Racism

*http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-sub-display?id=S44-4241-0-5971&res=Y&ren=N&gov=N&lnk=N&ic=N&keyno=0000021506&leadiss=Y&auth_checked=Y
*http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/65174
*Me

    My first link is again from SIRS.com. SIRS talks about the history of racism and how it all started in the past. I think that's kind of important to know because you can connect to what causes people to make racial remarks now and what caused people back then to make racial remarks.
    My second link is from answerbag.com. On answerbag, I asked, "Why are people racist?". I read the answers and I learned quite a lot from them. One person thought that being prejudiced was like a phobia. Something that is developed when you are still very young. You may hear it from your parents or grandparents. And when you hear your parents say things like that, you may begin to believe some things. Another person thought that people make racist remarks because they feel like they're in charge. They feel like they have power. When they ever feel threatened or scared of someone, they can make a racist remark and have the person they said it to feel upset, ashamed or bad about themselves. Which makes the person who made the remark feel powerful and strong.
    My third source is...ME. I wrote myself as a source because I have had people say racist things to me. Turns out that many people have a lot to say about Asians. The way we look, the way we talk, just about anything.

Social Issues #6

everyday i used to walk

people would stare 

i would look down 

people would whisper

i would walk fast

'hey chino'

their friends would whistle

i would just bite my tongue

and walk right by

'let me get some sushi' 

they would say

their friends would laugh

and i would just stand there

feeling ashamed and powerless

but this changed everything:

i walked with my sister

people would stare

i would look down

my sister would stare back

people would whisper

i would walk fast

my sister would sneer

and get angry

'you gotta problem?'

she would say

and they would walk away

everyday i walk

people will stare

i will stare back

people will whisper

i will sneer 

and they will walk away
and i will walk with my head held high

Social Awareness #4

I just finished reading Persepolis. A social issue I read a lot about was women's rights. Women had no rights and they were forced to wear veils and keep hidden. This stood out to me because nowadays women are free..of practically everything. But in Iran women were called horrible names if they were wearing make-up or wearing their veil wrong or speaking their mind.

Marjane, the main character, always believed that women should speak her mind and she would express them when she was at home. Sometimes when her parents let her, she would go outside and join and protest for what she believed in. She would have chats with God at night and discuss everything she was thinking. How she wished she didn't have to wear the veil at all and she could walk through town without getting weird looks or getting yelled at by the older women in the neighborhood.

When Marjane was sent away to spend a few years in Europe, she realized that everyone was so free and people didn't wear veils or anything. Women freely walked allowed to do anything. After four long years, Marjane finally decided that she wanted to go back home to live with her parents again. As soon as she arrived at the airport, she was yelled at by a man to put on her veil correctly. She quickly realized how much Iran had changed she had last been there. Women still had to wear their veils and hardly any women walked outside. They were always questioned by soldiers. Women had no rights or freedom like women did in Europe

Social Awareness #1

Day 1 October 23rd:
This isn't really from today but I just thought that I needed to write about it. On Tuesday October 19th, I got a text message from my friend telling me that I should wear purple on Wednesday to show respect to gay people that committed suicide. So on Wednesday, I wore my purple shirt and went to school. As soon as I walked in, i saw so many people wearing purple. To honor, to pay respect to gay people. Not just the ones that committed suicide, gay people everywhere. More people wore purple than I had expected. Even teachers were purple.
It's horrible how some people cannot accept gays for who they are. Being gay doesn't make them any less human. It doesn't give other people the right to make fun of them. The newspapers are saying that the people that made fun of gay people, abused gay people are being arrested. But personally, I don't think that's enough. Some may not even learn the lesson. I think that the consequences aren't enough. People need to pay for what they have done to gay people and their family.

Day 2 October 24th:
Today I read in The New York Times newspaper that the disease Cholera was spreading in Haiti. The International Red Cross is in Haiti right now doing their best to nurse Haitians back to health. They are bringing drinkable water, water purification kits, plastic sheets, tents, mattresses and other necessary supplies to help the sick. Now that the Red Cross is in Haiti there is clean water for everyone to drink and slowly there is progress. I think it's amazing that the International Red Cross is in Haiti to help the sick. It's a really good thing that they are there so that no one else dies to the disease Cholera. Already 208 have died to this disease in Haiti. And we are there trying to prevent it.

Day 3 October 25th:
Today I was watching Eye Witness News and they said that a college student at PACE University was shot and killed by a police officer. Eye Witness News also said that many students lit candles and laid flowers in front of his dorm to pay respect. I thought it was totally horrible that the student Danroy Henry Jr. was shot and killed by a police officer. Well obviously, who wouldn't? Anyway, I though it was really touching that many people bought flowers and cried for Danroy Henry Jr., even people that didn't even know him.