I have found that I hear racist, Asian jokes more times than I hear Women jokes, as many times as I hear Gay jokes and as many or more times as I hear Black or Mexican jokes. Race plays an important role in how history is choreographed. I have found that mainstream history texts leave out cultural revolutions, specifically Asian American movements. The four prisons have inhibited my knowledge of Asian American activism to the extent that I cannot recall the names of Asian American activists or movements as I can Women, Black or Latino activists. Not taking the time to learn about Asian American activists is partially my fault. Even though I know of the sweatshops set up and the exploitation by American corporations I have not investigated the Asian and Asian American culture. Fascinating ideals of Asian religions and lifestyle have influenced me more than the culture’s activism and social change. When I think about why I haven’t decided to search out more information on Asian American culture, I think about the history classes and books I was first exposed to: I barely remember studying celebrated activists or movements. In fact, the ban on Chinese Immigration, the Chinese labor on the railroads and the Japanese internment camps are what comes to mind first and what I was taught is limited. I learned about wars on Indochina but the White, patriarchal and heteronormative perspective and apathetic because of first world, western values, skewed the catastrophic events. Even though I live across the Golden Gate Bridge and have been to Chinatown, I did not learned about the San Francisco College strike or the Asian American cultural revolution – that I know was not in my textbooks. After reading how influential and important this strike and movement was, I feel embarrassed to have not known. I do not think the Asian American movement was addressed because the movement took a militant and active approach with an anarchical framework. History repeats itself: you can read texts from thousand of years ago that describe similar struggles of human nature we have today. The textbooks written dictate what is being taught in our schools: my experience at a Catholic school, prep school and public school are similar in that I was not being educated, or encouraged to question or read radical texts. Instead, I was schooled, punished for questioning, read standardized books, and made to memorize dates and facts but not to research and learn. I did not study any cultural movements in high school – it is only at Pitzer that I have been exposed to any “cultural” studies classes. Asian American culture, activism, social change and even the discrimination of Asian Americans have been a severely lacking and limited – imprisoned- part of history I know. The four prisons theory promotes my desire to be an activist because knowing makes me aware and conscious of my limitations and instills in me the desire not only to be limitless within my limits but also question and challenge my limitations. I think the education system schools, instead of educates, the students and emphasizes self-interest and conformity. I think that an activist is someone who thinks critically about his or her culture and the world. An activist understands beyond what is visual or rational and dares to question. He or she believes and acts on his or her agency and assumes a human life is worth more than to be a product or a manufactured body.
I have found that I hear racist, Asian jokes more times than I hear Women jokes, as many times as I hear Gay jokes and as many or more times as I hear Black or Mexican jokes. Race plays an important role in how history is choreographed. I have found that mainstream history texts leave out cultural revolutions, specifically Asian American movements. The four prisons have inhibited my knowledge of Asian American activism to the extent that I cannot recall the names of Asian American activists or movements as I can Women, Black or Latino activists. Not taking the time to learn about Asian American activists is partially my fault. Even though I know of the sweatshops set up and the exploitation by American corporations I have not investigated the Asian and Asian American culture. Fascinating ideals of Asian religions and lifestyle have influenced me more than the culture’s activism and social change. When I think about why I haven’t decided to search out more information on Asian American culture, I think about the history classes and books I was first exposed to: I barely remember studying celebrated activists or movements. In fact, the ban on Chinese Immigration, the Chinese labor on the railroads and the Japanese internment camps are what comes to mind first and what I was taught is limited. I learned about wars on Indochina but the White, patriarchal and heteronormative perspective and apathetic because of first world, western values, skewed the catastrophic events. Even though I live across the Golden Gate Bridge and have been to Chinatown, I did not learned about the San Francisco College strike or the Asian American cultural revolution – that I know was not in my textbooks. After reading how influential and important this strike and movement was, I feel embarrassed to have not known. I do not think the Asian American movement was addressed because the movement took a militant and active approach with an anarchical framework. History repeats itself: you can read texts from thousand of years ago that describe similar struggles of human nature we have today. The textbooks written dictate what is being taught in our schools: my experience at a Catholic school, prep school and public school are similar in that I was not being educated, or encouraged to question or read radical texts. Instead, I was schooled, punished for questioning, read standardized books, and made to memorize dates and facts but not to research and learn. I did not study any cultural movements in high school – it is only at Pitzer that I have been exposed to any “cultural” studies classes. Asian American culture, activism, social change and even the discrimination of Asian Americans have been a severely lacking and limited – imprisoned- part of history I know.
ReplyDeleteThe four prisons theory promotes my desire to be an activist because knowing makes me aware and conscious of my limitations and instills in me the desire not only to be limitless within my limits but also question and challenge my limitations. I think the education system schools, instead of educates, the students and emphasizes self-interest and conformity. I think that an activist is someone who thinks critically about his or her culture and the world. An activist understands beyond what is visual or rational and dares to question. He or she believes and acts on his or her agency and assumes a human life is worth more than to be a product or a manufactured body.