Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Should we forget?
We have all taken history classes and learned about this country's amazing and mindblowing history. But lately I have been hearing many people say that we must work towards a better future. And the only way to do that is to forget the past. Forget that this land was once entirely inhabited by Native Americans who were cheated out of their land, and killed off by huge numbers and then the survivors were forced to live in mobile homes on reservations. Even though this happened years ago, for many of them they still live in this exact same setting. When we refer to the Holocaust, many Americans say that we must never forget the pain and suffering that the Jews, Gypsies and Homosexuals went through. In a way, the Native Americans went through the exact same thing. Even in Sherman Alexie's novel we read, Junior referred to the reservations as internment camps. I personally believe forgetting is all about covering guilt rather than actually building to a fair future. Thoughts?
Monday, February 7, 2011
Special
After reading the story of Junior I remember an experience with racism I experienced as a child. When I was about 4, my mother and I moved into an apartment. Now for 2 weeks we lived in this place that turned out to be infested with bugs like spiders, centipedes, cockroaches, and other critters. Now when we tried to get our money back and leave that place, the landlord refused and stated that it was our "Special food" that caused the infestation. Luckily, my mother wrote down this quote and took the man to court and sued him for the money he took from us. I wonder if this sort of scenario is common for minorities without much money. Any thoughts?
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