Week 8

Jacqueline Novogratz mentioned that the problem and question that I also had noticed was how poverty is defined. I can speak from personal experience, my mother did not finish her college degree due to health issues. Her mother and father both worked but they couldn’t afford health insurance, like anesthesia to numb the pain while the doctor burned the tumor off the skin of her back. Growing up on the east side of I35 and witnessing domestic violence at home sure made a difference. Although we had a place to live, food, water, and clothes, the limited choices and lack of freedom took charge of our lives.

My mother always said to be thankful that we live in America and not in another country sleeping on the dirt with no food and water or the opportunity to go to school/work. But now I am realizing how wrong "America" has been and I don't know how to look at it anymore. I have lived in a low-income household for 27 years which can be depressing, depending on the way I look at it. The future looks brighter with plans to ensure I build the foundation for my children that they need to have prepared for them. I struggle but my life is nothing compared to what I know many others endure. My mother never gave up on me, taught me the importance of getting a college education, so that I would not struggle with my children as she did with my sister and I. Being where I am now makes me not give up, I want to serve others in some way, somehow.

I am most passionate about the horrors and tragedies that have been committed against Native Americans and African Americans. Aaron Huey’s discussion about greediness of white people have once again proved to me I am not imagining things. Tan Le’s immigration story is another one that truly touches the heart. I still find it shocking that this is the world that we live in, how millions of people are still fleeing a place that is supposed to be a home, to find another home, to be only lacking what people deserve; justice, complete equitable harmony, opportunity, and peace.

When Jimmy Carter mentioned the religious misinterpretation of holy books that belittle women to be secondary compared to men in the eyes of God is another reason why I think there is something wrong with religion. When we moved from the place where we lived for 18 years, we found a church next to the new home. Wanting to find somewhere to raise my kids in church thinking that it is a good environment, I looked it up on the website and it had mentioned how women were below men and that it would stay like that. Once again, absurdness draws the line around life and I try to make sense of it. I feel like Love is the right religion, if anything.

It was encouraging to hear, “Then I realized, the first step to solving any problem is to not hide from it, and the first step to any form of action is awareness.” I am becoming more aware everyday although I find it difficult to talk about it, in the best way that I feel like I should know how. I guess it takes practice, and finding that spark that lights me on fire. I am still shy, afraid, and nervous to speak out. But I plan to take action to advocate as much as I learn how to do so.

Tears came to my eyes when Mellody said that her mother told her, “Mellody, you can be anything." And because of those words, I would wake up at the crack of dawn, and because of those words, I would love school more than anything, and because of those words, when I was on a bus going to school, I dreamed the biggest dreams. And it's because of those words that I stand here right now full of passion, asking you to be brave for the kids who are dreaming those dreams today.” This made me think of my kids. Sometimes I feel like I am not doing enough for them or for me. I am so caught up in classes and trying to get through what I need to do, it feels like I have no time for them, and they live in their own little world, without the attention that I feel like I am not giving them. I want them to know that they can be anything too. I want them to love school, but I want them to be taught the truth. I want them to be successful. When I find myself stressing about these things, I think of others, ALL THE TIME. Am I being selfish and greedy thinking about how hard my life is, what I want and need? What else can I do right now to help others? Knowing about the wrong doings in the world just kills me. But that is why I majored in social work, because that is where my heart is, besides my kids and creating a better life for us, I wish to help others have a better life too. Although we might all be on our own path, we all walk and cross paths together, which means that I can’t just look the other way regarding injustice.

Week 7

Rosie King’s TED Talk was interesting as it shed a little light on autism for me as I don’t really know too much about Autism. I appreciated the way that Rosie was explaining how her personal experience with Autism is unique. I also thought that it was really weird that there would be a google list that pops up in a search that says people who have autism are demons.

The chapter by Alex Wilson was a good read as I have never read anything that discussed the identity development of gay or lesbian Native Americans. The phrase “two-spirited” reminded me of something that I had read in another book that described something about individuals who identify as gay or lesbian, which unfortunately I cannot remember what it was, but it made sense to me. I totally agree with the statement in this chapter, “We understand that the spiritual, physical, emotional, and intellectual parts of ourselves are equally important and interrelated. When one aspect of a person is unhealthy, the entire person is affected. This too is true for the entire community; when one aspect of the community is missing, the entire community will suffer in some way.” I feel like this is a perfect explanation of why there is so much chaos in the world. There is something wrong in so many places and homes in society due to the discrimination, judgment, and marginalization of individuals that affects people in all kinds of ways that get under the skin, spreading all over the world.

Adams chapter 44 reminded me of how mostly all of my family is Christian, and most all people that I know. I used to think that it was normal, even though I did not really understand completely. Eventually, I thought I understood, but then I became confused. I started reading and doing research to find the answers to my questions, which I think I have found them, or at least some, but I still don’t know what to believe in and how to direct my life regarding my spirituality, although I am a vegan at heart, and wish for world peace. It is really weird, its like this world is full of secrets and mysteries. I know there is a God or Gods, but Christian privilege is an odd aspect of this world that has an ugly history which I feel like still has responsibility for a lot of the issues that exist today. I would think that we wouldn’t have these religious problems, but we do, and the famous question of mine is, why?

Adams chapter 45 really underlined the major points that need to be addressed. Scriptural justifications for slavery, destroying Native American culture, oppression of the Japanese and Muslims, religious justification for exploitation is just INSANE. I cant get over it but wow, the world we live in! To me, this also pertains to the animal cruelty of factory farming that is a current holocaust that happens every second of the day. I often look around myself and wonder how Native American lands were considered useless but where stolen and taken advantage of. All of this in the name of God, a Christian God. So many different religions, who is to say what is right and wrong, true or false? The world and universe that we live in goes farther than the eyes can see, there has to be something else that is the missing solution to all of these issues, that I feel is being kept away from us, or it is the willpower of individuals and society that is misled and distracted. It is absurd how people can claim anyone different from them to be devil worshippers, not realizing that their hurtful actions make them to be that they are the devils themselves.

Chapter 113 and 118 touched on a topic that I am learning more about in another class, Social Construction of Disabilities. I think that it is true that this topic is minimally examined and understood. I thought that the page that discussed how to become an ally was really good, it should be posted everywhere for everyone to see. It seems like all of the money and attention is distributed somewhere else that does not serve the elderly and people with disabilities. The gap in services is created and it can be fixed by implementing improvements in the service systems. The next step is just making the move towards the changes that needs to be made in all aspects of life on earth.

Sources

Adams, M., Blumfeld, W., Castañeda, C., Hackman, H., Peters, M., Zúñiga, X. (2013). Readings for Diversity and Social Justice. New York, NY: Rutledge.

King, R. (2014). How autism freed me to be myself [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/rosie_king_how_autism_freed_me_to_be_myself.

Wilson, Alex. Race, Gender, Sexuality, and Social Class: Dimensions of Inequality and Identity. Sage, Los Angeles 2015. pp. 205.

Week 6: Theories of Differences

            Reading V.F. Cordova: America reminded me of what I have been thinking about constantly. I have been searching for the truth and understanding of life itself which I feel like will last a lifetime on to life after death. Personally, it was a sign for me to read the words that the author says how she would never read the myths of Christianity to her Native American children. When she explains how the prophetess would then claim how “they” do not understand, it’s clear how it is really those who do not understand that all this time the differences that exist between society are meaningful in another way than what they truly think and thus, are harmful. The “Christian” view and the “real” view have outlined the reality, what is wrong and has caused the discriminatory processes and systems that is the foundation of what America was built on in the first place that disconnected humanity from its original roots of life.

            Of the Water and the Spirit was very interesting as I have never read anything like that before. I imagine many people would question the literature and deny that it is true, but if it is, wow. It reminds me of how I have started reading about the universe that we live in and it is intriguing how much more the world makes sense the more that I read and how many differences there is the farther I go and look. The way that they expressed their emotion and culture of death, how the author explained the process of how and why each event took place is powerful. The magical parts of it are mystical, and amazing to wonder about. I found it relatable to the society that we live in when the author said that the laws of nature are broken when someone goes “private.” It made me think of how the laws of nature are broken as the whole wide world is divided up into privacy sections, such as the actions and results of the possessive investment in whiteness and increasing inequality that is caused by those who are in power.

            There lived a little boy who was misled paints a picture that is impossible to erase as I can only imagine the reality of these places and lives that have been negatively impacted. The cities that have been built and then neglected, only to become homes of individuals and families that have struggled due to the suffocating lack of options to choose from, with no choice other than being misled is just one of the most hypocritical aspects of America as a result of the possessive investment in whiteness. There is a reason why the smoke darkened everything, as it had been allowed to burn in the first place. This country had all the resources it needed as a land full of freedom and opportunity but based on the many years that have passed, society has been divided in the very first place, deciding the way life is for people, depending on their skin color.

            After reading The Possessive Investment in Whiteness, I approach once again one of my weaknesses of how there are some things that I do not fully understand about the financial and economic crooks and chasms, and I feel like I cannot be any help if I do not. Although I do suspect corruption automatically and acknowledge that the possessive investment in whiteness exists, I feel inclined to live the rest of my life fighting against it. The question how I can do that still remains. Mia Birdsong in the TED Talk makes a perfect point about how the people themselves are the key to the solution, how we are magic. I think that is so true and that is one of the things that was taken away from us a long time ago, for the sole purpose of those in power controlling us all for the profit. It is discouraging to think about how many ideas and useful aspects of people there are that never even got the chance to share what they have to give in the world. They just need to be given the chance. It seems like the differences that exist are made to separate society on purpose, to keep many others from achieving better, and I am hoping that we can fix that.

            Lee Mokobe’s poem was one of the best poems I ever heard. To me, it explains exactly how society and gender has been shaped by religion, and how it negatively effects the LGBTQ community.

Ref

            References
Birdsong, M. (2015). The story we tell about poverty isn't true [video file]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/mia_birdsong_the_story_we_tell_about_poverty_isn_t_true.

Coates, T. (2008). There lived a little boy who was misled. The beautiful struggle: a memoir. Spiegel & Grau.

Cordova, V. F. (2007). America. How it is: The Native American philosophy of V. F. Cordova (40-45). Tuscon, AZ: Tucson University Press.

Lipsitz, G. (1998). The Possessive Investment in Whiteness. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.

Mokobe, L. A powerful poem about what it feels like to be transgender [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/lee_mokobe_a_powerful_poem_about_what_it_feels_like_to_be_transgender?language=en.

Some, M. P. Grandfather's funeral. Of water and the spirit: ritual, magic, and initiation in the life of a Shaman (56-73). Penguin Books.