to do well in my classes. I have always placed an importance on doing well academically since my parents always pushed me to do well in school. I believe education has the power to change everything about a person’s beliefs and opinions. An education is something that I have taken for granted far too many times growing up in the United States. However, travelling to my parents’ home country of Nepal every few years has shown me how lucky I am to have received an education at all. My aunt is very involved with young girls’ education in Nepal. Not only can education be expensive for families, many families still do not see the necessity to educate girls. Going back to Nepal every couple of years always seems to put into perspective the privileges I have as someone who was born and has grown up in the United States.

The privilege I have experienced in the United States has not always existed. The United States has witnessed a genocide of Native Americans, slavery, Jim Crow, and many other forms of institutionalized racism. In the podcast, “Imagining a New America” Ta-Nehisi Coates describes the impact of his father’s work as a librarian had on him as a child. He says, “I didn’t understand blackness and whiteness and white supremacy as central to American history. And I had people around me that said that. They would say, ‘This country is built on our back.’ But I would wonder, ‘Why? How do you illustrate that? What does that mean?’” Coates’ description of his exposure to the idea of racism at a relatively young age exemplifies how parents and communities of color are forced to explain to their children that they cannot act in the same way as white children of the same age.

Lori Lakin Hutcherson, the editor-in-chief of Good Black News, takes the idea of white privilege a step further in her editorial “What I Said When my White Friend Asked for My Black Opinion on White Privilege”. Hutcherson responds to her friend’s social media post about white privilege with a comprehensive list of situations people of color experience concerning their race. She foes through the first time children of color realize the color of their skin will make people think differently of them, when there is one person of color in a social setting, and finally that accomplishments are only due to a person’s race. She goes through many other situations, but these are the three I relate to the most. I am from a small, predominately white town about forty minutes north of Philadelphia. Until middle school, I was the only person from South Asia in any of my classes. In middle school, I was one of two. I have experienced being the only person of my race in a class or group setting, which would not be bad if people did not feel the need to bring attention to it. In the past, many people have tried to use my race as the sole explanation for my success and accomplishments.

The apex of white privilege is the white supremacist movement. Theo Wilson, a black male explored the white supremacist movement by creating a fake persona to specifically experience the online supremacist community. This is explored in Peter Holley’s article “A black man went undercover online as a white supremacist. This is what he learned.” Wilson learned that there are people who believe, “black people are not fully human and are lagging in terms of evolution.” Wilson says that social media has allowed white supremacist views to reach a larger audience, especially young people. He says, “We need to have courageous, face-to-face conversations with difficult people outside the security of our laptops.” The screens we hide behind make it very easy to spread hate without the fear of what the other side might do. Wilson’s experience online shows how the white supremacist movement is not made up of old white men who were part of Jim Crow lynch mobs. Social media has facilitated the spread of these hateful ideals.

Theo Wilson’s podcast connects to the podcast “The Power of Words to Save Us” as it deals with impact words can have on our society. Wilson’s experiment boils down to destructive language being spread through the Internet. Poet Maria Howe speaks about her belief in the soul as opposed to identity in this podcast. She explains how identity can change based on your own experiences and how others treat you. Your soul is something that is entirely untouchable by the outside world. As identity is a trait that is ever evolving, our experiences growing up affect it. Things like education, family, and community are all factors in our identities. In order to combat racism not only within the United States but also all over the world, we must start with changing what we can. We must start with teaching our kids that race does not make one person lesser.

 

 

Blog Post #3

As defined by BBC, ethics is a system of moral principles. Our ethics define how we, as individuals and a society, act. In the podcast “Mapping Meaning in a Digital Age” host Krista Tippett and Maria Popova (creator and editor of the website “Brain Pickings”) discuss the increasing fragility of our understanding of the world. Popova’s discussion centers on an idea of old and new. She describes how it is important for us to not disregard the thoughts of “bygone thinkers” as there is a reason their beliefs have endured such a long period of time. Popova makes an effort to live her life in such a way that balances old and new. Whether this is a balance between cynicism and hope or old and new schools of thought, Popova makes it clear that equality is important in all aspects of life. This type of harmony is what we should strive for, according to Popova. Our lives should be a mix of understanding and questioning old practices. I agree with Popova’s assertion, “I think in order to survive, both as individuals and as a civilization, but especially in order to thrive, we need to bridge critical thinking with hope.” The bridge between these two seemingly separate ideas will push us toward progress as a society.

Ethics apply to this idea in an interesting fashion. Due to immense technological development over the past two decades or so, the topic of scientific ethical dilemmas has become a topic of conversation. Should we continue research into making deadly diseases even more lethal? Is colonizing Mars really such a good idea? Both of these dilemmas connect back to Popova’s bridge between critical thinking and hope. We must decide, using our ethics, whether the greater good is served through critical thinking or through hope.

A prime example of the battle between critical thinking and hope is the Civil Rights Movement led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In the podcast “The Movement, Remembered Forward” host Krista Tippett and guests Gwendolyn Zoharah Simmons and Lucas Johnson discuss the immediate as well as the lasting effects of the Civil Rights Movement. One of the main themes I held on to from this podcast was the initial apprehension people had toward the Civil Rights Movement. Dr. Simmons describes how her grandmother made her promise not to get involved with the movement — “I mean to get there at that time and first of all, it’s important to note that my grandmother had made me swear up and down that I wasn’t going to get involved in the movement, and I said, ‘Oh, no. I’m not. I’m not.’ And I really meant it. You know, I really did. You know, I was so glad to be going to college.” Dr. Simmons discusses how she quickly defaulted on her promise to her grandmother due to going away to college and being exposed to many different influences.

Simmons’ grandmother was afraid the protests would get violent, which leads me to my next point. Reverend Johnson discusses in depth the relationship between justice and love. Reverend Johnson states, “There are lots of tensions within it and, yeah, those tensions include a tension between the struggle for justice and the commitment to love, right? They include attention between recognizing a tremendous amount of violence being acted upon someone and the desire to sort of stop that violence and the willingness or the interest in stopping that violence even while loving the perpetrators of that violence.” This relates back to the Maria Popova’s discussion of the relationship between critical thinking and hope. How do we use our ethics in order to delineate between what we want and what we need? How is what we need different than what we want?

In the article “How Racial Bias Could Be Hurting Silicon Valley’s Bottom Line” author Tracy Jan describes Apple shareholders’ discontent toward the lack of diversity in Apple’s leadership. Jan states, “Companies that fail to diversify, from management on down, risk hurting their bottom lines, say some shareholders, investors and other advocates of diversity.” How far are companies willing to go in order to keep their old ways? I believe the “bottom line” Jan is speaking about is the profit all companies make from not only their shareholders but also all customers. In the end, all companies (not only those in Silicon Valley) exist to make a profit. All companies have their separate mission statements and values, but are large corporations willing to bend some of their values if that means their profit will not suffer? My guess is that most companies will listen to their shareholders’ opinions as the shareholders as a group have a large say in the future of the company.

In a similar way to a corporation, schools also have “shareholders” of their own — the students, parents, and teachers who use the school everyday. Some schools even are businesses; just look at colleges for example. However, for the context of the article “The Best Antidote to Bullying? Community-Building” I will keep the discussion to American public schools, as this is normally where bullying is the most concerning. In his article, author Jim Dillon states, “Bullying doesn’t wound students; it pours salt on a pre-existing injury, causing it to hurt even more. Most students who are bullied have already been hurt.” Dillon goes on to say that most victims of bullying are “misfits” in comparison to others in their classes. Whether it be the way they look, speak, or beliefs they hold, there is something about these students that makes them different from the rest. Bullies then aim at these preexisting insecurities, causing more pain where it already existed. Studying the ethics behind the bully is very enlightening, as bullies tend to have traumatizing pasts of their own. Many bullies have experienced something that causes them to want to inflict pain on others. Events affect not only our lives but also our ethics. Bullies hurt others in order to make themselves feel better. Their ethics change due to negative events that they have had to endure.

These four different podcasts and articles cover several different topics, however they are all connected through the underlying theme of ethics. Though seemingly different, all of these articles examine the reasons why peoples’ ethics are the way they are. Our ethics are so different because of the different experiences we as individuals have. These experiences shape the way we act in different situations and how we view the actions of others. Although our ethics can cause large divides in society, we all have ethics no matter the differences. This commonality is what enables us to work together toward a goal of a better future.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blog Post #2

Amal Kassir’s simple solution to rapidly growing ethnic divides is simple — ask the person next to you their name. Kassir believes what we choose to call ourselves is very telling about who we are as people. This belief shows how when we generalize, we give others names they have not chosen. Amal’s talk brings to light the power of the names we give others and ourselves.

Amal Kassir speaks about herself as an example of the differences we all face in terms of what we call ourselves and what other choose to call us. She describes herself as, “international spoken word poet” and “unapologetic Muslim woman”. She then goes on to share how at the airport her name is “random search” and on the street her name is “rag head” or “terrorist”. She explains how people think of her father as a terrorist and herself as a woman who needs liberating. Kassir’s personal examples demonstrate how the way we look impacts the way others think of us — no matter what our story is. Kassir’s mother was born in Iowa, but is still told to return to her country as she wears the traditional Islamic headdress (the hijab).

Kassir’s talk relates to the article “2017 V-Day Spotlight Campaign on Violence Against Women in the Workplace” as this article addresses the real issues women face not only on the street but also in the workplace. The issue that has come to the forefront recently is the issue of sexual harassment in the workplace. Following Donald Trump’s sexual harassment allegations many male celebrities and news anchors such as Kevin Spacey and Bill O’Reilly were publicly accused of sexual harassment. Kassir speaks about how she has been judged in the past for the way she dresses and the way she speaks. This relates to the article as man women in the workplace are judged for how they dress or how they speak. These stereotypes of women are what make them vulnerable in the workplace to sexual harassment.

This type of harassment has been occurring all over the world for years. The prevalence of sexual harassment at work for women speaks volumes to the importance our global society places on the safety of women. If the situation was reversed and men were the ones being violated at their jobs, I am positive the response would be different. Why do we believe it is okay to ignore such a large problem? In the United States, women started entering the workforce in significant numbers in the 1950s. Women have added “financial provider” to their long list of responsibilities as leaders of households. Since it has been such a short period of time for women in the professional world they have not gained the respect they deserve as employees to companies.

All of Kassir’s examples speak to the prejudices we all have towards others. We may not know or want to believe that we hold such opinions of others prior to learning much about them. Our perspective of the reality of others’ lives impacts our opinions of others. Our perspective is also influenced by where we are from, family relationships, and education. Each individual perspective is different — so how do we generalize so easily? Why is it that we so willingly take others’ names away from them?

I personally relate to Kassir as I too have been named “random search” at airports and been asked to speak for my race as a whole. I am usually not very cognizant to the fact that I am a different race and religion than those around me. My awareness for the color of my skin began to fade away when I began my time at Penn State. Being surrounded by people of completely different backgrounds has almost made me blind to the characteristics that made me “different” growing up. I am from a small town forty minutes north of Philadelphia. I remember in elementary school I was the only person of color in the majority of my classes. In middle school, there was one other person from south Asia in my grade. The diversity grew by the time I was in high school, but that did not change that the vast majority of the people in my hometown are white.

As I grew up in a majority white town, I have had multiple encounters with people who do not know much about my culture. Both of my parents were born in Kathmandu, Nepal and immigrated to the United States in the 1990s. They made sure to keep Nepali traditions alive when raising my sister and I. In this way, I have grown up with both American traditions and Nepali traditions. This has made me much more aware of the similarities between cultures as opposed to differences.

One of the first times I had an uncomfortable encounter about my religion was in seventh grade when we were studying Christianity, Judaism, and Islam in history class. One of the girls in my class asked me if I was Muslim, and I replied “no” as I am Hindu. She was rather confused, as I had previously told her that I was not Christian and she knew I was not Jewish. She then inquired, “Are you atheist?” to which I again responded no, and proceeded to tell her I am Hindu. She then said, “I’ve never heard of that before,” in a tone of disbelief. I was only twelve years old at the time but I very quickly realized that my classmates had never heard of my religion. I also recognized that some did not even believe me when I told them about my religion because their parents had never educated them about it and we were not being taught about it in school.

Another conversation I remember having is with one of my good friends where he said something along the lines of, “I know you don’t believe the same things as I do”. That is when I stopped him and asked to explain my point of view as I could see only similarities where he could only see differences. He listened with an open mind and then realized that we believe essentially the same things, it is just our ways of thinking are different (him being Christian and myself Hindu).

Different ways of thinking is the main theme of the article “Dangerous Spirituality” by Vincent Harding. He compares Howard Thurman and Martin Luther King Jr. throughout the article in order to show their similarities in their beliefs due to their strong connection to their spirituality. The article explains how people like Thurman, King, and Gandhi have an incredible ability to understand others because of their connection to their spirituality. Harding says this connection allows them to more clearly see the commonalities between us. He uses Dr. King’s quote, “I identify with those people you call gooks and enemies and Viet Congs and those who must be burned to death. I identify with them; they are my sisters and brothers. Those are my children running aflame.” These three individuals understood on a deeper level that our differences are what make us human. Their recognition of this truth is what enabled them to bring justice to entire nations.

I believe that we share our morals to those who are willing to receive them. Of course there are bad people in the world, but the vast majority of the population believes in helping not hurting others. Of course the actions when faced with a moral situation are influenced by factors such as religion, education, and upbringing. However, we are all connected in some way. My personal experience has taught me that common traits are not difficult to find even with those who seem to be completely different from you. As Amal Kassir said, it all begins with asking someone his or her name.

Blog Post #1

Indian Country Today – Jaune Quick-to-See Smith

Jaune Quick-to-See Smith’s painting Indian Country Today depicts a map of the United States. The lines in the painting are not crisp — meaning there are no clear delineations between different elements of the painting. For example, the borders between the states are not clearly defined nor are the borders between the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The viewer must carefully observe the painting in order to see some type of separation between the elements.

Overall, the painting has a muted color scheme. The palette is varied, as the painting includes reds, blues, greens, and yellows. Different states are different colors. For example, California, Wyoming, Colorado, Wisconsin, Missouri, Florida, Virginia, and Maine are all a red-brown color. Montana and Arizona are both a brighter green.

The painting also incorporates pieces of newspapers whose headlines refer to events during the 1800s. It was during this time period when the United States began to expand its borders due to industrialization. Although the overall socioeconomic status of people living in the United States rose during this time, it was not without consequences. The addition of the newspapers to this painting makes its message clear — the path the United States took to become a world power was not a completely righteous one.

The messiness of the painting and the intentional placement of the colors help to illustrate the darker side of the history of the United States. The states painted in red are states that have a history of discrimination toward Native Americans. Andrew Jackson’s Trail of Tears occurred in the mid-1800s in the southeastern United States. During this time period thousands of Native Americans we forced to relocate from their ancestral lands under the Indian Removal Act of 1830. The red represents the areas of the United States where Native Americans were driven out of their homes.

The pieces Railroad Siding, Mojave, El’ Station 3^rd Avenue at 53^rd Street NYC, and Coaldale all relate to Indian Country Today through both their artistic characteristics and their meanings.

Railroad Siding – Charles Cecil Pollock

Railroad Siding by Charles Cecil Pollock depicts a barren landscape with a train car as well as other materials that were used to build the railroads in the 1800s. This has a much more casual feeling to it when compared to Indian Country Today as it is drawn in more of a sketch style. There are not many intricate details like in Indian Country Today. In the foreground of the drawing there are small bushes. In the background there is a mountain, tree, and a large cloud of smoke. In this way, I believe Pollock was trying to describe how the railroads cut through the land gained from westward expansion. The style in which this is drawn focuses the spectator’s attention on the stark difference between the industrial train and railroad pieces and the barren Mojave Desert landscape. Railroad Siding is similar to Indian Country Today in that it speaks to the industrial period of the United States. Both pieces attempt to depict the repercussions of industrialization.

El’ Station, 3rd Avenue at 53rd Street, NYC – Ernest Fiene

El’ Station, 3^rd Avenue at 53^rd Street, NYC is a painting of a train station in New York City. Like Indian Country Today it utilizes a more muted color scheme. Fiene’s piece shows the adaptation of people to the convenience of public and private transportation. The green building in the center of the painting looks like a train station — there are many people in and around the area of the stairs. This signifies that people are using the train to get to their destinations. Toward the right of the painting, there are automobiles parked on the street. The individuals depicted in the painting are going in all different directions, which shows how industrialization caused communication between people to decrease. The two women in the foreground of the painting (the one wearing green and the other orange) seem as though they are of higher economic status than the rest of those who are in this painting. One woman looks as though she is walking to a car and the other is looking at something in shop window. This painting differs from Indian Country Today as the lines are much more defined. The clarity in the separation of different elements shows how our society has become more and more defined as time has passed.

Coaldale – Francis Speight

Coaldale is similar to the other pieces as it too has opposing elements. In the foreground of the painting there is a road lined with green trees and a small house. This picture perfect scene is overshadowed by the overwhelming mountain of black coal in the background of the painting. The artist Francis Speight painted the scene in such a way that it looks as though the sun is shining only on the front half of the landscape. This piece, just as the other pieces, shows the unintentional consequences of the Industrial Revolution. The concentration of light in the front of the painting shows how industrialization helped Americans increase their income, however is brought along other effects with the increase in income. Coaldale is more of a realistic painting in comparison to the other pieces. Its realistic qualities help to solidify its message just as the abstract characteristics of Indian Country Today help it to spread its message.

All four of these pieces aid in an understanding of American history; both what we were told to remember in school and what was glossed over. Topics such as slavery, the Trail of Tears, and Japanese internment are examples of events that happened in the history of the United States. These events and events like them do not bring pride to the name of the United States, which is why we are pushed in the direction not to remember them. By withholding certain elements in each painting, each artist is able to successfully send their message that we cannot forget about the shameful events of our past as a country. It is our job to remember those who died in vain and prevent it from happening again.