1/29
It amazes me still
that in 2016 when we think that we, as a country, have progressed, we
immediately get backhanded with events that prove us wrong. Watching the
video and reading the chapters has only further proved my points that White
America are the oppressors and the rest of the country are the oppressed ones. I
am looking forward to finishing Privilege,
Power, and Difference because it would give me an insight into what the
mind of a white privileged man processes when it comes down to issues that do
not regard them but they still manage to come up with an unsolicited opinion. I
realize that he acknowledges his privilege which makes me more comfortable reading
it seeing that he has respect for minorities and active problems pursuing the
community. I liked how the book and the video made connections with the issues privilege
brings; they both made points on how easily privilege can silence the problems occurring.
Since power and privilege go together, problems frequently happening in lower
classes and low-end communities are often muted and rarely addressed. Thanks to
younger generations and the power of social media, issues are more than often brought
to light and something is usually done to fix the problem. On Twitter I follow
a variety of social justice accounts which help me become connected with others
around the country and even around the world that speak out about issues
affecting them directly and the community around them. In the video Junot Díaz
addressed the idea that there are two types of worlds existing today: the official
world and the real world. In the official world, nobody talks about social
issues and the problems affecting society, and everyone continues to live as if
nothing is going on. Then in the real world, we acknowledge the erasure White
America is doing to the cultures of minorities and the existing problems. I tend
to see this a lot especially in my environment. Immigration matters is what
matters to me the most, especially right now with bans going on, and there
seems to be no promising plans for immigrants in politics anytime soon. Here we
have a country that we seem to present ourselves as, how we imagine ourselves, how
we project ourselves, and the reality of America. Immigrants tend to see this
country as great with much potential for them and their families, but White
America has drastically changed these views. I cannot think of anything that I
like about this country or about the policies being enacted; all I can think
about is the change that everyone will endure. Díaz stated that he believes
that minorities should be the ones to make a change, but I believe we have been
fighting for far too long; I’m not saying that we should stop rebelling at all,
but some type of change must come from the inside. It was the white elitists that
prematurely placed this country in a position that benefits no one; not the
minorities.
